Todd Rundgren

如果一個人音樂風格幾乎涵蓋了所有流行音樂主要風格:流行樂,民謠,布魯斯,爵士樂,Motown,Soul,迷幻樂,Prog Rock,硬搖滾,重金屬,電子樂,實驗音樂,New Age,華麗搖滾,Punk,Reggae,Bossa Nova,Latin......或者我們可以想到的一切.那么這個人作為一個創(chuàng)作型歌手的成就已經算是驚人了吧? 如果也有一個人的搖滾吉他演奏,被后輩小子(如Paul Gilbert)奉為宗師和偶像,而同時又精通鋼琴,鍵盤,電風琴,合成器,Flute,Saxophone,Bass,Drums等各種樂器,簡言之,此人堪稱Prince先師式的多才多藝的樂器演奏天才。 但如果又有一個人的錄音工程和音樂制作技巧足以讓所有和他合作的歌手和樂隊的各種流派的作品成為傳世之作.而這一長串名單包括:The Sparks, New York Dolls, Badfinger, Grand Funk Railroad, Hall & Oates, Meat Loaf, Patti Smith, Tom Robinson Band, XTC, Bad Religion, Cheap Trick, Hiroshi Takano, The Psychedelic Furs, The Band......那么這樣一個制作人又是否算是功勛卓著呢? 如果還有一個人在長達40年的音樂生涯中憑借無數杰作始終引領音樂走向,不僅個人音樂生涯成功,并且組建/加入了Utopia,The New Cars(重組后的The Cars),Blondie這樣的知名樂隊獲得成功,在70年代就自導自演了最早期成功的MTV,80年代制作了成功的兒童節(jié)目,還能在90年代初期就致力于電腦平臺,軟件和網絡音樂的開發(fā),那么這個人是否有可以被我們看作著作等身,嗅覺靈敏的流行文化大師呢? 沒錯,我們只能找到一個人.Hello,It's Me,I'm Todd Rundgren. 大事記 Todd Rundgren生于1948年的費城郊區(qū),Motown以及Soul音樂自幼開始影響了他的一生,少年時,他開始跟隨Beach Boys,The Beatles以及The Rolling Stones的搖滾樂開始自學各種樂器的演奏.16歲就組建了個人樂隊.在他18歲時候和朋友們組建了樂隊The Nazz并且在1968年發(fā)行了首張同名專輯. 1968 年為The Doors暖場而被人所知的The Nazz一直在美國流行樂史上擁有一個特殊的地位,因為它是第一個公認并公開的親英風格的美國樂隊(甚至The Nazz這個名字都是源自Yardbird的一首曲子).在Nazz短短的3年歷史中,你可以隨處可見The Beatles,The Stones,The Who,The Move,Cream,Traffic以及Yardbird的影子(首張專輯中,Todd就借用了了The Who在"I can't explain"中的強力Riff). 值得一提的是,The Nazz3張專輯中所有的音樂又幾乎是不滿20歲的Todd一人創(chuàng)作 1968 年的Debut專輯中隨處可見的"英國入侵"風格并沒有給樂隊引起太大轟動,然而實際上已經開始初綻了Todd Rundgren的才華,甚至已經收錄了Todd后來的熱門單曲"Hello It's Me",18歲的Todd已經擔任創(chuàng)作,多種樂器演奏,和聲以及制作人的工作 樂隊發(fā)行首張專輯后,剛剛進入樂壇的弱冠青年Todd已經開始野心勃勃的準備讓Nazz發(fā)行一張雙專輯長度的作品,從而讓人們不僅僅把他視作一個有潛力的歌曲作者.但最終1969年發(fā)行的Nazz Nazz并沒有造成另一個"白色專輯"的影響,但在這張作品中,Todd已經開始受到了1968年發(fā)行了Eli And The 13Th Confession而引起樂壇關注的才女Laura Nyro的音樂影響. 1970 年的Nazz III的創(chuàng)作過程足以用混亂二字形容,甚至Todd在專輯制作結束前就退出了樂隊,和他爭奪主唱地位的Robert "Stewkey" Antoni甚至隨后在專輯中抹去了Todd的聲音,然而這張專輯里的大部分歌曲創(chuàng)作仍是Todd的功勞,直到今天仍有很多樂評人認為如果樂隊內部沒有產生分裂,這張作品本應成為一個杰作,而Nazz也將成為一個偉大的樂隊.然而另一方面,我們應該看到Todd已經離開樂隊,開始了他光芒燦爛的Solo生涯. 剛離開Nazz的年方22歲的Todd迅速發(fā)行的首張個人專輯Runt, Todd在專輯中一人獨力完成了除Bass和Drum演奏之外全部的音樂創(chuàng)作,演奏,演唱和制作工作.第一次手握全權的Todd在這張專輯中表現了與 Nazz炯異的音樂風格,從而在開始積累了一批聽眾的同時,徹底回擊了他曾經的隊友和對手Robert "Stewkey" Antoni.開場曲"Broke Down & Busted"展示了Todd布魯斯根基的迷幻吉他演奏技巧;鋼琴的民謠作品"Believe in me"以Todd晶瑩美妙的配器和豎琴演奏而引人入勝;頑皮而動聽的"We gotta get U a woman"成為了他的第一首個人熱門單曲;"Devil's Bite"一曲成為了Todd作為早期硬搖滾和重金屬的代表作."I'm in the clique"則是幾乎讓人們看到了一個年輕的Frank Zappa;"There are no words"中Todd憑借巧妙的音樂制作技術和他本人出眾的演唱和假聲締造出巧妙重迭,典雅憂傷的和聲山谷;而片尾曲"Birthday Carol"則是Todd拿手的一首各種風格雜燴長篇曲目,也讓Todd在編曲配器方面的卓越才華開始為人所知. (同一時期,Todd幾百美金低價買入了Eric Clapton在Cream時期的Gibson SG迷幻吉他,若乾年后歸還了"Slowhand"本人,也有說法說他以天文數字價錢拍賣了這把吉他大賺一票) 在憑借Runt引起各大唱片公司關注的Todd終于在此時和Rhino簽訂了一份豐厚的合約,作為回報,1971年發(fā)行的Runt: The Ballad of Todd Rundgren絕對可以稱作一張五星級的作品.The Rolling Stones甚至說,這張是最佳的Paul McCartney式的作品(然而事實上Paul McCartney本人一生都沒有能逾越這張專輯的作品).自省的民謠作品中常常夾雜Todd本人無禮放肆的幽默(唱片封面是藍色背景中,Todd本人背對彈奏鋼琴,頸上套著絞索).Todd通過這張專輯展示了一個公認的得天獨厚的年輕天才孤獨而敏感的內心世界,這張內容樸素而謙遜的專輯也基本確立 Todd的主要音樂風格特點,從而成為Todd粉絲們最愛的作品之一.其中包括臭名昭著的Mark David Chapman.在刺殺John Lennon后,警方在Mark的住所搜查出了這張專輯的卡帶,并且Todd的親友一直奇怪,Mark為何選擇Lennon,而非Todd作為刺殺的對象,因為Chapman本人一直是Todd的最大粉絲,玉米,涼粉,拖把(Todd 托德.朗德格倫的粉絲是否可以叫"拖把""托蒂""托兒所"之類?) 1972 年,23歲的Todd憑借這張公認的搖滾杰作成為了國際搖滾巨星.這張搖滾史上最出色的雙專輯之一的作品"Something/Anything?" 中傾注了Todd個人的靈感,才華和汗水.專輯被Todd分為四部分,前三部分完全由Todd一人全包全攬了創(chuàng)作,演唱,演奏和制作的繁重工作,而在第四部分則邀請了很多專業(yè)樂手助興演奏,還有Randy Brecker和Micheal Brecker(The Brecker兄弟真是趕場無數啊......)在管樂部分的增色. 專輯中包括了Carole King式的"I Saw the Light",Randy Newman式的"Piss Aaron",Van Morrison全盛時期風格的"Dust in the Wind",Zappa口味的"Some Folks Even Whiter Than Me",強烈啟發(fā)了"Boston"這樣樂隊的"Couldn't I Just Tell You"(我自己這樣覺得),傳統(tǒng)民謠的"Hello It's Me",Motown風味的"Wolfman Jack",古怪奇特的"I Went to the Mirror","It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference"(R&B),,"Sweeter Memories"(藍眼睛Soul),"Breathless"(電子實驗樂),"Black Maria"(迷幻搖滾),"Little Red Light"(早期重金屬),"Slut"(硬搖滾),還有讓我難以形容的美妙動聽的"Cold Morning Light",而且通篇作品常常間或彌漫拉丁樂及Jazz的氛圍"It takes two to tango"......這張專輯不僅可以看作一冊裝幀印刷精致的流行樂百科全書;更是一場音樂領域個人才華,野心與探索的極限挑戰(zhàn);一程所有人內心生活和思考的隱秘探索之旅;一席絕妙旋律聽覺的完美夜宴. 簡言之,這是一張貨真價實的Masterwork. 1973 年,當通過"I Saw the Light"和"Hello It's Me"這樣的流行曲才認識Todd Rundgren的"流行"樂迷開始失望的發(fā)現這張又一個雙專輯長度的新作" A Wizard, a True Star"中充斥著各種古怪音效和奇異的歌曲過場.可以說通過"Something/Anything?"Todd確立了自己作為史上最出色的偉大的歌曲作者和制作人的杰出地位.然而在新專輯中,Todd不再滿于自己"旋律制造者"的稱謂了.也有人說這一時期的Todd受到了遠東音樂以及Fusion Jazz進一步影響("International Feel"已經讓我聯想起Mahavishnu Orchestra的"Bird Of Fire"開場).雖然加入了如David Sanborn這樣的Smooth樂手,然而某種意義上" A Wizard, a True Star"仍是Todd音樂生涯中最為野心勃勃的出擊.憑借大量電子音效營造出的迷幻時空在偶爾出現的奇妙旋律的過場中輪回往返.在這張專輯中,Todd 憑借隨處堆砌的靈感塑造了一個奇幻的搖滾烏托邦世界,一舉奠定了自己在電子樂和合成器演奏領域上先驅的地位(專輯中某些場景,甚至可以在10年后 Sonic Youth這樣的"后晉"樂隊作品中依稀再見). 真的難以置信在Todd那青筋浮現的瘦長雙手中讓人迷醉的魔力和瘦長身體內蘊含的驚人能量:他可以同時以個人和樂隊名義在同一年發(fā)行兩張雙專輯長度的佳作, 并且擔任幾乎全部的創(chuàng)作,演奏,演唱和制作工程.在1973年發(fā)行雙專輯" A Wizard, a True Star"的同時已經組建了他的新樂隊"Utopia".1974年以Utopia作為演奏班底的Todd不僅發(fā)行了"Utopia"的首張專輯"Todd Rundgren's Utopia",并且進行了世界迅演,還發(fā)行了個人雙專輯長度的"Todd". 在古怪的" A Wizard, a True Star"之后,所有人們都在預測Todd下一張專輯會恢復"Something/Anything?" 的甜蜜,然而"Todd"仍是延續(xù)了類似" A Wizard, a True Star"Prog/Art Rock風格,還進一步展示了Todd冷漠古怪的幽默感和天馬行空的靈感."A Wizard, a True Star"是一場狂野之夢,然而太過晦澀詭異"Todd"對于普通樂迷來說已經是某種意義上Todd作品中極限的考驗了.整張專輯的絕大多數人聲部分被層層迭迭,峰回路轉的樂器演奏和電子音效取代.導致甚至我第一次聽這張專輯的時候,等到"The Last Ride"這首人聲曲目出現的時候都是送了一口氣. 1975 到1976年,Todd把大量精力集中于在Utopia的專輯"Another Live"和演出,結果1976年的個人作品"Faithful"則是一個出人意料的回顧之作.見慣了Todd狂人般的每年4專輯以上長度作品的人們發(fā)現這張作品不僅只有普通專輯的長度,而且一半都是Todd翻唱The Beach Boys,The Beatles,Bob Dylan,Yardbirds和Jimi Hendrix的作品.在這張專輯中,Todd回顧了他60年代Nazz時期的音樂歷程 (實際上,在" A Wizard, a True Star"中近11分鐘的"Medley"中,Todd已經向對于他重大影響的Motown,R&B,Soul的根源先師們致敬了,比如杰出的 Smokey Robinson). 1976年稍事修整的Todd旋即在1977年發(fā)行了3張專輯,其中在"Utopia"發(fā)行了"Ra"和"Oops! Wrong Planet"的同時發(fā)行了個人專輯"Hermit of Mink Hollow".開頭曲"All The Chilren Sing"的愉悅并不能掩蓋整張專輯的憂傷情緒.原來,同年,Todd和有"搖滾繆斯"之稱的Bebe Buell分手了(Bebe Buell自幼喜愛搖滾樂,在她母親的鼓勵下,她開始成為眾多Groupie中的一員,然而在和Todd建立感情后,Bebe Buell開始憑借Todd如日中天的地位結識了例如Jimmy Page,Iggy Pop這樣最杰出的人物.Todd一直深愛Bebe Buell,甚至當Todd得知Bebe懷孕的孩子事實上是他人的骨肉,他還是堅決支持Bebe生下這個女孩,并取名為Liv Rundgren.Todd 對Liv Rundgren視若己出,甚至Liv本人直到10幾歲才直到她的生理學父親其實是從未盡過父親指責的大毒蟲Steve Tyler,而非她自幼尊敬的父親Todd Rundgren一夜之間成為了"養(yǎng)父".即使如此,Todd還是一手扶植已經更名為Liv Tyler的養(yǎng)女成為著名的電影明星("偷香","指環(huán)王三部曲".) 在1977年,Todd和Bebe兩人一度分手,當時受到嚴重打擊的Todd完成了在繼Runt: The Ballad of Todd Rundgren后最飽含個人真摯感情的直白作品.整張專輯100%都是遭受情傷的Todd一已完成.其中內心感情獨白性質的"Can We Still Be Friends"也成為了他的熱門曲目和著名MTV作品(甚至選為某成人電影3P場景的背景音樂).而這張專輯也被很多后世樂隊視作New Age的杰作 同年,Todd解散了Utopia,并隨后發(fā)行了首張現場唱片,雙專輯Back to the Bars.此后Todd完成了他音樂生涯的第一個光輝燦爛的十年.開始以制作人的身份開始新一階段同樣成功的音樂歷程. Todd 前十年的成功在于他得天獨厚的才華讓他汲取了幾乎當時所有音樂財富,從而成為一個流行音樂史上少有的集大成者.而這樣一個貌似吸血伯爵的"鬼才"和"隱士 "的低調則增添了追尋他音樂足跡的神秘感和樂趣.幾乎可以說前十年的Todd從沒有重復自己的作品.傾聽Todd的快感幾乎可以比得上汰漬洗衣粉一樣擁有快速見效和長久有效. 然而總是有人不無嫉妒的稱作他是一個手藝人,Craftsman這個詞,我想總是更適合Paul McCartney或者Phil Collins這樣的"德藝雙馨,德高望重,得意忘形的老藝術家",而對于Todd,他更像一個鬼才,一個隱者,一個巫師,一個從未把自己的當作明星的大師,一個潛心于創(chuàng)作新的音樂而不是苦苦維持虛偽光環(huán)的音樂家......即使他本人反感這個稱謂,我們還是把他稱作 A Wizard,A True Star. Todd Rundgren's best-known songs -- the Carole King pastiche "I Saw the Light," the ballads "Hello, It's Me" and "Can We Still Be Friends," and the goofy novelty "Bang on the Drum All Day" -- suggest that he is a talented pop craftsman, but nothing more than that. On one level, that perception is true since he is undoubtedly a gifted pop songwriter, but at his core Rundgren is a rock & roll maverick. Once he had a taste of success with his 1972 masterwork, Something/Anything?, Rundgren chose to abandon stardom and, with it, conventional pop music. He began a course through uncharted musical territory, becoming a pioneer not only in electronic music and prog rock, but in music video, computer software, and Internet music delivery as well. As his career wound into its third decade, Rundgren concentrated on behind-the-scenes innovations, but during the '70s and '80s he maintained a relentless work schedule. He released up to two albums a year either as a solo artist or with his band Utopia, while producing acclaimed, successful records for artists as diverse as Badfinger, Meat Loaf, Grand Funk Railroad, the New York Dolls, and XTC. Given such an extensive catalog, it's not surprising that there's a vast variety of styles within Rundgren's music -- which is either rewarding or frustrating, depending on the album. Also, more often than not, the singles from each record do not offer an accurate indication of what the remainder of the album sounds like. Such an approach severely curtailed his mass appeal, but it helped him cultivate a ferociously dedicated cult audience. During the '70s, his records were underground favorites, and his albums continued to chart until 1991, nearly 20 years after his commercial peak. In those 20 years, Rundgren may have existed largely on the fringes of pop music, but he produced a body of work that ranks as one of the most intriguing in rock & roll. A native of Upper Darby, PA -- a suburb of Philadelphia -- Rundgren learned how to play guitar as a child, teaching himself after his initial round of lessons ceased. As a teenager, he absorbed pop music from Motown to Liverpool and formed Money, his first band, when he was 16. Following his high-school graduation, he moved to the resort town of Wildwood, NJ, where he regularly sat in with a number of bands. Eventually, he became a member of the blues group Woody's Truck Stop, which soon became based in Philadelphia. Rundgren stayed with the band for several months, but when the group began to move toward hippie psychedelia, he and Carson Van Osten bailed to form the Nazz in 1967. Taking their name from an obscure Yardbirds song and inspired by a variety of British Invasion groups, from the omnipresent Beatles to the cult favorites the Move, the Nazz were arguably the first Anglophiles in rock history. There had been many groups that drew inspiration from the Beatles and the Stones, but none had been so self-consciously reverent as the Nazz. Playing lead guitar and bass, respectively, Rundgren and Van Osten were joined by drummer Thom Mooney (formerly of the Munchkins) and lead vocalist/keyboardist Stewkey (born Robert Antoni). By September 1967, the group received some financial support from local record store Bartoff & Warfield, who also put them in touch with John Kurland, a record promoter who was looking for a guitar pop band. Kurland took a shine to the Nazz and signed on as their manager. Kurland and his associate, Michael Friedman, had the Nazz sign with SGC Records -- an offshoot of Atlantic Records and Columbia-Screen Gems -- in the summer of 1968. Their debut album, Nazz, appeared in October, supported by the single "Hello It's Me." Although the song would later become a major hit for Rundgren as a solo artist, the dirgey original version barely scraped the national charts. Despite the lack of success, the record -- particularly the Nazz's self-production of "Open My Eyes" and "Hello It's Me" -- attracted some good notices. Taking these as a cue, the group began work on an ambitious, self-produced double album, named Fungo Bat. By the time it was released in April 1969, it was trimmed to a single album, Nazz Nazz. In the process of editing, much of Rundgren's newer, Laura Nyro-influenced material -- which he had sung himself -- was left on the shelves. Neither the management nor his bandmates gave Rundgren much encouragement to sing, nor was his new introspective direction warmly received by his colleagues. Faced with a no-win situation, Rundgren left the group not long after their summer 1969 tour. Stewkey took control of the Nazz, erased Rundgren's vocals from the album sitting in the vaults, and replaced them with his own. The result was released as Nazz 3 in 1970, but it stiffed. Rundgren, meanwhile, became an in-house producer and engineer for former Bob Dylan manager Albert Grossman's fledgling studio and label, Bearsville Records. Around the same time, Rundgren formed a band called Runt. In reality, Runt was little more than a front for his burgeoning solo career. He played all of the instruments except drums and bass, which were usually handled by brothers Hunt and Tony Sales. Runt -- either Runt's first album or Rundgren's first solo album, depending on your point of view -- was released on Ampex Records in the fall of 1970. The album slowly earned an audience, with the single "We Gotta Get You a Woman" climbing into the Top 20 in early 1971. His modest success was enough to convince Grossman to sign Rundgren to a long-term contract with Bearsville. Apart from a re-release of Runt, the first Rundgren album to appear on Bearsville was Runt's final record, The Ballad of Todd Rundgren, a record that was reminiscent of such melodic singer/songwriter peers as King and Nyro, yet it had a subtly bizarre sensibility and quirky sense of humor that gave it a distinctive character. As he pursued his solo career, Rundgren quickly earned a reputation as a talented producer/engineer. His first production was for American Dream, but he quickly graduated to the big leagues thanks to his association with Grossman. In 1970, he engineered the Band's Stage Fright and Jesse Winchester's acclaimed eponymous debut. These two productions set the stage for Rundgren to take the production seat that George Harrison left vacant; the result was Badfinger's Straight Up, which gave him a huge hit with "Baby Blue." It wasn't long until Rundgren had a huge hit of his own. He abandoned the Runt concept before beginning his third album, deciding to record the entire record himself. The result was Something/Anything?, a double-album set that cemented Rundgren's reputation as a near-genius producer and gifted songwriter. Apart from the fourth side, which was constructed as a tongue-in-cheek operetta about a bar band, he played every instrument, sang every part, and produced the entire album. Hailed in the rock press as some sort of masterpiece upon its early 1972 release, it also won Rundgren a wide audience. The King tribute "I Saw the Light" reached number 16, and while its follow-up (the terrific power pop classic "Couldn't I Just Tell You") stiffed, the third single, a superior re-recording of the Nazz's semi-hit "Hello, It's Me," climbed all the way to number five. In all, Something/Anything? reached number 29 and went gold, spending nearly a full year on the charts. Stardom was handed to him with Something/Anything?, but Rundgren rejected it. He would later state that he had mastered pop songcraft and had no interest to simply repeat himself through endless recyclings of "I Saw the Light" or "Hello, It's Me." That's certainly not what he delivered with A Wizard, a True Star, his 1973 follow-up to Something/Anything? A weird sonic collage encompassing everything from psychedelia and Philly soul to Disney show tunes and vaudeville, the record may not have been an intentional move to shed his mainstream audience, but that was the ultimate effect. As the legions of listeners who loved "Hello, It's Me" departed, Rundgren's cult following -- the fans who did consider him "a Wizard, a True Star" -- intensified. Rundgren played the role to the hilt, dyeing his hair in a rainbow of colors and turning in extravagant concert performances. His appearance may have flirted with glam or glitter, but his music was getting increasingly progressive. His next album, 1974's Todd, may have had the occasional full-fledged pop song, such as the near-hit "A Dream Goes on Forever," but it had more than its share of lengthy experimental instrumentals. This was the direction he decided to pursue and he decided he needed a full-fledged band to help him continue in the progressive direction. And so Utopia were born. Initially, the group consisted of three keyboardists (Moogy Klingman, Ralph Shuckett, and Roger Powell), a bassist (John Siegler), a percussionist (Kevin Elliman), and a drummer (John "Willie" Wilcox). Balancing Utopia with his solo career, Rundgren became one of the most prolific artists of the decade. Released just months after Todd, Todd Rundgren's Utopia consisted of only four tracks, all of which were mainly instrumental, none of which were less than ten minutes. Rundgren continued in that direction on his next solo album, Initiation, which was released in the spring of 1975. Its radio-play hit, "Real Man," became one of his concert staples, but the true heart of the album lay in the half-hour-long synth experiment to which the entire second side was devoted. Mere months later, Utopia released Another Live, a wild live album devoted to long synth-driven instrumentals. Another Live proved to be the culmination of the synth experiments and, in some ways, the stretch of willfully difficult records Rundgren made during the mid-'70s. He kicked off 1976 with Faithful, an album that split into original pop material and re-creations of '60s chestnuts from the Yardbirds, Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and the Beach Boys. His resurrection of "Good Vibrations" brought him his first Top 40 hit in three years. That year, he also revamped Utopia, stripping away two of the keyboardists (Klingman and Shuckett), as Elliman and Siegler left. Kasim Sulton joined as the new bassist. Although the new Utopia's first album, Ra, was a prog rock album by any measure, it was less overtly experimental and heavier than before. Ra was released early in February 1977 and was followed seven months later by Oops! Wrong Planet, a record that found the quartet abandoning progressive music for streamlined pop/rock, with a mainstream hard rock bent. By the time The Hermit of Mink Hollow was released in April 1978, it had been two years between Rundgren's solo albums, yet it had been six years since he had delivered an album as unabashedly pop and accessible as Hermit. On the strength of the Top 30 success of the ballad "Can We Still Be Friends," the record became a big hit, spending 26 weeks on the charts and peaking at number 36. He followed the record with the double-live album Back to the Bars, which was split between Utopia and solo material. 更多>>