TODD RUNDGREN
From using a guitar to simulate motorbikes on Bat Out Of Hell, and the sound of strangled chickens on A Wizard, A True Star, we revisit the case for the singer, songwriter, producer’s guitar genius.
Interview: Henry Yates
If Todd Rundgren isn’t at the pinnacle of the guitar-hero pantheon, then he only has himself to blame. The 72-year-old wears too many hats, and too damn well. He’s the legendary producer who worked on Meat Loaf’s Bat Out Of Hell album and the New York Dolls’ scuzzy-arsed debut. He’s the golden-touch hit maker who broke big with his 1972 album Something/Anything?, and the visionary who forked left into the wilds on 1973’s A Wizard, A True Star.
As a guitarist, though, Rundgren is a selfconfessed part-timer. It says it all that on his recent Clearly Human virtual tour he “only plays guitar on about four songs”, while this year’s upcoming Space Force album sees him lighten his load with cameos from Steve Vai, Rick Nielsen and more.
Rundgren’s refusenik tendencies are a curious thing, because when he plugs in he’s untouchable, from the mathematically complex playing of his avant-garde 70s prog outfit Utopia, to his glorious solo on Bat’s title track (described by Meat Loaf as “one of the most mind-blowing moments of my life to watch”). Rundgren simply shrugs: “I just never had the focus to be a guitar hero.”