| length = 40:20
| label = Ampex
| producer = Todd Rundgren
| chronology = Todd Rundgren
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title = Runt. The Ballad of Todd Rundgren
| next_year = 1971
| misc =
Runt is the debut studio album by American musician Todd Rundgren, under the band name Runt, released in September 1970 by Ampex Records.
Recording
The first album recording session was at I.D. Sound in Los Angeles with Electric Prunes singer Jim Lowe engineering. Rundgren then moved the project to New York City's Record Plant, with Jack Adams engineering. All voices and most instruments were performed by Rundgren, with occasional contributions from Runt members Hunt and Tony Sales, along with various session musicians including Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Mark Klingman, John Miller, and three members of the American Dream. The album was mixed at the first Record Plant in New York, the second Record Plant in Los Angeles, and Jack Clement Studio in Nashville. Mastering was by Sterling Sound in New York.
Releases
Ampex Records first issued the album in 1970 as a promotional release with 10 tracks, intended only for radio deejays. The general public release was in September. then climbed to its peak of 20 at the end of January 1971.
Ampex decided to press more copies of the LP in November 1970. A 12-track master of the LP, which Rundgren had rejected in favor of a second mix, was accidentally sent to the pressing plant, resulting in approximately 5,000 mis-presses, which were sold despite the mistake. There was also an 11-track version which has the standard 6 tracks on Side One and 5 tracks on Side Two featuring The full length version of "Baby Let's Swing" and "Say No More". This version may have been pressed in even smaller numbers. This album as well as Runt: The Ballad of Todd Rundgren were issued in 1971 on the Bearsville label, being distributed by Ampex at the time. In mid-1971 Bearsville was purchased by Warner Bros. distribution, and plans were made to re-release each album with Runt as catalog number BV 2046 and Ballad as BV 2047. These were never pressed. Later in 1973 Warner Bros urged Bearsville to re-release both albums as a "twin pack" entitled Todd Rundgren's Rack Job (Catalog number 2BV 2156). The album got as far as test presses and album art but was shelved, as Rundgren preferred to release an album of new material instead.
In 2023 Rhino Entertainment and Bearsville Records released a previously unknown and unheard alternate mix of the album that contained full length versions of the songs "Baby Let's Swing", "The Last Thing You Said", and "Don't Tie My Hands". It was released on a red-colored vinyl with a red 45 RPM single of "We Got to Get You a Woman" B/W "Baby Let's Swing Medley". Pressings were limited to 2500 copies.
Track listing
All songs by Todd Rundgren. In 2014 Edsel issued Runt + The Alternative Runt, a double CD set that contained the original Runt on the first disc, the November 1970 misprint on the second disc, and "Broke Down and Busted (live at Carnegie Hall, June 8, 1972)" as a bonus track.
Rhino Red Edition, 2023
All songs are previously unreleased alternate mixes/extended versions.
; Side one
- "Devil's Bite"
- "Believe in Me"
- "We Got to Get You a Woman"
- "Once Burned"
- "Who's That Man"
- "Hope I'm Around"
- "Broke Down and Busted"
; Side two
- "I'm in the Clique"
- "There Are No Words"
- "Baby Let's Swing" (full-length song)
- "The Last Thing You Said" (full-length song)
- "Don't Tie My Hands" (full-length song)
- "Say No More"
- "Birthday Carol"
; 7-inch single
- "We Got to Get You a Woman" b/w "Baby Let's Swing Medley"
Personnel
Runt
- Todd Rundgren – production, arrangements, all instruments and voices except where indicated
|185
|-
! scope="row" | US Record World Album Chart
| 101
|}
Singles
{| class="wikitable"
!align="left"|Year
!align="left"|Single
!align="left"|Chart
!align="left"|Position
|-
|1970
|"We Got to Get You a Woman"
|Canada RPM Singles Chart
|align="center"|20
|-
|1970
|"We Got to Get You a Woman"
|Billboard Hot 100
|align="center"|20
|-
|}