International Feel/Never Never Land/Tic Tic Tic It Wears Off/You Need Your Head/Rock & Roll Pussy/Dogfight Giggle/You Don't Have To Camp Around/Flamingo/Zen Archer/Just Another Onionhead-Da Da Dali/Hits The Fan-Sunset Boulevard/Le Feel Internacionale/Sometimes I Don't Know What To Feel/Does Anybody Love You/I'm So Proud-Ooh Ooh Baby-La La Means I Love You-Cool Jerk (Medley)/Hungry For Love/I Don't Want To Tie You Down/Is It My Name/Just One Victory
A Wizard A True Star from former record producer Todd Rundgren is notable for the sheer number of tracks contained within a single album. This inevitably means that some of the songs are extremely short. (US:86)
“Side one is a sprawling palette of colours in all shapes and sizes if that makes any sense. Sometimes it borders on the insane and cacophonic, but never more than for a short period before it all comes together in some fantastic or beautiful fashion. Side two is catchy piano driven, with an almost Carole King feel to it.”
“Todd really was a wizard with this release. There are songs with something for everyone - jazz, Philly soul, Motown, hard rock, soft ballads, pop medleys - all twisted and blended into a crazed tapestry complete with enough studio trickery to impress the audiophile. The first few plays left me a little confused and disappointed, but over time I've come to appreciate this LP as a truly satisfying work.”
“Almost everything about A Wizard A True Star is unconventional. Aside from the malleable genre blowing and bizarre musical soundscapes, a large percentage of the disc consists of one minute tracks that flow seamlessly into one another. But don't let these rather short time lengths fool you, this album is a rich, gargantuan slice of audio schizophrenia, which requires close listening. There are so many subtle complexities buried beneath the hyperactive surface.”
“This album validates the adage ‘the whole is greater than the sum of its parts’. Truth be told, taken in bits, I really do not care for a fair amount of these tracks. But, when pieced together, as was the intent of the artist, the collage of sounds, melodic ideas, odd-ball embellishments and beyond-peculiar juxtaposition of musical approaches create a wonderful and singular musical journey.”
“As a whole album, it can be hard to digest. There are tracks of sheer brilliance and some that are head-scratchers. This album does show off his studio prowess and his technical skills though. Cryptic and uninviting; he often appears to be fighting his enormous melodic gifts to create jagged soundscapes and tape montages that belong more in the art music world than rock ‘n' roll.”
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