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krispyweiss · 9 years ago

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Back Pages Book Review: “A Wizard A True Star: Todd Rundgren in the Studio” by Paul Myers (2010)

What do James Cotton, Badfinger, New York Dolls, Grand Funk, Meat Loaf, the Tubes, Patti Smith Group, XTC, Cheap Trick, the Psychedelic Furs, Bad Religion and scads of other recording artists have in common?

They all cut important albums - We’re an American Band, Bat out of Hell and Skylarking among them, with Todd Rundgren in the producer’s chair.

Bat Out of Hell is the most successful and well-known of the bunch and in addition to Rundgren’s production, features members of Utopia and the E Street Band. Nobody saw the success coming, as a slew of labels turned the record down; Rundgren, upon hearing the songs, thought of it as a “parody;” and Utopia bassist Kasim Sulton thought, “This is a comedy record. We’ll have a blast doing it, and we’ll never hear it again.”

It’s stories like this that make Paul Meyers’ excellent and informative book, “A Wizard A True Star: Todd Rundgren in the Studio,” (2010) so much run to read. It follows Rundgren’s production credits from 1969’s self-titled album by American Dream through the Dolls’ 2009 comeback effort ‘Cause I Sez So. The book also explores Rundgren’s various bands, the Nazz, Todd Rundgren’s Utopia and Utopia, his solo career and all the albums he and they made through 2010.

It’s obviously a must-read for all members of Rundgren’s cult following, as the singer’s career is criminally underreported. Fans get an insider’s look at the making of albums such as Nazz Nazz, Something/Anything?, Oops! Wrong Planet!, and Nearly Human.

If there’s any drawback, it’s this: Myers kicks into hyper speed after delving into the sessions for 1991’s 2nd Wind, thus giving short shrift to everything that came between that and 2010’s Robert Johnson covers album, aptly titled Todd Rundgren’s Johnson. That’s a shame, because Rundgren’s latter career is turning out to be every bit as interesting, and challenging from a fanatic’s point of view, as his early days.

Myers interviewed Rundgren extensively and also spoke with most of his production clients. Members of all of Utopia’s incarnations and Rundgren’s touring bands also spoke on the record to help the author paint a vivid picture of his subject.

“In describing Rundgren, the word that most frequently came to the lips of his clients and associates … was ‘genius,’” Myers writes. “The second most frequent, however, was ‘sarcastic,’ with 'aloof’ running close behind.”

The Band’s Robbie Robertson, Hall & Oates’ Daryl Hall and Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielson are among the artists who sing Rundgren’s praises. Robertson credits Rundgren, who worked on Stage Fright, with getting “what I’d call a Polaroid sound. He did a great job and … (the songs he engineered) all turned out to be real highlights.”

But “A Wizard A True Star” isn’t all about studio work and along the way, Myers coaxes out some hilarious and harrowing stories.

The former category features a great tale from Bat out of Hell composer Jim Steinman, who is convinced that Rundgren’s tinkering with a video game caused the 1977 New York City blackout at precisely 10:17 p.m. on July 13.

“I’ll never forget the that summer of 1977,” Steinman told Myers. “Elvis died, Son of Sam was terrorizing Manhattan, the Yankees won the World Series, Todd caused the East Coast blackout and, to top it all off, Bat out of Hell finally got released.”

In the latter, Myers writes that John Lennon’s assassin, Mark David Chapman “flipped a coin” to determine whether to stalk Lennon or Rundgren. He chose Lennon, but may have also gone after Rundgren had he not been caught so swiftly after gunning down the former Beatle.

“After slaying Lennon, the shooter was photographed in handcuffs wearing a Hermit of Mint Hollow promotional T-shirt, while a subsequent search of his (Broadway hotel) room … had turned up a copy of The Ballad of Todd Rundgren, left behind 'as a statement,’” Myers reports.

Revelations about the breadth of Rundgren’s career are strewn throughout the book. He staged the world’s first interactive concert via Qube in Columbus, Ohio. He performed the world’s first cable stereo concert simulcast in Los Angeles. He and Utopia backed Shaun Cassidy on his Wasp album. He scored the films “Under Cover” and “Dumb and Dumber” and wrote music for television’s “Pee Wee’s Playhouse.” And he wrote a musical called Up Against It, which earned Rundgren a Tony Award nomination.

Rundgren’s fans have been long puzzled by his lack of mainstream success. But even neophytes would be hard-pressed to read this book without wondering how, exactly, they failed to pick up on Rundgren’s prolific and peerless output.

Meat Loaf speaks for all Rundgren fans when he tells the author: “I don’t know why Todd Rundgren isn’t one of the biggest acts in the world.”

And that’s the one question Myers cannot answer in his deeply reported, eminently readable book.

Grade card: “A Wizard A True Star: Todd Rundgren in the Studio” by Paul Myers - A

1/18/16

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