A Wizard A True Star

Since I would never speak on behalf of all die hard Todd Rundgren fans, I can only speak for myself about him. As selfish as this sounds, I am glad that Todd has never become another mainstream pop figure or a household name. It makes the music that much more personable. I like the fact that, since I discovered Todd's music in 1972, it has remained virtually undiscovered by millions. (I admit when I hear people say "Todd Who??" I come very close to dismissing them altogether & when I encounter other Todd fans they are quickly placed on a higher pedestal, so I can be judgmental sometimes - big surprise there!).

Even during my years employed in the radio and music business, most of colleagues and peers were aware of him and a few of his songs, but only a couple shared the same level of passion for Todd's music. Heck, sometimes it made it hard to find someone to go with me to see him perform. Thankfully, my daughter has grown into and become a member of the new generation of Todd fans and has seen him live with me. She mentioned once that she was strongly considering for her next personal tattoo it would be of the flowers from Something/Anything? cover art (Oh yeah, Daddy would be proud!).

Anyway, Todd is currently on tour in support of his newest release Arena. The best news, though, is what is coming up on the horizon on Sept. 6, 2009 in Akron, Ohio.

At 8pm Todd Rundgren will perform A Wizard A True Star in its' entirety, for the first time ever in his career, at a special concert performance in Akron, Ohio. http://www.awatslive.com/

If the album he was planning to perform in its' entirety was Something/Anything? I might strongly consider it. If the album to be performed was, say, Todd then I might struggle with keeping my credit card in the ol' wallet. But, when I learned that he was performing A Wizard A True Star, I could hardly contain myself. That credit card was whipped out so fast the pin number is still spinning. I am on the edge of my seat and will remain there until Sept. 6 at 8pm.

A Wizard A True Star! Holy crap! My Rundgren radar tells me I would not be far off by saying that A Wizard A True Star is his most enjoyable album ever. Sandwiched in between 2 other fantastic albums - Something/Anything and Todd, AWATS is a remarkable elpee worth of tunes.

Sequenced and mixed like one long medley, AWATS was ground breaking music for Todd and also, at the time, for the industry, having squeezed slightly less than 56 minutes of music onto one LP disc. If I am not mistaken, it was the longest running full album available at the time. There was NO other album like it at the time in 1973. It was an incredibly unique listening experience and still is after 35 years.

Even some of Todd's guests from the Something/Anything side 4 recordings participated on AWATS, including Rick Derringer, David Sanborn, Moogy Klingman, John Siegler, John Siomos and the Brecker Brothers. The Rundgren camp also now included the French synthesizer player M. Frog Labat. The vocal tracks were primarily all Todd along with drums, guitars, bass, keyboards et al.

The music was other worldly. The lyrics were at times funny, other times almost hallucinatory and some songs were so emotionally inspiring. Songs like "Just One Victory", the album closer, is one of the most elevating & inspirational songs I have ever heard. The song "International Feel" seemed to evoke a question of allegiance to his fans, for which we willingly enlisted...

Here we are again, the start of the end,
but there's More
I only want to see if you'll give up on me
But there's always More
There is More, International Feel
And there's More, Interplanetary Deals
But there's More, Interstellar Appeal
Still there's More, Universal Ideal
Still there's More, International Feel
I swear something lies
in your ears and your eyes
'Cause there's More
You hear and you see yet you do not believe
That there's always More
(I know)

Then there is the painfully sweet "Sometimes I Don't Know What To Feel". That one line in the first verse "Today I saw a car crush my little dog under its' wheel, It did not even stop, it just sped off and out of sight" pierces the heart in such a graphic & realistically cruel way, yet the rest is so motivating and reassuring.

Sometimes I don't know
I just don't know what to feel

Sometimes I don't know what to feel
Everything I thought that I knew starts to look so unreal
There's a ringing in my head that keeps me awake at night
Sometimes I don't know what is right
Today I saw a car crush my little dog under its wheel
It did not even stop, it just sped off and out of sight
Sometimes I just feel so afraid
But I know that no one else has it made
So if I just believe in myself
I won't need no help from nobody else and I can make it alone
And everything will be cool, I got to keep on keepin' on
There's nothing else I can do

Sometimes I don't know what to do
Someone said the world's going to end and I think its true
I thought there was some love in the world
but I guess I'm wrong
Sometimes I just feel so alone
I don't want to admit to my friends that I feel confused
I wonder what I'd do with myself if the world was gone
Something makes me stay on my feet
Don't you dare admit to defeat
And if I tell myself it's all right
I can comfort myself through the night
and watch another day dawn
And everything will be cool

Non sensical, yet far from novelty-ish, many of the songs were filled with catchy hooks, improbable sounds and more witty lyrics - "You Need Your Head", "Rock N' Roll Pussy" (Supposedly Todd's rebuttal to John Lennon), "Just Another Onionhead", "Hungry For Love".

Side two's medley of Philly soul gems "I'm So Proud", "Ooh Baby Baby" "La La La Means I Love You" and "Cool Jerk" is still one of his most applauded recordings (because when Todd records a cover song it is usually done with such precision, dedication and love).

The Dali-esque cover art of the LP, by Arthur Wood, aptly portrayed the music contained within. The finished artwork was groundbreaking and unique itself with its' die cut gatefold sleeve featuring a hallucinogenic looking portrait of Todd with strong surreal influences from Dali and maybe a little LSD. BTW - Wood characteristically implanted some hidden message within the painting but the meanings of those message remain untold to this day, even to Todd himself.

The picture on the inside of the album gatefold sleeve showed Todd, shirtless in the stylish glam, pants and boots, while shaving in front of a mirror. Surrounding him were all sorts of objects, paraphernalia, memorabilia, toys, stuffed animals, the works. The entire shot was colored in light blue/white mix. There was a poem by Patti Smith inside introducing the album and a postcard for fans to send in to Bearsville Records so they could have their name placed on a poster made available on the next album), plus a full lyrics sleeve printed in the same light blue/white tone. A stunning example of great LP album art from the early 1970s. A very cool item for any LP collection if you can find an original gatefold version.

There simply isn't one mediocre song on this album. As a teenager stuck in Dartmouth, NS, there wasn't even a need to do any drugs before listening to this record. The album art, the lyrics and the final mix of the songs was more than enough to fill your head with surreal images.

I am glad A Wizard A True Star was never a mainstream hit. I am glad more people have never heard of Todd Rundgren. That way, Todd fans like myself are able to treasure his music that much more. Being a Todd Rundgren fan is a distinguished role and kinda sets us apart from everyone else. Just like Todd.