TODD RUNDGREN – RUNT LP – Nr MINT/EXC+

Todd Rundgren – Runt
(Bearsville Records  1971  A10105  US Pressing)

Sleeve in Very Good+ condition
– some wear to edges/corners and some rubbing/ringwear
Inner Sleeve in Nr MINT condition
– some light creasing on one corner

Vinyl in Nr MINT/Excellent+ condition
(there are some surface marks visible on the vinyl when held up to the light but they don’t affect the sound quality apart from some light pops/crackles)

Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the band Utopia. He is characterized for his sophisticated and often-unorthodox music, flamboyant stage outfits, and his later experiments with interactive entertainment. He also produced innovative music videos, pioneered forms of multimedia, and was an early adopter and promoter of various computer technologies, such as using the Internet as a means of music distribution in the late 1990s.

A native of Philadelphia, Rundgren began his professional career in the mid 1960s, forming the psychedelic band Nazz in 1967. Two years later, he left Nazz to pursue a solo career and immediately scored his first US top 40 hit with “We Gotta Get You a Woman” (1970). His best-known songs include “Hello It’s Me” and “I Saw the Light” from Something/Anything? (1972), which have heavy rotation on classic rock radio stations, and the 1983 single “Bang the Drum All Day”, which is featured in many sports arenas, commercials and movie trailers. Although lesser known, “Couldn’t I Just Tell You” (1972) was influential to many artists in the power pop genre. His 1973 album A Wizard, a True Star remains an influence on later generations of “bedroom” musicians.

Rundgren organized the first interactive television concert in 1978, designed the first color graphics tablet in 1980, and created the first interactive album, No World Order, in 1994. Additionally, he was one of the first acts to be prominent both as an artist and as a producer. His notable production credits include Badfinger’s Straight Up (1971), Grand Funk Railroad’s We’re an American Band (1973), the New York Dolls’ New York Dolls (1973), Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell (1977) and XTC’s Skylarking (1986).

Runt is the self-titled debut of the band Runt, first released in 1970 on the Ampex Records label. Many regard the album as Todd Rundgren’s debut solo album, as all later reissues (including the 1990 CD reissue by Rhino) credit the album to Todd Rundgren rather than to Runt. At the initial time of release, however, Runt was identified as a trio consisting of Rundgren (guitars, keyboards, vocals), Hunt Sales (drums), and Tony Sales (bass). The entire album was written and produced by Rundgren.

Initially dividing critics upon its release, the record runs the gamut from blues-styled guitar workouts (“Birthday Carol”, “Broke Down and Busted”) to power pop (“Devil’s Bite”, “Don’t Tie My Hands”) to Laura Nyro-styled piano pop (“We Gotta Get You a Woman”, “Baby Let’s Swing”, “The Last Thing You Said”) to rock ‘n’ roll (“Who’s That Man”) to piano ballads (“Believe in Me”, “Once Burned”, the middle section of “Birthday Carol”), as well as including more experimental numbers (the sarcastic, prog-rock tinged “I’m in the Clique”, “There Are No Words”).

Track listing

All songs by Todd Rundgren.

Side one

1. “Broke Down and Busted” – 4:32
2. “Believe in Me” – 2:04
3. “We Got to Get You a Woman” [styled “We Gotta Get You a Woman” as a single and on Bearsville pressings] – 2:52
4. “Who’s That Man” – 2:59
5. “Once Burned” – 2:09
6. “Devil’s Bite” – 3:53

Side two

1. “I’m in the Clique” – 4:57
2. “There Are No Words” – 2:12
3. “Baby Let’s Swing”/”The Last Thing You Said”/”Don’t Tie My Hands” – 5:28
4. “Birthday Carol” – 9:14