A Wizard, a True Star
Encyclopedia
A Wizard, a True Star is a progressive rock
recording by Todd Rundgren
, released in 1973.
The album, and especially the first side of the vinyl recording, is an extended medley after the fashion of the Beatles
' late recordings; brief songs segue into one another, and the lyrics
are frequently humorous or hallucinatory
. The first side features a cover version
of "Never Never Land" from the Broadway version of Peter Pan; the second side features a medley of covers of R&B
hits. The album's length (55:56) pushed the limits of how much music could fit on a long-playing record
; as a result, the sound quality is a little lower in comparison. Acknowledging that on the album's inner sleeve, which was packed with his handwritten notes, Rundgren advised listeners to turn up the volume on their speakers, being that each side of the record is about 6 or 7 minutes longer than standard records. The compact disc version was thought to avoid these difficulties. The first issue on vinyl (identifiable by the notation "STERLING RL
" written in the trail-off), the only pressing made from the original master, has the best fidelity; finding one in near mint condition is not easy.
Arthur Wood made the cover painting
that is featured on the original recording.
First issues of the vinyl LP included a postcard encouraging purchasers to send in their names to be included on a poster in Todd's next album, and was die-cut. After 1973, the postcard was replaced with a "band aid" poem written by Patti Smith
which was a bio about the album. Reissues of the vinyl LP did not include any of these extras, and the cover was a standard square cover (in lieu of the curly-cut corners of the earlier cover).
In late 2009 and early 2010, Rundgren began touring the album after hearing it had a new audience of young fans (most famously the British electropop band Hot Chip
). The idea originated with a promoter in London but when he didn't make an offer for the tour two fans from RundgrenRadio.com, a fan-based internet radio program, started a limited U.S. tour of the album in 2009 which was followed the next year by two shows in Europe.
, Patti Smith
said: "Blasphemy even the gods smile on. Rock and roll for the skull. A very noble concept. Past present and tomorrow in one glance. Understanding through musical sensation. Todd Rundgren is preparing us for a generation of frenzied children who will dream in animation." The irrepressibly hopeful closing song, "Just One Victory," soon became a permanent fixture on FM radio, and eventually established itself as the anthem that closed many a live Rundgren concert.
White Label DJ copies include a censored version of "When the shit hits the fan/Sunset Blvd", replacing "shit" with "stuff" and do not include the song "Does anybody love you"
The original cassette tape release of the album reverses Sides One and Two of the LP, in order to sequence the longer side first. The Bearsville/Warner Bros. cassette reissues from 1983 play out of sequence, Side One plays Side One but lists Side Two's tracks.
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
recording by Todd Rundgren
Todd Rundgren
Todd Harry Rundgren is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and record producer. Hailed in the early stage of his career as a new pop-wunderkind, supported by the certified gold solo double LP Something/Anything? in 1972, Todd Rundgren's career has produced a diverse range of recordings...
, released in 1973.
The album, and especially the first side of the vinyl recording, is an extended medley after the fashion of the Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' late recordings; brief songs segue into one another, and the lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
are frequently humorous or hallucinatory
Hallucination
A hallucination, in the broadest sense of the word, is a perception in the absence of a stimulus. In a stricter sense, hallucinations are defined as perceptions in a conscious and awake state in the absence of external stimuli which have qualities of real perception, in that they are vivid,...
. The first side features a cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of "Never Never Land" from the Broadway version of Peter Pan; the second side features a medley of covers of R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
hits. The album's length (55:56) pushed the limits of how much music could fit on a long-playing record
LP record
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
; as a result, the sound quality is a little lower in comparison. Acknowledging that on the album's inner sleeve, which was packed with his handwritten notes, Rundgren advised listeners to turn up the volume on their speakers, being that each side of the record is about 6 or 7 minutes longer than standard records. The compact disc version was thought to avoid these difficulties. The first issue on vinyl (identifiable by the notation "STERLING RL
Bob Ludwig
Bob Ludwig is an American mastering engineer.He is a well known and respected figure within the music industry. His name is credited on the covers of albums released across the world, and he has won numerous awards....
" written in the trail-off), the only pressing made from the original master, has the best fidelity; finding one in near mint condition is not easy.
Arthur Wood made the cover painting
Album cover
An album cover is the front of the packaging of a commercially released audio recording product, or album. The term can refer to either the printed cardboard covers typically used to package sets of 10" and 12" 78 rpm records, single and sets of 12" LPs, sets of 45 rpm records , or the front-facing...
that is featured on the original recording.
First issues of the vinyl LP included a postcard encouraging purchasers to send in their names to be included on a poster in Todd's next album, and was die-cut. After 1973, the postcard was replaced with a "band aid" poem written by Patti Smith
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses....
which was a bio about the album. Reissues of the vinyl LP did not include any of these extras, and the cover was a standard square cover (in lieu of the curly-cut corners of the earlier cover).
In late 2009 and early 2010, Rundgren began touring the album after hearing it had a new audience of young fans (most famously the British electropop band Hot Chip
Hot Chip
Hot Chip are an English electronic indie band. They have released four studio albums—Coming on Strong, The Warning, Made in the Dark and One Life Stand.-Formation:...
). The idea originated with a promoter in London but when he didn't make an offer for the tour two fans from RundgrenRadio.com, a fan-based internet radio program, started a limited U.S. tour of the album in 2009 which was followed the next year by two shows in Europe.
Reception
Writing in CreemCreem
Creem , "America's Only Rock 'n' Roll Magazine," was a monthly rock 'n' roll publication first published in March 1969 by Barry Kramer and founding editor Tony Reay. It suspended production in 1989 but received a short-lived renaissance in the early 1990s as a glossy tabloid...
, Patti Smith
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses....
said: "Blasphemy even the gods smile on. Rock and roll for the skull. A very noble concept. Past present and tomorrow in one glance. Understanding through musical sensation. Todd Rundgren is preparing us for a generation of frenzied children who will dream in animation." The irrepressibly hopeful closing song, "Just One Victory," soon became a permanent fixture on FM radio, and eventually established itself as the anthem that closed many a live Rundgren concert.
Side one
- "International Feel" – 2:50
- "Never Never Land" (Betty ComdenBetty ComdenBetty Comden was one-half of the musical-comedy duo Comden and Green, who provided lyrics, libretti, and screenplays to some of the most beloved and successful Hollywood musicals and Broadway shows of the mid-20th century...
, Adolph GreenAdolph GreenAdolph Green was an American lyricist and playwright who, with long-time collaborator Betty Comden, penned the screenplays and songs for some of the most beloved movie musicals, particularly as part of Arthur Freed's production unit at MGM, during the genre's heyday...
, Jule StyneJule StyneJule Styne was a British-born American songwriter especially famous for a series of Broadway musicals, which included several very well known and frequently revived shows.-Early life:...
) – 1:34 - "Tic Tic Tic It Wears Off" – 1:14
- "You Need Your Head" – 1:02
- "Rock & Roll Pussy" – 1:08
- "Dogfight Giggle" – 1:05
- "You Don't Have to Camp Around" – 1:03
- "Flamingo" – 2:34
- "Zen Archer" – 5:35
- "Just Another Onionhead/Dada Dali" – 2:23
- "When the Shit Hits the Fan/Sunset Blvd." – 4:02
- "Le Feel Internacìonále" – 1:51
Side two
- "Sometimes I Don't Know What to Feel" – 4:16
- "Does Anybody Love You?" – 1:31
- "Medley: I'm So Proud / Ooh Baby BabyOoo Baby Baby"Ooo Baby Baby" is a 1965 hit single by The Miracles for the Tamla label, today considered the group's signature song. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the song #262 on their list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time....
/ La La Means I Love YouLa-La (Means I Love You)"La-La " is a 1968 song originally performed by The Delfonics. It was written by Thom Bell and William Hart and produced by Bell and Stan Watson....
/ Cool JerkCool Jerk"Cool Jerk" is a popular song written by Donald Storball and originally performed by The Capitols. Released in 1966, it reached the number two position on the American R&B chart and number seven on the pop chart...
" (Curtis MayfieldCurtis MayfieldCurtis Lee Mayfield was an American soul, R&B, and funk singer, songwriter, and record producer.He is best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's and for composing the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Super Fly, Mayfield is highly...
, Al ClevelandAl ClevelandAl Cleveland is a former American songwriter for the Motown label. Among his most popular co-compositions are 1967's "I Second That Emotion" performed by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles and 1971's "What's Going On" performed by Marvin Gaye.Cleveland was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United...
, William "Smokey" RobinsonSmokey RobinsonWilliam "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson is one of the primary figures associated with Motown, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy...
, Renaldo "Obie" Benson, William HartWilliam HartWilliam Hart may refer to:In arts and entertainment:* William Hart , English Caroline actor* William Hart , Scottish-American painter* William Matthew Hart , British lithographer and bird artist...
, Thom BellThom BellThomas Randolph "Thom" Bell is an American songwriter and producer, best known as one of the creators of the Philadelphia style of soul music in the 1970s. He moved to Philadelphia as a child.-Biography:...
, Donald Storball) – 10:34 - "Hungry for Love" – 2:18
- "I Don't Want to Tie You Down" – 1:56
- "Is It My Name?" – 4:01
- "Just One Victory" – 4:59
White Label DJ copies include a censored version of "When the shit hits the fan/Sunset Blvd", replacing "shit" with "stuff" and do not include the song "Does anybody love you"
The original cassette tape release of the album reverses Sides One and Two of the LP, in order to sequence the longer side first. The Bearsville/Warner Bros. cassette reissues from 1983 play out of sequence, Side One plays Side One but lists Side Two's tracks.
Personnel
- Todd RundgrenTodd RundgrenTodd Harry Rundgren is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and record producer. Hailed in the early stage of his career as a new pop-wunderkind, supported by the certified gold solo double LP Something/Anything? in 1972, Todd Rundgren's career has produced a diverse range of recordings...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s - Michael BreckerMichael BreckerMichael Leonard Brecker was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Acknowledged as "a quiet, gentle musician widely regarded as the most influential tenor saxophonist since John Coltrane," he has been awarded 15 Grammy Awards as both performer and composer and was inducted into Down Beat Jazz...
– saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846... - Randy BreckerRandy BreckerRandal "Randy" Brecker is an American trumpeter and flugelhornist. He is a highly sought after performer in the genres of jazz, rock, and R&B, and has performed or recorded with Stanley Turrentine, Billy Cobham, Bruce Springsteen, Lou Reed, Sandip Burman, Charles Mingus, Blood, Sweat & Tears,...
– horn - Rick DerringerRick DerringerRick Derringer is an American guitarist, vocalist, and entertainer.-1960s:When he was seventeen years old, his band The McCoys recorded "Hang on Sloopy" in the summer of 1965, which became the number one song in America before "Yesterday" by The Beatles knocked it out of the top spot. The song was...
– guitar - Mark "Moogy" KlingmanMoogy KlingmanMark "Moogy" Klingman was an American musician and songwriter. He was a founding member of Todd Rundgren's musical team Utopia, and later became a solo recording artist, bandleader and songwriter...
– keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... - Jean-Yves "Frog" Labat – synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
- Barry RogersBarry RogersBarry Rogers was a salsa musician and jazz fusion trombonist.Born Barron W. Rogers in The Bronx, he descended from Polish Jews who came to New York City via London and was raised in Spanish Harlem...
– tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate... - David SanbornDavid SanbornDavid Sanborn is an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album Taking Off in 1975, but has been playing the saxophone since before he was in high school...
– saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846... - Ralph SchuckettRalph SchuckettRalph Schuckett is an American keyboardist, songwriter, record producer and TV/film composer. He played with Clear Light 1966-68, The Peanut Butter Conspiracy 1968 to 1970, Jo Mama 1969-72, Carole King 1969-1972, Lou Reed 1972-73, Todd Rundgren and Utopia 1972-75, and, as a studio musician in...
– keyboards - John Siegler – acoustic bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is... - John SiomosJohn SiomosJohn Siomos, was an American rock drummer who performed with Todd Rundgren, Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, Rick Derringer, Carly Simon, Mark Moogy Klingman, Buzzy Linhart, Frampton's Camel and played on Peter Frampton's "Frampton Comes Alive", once the biggest selling album of all time,...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Charts
Album| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Billboard Pop Albums | 86 |