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.]
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 ...
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