The Twisted World of Todd Rundgren

I first heard of Todd Rundgren from two sources. 1) A K-Tel Battle of the Bands cassette I owned as a kid that contained a track by Nazz (Rundgren's band) 2) My father, who still refers to the 1973 Rundgren show he saw as the only concert he's ever walked out of. "It was the most masturbatory piece of shit I've ever seen," he fondly remembers. I was always confused by his statement. "Hello It's Me," the Nazz track with which I was familiar, was a well-written track. On top of this, I've always read favorable reviews of Rundgren's abilities as a songwriter, producer, arranger, and guitarist.

I became further confused when a trusted friend introduced me to A Wizard, A True Star, Rundgren's 1973 solo record. Sure, it's meandering and a little against the grain for a pop album, but there are some great songs on the record. I couldn't believe that my father, who usually has pretty damned good taste in music, was repulsed by the concert he saw from the same era. Again I asked him about the show, and again he further elaborated: "It was masturbatory shit. He didn't even have a band with him. He was prancing around the stage, jumping from instrument to instrument, playing along with his album. And when he stopped from time to time, he just kept talking about how he played every instrument on the damned record."

Dad, I finally know what you were talking about. I've discovered a clip of Rundgren from the Wizard tour, and it's every bit as shitty as my father suggested:





A few things of note: 1) Rundgren's one-piece outfit. 2) Around the 29 second mark, he decides to run a lap around his piano. Why the hell not? 3) His resemblance to Celine Dion. I don't know if this is worse for Todd or Celine, but neither of them look too good in the first place. 4) Is he brandishing a scepter for the duration of the song?

Apparently, this is what happens when you surround somebody with yes-men and give him more acid and coke than he can handle.

As proof of Rundgren's musical ability (if you'll believe me after seeing the stage-show spectacle), I have uploaded "Zen Archer," a track from A Wizard, A True Star. The album's actually worth a listen (or even multiple).

Zen Archer