Nazz | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 1968 | |||
Recorded | April 1968 | |||
Studio | I. D. Sound Studios, Hollywood | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 38:13 | |||
Label | SGC | |||
Producer | Bill Traut Michael Friedman Nazz | |||
Nazz chronology | ||||
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Singles from Nazz | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
Nazz is the debut album by American rock group Nazz. It was released in 1968. The album spawned two singles, "Open My Eyes" and "Hello It's Me", with the latter reaching number 66 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart. [3] "Open My Eyes" failed to chart but came to be regarded as a psychedelic rock classic, appearing on several compilations of the genre. "Hello It's Me" became a hit when Nazz guitarist Todd Rundgren re-recorded it for his 1972 solo album Something/Anything? .
The track "Open My Eyes" was accompanied by a promo video, directed by Ray Dennis Steckler. Nazz peaked at number 118 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart. [4]
The album was remastered and rereleased in 2006 with bonus tracks by Sanctuary Records Group.
Following a showcase at the Boston Tea Party in January 1968, The Nazz were signed by Screen Gems-Columbia. [5] In April 1968 the band entered the eight-track recording studio I. D. Sound Studios in Hollywood, California. By this time the band had all the songs they needed for their first album written, most of which favored a guitar-oriented sound, since lead vocalist/keyboardist Stewkey enjoyed being front man much more than being a keyboardist. [5]
The song "If That's the Way you Feel" was heavily inspired by the work of Jimmy Webb. [5] Guitarist Todd Rundgren said writing the song was "Really laborious for me, I didn't really know how to write music. Shorty Rogers did the arrangement and had to do a lot of corrections." [5]
After considering and then discarding the idea of having Felix Pappalardi produce the album, the Nazz picked Bill Traut instead. According to Rundgren, "[Bill Traut] didn't really do anything except read the trade papers. He didn't have any music suggestions. We should have got someone like Glyn Johns." [5] Rundgren was dissatisfied with Traut's final mix of the album, so the Nazz went to a studio in New York to do overdubs and remixing for two tracks, "Open My Eyes" and "Hello It's Me". [5] The Nazz wanted a flanging effect for "Open My Eyes" but the studio engineers did not know how to create it; Rundgren discovered how to do it accidentally while playing with a two-track tape machine. [5]
All songs written by Todd Rundgren, except where noted.
Album
Year | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|
1968 | US Billboard Pop Albums | 118 [4] |
Single
Year | Single | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|---|
1968 | "Open My Eyes" | Billboard Pop Singles | 112 |
1969 | "Hello It's Me" | Canada RPM Singles Chart | 39 [6] |
1969 | "Hello It's Me" | Billboard Pop Singles | 66 [3] |
Todd Harry Rundgren is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the bands Nazz and Utopia. He is known for his sophisticated and often unorthodox music, his occasionally lavish stage shows, and his later experiments with interactive art. He also produced music videos 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.
The Nazz was an American rock band formed in Philadelphia in 1967. The group was founded by guitarist and main songwriter Todd Rundgren and bassist Carson Van Osten. Drummer Thom Mooney and vocalist/keyboardist Robert "Stewkey" Antoni joined soon after. The group is best known for their debut single "Open My Eyes”, and "Hello It's Me".
Next Position Please is the seventh studio album by American rock band Cheap Trick, produced by Todd Rundgren and released in 1983.
Roger the Engineer is the only UK studio album and the third US album by the English rock band the Yardbirds. Recorded and released in 1966, it contains all original material and is the only Yardbirds album with guitarist Jeff Beck on all tracks. It was produced by bassist Paul Samwell-Smith and manager Simon Napier-Bell.
Something/Anything? is the third album by American musician Todd Rundgren, released in February 1972. It was Rundgren's first album released under his own name, following two records credited to the quasi-group project Runt, and was also his first double album. It was recorded in late 1971 in Los Angeles, New York City and Bearsville Studios, Woodstock. The album is divided into four sections focused on different stylistic themes; the first three parts were recorded in the studio with Rundgren playing all instruments and singing all vocals in addition to producing. The final quarter contained a number of tracks recorded live in the studio without any overdubs, save for a short snippet of archive recordings from the 1960s.
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."
Utopia was an American rock band formed in 1973 by Todd Rundgren. During its first three years, the group was a progressive rock band with a somewhat fluid membership known as Todd Rundgren's Utopia. Most of the members in this early incarnation also played on Rundgren's solo albums of the period up to 1975. By 1976, the group was known simply as Utopia and featured a stable quartet of Rundgren, Kasim Sulton, Roger Powell and John "Willie" Wilcox. This version of the group gradually abandoned progressive rock for more straightforward rock and pop.
Runt is the self-titled debut album of the band Runt, commercially released September 1970. Runt was a trio consisting of Todd Rundgren, Hunt Sales (drums), and Tony Fox Sales (bass). The entire album was written and produced by Rundgren, formerly of Nazz, and he performed most of the instruments. Many regarded Runt as Rundgren's debut solo album, and later reissues credit the album to Rundgren rather than to the group.
Skylarking is the ninth studio album by the English rock band XTC, released 27 October 1986 on Virgin Records. Produced by American musician Todd Rundgren, it is a loose concept album about a nonspecific cycle, such as a day, a year, the seasons, or a life. The title refers to a type of bird (skylark), as well as the Royal Navy term "skylarking", which means "fooling around". It became one of XTC's best-known albums and is generally regarded as their finest work.
Forever Now is the third studio album by the English rock band the Psychedelic Furs. The 10-song album, including the hit single "Love My Way", was recorded in the spring of 1982 and released on 24 September of that year by Columbia/CBS. A 20th-anniversary reissue included six related bonus tracks.
Failure is the debut album of The Posies. It was first released independently in 1988 on cassette only. In 1989 it was reissued on cassette, LP and CD on PopLlama Records.
Back to the Bars is a live album by rock musician Todd Rundgren, which was released as a double LP in 1978.
Love Junk is the debut album by Canadian power pop band the Pursuit of Happiness, released in 1988. The album's biggest hit was "I'm an Adult Now", although "Hard to Laugh" and "She's So Young" were also notable singles in Canada. It is the most successful album by the band, being certified Platinum in Canada and selling 125,000 copies in the United States. Love Junk reached number 28 on the RPM Canadian Albums Chart in 1989. The album was the 12th best-selling Cancon album in Canada of 1989.
With a Twist... is a 1997 album by Todd Rundgren. Asked to produce an album of new versions of his older singles, Rundgren decided to record the songs in Bossa nova style with elements of Exotica, complete with tropical bird call effects at the beginning of "Hello, It's Me" similar to Martin Denny's recording Quiet Village. Continuing the theme, Rundgren toured theaters with a replica of a tiki bar, the performers on a very small stage with selected audience members being seated at tables also on the theater stage, and being served drinks by the monitor engineer/bartender. The performers never acknowledged the larger theater audience, and the show ended when the last "bar patron" left the stage.
Philip Steir is an American drummer, remixer, composer and record producer.
This article is a discography of American rock musician Todd Rundgren.
"Hello It's Me" is a song written by American musician Todd Rundgren. It was the first song he wrote, and was recorded by his group Nazz as a slow ballad, released as the B-side of the band's first single, "Open My Eyes", in 1968. A mid-tempo version of "Hello It's Me", recorded for Rundgren's 1972 solo album Something/Anything?, was issued as a single in 1973, reaching No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Nazz Nazz is the second studio album by American rock band Nazz, released in April 1969 by SGC Records. The album's recording was marked by bitter artistic disagreements and power struggles among the group, and the Nazz broke up shortly after it was completed. It sold only modestly well upon release but has gained greater attention due to positive critical reappraisals following Nazz guitarist Todd Rundgren's emergence as a star.
Nazz III is the third and final studio album by the American pop rock band Nazz. It was released in 1971 on SGC Records, over a year after the band had broken up, and consists of archival recordings of the band.
Hello People was a rock group that was created in New York City in late 1967 by producer Lou Futterman.