The cover reads simply Runt, lending the listener to believe that’s either the name of the skinny long-haired kid on the cover or the name of the band on most of the cuts. The album is definitively the work of Todd Rundgren, fresh outta the Nazz, and who’d already produced one album by The Band. While Levon Helm and Rick Danko appear on one track, the bulk of the remainder is handled by the rhythm section of Tony and Hunt Sales (both sons of Soupy, and destined to play with both Iggy Pop and David Bowie one day) and Todd himself, on guitars, keyboards, vocals, and even sax.
No stranger to the arithmetic of the album side, Todd loads the first half of the album with straightforward melodic songs, from bluesy guitar parts on “Broke Down And Busted” and “Who’s That Man” to sensitive pop confections like “We Gotta Get You A Woman” and “Believe In Me”. “Once Burned”, that one song with Rick and Levon, is slightly derailed by a jokey soul vocal that’s more silly than parodic; before long he’d learn how to perform such material without trying to be funny. “Devil’s Bite” blends a few intriguing styles that would be hallmarks of his future work.
Side two is a little more experimental. “I’m In The Clique” is dominated by a prominent robotic voice (something of a harbinger) before descending into free jazz, then “There Are No Words” is a spooky interlude of layered wordless voices. An odd medley combines three similar, Laura Nyro-inspired songs (“Baby Let’s Swing”, which namechecks her; “The Last Thing You Said”; and “Don’t Tie My Hands”) into one rushed track, while “Birthday Carol” is a journey in itself, from Beatlesque orchestral piece to Blood, Sweat & Tears-flavored workout and back to another Nyro-style ballad, continuing the expansive vision on the second Nazz album.
Runt is full of the hooks that would endear Todd to his fans, from catchy tunes to smart leads. It’s also full of the left field moves that would mark his entire career. Vocally, he doesn’t always sound that strong. But then again, he was just getting started. (Being that the album was originally released on a small label, poor quality control meant that an early rejected sequence of the album with a different sequence and tracks was put out by mistake. The British Edsel label has included this variation in expanded reissues, but strangely, Rhino in America hasn’t taken full advantage of the sales possibilities.)
Todd Rundgren Runt (1970)—3
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