A Wizard, a True Star is the fourth studio album by American musician Todd Rundgren, released on March 2, 1973 by Bearsville Records. It marked a departure from his previous album, Something/Anything? (1972), featuring fewer straightforward pop songs, a development he attributed to his experimentation with psychedelic drugs and his realization of "what music and sound were like in my internal environment, and how different that was from the music I had been making." and its 55:56 playing time stretched the technical limits of how much music could fit on a vinyl record. As each side was much longer than a typical album side, the groove spacing on the vinyl album had to be narrower, causing a significant drop in volume and sound quality. Rundgren acknowledged this issue on the album's inner sleeve and advised listeners to turn up the volume on their speakers to compensate. All of the album's recording was at Secret Sound, except for the closing track, "Just One Victory", which was recorded earlier at Advantage Studios.
Style and concept
A Wizard, a True Star incorporates elements of progressive rock, psychedelic rock, show tunes, bubblegum pop, and Philadelphia soul. Other influences were drawn from jazz and funk; Schuckett said that Rundgren often spoke of Maurice Ravel as his favorite classical composer at the time before adding, "I don't think Todd really listened to much funk, so [me and Moogy] were kind of showing him that stuff." Overall, music writers have described Wizard as a work of progressive pop, psychedelia, and R&B.
In the original liner notes, Rundgren explained of the album's title that he was "not a real star ... just a musical representative of certain human tendencies: the Quest for Knowledge and the Quest for Love." The other side, "A True Star", is mostly occupied by ballads, including a medley of the soul songs "I'm So Proud" by the Impressions, "Ooh Baby Baby" by the Miracles, "La La Means I Love You" by the Delfonics, and "Cool Jerk" by the Capitols. However, Rundgren said that adapting his sound to meet commercial expectations was never an issue for him since he already made "so much money from production", a rare luxury for an artist. He recalled that Bearsville owner Albert Grossman, however, was "surprisingly" encouraging of Wizard. Klingman remembered Grossman walking in on a session of "Da Da Dali" to find Rundgren singing like Al Jolson while the band played "all wrong notes", and yet "Albert didn't miss a beat. ... He just kept silent and nodded like everything was fine."
In a 1973 interview, Rundgren suggested that he aimed to advance utopian ideals with the album, and that Wizard was the first album not to rely on "complete songs" to determine feel, pacing, length, or mood. He then predicted that the public may eventually "take rock and roll musicians more seriously than they take politicians." The surrealistic painting on the front cover was designed by Arthur Wood. He included coded messages in the image, which Rundgren referenced in a 2009 interview:
Despite poor sales, Wizard received widespread critical acclaim. Patti Smith wrote in her review for Creem: "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." NMEs Nick Kent wrote that it was "a great record", praising its "versatility", and ended his review by saying it was "already destined to be one of my ten best-dressed of '73, and you deserve a kick in the pants if you don't purchase it." Ron Ross of Phonograph Record deemed "Zen Archer" to be "Todd's most gorgeous single achievement yet" and said that the album "should stand as a final testament to the powerful musical and emotional emancipations of the 60s." Jerry Gilbert of Sounds said the album was "truly amazing".
The record elicited some mixed reactions. Billboard wrote: "Certainly an unusual LP from the singer/writer/producer, filled with varying vocal styles, strange sounds courtesy of Moogs and other exotic instruments, and fine songs from Rundgren and others. Set takes some time to grow, but ... FM stations should have a ball with this one.
Among retrospective assessments of Wizard, music journalist Barney Hoskyns called the record "the greatest album of all time ... a dizzying, intoxicating rollercoaster ride of emotions and genre mutations [that] still sounds more bravely futuristic than any ostensibly cutting-edge electro-pop being made in the 21st Century."
Admirers of the album include Tame Impala, According to Stanley, the album's effervescent sound "predicted Prince in its playful R&B fizz, and a swathe of twenty-first-century electropop acts from the Avalanches to Hot Chip".
There was no consideration to perform the album in its entirety at the time of release due to the difficulty in reproducing many of its sounds. "Just One Victory" did become a staple of Rundgren's concert performances as a set closer; he later remarked that "People get pissed if we don't do it." In 2009, he toured Wizard for the first time, playing the album in its entirety. The concerts featured elaborate theatrical effects and numerous costume changes. A second tour of the album was scheduled for 2020.
Track listing
Personnel
- Todd Rundgren – vocals, guitars, keyboards, synthesizers, bass guitar, drums, percussion, saxophone, electronics, production
Moogy & the Rhythm Kingz
- Mark "Moogy" Klingman – keyboards
- Ralph Schuckett – keyboards
- John Siegler – bass guitar, cello
- John Siomos – drums
Other musicians
- – synthesizer
- Rick Derringer – guitar
- Michael Brecker – saxophone
- Randy Brecker – trumpet
- Barry Rogers – trombone
- David Sanborn – saxophone
- "Buffalo" Bill Gelber – bass guitar
- Tom Cosgrove – guitar
Credits adapted from Mojo.
Charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! scope="col"|Chart (1973)
! scope="col"|Peak<br />position
|-
! scope="row"|US Billboard Top LP's & Tape
|99
|-
! scope="row" | US Record World Album Chart
|84
|}
Notes
References
Bibliography