This year, Todd Rundgren was announced as part of the 2021 Class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. My view of the institution is not exactly high, and I doubt an iconoclastic figure like Rundgren is too chuffed at the idea either. Still, as a titanic figure of popular music for more than four decades, his absence began to feel more and more egregious with every passing year.

The man once known solely as the singer behind ‘Hello It’s Me’ and ‘Bang the Drum All Day’ has rightfully been acknowledged as a major creative influence over a litany of musical styles and genres, including pop, rock, progressive rock, and electronica. But Rundgren’s legacy can’t just be confined to his own work. The musician’s second calling, as it turned out, was as a producer who could both expand an artist’s sonic horizons and reel in the more experimental minds of music.

His production work varies wildly from act to act, sometimes favouring stripped down live takes with a heightened focus on band chemistry, and other times providing lush arrangements and new technology for artists to explore their most eccentric of ideas. When looking at it all together, Rundgren’s career thus far looks to be one of the most prolific in all of popular music. Through his stints in the band’s Nazz and Utopia, his 26 official studio albums, and his collaborations with other musicians, Rundgren’s place has now been permanently etched among the greatest of all time.

To celebrate, let’s look at how he shaped the world of music through his production. These are ten albums that feature Rundgren behind the studio glass, helping others fully realize their visions.

Todd Rundgren’s 10 best production credits:

The Band – Stage Fright

Although his name doesn’t appear as an official producer, Rundgren’s first big break after his departure from Nazz was helping roots rock stalwarts The Band craft their impressively funky third LP Stage Fright. Taking an especial interest in the complex keyboard interplay between the savant-level musicianship of Garth Hudson and the hardened boogie-woogie of Richard Manuel, Rundgren was able to highlight the blend of old-style Americana that the Canadian group had so lovingly fostered on their first two albums and pair it with updates in newer technology and stopping arrangements.

Badfinger – Straight Up

Like a number of Rundgren’s future production projects, Straight Up was fraught with difficulties and miscommunication. Unlike those future projects, Rundgren wasn’t initially a complicit party: Badfinger were being battered around by Apple Records, having their first attempt at the album produced by Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick shelved and their second attempt, this time produced by George Harrison, stuck in limbo.

The resulting album with Rundgren is a mishmash of different captains steering a ship in opposing directions, but it helps that all those captains happen to be musical geniuses. ‘Baby Blue’, ‘Name of the Game’, and ‘Day After Day’ are stone-cold classics, while the deeper cuts roar to life with a rollicking energy that would soon become recognized as a precursor to power pop.

Sparks – Halfnelson/Sparks

Despite their combined reputations for eccentricity and intractability, Rundgren actually had a positive report with the Mael brothers when they worked together on Sparks’ debut LP. Sharing a similarly experimental bent and penchant for sugary melodies, the trio crafted what could very well be described as the band’s most accessible studio effort, initially released as Halfnelson and later.

Still finding their voice, Sparks presented themselves as simply a “weird rock band” instead of the genre-defying amalgam they became. For his part, Rundgren didn’t attempt to change the band’s quirky uniqueness, simply trying to record the songs as cleanly as possible. The result might be a bit thin compared to both artist’s lofty heights, but Sparks remains a highly enjoyable time capsule of a band and a producer both finding their signature voices.

New York Dolls – New York Dolls

The great thing about Todd Rundgren was that he could work with anyone. Genres were blurred lines to him, and the singular sounds of an artist’s style took precedence over whether it was in line with what he personally would have done. The New York Dolls, in all their proto-punk sloppiness and jagged edges, were miles away from the increasingly intricate leanings of Rundgren, but the album that resulted from the pairing, New York Dolls, is everything that it needed to be loud, aggressive, unpretentiously wild and fun.

Rundgren’s occasional additions on tracks like ‘Frankenstein’ and ‘Personality Crisis’ never overshadow the band’s gritty energy, and the result just might be his one production effort most resistant to changing times and tastes. New York Dolls still sounds as badass as it did nearly 40 years ago.

Grand Funk Railroad – We’re an American Band

Grand Funk, it could be argued, were not a great band. A meat and potatoes hard rock outfit from Flint, Michigan, Grand Funk played unpretentious, uncomplicated good time rock and roll that sang about girls and cars and dancing, the farthest thing from “art” that you could possibly find.

The trick for making Grand Funk a success wasn’t about making them smarter or cooler, and Rundgren doesn’t even pretend to try on We’re an American Band. Instead, he focuses on how goofy, dumb, and uniquely patriotic he can make the proceedings, resulting in a bare-chested, flag-waving, beer-drinking party that remains completely committed to the joys of being as simple as possible. Grand Funk didn’t have to be a great band to be at their best, they just needed to be an American band.

Meat Loaf – Bat Out of Hell

On the complete opposite spectrum from Grand Funk lies Meat Loaf, the theatrical wild man performer and his writer Jim Steinman, the poet laureate of excessive kitchen sink style rock and roll. The songs on Bat Out of Hell are multipart suites that owed as much to musical theatre as they did to Chuck Berry, and Rundgren placed all of his Phil Spector-esque grandeur into making the album as over the top as possible. That turned out to be a stroke of genius, as the only way to contain a personality like Meat Loaf on record was to surround him with the biggest, cheesiest, most extravagant arranging and production humanly possible. The result should be a muddled mess, but instead, it soars with a completely unexpected grace, the kind that doesn’t require subtlety or simplicity to have a gigantic impact.

The Tubes – Remote Control

Bizarre new wave collective The Tubes were far too artsy to ever make a lasting impact on popular music. Their wild stage shows, consciously futuristic sound, and insistence on complex concepts to drive every aspect of the band’s existence meant that they were always destined for cult adoration.

Fee Waybill’s singular warble spitting out a half-coherent story about television obsession found Rundgren in a unique position of being a comparatively straight-laced presence, but he gamely rode the band’s vision to its sleek, electronically bustling, utterly strange conclusion.

Patti Smith – Wave

Such distinctive and idiosyncratic voices as Patti Smith and Todd Rundgren should, in an ideal world, cause creative explosions that result in career-defining albums for both. If that’s what you’re expecting going into Wave, you’ll be disappointed. But if you temper your expectations, what you’ll find is a consistently rewarding album that brings out the poppiest recordings of Smith’s career that never compromises her unmistakable growl or poetic lyricism.

Rundgren is a deceptively transparent figure, subtly edging Smith, and her group away from punk and towards art-pop. It might rankle fans of Smith first three albums, but Wave is an exciting and worthy addition to Smith’s canon.

The Psychedelic Furs – Forever Now

Rundgren’s production style very rarely overlapped with the predominant tastes of contemporary pop music. He was drawn to unique textures and restlessly forward-thinking sounds as opposed to popular trends. He was able to synthesize both, however, on The Psychedelic Furs Forever Now. ‘Love My Way’ is an indelible slice of ’80s pop, but the rest of Forever Now plays into the post-punk foundations of the group and the willingness of all involved to indulge in angular guitar lines, growling vocals, and decidedly uncommercial darkness. Rundgren’s contributions, including marimba and the instigation of backing vocals from harmony extraordinaire Flo & Eddy, gave the album just enough polish to have it be viable for public consumption.

XTC – Skylarking

Now, finally, comes the culmination of all of Rundgren’s sometimes creatively fertile, sometimes combatively combustive tendencies. In most productions, Rundgren could either commandeer the album’s direction or sink into the background and let the band ride on their own peculiar inclinations.

No such luck with Andy Partridge. The two fought, verbally sparred, and clashed all throughout the making of Skylarking. Rarely seeing eye to eye on anything, the two creative geniuses made the recording process as difficult as it could possibly be. No matter. The album is a masterpiece, one that represents the peak of each other’s best musical ideas and worst social proclivities.

Credits: Tyler Golsen - https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/

The reissue be presented in the record’s original format: as a 45-RPM single housed in a black and white jacket featuring photography by Michael Stipe. For the first time in 40 years, rock icons R.E.M. are reissuing their foundational, debut single “Radio Free Europe,” first released in 1981. While many fans know the 1983 version of the song, which appeared on the band’s first studio album Murmur, only a lucky few have heard this version, which marks one of R.E.M.’s earliest recordings.

Due for release July 23 via Craft Recordings, “Radio Free Europe” (Original Hib-Tone Single) will be presented in its original format: as a 45-RPM single housed in a black and white jacket featuring photography by Michael Stipe. In homage to the band’s hometown, the single was pressed in Athens, GA, at Kindercore Vinyl.

In addition to the 7” single, R.E.M.’s 1981 demonstration tape—titled Cassette Set—is also being made available for the first time. This ultra-rare collection will be available exclusively via REMHQ.com as a bundle with the 7”, limited to 1,000 copies worldwide.

The Cassette Set tape—also releasing July 23— will replicate the original packaging, which was self-assembled by the band, using photocopied cardstock for the J-card inlays and handwritten cassette labels by Stipe. These reissues mark the first of many special releases around R.E.M.’s 40th-anniversary celebrations.

In 1979, singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and drummer Bill Berry were students at the University of Georgia, in the vibrant college town of Athens. Buck worked at Wuxtry Records—a local record store that Stipe frequented. The two young men quickly bonded over their shared love of proto-punk bands like the Velvet Underground and Television. Roommates Mills and Berry, meanwhile, met in high school and had already played in several bands together in their hometown of Macon.

That fall, the four young men met through a mutual friend, Kathleen O’Brien, and began casually playing music together. Several months later, O’Brien was organizing a concert/ birthday party and invited Stipe, Buck, Mills, and Berry to open the show. The group played a loose set of covers and original songs to more than three hundred people. Needless to say, it was a success.

Within a few months, they built a following in the local scene. By early 1981, they had a fanbase that expanded beyond the confines of Athens. That spring, the band were connected with singer, songwriter, and producer Mitch Easter (later of Let’s Active), who booked the band for a session at his Drive-In Studio in Winston-Salem, NC.

On April 15, set up in Easter’s parents’ converted garage, R.E.M. recorded three songs: “Sitting Still,” “White Tornado,” and “Radio Free Europe.” The resulting tracks were copied to several-hundred self-produced cassette tapes—approximately 400 copies—and distributed to clubs, journalists, and labels.

The collection, titled Cassette Set, included a few playful additions; “Sitting Still” was prefaced by a few seconds of a high tempo run through of the song done in Polka-style; “White Tornado” was followed by an aborted “White Tornado” take where Buck blunders, the song grinds to a halt, and Buck is heard apologizing before Easter’s voice appears.

This Cassette Set was the only place to get the very original Easter mixes of “Sitting Still” and “Radio Free Europe.” Outside of the copies originally produced, this early demonstration tape collection has never-before been reissued—until now.

A copy of the tape also made its way to Jonny Hibbert, who owned the Atlanta-based indie label, Hib-Tone. Impressed, Hibbert offered to put out the band’s first single. On May 24, the band returned to the studio and laid down some overdubs onto “Radio Free Europe” and Hibbert mixed both “Radio Free Europe” and “Sitting Still” the next day.

While the band preferred Easter’s original mix of the song, Hibbert chose his own mix for the 7-inch single, which featured “Sitting Still” as the B-side. An initial pressing of 1,000 was released in July 1981, with 600 copies designated for promotional use. Later, an additional 6,000 copies were issued, due to popular demand (and for practical reasons, as the first pressing inadvertently omitted contact info for the band.)

Despite mishaps along the way, the release of the “Radio Free Europe” single earned the band critical acclaim and an offer from I.R.S. Records. Under the new label, a more experienced R.E.M. re-recorded “Radio Free Europe.” The new version—which featured a slower tempo than its predecessor and slightly revised lyrics—was released as the band’s first official single with I.R.S., and appeared on their 1983 debut, Murmur.

The single garnered the band their first chart success, peaking at No.78 on the Billboard Hot 100, and helped to propel Murmur up the album charts, where it landed at No.36. Decades later, the song was regarded by Rolling Stone as one of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, while in 2010, “Radio Free Europe” was added to the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry—noted for having paved the way for subsequent indie rock acts “by breaking through on college radio in the face of mainstream radio’s general indifference.”

Despite the breakthrough success of that 1983 recording, R.E.M. has long stated that the rougher, Hib-Tone version of “Radio Free Europe” is the superior recording. And, while eagle-eyed fans may note that the single was listed as a track on R.E.M.’s 1988 compilation, Eponymous, and then on 2006’s I.R.S. years compilation (And I Feel Fine…The Best of The I.R.S. Years 1982-1987), the version that was labeled “Original Hib-Tone single” was, in fact, Easter’s original mix, not Hibbert’s. That formative pressing, however, has remained a sought-after rarity for four decades—and is available again for the first time here.

Credits: Tim Peacock / https://www.udiscovermusic.com/

The Black Keys released their 10th album, Delta Kream, on Friday and celebrated the occasion with an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The latest release from the Akron, OH-bred garage rockers find them paying tribute to Mississippi Hill Blues.

While the duo of Patrick Carney and Dan Auerbach have ridden the garage rock wave of the late 90s/early 00s encompassing bands like them and The White Stripes, the ensuing 20 years since their formation has found the band on the crest of the deteriorating alt-rock movement. Nowadays, music by The Black Keys can be heard in commercials and the soundtracks of NHL video games. While the mainstream commercialization of a once-defiant musical movement is an issue unto itself, The Black Keys sidestep this cultural shift entirely with Delta Kream.

Instead, the duo revisits their earliest roots with an 11-track album consisting entirely of covers. Songs by John Lee Hooker, R.L. Burnside, David “Junior” Kimbrough, and more fill up Delta Kream and return the band to its earliest roots. Twenty years ago, in the Rubber Captial of the World, Carney and Auerbach bonded over their love of Mississippi Hill Blues musicians.

In a new interview with Consequence of Sound, drummer Carney revealed that the pair’s first-ever recording session produced a cover of Junior Kimbrough’s “Do the Rump”, a track they revisit on Delta Kream. Additionally, the new record finds The Black Keys expanding personnel to include Kenny Brown, who played guitar for Burnside, and Eric Deaton, who played bass for Kimbrough.

The timing of Delta Kream also plays a significant factor. For decades, white rock musicians have built legacies and fortunes upon the traditions laid by their Black predecessors who often received minimal compensation or recognition from mainstream audiences. Instead of continuing that tradition, The Black Keys set about making it blatantly known that they did not write these songs, and that the people who did are directly responsible for what the band has been able to accomplish these past 20 years.

That reverence for the traditions of the Mississippi Hill Blues bleeds through to The Black Keys’ recent appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert where the band performed from Blue Front Cafe. Located in Bentonia, MS, the Blue Front is the oldest active juke joint in the world. Scroll down to watch the band’s performances of “Crawling Kingsnake” and “Going Down South”, as well as stream Delta Kream.

Credits: Michael Broerman - https://liveforlivemusic.com/

Robben Ford is pleased to announce the upcoming release of Pure on August 27, 2021 via earMUSIC (distributed by BFD / The Orchard in North America.) This will be the first wholly instrumental studio album since 1997’s Tiger Walk. Album pre-orders commence today as do pre-saves for “White Rock Beer…8 Cents”, the first single that drops Friday, May 14th.

With nine unique tracks, Pure features the guitar virtuoso’s tremendous music vocabulary of jazz, blues, and rock. Pure seamlessly blends a soulful west coast vibe with bluesy hard rock stylings. Some of the exceptional guest musicians featured are Nate Smith, Toss Panos, and Shannon Forest.

About the album, Robben Ford says, “Pure is unlike any recording I’ve ever done. I’ve always been a traditionalist in the way I’ve worked in the studio, bring a great band into a great room with a great engineer, track songs for three to five days, do any overdubbing necessary, then, mix and master.

I started Pure in that same way. But somehow the influence of other musicians on the music, which is inevitable, always felt a little off. It became clear to me that I had to shape this new music myself from the ground up.

My engineer and co-producer, Casey Wasner, proved invaluable in making that happen and most of the music you’ll hear in this recording was accomplished by the two of us working together in his studio, Purple House, getting the right shape and feel to the music, then adding bass and drums after the fact.

Having worked in this way, I feel that Pure is perhaps the most complete representation of my personal musical vision. Previous recordings having been products of a period of development that lead to the music presented here. It’s been very satisfying to have shaped my own compositions so thoroughly and to deliver something so completely my own.”

The five-time Grammy nominee Robben Ford, has played with artists as diverse as Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Witherspoon, Miles Davis, George Harrison, Phil Lesh, Bonnie Raitt, Michael McDonald, Bob Dylan, John Mayall, Greg Allman, John Scofield, Susan Tedeschi, Keb Mo, Larry Carlton, Davis Staples, Brad Paisley, and many others.

Robben’s last album, Purple House (2018), featured a remarkable collection of songs that utilized Ford’s enlightened approach to composition and production. Exploring the range of the studio with a fresh perspective, he weaves in and out of surprising musical moments, ear-wormy hooks, and thoughtful lyrical themes. His sophisticated approach to the blues is evident throughout, yet the record is far more diverse regarding song structure and style.

In 2015, Ford released Into The Sun, which debuted at #2 on the Billboard Blues Chart and was also nominated for a Grammy in the Contemporary Blues category. It featured guests on that release were Warren Haynes, Keb’ Mo’, Robert Randolph, ZZ Ward, Sonny Landreth and Tyler Bryant.

An important and essential component of Robben’s career is his commitment to teaching and passing on what he’s learned over the past 40 years to current and future musicians. His instructional videos and clinics over this time have culminated in a collaboration with TrueFire and the birth of the Robben Ford Guitar Dojo. The wealth of his expertise and creativity is generously presented in these state-of-the-art productions, and will be, for years to come.

Credits: By Martine Ehrenclou - https://www.rockandbluesmuse.com/