Album of the Day — September 29
Todd Rundgren — An Elpee’s Worth of Productions
Todd Rundgren — An Elpee’s Worth of Productions
29.September.2020
Todd Rundgren
An Elpee’s Worth of Productions
1992
I will freely admit that it is a bit lazy to do a compilation, live, or greatest hit album. I’m not lazy here; I don’t think many people truly appreciate the genius that is Todd Rundgren.
Todd Rundgren is a musical polymath. As a singer-songwriter, he’s had his hits (“Bang on the Drum All Day”, “Hello, It’s Me”), he’s led a couple of bands (Nazz and Utopia) and had a career of fifty years. He may be best known for some of this work, but it’s his work in the studio, behind the console as a producer, where he has shown his skill set.
Earning his stripes under uber-manager Albert Grossman, Todd Rundgren would work his way up to head engineer at the famed Bearsville Studios. After producing The Band’s Stage Fright (their highest charting album), he earned the moniker “Bearsville’s boy wonder.”
In short order, he would become one of the most in-demand producers and eventually, one of the highest-paid (something Grossman had promised him in order to get him on board at Bearsville).
What this record does is take a tiny sampling of the artists that he’s worked with. And if you’re even a marginal music nerd, it is impressive:
“Personality Crisis” — The New York Dolls — the legendary NYC band that infused punk (before it existed) and glam rock. Rundgren made them sound tolerable and, ultimately, influential.
“We’re An American Band” — Grand Funk Railroad — the song that would capture the life of not just an American band, but any band.
“All Mine” — Fanny — the all-female band that helped blaze the trail for bands like The Go-Go’s, The Bangles, and The Runaways.
“Funky Friday” — Felix Cavaliere — the first self-titled solo album by the singer of The Young Rascals.
“It’s All Too Much” — Steve Hillage — a Beatles track from Yellow Submarine as interpreted by the British guitarist who was involved in the progressive rock movement.
“All Revved Up With No Place to Go” — Meat Loaf — off of Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell, one of the biggest selling albums of all time.
“Bully For You” — Tom Robinson Band — co-written with Peter Gabriel. Legendary punk band, Rundgren, produced their second album, TRB2.
“It Must Be Love” — Rick Derringer — a cover of Cheap Trick’s song off Dream Police.
“Prime Time” — The Tubes — a band that was big on concept and visuals, less so on hit songs. Rundgren was a fan. This is off the first of his two collaborations with the band, Remote Control — a concept album about a television-addicted idiot savant [ed note: remove the word savant and you have the current occupant of the White House].
“Dancing Barefoot” — Patti Smith — yep, the punk-poet Godmother.
“Whispering Your Name” — Jules Shear — American songwriter, Rundgren, produced this song. Shear most famously wrote the hit “All Through the Night” for Cyndi Lauper.
“Live for Today” — Lords of the New Church- a short-lived punk “supergroup” with members from The Dead Boys, The Damned, and Sham-69. Rundgren produced their second album, Is Nothing Sacred? — but the band never really took off.
“Dear God” — XTC — leader Andy Partridge was extremely outspoken about the tension with Rundgren in recording the album Skylarking. This song was initially left off the album, but college radio grabbed it, and it became the biggest hit XTC had in America.
“Midnight Sun” — Hunter (aka Dragon) — New Zealand rock band covering a song written by the producer himself.
“I Don’t Mind At All” — Bourgeois Tagg — the song peaked at #38 on the Billboard Hot 100 and a major hit worldwide.
“I’m An Adult Now” — The Pursuit of Happiness — Canadian rock band with tongue firmly in cheek on this Todd Rundgren produced song.
“Too Cool to Fall in Love” — Jill Sobule — female singer-songwriter now mostly known for Katy Perry’s cover of “I Kissed a Girl.”
And this is just a sampling of the artists that Todd Rundgren worked with.
He was going to produce Janis Joplin’s last album, Pearl, but the two apparently didn’t get along.
CRITICS:
Greg Prato at AllMusic wrote: “He may be best known for his eclectic work as a solo artist and as a member of Utopia, but he’s also produced some of the most acclaimed, influential, and successful rock releases since the early ’70s. As with his own music career, Rundgren has never been afraid to take on a wide variety of musical styles, and he applies the same rule to his role as producer, as evidenced by the 18-track compilation An Elpee’s Worth of Productions. A selection from each album he’s been involved in as a producer is included here, which makes it quite a varied sampler.”
It’s impossible to try and encapsulate the significance of Rundgren’s fingerprint on music. But An Elpee’s Worth of Production attempts to do just that.