A Wizard / A True Star
by Todd Rundgren
- Type: Album
- Released: March 2, 1973
- Label: Bearsville
- Country: United States
- Length: 55:53
- Community rating: 4.72/5 from 10 ratings
Album Notes & Community Reviews
Marking a stark departure from the pop-oriented 'Something/Anything?', 'A Wizard, A True Star' is a dense and sprawling suite of songs informed by Todd Rundgren's psychedelic experimentation and interest in progressive rock. Largely performed, produced, and engineered by Rundgren, the album functions as a continuous sonic collage, weaving together fragments of avant-pop, show tunes, and raw rock with a concluding medley of soul covers. The work's ambitious, often chaotic structure and studio-as-instrument approach alienated some listeners upon release but cemented its legacy as a landmark of experimental recording and a major influence on later generations of artists.
Genres
Descriptors: avant-garde, diverse, experimental, deconstructed, eccentric, theatrical, conceptual
Tracklist
- International Feel (02:51)
- Never Never Land (01:35)
- Tic Tic Tic, It Wears Off (01:14)
- You Need Your Head (01:02)
- Rock & Roll Pussy (01:08)
- Dogfight Giggle (01:05)
- You Don't Have to Camp Around (01:03)
- Flamingo (02:35)
- Zen Archer (05:34)
- Just Another Onionhead / Da Da Dali (02:23)
- When the Shit Hits the Fan / Sunset Blvd. (04:02)
- Le Feel Internacionale (01:46)
- Sometimes I Don't Know What to Feel (04:15)
- Does Anybody Love You? (01:31)
- Medley: I'm so Proud / Ooh Baby Baby / La La Means I Love You / Cool Jerk (10:34)
- Hungry for Love (02:18)
- I Don't Want to Tie You Down (01:56)
- Is It My Name? (04:01)
- Just One Victory (05:00)
Credits
- Todd Rundgren - primary artist, written-by
- Jansen, Eding, Clapper - design [album], photography
- Bob Ludwig - engineer, mastered by
- Barry Rogers - musical assistance [helping heads hands and feet]
- Buffalo Bill Gelber - musical assistance [helping heads hands and feet]
- David Sanborn - musical assistance [helping heads hands and feet]
- Jean-Yves Labat - musical assistance [helping heads hands and feet]
- John Siegler - musical assistance [helping heads hands and feet]
- John Siomos - musical assistance [helping heads hands and feet]
- Mark Klingman - musical assistance [helping heads hands and feet]
- Michael Brecker - musical assistance [helping heads hands and feet]
- Ralph Schuckett - musical assistance [helping heads hands and feet]
- Randy Brecker - musical assistance [helping heads hands and feet]
- Rick Derringer - musical assistance [helping heads hands and feet]
- Tom Cosgrove - musical assistance [helping heads hands and feet]
- Arthur Wood - painting [cover]
- You-Know-Who - producer, arranged by
- Adolph Green - written-by
- Betty Comden - written-by
- Jule Styne - written-by