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A Wizard, A True Star turns 50
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miamiscot View Drop Down
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    Posted: March 15 2023 at 07:37
One of my all time favorites!!!
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The OP album doesn't appeal to me, but concerning Todd Rundgren, I've become good friend with Bat out of Hell again. Smile
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Originally posted by dwill123 dwill123 wrote:

Todd Rundgren - A Wizard A True Star "Live"



Thanks for posting that clip! i really enjoyed seeing itBig smileThumbs Up

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I love this lp, definitely in my top ten albums to come out of the US and in my top 20 of all time..

I missed Todd when he toured this (2012 for the 40th anniversary?) which was without doubt one of biggest bummers of all time!

I'm sure that for a long time he couldnt play in the UK due to some unpaid tax issue so i'd been waiting quite a long time! I remember a small acoustic gig in the early 80's (the Marquee in London??) which was recorded for BBC radio 1 where i heard he was helicoptered in and out again before the authorities knew about it! Of course, could be just an urban myth and why let truth et in the way of a good anecdote!

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Todd Rundgren - A Wizard A True Star "Live"
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Originally posted by miamiscot miamiscot wrote:

Released the same day as The Dark Side Of The Moon and, obviously, the better record...
You blew my mind for a second there, but I think DSOTM came out one day before actually.
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Originally posted by dwill123 dwill123 wrote:

I don't know how I missed this thread until this morning.  For me, coming out of the early 70s, there were basically two albums that had an overwhelming, everlasting impression on me, The Mahavishnu Orchestra - "The Inner Mounting Flame" and Todd Rundgren's - "A Wizard, A True Star".  Both albums have been in continuous play rotation for me, since the early 70s.  For me the only way to describe "A Wizard, A True Star" is a f**king masterpiece.  One last point, this album should be listened to 'high' (at least side one).

Thanks for posting that song, I haven't heard it in years!!  I better get with it and give it a spin!  Clap
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Released the same day as The Dark Side Of The Moon and, obviously, the better record...
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Originally posted by moshkito moshkito wrote:

Originally posted by richardh richardh wrote:

Sorry don't know that album but I know he produced The Tubes album Remote Control, which is about as near perfect as you can get for a AOR/POP rock album.

Hi,

Have to check, but THE TUBES' first album was produced by Dominic Frontiere, who also did the orchestral parts for it, I believe.


Remote Control was The Tubes 4th album, coming out in 1979,  not the debut which was actually a great rock/prog album and produced by Al Kooper according to Wiki

Remote Control according to Wiki:

The fourth album for A&M, Remote Control (1979) was a concept album produced by Todd Rundgren,[5] about a television-addicted idiot-savant, inspired by the Jerzy Kosinski novel Being There (which was later made into a movie starring Peter Sellers). The cover of Remote Control (1979) shows a baby (Rikki Farr's son) in a specially made "Vidi-Trainer" (a car seat/TV with a baby bottle nipple) created by Michael Cotten and Dave Mellot. Much of the new music was rewritten by Rundgren and the band in studio, including "Turn Me On" (formerly "Get Over It"); "The Terrorists of Rock" number was cannibalized to become "Telecide."
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Originally posted by dwill123 dwill123 wrote:

One last point, this album should be listened to 'high' (at least side one).
'High' as in weed, psychedelics, coke, narcotics, meth, or something else?
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I don't know how I missed this thread until this morning.  For me, coming out of the early 70s, there were basically two albums that had an overwhelming, everlasting impression on me, The Mahavishnu Orchestra - "The Inner Mounting Flame" and Todd Rundgren's - "A Wizard, A True Star".  Both albums have been in continuous play rotation for me, since the early 70s.  For me the only way to describe "A Wizard, A True Star" is a f**king masterpiece.  One last point, this album should be listened to 'high' (at least side one).
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Originally posted by richardh richardh wrote:

Sorry don't know that album but I know he produced The Tubes album Remote Control, which is about as near perfect as you can get for a AOR/POP rock album.

Hi,

Have to check, but THE TUBES' first album was produced by Dominic Frontiere, who also did the orchestral parts for it, I believe.

I love the "Wizard" side of this album, and it was something that Guy Guden played a lot in the early days of Space Pirate Radio, but the rest of the time, I did not think it was as much fun ... heck, his stuff with M. FROGG was more fun, although Todd might say he was so ripped he doesn't remember a thing!

I thought that some things he did were not right ... his mix with XTC had a couple of nice things, but in the end, it was not exactly an XTC album and I'm not sure that the band had the freedom that had gotten them as far as they did, which would suggest that Todd tried to steer them into a song thing ... so it seems in my ears, and I will give that one album a listen again.

But, when one goes over his discography and the list of singles and hits, I would say he is "major" ... and this one album, for me, is definitely that.
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Quote kind of a random question, but what do you think about the snare sound on the album?
I'm one of the 4 people in existence who unironically love that snare sound.
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Sorry don't know that album but I know he produced The Tubes album Remote Control, which is about as near perfect as you can get for a AOR/POP rock album.
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A bit off-topic, but my wife & I just saw Todd in this lineup for the Bowie tribute concert in Tucson, Arizona USA!  All of the musicians were brilliant, and I was especially impressed with Todd's vocals as well as guitar playing and stage presence. Truly a wizard, a true star! 







Edited by cstack3 - March 06 2023 at 23:34
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Originally posted by yogev yogev wrote:

by the way... kind of a random question, but what do you think about the snare sound on the album? I heard that Steven Wilson and a few other people said that they hate it, but I personally think that the snare sound is one of the greatest thing about this album, it sure is different.
Never really thought about it, but now that you mention it, one of the first things I noticed on my first listen was how intense the snare drum is. Not on every track, but it's definitely something that immediately stands out on International Feel. I personally think it really fits with his production/mix/mastering/whatever style, which is kind of loud and 'full' anyway (which as a headphones user I have my gripes with, but still). I can see how people would think the snare is a bit overbearing, but I like it.
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Originally posted by yogev yogev wrote:

by the way... kind of a random question, but what do you think about the snare sound on the album? I heard that Steven Wilson and a few other people said that they hate it, but I personally think that the snare sound is one of the greatest thing about this album, it sure is different.
I like it and it changes from a very snarey sound on "International Feel" to the not so snarey on "Just One Victory". I'm sure Todd wanted it like that. His engineering skills have always been superb. Maybe he just miked the bottom of the snare on a few songs?

Edited by Grumpyprogfan - March 03 2023 at 07:13
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holy sh** 50 years. This album is so important to me (as you can see...). Todd is a genius and a master of combining pop with lots of psychedelia and experimentation. The whole 1st side is a masterpiece.

by the way... kind of a random question, but what do you think about the snare sound on the album? I heard that Steven Wilson and a few other people said that they hate it, but I personally think that the snare sound is one of the greatest thing about this album, it sure is different.
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Just One Victory is Todd Rundgren's greatest composition IMO.
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Originally posted by Grumpyprogfan Grumpyprogfan wrote:

Todd is one of America's greatest composer's. And he is one of my favorite singers. You feel his emotions when he sings.
Yes, yes and yes. He's very versatile as a singer, and I totally agree you can feel he really means what he's singing.
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