Todd Rundgren—A Wizard, a True Star

Todd Rundgren—A Wizard, a True Star

"To me, it's the beginning of my real career as a musician. Up until then, I was pretty much following the rules of the game. An album was a collection of singles, and singles were all short, accessible songs that usually were about the opposite sex. 'Something/Anything?' was an attempt for me to get a grip on that. By the time I got to the end of that record, I not only had a grip on it, but I was bored with it." —Todd Rundgren, Cleveland.com, 2009

A Wizard, a True Star—Everything begins and ends in nature. The 1971 earthquake in San Fernando, California took 64 lives and caused $553 million in damage. Philadelphia native Todd Rundgren saw fit to move back east and construct Secret Sound Studio, his follow-up to Something/Anything? already in mind. A Wizard, a True Star was not exactly meant to bitterly destroy his reputation, a la Nirvana's In Utero, but it is a deliberate attempt at artistry over the mainstream. "It was a spoof on becoming a show-biz personality," Rundgren stated. "I think I read it in a review somewhere—'a wizard, a true star'—and it just amused me. It wasn't supposed to be serious," he continued, but in 1973 claimed, "I've always tried to make an album that would frustrate critics to the point that they couldn't review it [...] I'm looking for the true fans. This album really puts people to the test as to whether they are really following what I'm into or not. A lot of people were into my music because they were very self-satisfied by what the music represented to them."¹

Side one, titled "The International Feel (in 8)," delivers on this promise. The opening "International Feel" takes off like a rocket ship, proclaiming, "I only want to see if you'll give up on me." Perhaps knowingly, this leads into a watery cover of "Never Never Land" from Peter Pan, giving new context to "Just keep an open mind [...] You'll have a treasure if you stay there." The suite then turns truly bizarre with the psychedelic "Tic Tic Tic, It Wears Off," the proto-punk "You Need Your Head" and "Rock & Roll Pussy," the nonsensical "Dogfight Giggle," the sweet, slinking "You Don't Have to Camp Around," and the chirping "Flamingo."

"Zen Archer" was foreshadowed by "Song of the Viking," but here is fleshed out into a fully-realized epic. "Just Another Onionhead/Da Da Dali" is either a veiled message on selling out, a quaint fantasy, or both, coupled with a Tin Pan Alley send-up. "When the Shit Hits the Fan/Sunset Blvd." is a love letter of sorts to the Los Angeles that Rundgren left behind; ironically he begins the song with the line, "Earthquake in New York City." He then closes the side with the reprise "Le Feel Internacionale," broadcasting, "Utopia is here," a band whose sound is previewed on this album in some respects.

Side two is comprised of more traditional songs, and is thus labeled, "A True Star." "Sometimes I Don't Know What to Feel" is a more vulnerable take on the "feels" he mentioned in the previous suite. "Does Anybody Love You?" contains the curious line, "Love between the ugly is the most beautiful love of all." Rundgren does himself one better than he did on Something/Anything? with the ten minute "Medley: I'm So Proud/Ooh Baby Baby/La La Means I Love You/Cool Jerk." Rundgren raves, "A meal at McDonald's/Nothing fills a man when he's hungry for love" on the demented would-be lovesong "Hungry for Love." The song is baffling—and, of course, that is the name of the game—presented next to the sincere "I Don't Want to Tie You Down." Rundgren said at the time, "For [David] Bowie, the songs are a background for a theatrical presentation rather than a musical one [...] Alice [Cooper] and David really break the illusion at a certain point. It seems to leave the realm of strict theater."² He may have been commenting further on this on "Is It My Name?" when he exclaims, "There is cause and effect/There's a reason I'm so erect," and asks, "My voice goes so high you would think I was gay/But I play my guitar in such a man-cock way/Why don't you love me?/Is it my name?" which may indicate frustration at the inability to succeed at the level of Alice Cooper or David Bowie.

"I've never been able to give up certain things that you have to give up to become a star, such as eliminating the more frayed aspects of my personality and becoming a unified thing and representing one thing as much as David or Alice represent one thing. I've never been able to play it straight. I always end up acting like a kid, blowing it and giggling. I don't take it seriously enough to act like I'm supposed to act. If I had an audience with the Queen, I'd giggle through the whole thing." —Rundgren, Interview Magazine, 1973

Finally, Rundgren plays himself straight and summarizes his message with "Just One Victory," a wondrous call to arms where he comments on his critics ("I've been listening to what's been going down/There's just too much talk and gossip going 'round/You may think that I'm a fool, but I know the answer/Words become a tool, anyone can use them) and proclaims, "The time has come to take the bull by the horns [...] We need just one victory and we're on our way."

Todd Rundgren, as he put it, established a new language with A Wizard, a True Star. It may not have the eminence of his prior work, but it is a dense LP with an abundance of ideas and just as diverse as the sprawling Something/Anything? by which he made his name. It has potential to be a revelation to casual fans, and for the true fans, it is an essential milestone.

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1 2 interviewmagazine.com/music/new-again-todd-rundgren^↩