Skip to main content

The Record Producers - Todd Rundgren

BBC radio 6Music broadcast another fine ed of The Record Producers, with Richard Allinson and Steve Levine. This edition profiled the work of Todd Rundgren (if you're in the UK you can listen via iPlayer for limited time here)

This was a wonderful 90 minutes, including interviews with Sparks, Tom Robinson, Andy Partridge, and or course Todd himself, as well as a very close look at how the track Bat out of Hell was put together for Meatloaf.

Loved Sparks saying that whether you liked Sparks or didn't like Sparks, the man to blame for their existence is Todd, and Andy Partridge of XTC on why, despite the horror of recording Skylarking with Todd - "one bunker with two Hitlers" - he still thought he should be considered in the top echelon of producers: "not a very good engineer; his people skill are that of a Darlek, but as an arranger he's pretty god-like"

If you fancy listening to a selection of Todd tunes and have a Spotify account here is a random playlist of Todd tunes and one of some tracks off albums produced for others [If you don't have an account and would like one, the first 2 (need to be uk based) people to leave comment on this post can have an invite.]

Comments

Jim Marquis said…
Good to hear Mr. Partridge giving props to Todd. They created a wonderful album together.

Popular posts from this blog

Substack: the new blogging and a new music newsletter

  Hello again my old blogger blog. Just checking in to plug the new substack newsletter I'm doing. It is also home to the CTTB Music podcast and its archive too. Why not pay me a visit and sign up for future editions of the newsletter (free) 

Todd Rundgren @ The Forum 23/11/2008

I think this was Todd's first appearance at the Forum since he recorded a live album there back in 1994 on the No World Order tour. He was all alone for that one. Tonight, things could not have been more different as Todd brought the Arena tour to London. What can I say. It rocked. Playing the same set that he has been doing for the whole tour - opening with Love in Action, Open my Eyes, Black Maria, I Saw the Light etc, before playing Arena in its entirety - this was guitar rock heaven (and let's face it, probably the last time you'll see Todd doing this kind of tour in the UK). The band were tight, the backing vocals near perfection, and a few ropey moments aside, Todd's vocals strong and good. It was a real joy to see him playing so much lead guitar, after recent years of being more of the 'singer in the band'. There were a few technically issues near the start, when Todd couldn't get the clean guitar sound he wanted, and one amusing moment when he manag...

The Decemberists - 'The Hazards of Love'

Whilst the Decemberists have been around for a number of years, and a friend of mine is a big fan, I have to confess - a few tunes aside - they have never really made much of a splash with me. With their fifth album - 'The Hazards of Love' - a 17-track concept album that sort of tells a story about a fair maiden ravished by a shape-shifting demon (no, really) - however, I am suddenly find myself surprisingly won over. On some levels - like most concept albums - it is utter tosh, but with its repeating musical motifs and reprises, making you quickly think that actually there are only about five actual songs on the album - a clever trick. Like with all good concept albums this makes listening on shuffle not the ideal way to digest this album - especially as their are short 'interlude' pieces joining all the songs too. Added to all this the fact that the band seem to have a love for early 70's British folk/prog/heavy metal and this walks right up my street - and will ...