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Goldmine Magazine article on Todd Rundgren The iconic Todd Rundgren is rocking harder than ever By Lee Zimmerman When Todd Rundgren dubbed his fourth solo album “A Wizard, A True Star” it may have seemed presumptuous at the time, given that he had only begun recording a scant five years before. Nearly four decades later, that title has come to sum up one of the most remarkably prolific careers in rock’s vast lexicon. There’s practically nothing Rundgren hasn’t done, whether as a performer, producer, engineer or video pioneer. Indeed, since making his bow with his first band, Woody’s Truck Stop, in his native Philadelphia and creeping into the national spotlight with The Nazz, Rundgren has freely delved into a dizzying array of musical ventures — from pop to prog, rock to retro, and practically everything in between. He’s had hits on his own — “Hello It’s Me, and “Bang the Drum All Day,” among them — and worked behind the boards to create hits for others: Badfinger, Meatloaf, XTC and Patti Smith, to name a scant few. He’s also helmed the experimental outfit Utopia and fallen back on the tried and true both as a member of Ringo Starr’s All-Starr band and as part of retro treks that paid homage to “Sgt. Pepper” and other Beatle bounties. To call him eclectic is like saying there’s sand in the Sahara. Rundgren’s last album, “Arena,” found him working in a decidedly harder rock vein while venting thoughts on our modern malaise. Not surprisingly then, when Goldmine had the opportunity to speak with him, he was equally enthused. At 62, you’re rocking harder than ever. That’s an opposite approach from artists who start out very rambunctious and then mellow out. Todd Rundgren:[/b] I didn’t realize myself how much I sort of miss the axe hanging around your neck. You can look at it in some ways as a sort of buffer area between you and the audience, the guitar itself, and it also, at least for me, takes a little while to get back up to speed and confidence with the instrument. You could have had a very comfortable career when you were recording those very mellow and accessible pop songs early on. But then you chose to change directions and go into a more progressive and experimental vein with Utopia. TR: I wanted to do a bit of both, and that was to satisfy myself. It wasn’t necessarily any career need to do that. When I got comfortable enough with my so-called solo career I was immediately wanting to put a band together so I could do that kind of music that bands do, that thing where the responsibility is spread around more, and I could simplify my role in a sense. I would only have to be the guitar player. I would never have to touch the piano. I’d have that opportunity to perform and develop as a performer in the context where I wouldn’t be judged alone for what I’d be doing. When you plot a new album, how much thought do you give to creating a new template or pursuing a new theme? After all these years, it must be difficult not to repeat yourself. TR: That is an essential difficulty, that the more music you write, the more likely you are to repeat yourself and that’s the actuality for most artists, and that’s not a bad thing because for many artists, that’s the foundation of your career. Nobody expects Barry Manilow to reinvent himself ever, and for people who come to see him, their expectation is just a guy who’s going to sing “Without You” night after night after night after night after night without shooting himself in the head. I didn’t approach music as a performer, which is what a lot of other people do, and therefore they figure out afterwards what kind of music they want to make. I found it was kind of easy for me to develop musical ideas and get them recorded, and very difficult for me to take them out on the road and do them in front of people. I guess that was the challenge of my career, because it didn’t come naturally to me — that sort of exhibitionism that comes with performance. But all my favorite performers I had to admit to myself were out there putting on a show. We wanted a band — like The Nazz, my first major band — to be like one part The Who, and so if you wanted to do that, you couldn’t just stand up there and sound like The Who, you had to be flailing and on the verge of falling over the edge of the stage – daring behavior to essentially elevate the live experience beyond simply recreation of the music. As time goes on, I am more self-conscious of that aspect when I do make a record, and in the case of “Arena,” there was a bit of trepidation. I was thinking to myself, “Am I going to be able to do this every night?” Especially with a song like “Strike,” which involves essentially self-strangulation (laughs). And if it’s a problem, we’ll have to lower some keys and not perform some songs, or whatever. But as it turned out, and as it usually turns out, the more you do, the easier it becomes. It’s essentially a form of bodybuilding, I suppose. When you do go out under your own name, your audience must come with a lot of expectations. After all, you’ve touched on a lot of styles in your career and have written a lot of songs that people inevitably would like to hear. So how do you reconcile all those sides of yourself and satisfy all those needs? TR: I realize that I can’t, and if I try to, it probably doesn’t satisfy anyone fully. There are occasions to find proper context for the older material. “Proper,” meaning something that I feel is musically interesting and challenging for me to do, as well as visiting in one form or another that material that everybody likes, the numbers from the ’70s. And probably the last time I did that was this whole bossa nova thing (“With a Twist”). I revisited all the old songs but in a new context. So anyone who was desperate to hear the originals, they were going to get them in that form. They wouldn’t sound exactly like the originals, but it would be that song with those same words. And, oftentimes, what people are most connected to in a song is the lyrics, and so in that sense we try to make it obvious that this is an opportunity for people to hear that, if that’s what they’re dying to hear. But I think also I’ve conditioned, at least the hardcore of my audience, not to have particular expectations when they first see a tour. It doesn’t mean I’m not going to change everything we do, but the nature of the show is not necessarily guaranteed, and the only thing I guarantee is that we will put our best effort into it. That’s the reason why I don’t really do my solo shows any more, because so many of those songs depend on a half-decent piano performance and I am not even a half-decent piano player. Your recent sets have even found you dipping back into your old Nazz catalog. TR: Well, yeah, now we have a proper context for it, and in that sense a lot of people are just as happy with this harder approach as long as it puts them in a place that they are familiar with. At a certain point I was touring almost exclusively with Utopia, and if we did any Todd Rundgren songs it would be within the context of a Utopia show. And so a lot of people have fond memories of Utopia shows they’ve been to, and those were never ballad-fests and introspective singer/songwriter type evenings of the kind I would do after the band broke up. So in that sense there is a significant portion of the audience that is happy to see me flailing away up there. Full article: http://www.goldminemag.co...-than-ever =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Music for adventurous listeners tA  Tribal Records"Ya see, we're not interested in what you know...but what you are willing to learn. C'mon y'all." | |
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"A Dream Goes On Forever" is one of the best songs ever made.
Period. "I don't think you'd do well in captivity." - random person's comment to me the other day | |
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"A wizard, a true star" definitely rings true when describing Todd. | |
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Todd recently made a return appearance to Daryl's house (or vice versa). Check it: | |
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...
and Yanowha, thanks for the link!!
...
[Edited 8/4/11 16:40pm] " I've got six things on my mind --you're no longer one of them." - Paddy McAloon, Prefab Sprout | |
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Kool article, Thanks for the headzup!!!
I agree!
I've only been exposed to him recently but I'm taking my sweet time.
"The Night the Carousel Burnt Down" is the reason why I became such a fan. I have to say though, his music is pretty melancholy even though his humor creeps in here & there. | |
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Aah, nice. Now that's a freaking crib!!!
Music for adventurous listeners "Ya see, we're not interested in what you know...but what you are willing to learn. C'mon y'all." | |
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"Fidelity" and "Mated" (with Utopia) are pop confections of the highest order. Thanks for the article. | |
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You're most welcome. "Ya see, we're not interested in what you know...but what you are willing to learn. C'mon y'all." | |
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LOL @ the Barry Manilow comment! | |
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I heartily recommend "A Wizard A True Star - Todd Rundgren In The Studio" by Paul Myers. It's available on Amazon. GREAT read!!! Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/Wiz...amp;sr=1-1
I love this pop cut by Utopia (really dig the harmonies):
[Edited 8/5/11 0:20am] [Edited 8/5/11 0:22am] My author page: https://www.amazon.com/au...eretttruth | |
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Thanks for the link. "Ya see, we're not interested in what you know...but what you are willing to learn. C'mon y'all." | |
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Another great (mostly overlooked) TR ballad from the Todd album (1974)... "Ya see, we're not interested in what you know...but what you are willing to learn. C'mon y'all." | |
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I'm still mad he's not recognized for what he's contributed to rock and pop music in general. Talk about an unsung hero... | |
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My author page: https://www.amazon.com/au...eretttruth | |
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Whether or not one agrees with a Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame, if you're gonna do it, do it right My author page: https://www.amazon.com/au...eretttruth | |
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And they ain't been doing it right. | |
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Tell me about it. "Ya see, we're not interested in what you know...but what you are willing to learn. C'mon y'all." | |
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Not to mention his great achievements with Nazz, Utopia and his solo recordings... [Edited 8/5/11 17:18pm] | |
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"The first time I saw the cover of Dirty Mind in the early 80s I thought, 'Is this some drag queen ripping on Freddie Prinze?'" - Some guy on The Gear Page | |
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