When I was really young and first getting into music, Todd Rundgren was one of the first artists who I discovered. His AM staple “Hello It’s Me” was at least a daily occurance on my mother’s kitchen radio and in the days of “freeform” 70s FM his weirder “deep cut” album tracks saw a lot of action there. I recall seeing him on one of the very first episodes of The Midnight Special that I was allowed to stay up and watch, and he seemed weird, smart and very talented to me. In his press he came off like a wunderkind—he played all of the instruments himself!—and he was always pictured with hot models. When I finally convinced my parents to buy me a cheap stereo for Christmas, Todd Rundgren’s albums were among the first records I bought. Both Something/Anything and Todd were long double albums that sold for the same price as a single LP, so for an elementary school kid they also seemed like a better value than most things. But my Todd fandom wasn’t especially intense—not a patch on my love for David Bowie or the Sweet at that age—and once new wave and postpunk came around, my interest waned. The last Todd Rundgren album that I bought was Liz Lemon’s favorite Todd record Hermit of Mink Hollow.

The only album that I didn’t have back then was A Wizard, A True Star. I can remember reading a scathingly negative review of that album when it came out and Todd, being a two-record set seemed the better option given my piggy bank. Recently I noticed that Analog Spark had released audiophile SACDs of Wizard and the earlier Something/Anything, and needing “something new to listen to” I requested review copies. I mentioned the new Todd releases to an archly rock snob friend of mine whose taste in music I respect and he told me that A Wizard, A True Star was his #1 favorite album of all time. Really? I looked forward to hearing it even more.
 

 
Several of Todd Rundgren’s classic 70s albums were known to sound a bit tinny due to the narrower vinyl grooves resulting from trying to cram so much music on each side. It was something you were even warned about via a “Technical Note” included on the inner sleeve of 1975’s Initiation:

“Due to the amount of music on this disc (over one hour), two points must be emphasized. Firstly, if your needle is worn or damaged, it will ruin the disc immediately. Secondly, if the sound does seem not loud enough on your system, try re-recording the music onto tape. By the way, thanks for buying the album.”

The new Analog Spark SACD of Something/Anything (mastered like Wizard by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes) does in fact sound much better than I recall the original LP sounding… but HOLY SHIT… A Wizard, A True Star? HOW did I miss out on this amazing album all these years??? I was floored by it. The work of a crazed young lysergic Mozart, A Wizard, A True Star floated effortlessly into my list of favorite albums as I listened to it for the very first time. Admittedly I was totally loaded. So drunk I was almost hallucinating, even, but these kinetically kaleidoscopic alcoholic bedspins put me in a pretty receptive state for the mind-expanding (and mind-blowing) sonic charms of A Wizard, A True Star which I blasted at an ear-splitting volume on my middle-aged man’s stereo. Seriously, it’s one of the best things I’ve ever heard—not just recently, but ever—and started me off on a whole new Todd Rundgren kick which I am still in the midst of. If you are “looking for something new to listen to,” like I was, look no further.
 

 
But hey, don’t take my word for it, here’s what none other than the great Patti Smith wrote of A Wizard, A True Star in the pages of CREEM magazine:

“Side one is double dose. It takes the bull by the brain. Another point to be examined. He’s always been eclectic. Why didn’t he care? The evidence is here. Something very magical is happening. The man is magi chef. His influences are homogenizing. Like a coat of many colors. May be someone else’s paintbox but the coat is all his.”

—snip—

“Each album he vomits like a diary. Each page closer to the stars. Process is the point. A kaleidoscoping view. Blasphemy even the gods smile on. Rock and roll for the skull. A very noble concept. Past present and tomorrow in one glance. Understanding through musical sensation. Todd Rundgren is preparing us for a generation of frenzied children who will dream in animation. “

I was nodding my head as I read that despite having absolutely no idea of what she intended to convey with all of those words, even if I do wholeheartedly agree with her.

 
In 1977, after launching his career a year earlier, Shaun Cassidy struck pop music gold with his fluffy cover of the girl group classic, “Da Doo Ron Ron.”. Cassidy’s version went to #1 in the U.S. and his self-titled album sold over three million copies worldwide. Around the same time, the new TV series he was co-starring in, The Hardy Boys premiered, and that too became a hit. Suddenly, Cassidy was a bona fide teen idol, just like his older half-brother David Cassidy who was a massive teen idol before him.
 

 
But fame is often fleeting, and by the late ‘70s, Cassidy was already on his way out. In a bold move, he recruited the art rock wizard Todd Rundgren to produce his sixth album. “I’ve admired Todd’s work for a long time,” Cassidy said in 1980. “I’ve always wanted to record some of his songs. There was really no second choice for me as far as who I was going to work with.” The result of this unlikely collaboration was the LP, Wasp.
 

 
Cassidy did indeed record a handful of Rundgren originals for the LP, but he also teamed with his producer on selecting tunes to reinterpret. The pair came up with an interesting assortment of songs to take on, including established hits by David Bowie, the Four Tops, the Animals, and Ian Hunter, along with album-only cuts from the Who and the Talking Heads. Cassidy was backed by Rundgren and his band, Utopia.
 

Utopia in 1980.

On paper, this seems like a bizarre collaboration—with Cassidy playing the role of pop star in over his head—but it resulted in a surprisingly good, entertaining record. If nothing else, Wasp sure is weird! Of the originals, the title track is a highlight, due to its sheer strangeness. Over an electro backing, Cassidy spits out Rundgren’s peculiar lyrics in an aggressive, rap-like manner. “Pretending,” meanwhile, is a complete about-face—a ballad that possesses some emotional power thanks to Cassidy’s passionate delivery. “The Book I Read,” a deep pull from Talking Heads: 77, features Cassidy’s most crooner-ish vocal, recalling the great Scott Walker (who was also once a teen phenomenon). The faithful, power pop version of the Who’s “So Sad About Us” is the album’s most lively number, and Cassidy really gives it his all for the closer, an offbeat rendering of Ian Hunter’s “Once Bitten, Twice Shy.” But the cover of Bowie’s “Rebel Rebel,” the LP opener and lead single, is the high point of Wasp. Utopia’s new wave backing—complete with a cool synth line and video game-like sound effects—flirts with disco, as Cassidy sings in a lower register, echoed by an odd, munchkin-sounding vocal. Later on, lyrics from the Crystals’ “He’s a Rebel” are incorporated—a genius move, as it has the “rebel” theme and recalls “Da Doo Ron Ron,” also originally recorded by the Crystals. As he does throughout Wasp, Cassidy sounds totally committed here, experimenting with his voice, at times pushing it to the breaking point.
 

 
Who would’ve thought that remaking Shaun Cassidy as a cutting edge new wave artist was even possible? In a sense, it wasn’t…

Continues after the jump…

 
In a genre unto themselves, one we can all be thankful never took off, the concept of “mime rock” and The Hello People sprang from the mind of longtime manager and record producer Lew Futterman. Futterman, who at one point managed Ted Nugent and produced many of his albums including Cat Scratch Fever, was also managing a group of musicians who had been taught painting by the father of French mime, Étienne Decroux. Decroux was impressed with how quickly these musicians learned to paint and reasoned they could do the same with mime and apply it to music to create an entirely new art form.

Inspired by this notion, Futterman formed The Hello People, who would go on to appear on The Tonight Show and The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, eventually touring with Todd Rundgren during the ‘70s, as well as opening for comedians Richard Pryor and George Carlin. The Hello People released four albums during the ‘60s and ‘70s for Philips and ABC-Dunhill, but their second album, the cult classic Fusion from 1968 is probably their best known, mostly notable for the anti-Vietnam War song “Anthem” which was banned by several radio stations. You can see a clip of the band performing the song, introduced by the Smothers Brothers below, as well as their mime act in full effect during a 1978 appearance with Todd Rundgren performing “Bread” on The Midnight Special.

It’s like the perfect shit storm… bad folk, lead flute(!)... mime!
 

The Hello People, Todd and pals sharing a post-show smoke sometime in the 70s.

Real Gone Music are making The Hello People’s cult classic Fusion available for the first time ever on CD. After all “Mime is money, money is mime.” Or something like that.
 

Summer 1978: Read this issue in its entirety here.
 
Holy cow! What a goldmine! Someone wonderful uploaded all the 70s issues of Synapse Magazine for your reading pleasure. Seriously, if you’re an electronic music buff, be prepared to spend days soaking it all up!
 

January/February 1979: Read this issue in its entirety here.
 

Summer 1979: Read this issue in its entirety here.
 
More issues of Synapse Magazine after the jump…
 

 
When the promo for the new single by Norwegian nu-disco maestro Lindstrom dropped into my inbox recently, I was unusually excited. Not just because it was some new sounds from one of the undisputed masters of the genre, but because of these three magic words: “Todd Rundgren Remix.”

At first I thought it was a typo, or a mislabeling - surely they meant it’s a Lindstrom remix of Todd Rundgren? I mean, you can tell Lindstrom is a fan just from listening to his music (it’s all about those stacked synth chords) and besides, Todd doesn’t do remixes… does he?

A little bit more digging around proved that this was no typing error. One of my all-time favorite artists had indeed remixed a song for the first time, and with his usual immaculate taste, Todd had decided to remix a song by one of my favorite dance music producers. Through connections in the extended Rundgren fan network (which is itself an amazing thing, more like a family than mere rock fans) I was able to get some questions to Todd himself.

Dangerous Minds really needs more Todd Rundgren on our pages, so I am glad to share his answers:
 
You’ve been making music for a long time, but this is your first ever commercially released remix - how did it come about?

I was contacted by Lindstrom’s label. I’ve been making contributions to other artists’ recording projects over the years so it didn’t seem like that unusual a request. I don’t often get asked to be involved in ‘trans-generational’ collaborations, so that was different.

Your music has been a big influence on modern dance producers, but in particular the whole nu-disco/cosmic-disco genre - were you aware of any of those particular artists? And did you hear a musical connection when you listened to Lindstrom’s track?

Since I don’t usually focus on a single genre I don’t think of myself as having a ‘style’. It’s a little odd because in the 70s we thought of ourselves as prog-rock players and that disco was something of a sell-out for artists like Rod Stewart and Blondie. This ‘nu disco’ is a more organic movement, especially the emphasis on the instrumental aspect and lack of lyrics. That does remind me of some of the experimental excursions I’ve taken in the past.

I love how you embrace new music technology (and the new music it can help create). I’m curious to know what sequencing/recording program you’re using, and if you have any recent-ish programs or bits of kit you’re enthusiastic about? For instance, have you used Ableton Live?

I stuck with analog until the mid-Nineties, mostly because I was trying to be thrifty. I used Pro-Tools for about 12 years but finally got fed up with the tempermental and expensive technology and poor support. Recently, I have been an exclusive user of Propellerheads Reason. Since they added recording capabilities I’ve been able to record and mix with my laptop and without any environmental restrictions. I haven’t tried Ableton, mostly because I have yet to do any live mixing.

What are you listening to at the moment? Any music of the last 5 years that floats your boat and you’d recommend for Dangerous Minds’ readers?

I’m a big fan of ‘outsider’ music. It’s not very useful as an influence (at least not right now) but it’s a lot of fun to listen to and takes your mind off the ‘serious’ stuff. I recently downloaded Lorne Greene’s “The Man” and was so amused I decided to work some of it into my solo shows. Now the fans want a whole night of Lorne Greene. The problem with outsider music is that it’s often only one great song in an obscure career of mediocrity.

What’s in the immediate future for Todd Rundgren?* And is there anything more dance music-based, like more remixes or perhaps even dj sets?

It’s been suggested that I take a crack at DJing, and it’s not such a far-fetched idea. In 1993 I toured a record called No World Order and built a system that allowed me to improvise the set each night using a midi controller and a program I devised that would recombine samples on the fly. I had to build that program from scratch using MAX. Now software like Ableton is the prefered way to go, although I have some ideas about how it could be done with Reason.

Thanks, Todd!

Lindstrom’s “Quiet Place To Live (Todd Rundgren Remix)”, released by Smalltown Supersound, is available to buy from Juno Download. You can listen to it right now:
 

   Lindstrom - Quiet Place To Live (Todd Rundgren remix) by smalltownsupersound
 
And thanks to Jill Mingo!

 
Rock and roll hating Christian whackjob Pastor Gary Greenwald has been ranting about the evils of the Devil’s music for decades now. His rants about backmasking on rock records are the stuff of legend. Here he is equating the demonic Todd Rundgren with the anti-Christ. Who knew?
 

 
DJ Lobsterdust’s mashup of Pastor Gary and Queen after the jump…

The great—and very underrated—Todd Rundgren recently did a mini-tour playing his 1973 classic A Wizard, A True Star album from start to finish—for the first time ever in his career—with theatrical flourishes and costume changes. It makes a lot of sense to me that classic rock era musicians are playing their best beloved albums from start to finish. It’s what the fans want to hear and it makes it more of a “special” event. I doubt I’d be that excited for just any Todd Rundgren concert, but I really hope he brings this show to Los Angeles.

Here’s how rock scribe Barney Hoskyns described A Wizard, A True Star in MOJO magazine:

“Sometimes,” Todd Rundgren sang, “I don’t know what to feel.” But sometimes you do know what to feel. And right now I feel like saying what I’ve contended for many years, which is that Rundgren’s A Wizard, A True Star is simply The Greatest Album Ever Made.

You heard me right, pardner. Better than Pet Sounds. Better than OK Computer. Certainly better than Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Farts Dub Band. An album of vaulting ambition - of wizardry and true stardom - released into an unsuspecting world by a contrary, super-precocious wonderboy who should have been the biggest thing to happen in the ‘70s but who was just too complex and polymorphous for lasting pop success.

A Wizard, A True Star came out 35 years ago but still sounds more bravely futuristic than any ostensibly cutting-edge electro-pop being made in the 21st Century. A dizzying, intoxicating rollercoaster ride of emotions and genre mutations, the album was substantially the work of Rundgren himself, pieced together in late 1972 at his own Secret Sound studio on NYC’s West 24th Street.

Here is a bit of Todd Rundgren-related trivia found on his Wikipedia page

On the 30 Rock episode “The C Word,” Tina Fey’s character Liz Lemon is telling producer Pete and writer Frank about the obscenity Lutz called her, stating, “He called me the worst name ever. I’m not gonna repeat it. That’s how much I hate it.” Then after multiple guesses by the two, she says, “No! It’s the one that rhymes with the name of your favorite Todd Rundgren album,” referring to Runt, but Frank replies, “It rhymes with Hermit of Mink Hollow?”

I fell out of my seat when I heard that line. Here is a clip of Todd performing Hello It’s Me on the Midnight Special in 1973: