Nazz – NAZZ***

Open My Eyes/Back Of Your Mind/See What You Can Be/Hello Its Me/Wildwood Blues/If That’s The Way You Feel/When I Get My Plane/Lemming Song/Crowded/She’s Goin’ Down

The self titled debut album from the Philadelphia pop group Nazz. They were marketed as a teenybopper group which would have dented their credibility with more serious music fans. Todd Rundgren went on to solo success in the 1970s. (US:118)

“Nazz combine beautiful songwriting with an insight for future music. Their first album is a wonderfully adept collage, featuring the beginnings of the Todd Rundgren 'wall of sound' effect.”

“Nazz is a crafty and infectious combination of high energy rockers, and ballads with beautifully blended vocal harmonies. Nazz is neither classic nor revolutionary, but it is a captivating venture from an Anglo mod band who faded into the rock ocean with hardly a splash.”

“Though he's not the singer or front man, Nazz was Todd Rundgren. He wrote all the songs, and usually came up with all the arrangements. This, of course, led to much friction in the band, since Todd was obviously the musical brains behind the whole venture."

“On their debut album, their primary brand of music is riff-driven blues/rock, heavily inspired by Cream and The Yardbirds. However, there's also a good dose of pop that comes across at times.”

“Marketed at the time as teeny-bopper music, this is anything but teeny. It's a collage of blues rock, psychedelic pop, garage rock and other junk all filtered through the genius of Todd Rundgren. It features great guitar playing and vocal harmonies ahead of their time.”

“A perfect debut if there ever was one. An excellent blend of hard rockers, and lush without being over-the-top ballads, make this an interesting listen.”

“A strange album which sounds like there are two distinct bands trying to get out. The first is a rocking garage band, while the second sticks to lush ballads, and there's no in-between.”