I could just babble on about Todd Rundgren, the genius and visionary. But instead I'll stick to discussing this terrific book by Paul Myers, which is a history of Rundgren's activities as producer of other artists and of his own music over four decades. If you've ever heard, or simply heard of, any of the albums or artists discussed herein, you're going to find something worthwhile between its covers, even if you're not familiar with Rundgren's work per se.
Myers' reputation as a journalist obviously preceded him, because he acquired first-person access to everyone whose work is discussed in the book. This includes Patti Smith, David Johansen, the members of XTC, Cheap Trick, the Tubes, Grand Funk and others. In addition, Myers had the full participation of Rundgren and his wife Michele. So we get lots of facts and details covering everything from what recording techniques and equipment were used on a session, to how the bands felt about Rundgren and vice-versa, to the historical and musical contexts in which these records came to be.
Myers does not sugarcoat anything, so we learn what it was really like to make a record with a brilliant and idiosyncratic guy like Todd. A picture of the man emerges: he worked fast, his level of musical and technical proficiency matched or exceeded all the musicians on his sessions, his creativity was boundless, his capacity to work hard was daunting, and he could utilize a Zen master's cleverness in getting great performances out of his clients. But he could also be impatient, arrogant and sarcastic. Most of the musicians interviewed feel his mixing skills were poor and they were often horrified by the mixes he put together after the sessions ended, because Todd tended to mix with the radio in mind.
All those opinions are balanced by comments from Todd himself. But it's not about creating controversy. Myers gives everybody his or her say, and lets it go at that. Tellingly, just about every chapter ends with the artist whose album is being discussed saying something like: "looking back, Todd was the best producer we ever had." The results speak for themselves, and one of the fun things about this book is reading about a project and then listening to the songs again (or for the first time) with the added benefit of the information gleaned from its pages.
Written in an accessible, clear and entertaining style, A WIZARD never alienated me from the material. I'm not a technophile and I barely know my woofer from my tweeter, and none of the information put me off.
If you're a fan of 20th century rock and pop you have probably heard one or more of the albums discussed herein, for instance, WAVE (Patti Smith), BAT OUT OF HELL (Meat Loaf), SKYLARKING (XTC), STAGE FRIGHT (The Band) and WAR BABIES (Hall & Oates). You'll learn new and fascinating things about them. For instance, I didn't know that "Wave" was Patti Smith's tribute to Pope John Paul I, who had just died.
A WIZARD also provides a fairly complete history of Rundgren as recording artist and techno/computer visionary. For Todd fans, this book is a serious must-have. Every album he made starting with Nazz, as a soloist or with Utopia is discussed in detail. We hear a lot from the Utopia regulars, Kasim Sulton, Roger Powell and Willie Wilcox. (Along the way a few key personal facts are included, but the focus is really the music.) The fact that Todd managed to write and record individually and with Utopia, tour, produce albums for other people at the same time, seemingly in a non-stop fashion, and by the way, have girlfriends and eventually a wife, and produce three children, begs the question: did the guy ever sleep? Did he nap? Is he even (nearly) human?
I recommend this book for all lovers of 20th century pop and rock music, not just TR fans. In fact, if you're not a TR fan, all the more reason to read A WIZARD A TRUE STAR: TODD RUNDGREN IN THE STUDIO. There's no excuse in 2012 not to know who Todd is. He's perhaps the most underappreciated and underrated musical genius of the era. Because Todd's need for artistic control is absolute, he has worked outside the system as much as possible and paid zero attention to the commercial trends of the day unless they happened to coincide with his personal artistic interests. (However, it should be noted that he helped to create some of the major commercial trends of the day, such as music videos and advanced electronic recording techniques.) He had no time for the glitz and glamour of the music business, and kept his personal problems to himself, thereby insuring that gossip columnists would look elsewhere for fodder. Fortunately, his superb and ongoing body of work as artist and producer is available for all to enjoy, and Paul Myers' labor of literary love is as good a place as any to kick start that enjoyment.
Bravo, Mr. Myers. Very well done.
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Top reviews from other countries
Justin Smallbridge
Thoroughly reported, brilliantly written, highly informative.
Reviewed in Canada on February 22, 2021