Runt. The Ballad of Todd Rundgren

Not to be confused with Runt (album).

Runt. The Ballad of Todd Rundgren
Studio album by
Runt
ReleasedMay 1971[1]
RecordedBearsville (Woodstock)
Genre
Length42:05
LabelAmpex, Bearsville
ProducerTodd Rundgren
Todd Rundgren chronology
Runt
(1970) 		Runt. The Ballad of Todd Rundgren
(1971) 		Something/Anything?
(1972)
Singles from Runt. The Ballad of Todd Rundgren
  1. "Be Nice to Me"
    Released: March 1971
  2. "A Long Time, A Long Way to Go"
    Released: August 1971
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
Christgau's Record GuideB[3]
Rolling Stone(Not Rated)[4]

Runt. The Ballad of Todd Rundgren is the second studio album by American musician Todd Rundgren, released on May 1971 by Ampex Records and Bearsville Records. Like its predecessor, Runt, this album was credited to Rundgren's group Runt, despite Rundgren handling most of the musicianship and production himself.

Content

Most of the album's 12 tracks are piano-led ballads, with the only exceptions being the rock tunes "Bleeding" and "Parole" and the anthem "Chain Letter". As with his first album, this album was initially credited to "Runt". Rundgren himself wrote, arranged, and produced every tune on The Ballad of Todd Rundgren, as well as handling all the guitars, keyboards, and vocals.

"I was pretty overbearing to deal with," Rundgren recalled in the liner notes to the 1999 CD release. "I was also becoming very particular about arrangements, so I took a crack at playing it all myself. But I still had some dependence on other musicians. I wasn't yet ready to play drums or to seriously address what bass playing should be like."[5]

Tony Sales, who played bass on Runt, the previous album, plays on the majority of tracks, but brother Hunt Sales, the drummer on the first album, plays drums only on one cut and conga on one. Studio musicians Jerry Scheff and John Guerin provide the rhythm section on two tracks; Norman D. Smart, who later became a member of the Hello People and was Mountain's first drummer, plays on the remainder. On two of the tracks, Rundgren is the only performer.

The album cover was designed by Milton Glaser. Inside photographs and design were by Ron Mael.

In mid-1971, Bearsville was purchased by Warner Bros. and plans were made to re-release both Runt and Runt. The Ballad of Todd Rundgren as a "twin pack" entitled Todd Rundgren's Rack Job (Catalog Number 2BV 2156) in 1973. The album got as far as test presses and album art, but was shelved as Rundgren preferred to release an album of new material.

Track listing

All songs written by Todd Rundgren.

Side one
  1. "Long Flowing Robe" – 3:30
  2. "The Ballad (Denny & Jean)" – 3:30
  3. "Bleeding" – 4:05
  4. "Wailing Wall" – 3:05
  5. "The Range War" – 2:38
  6. "Chain Letter" – 5:02
Side two
  1. "A Long Time, A Long Way to Go" – 2:12
  2. "Boat on the Charles" – 4:28
  3. "Be Nice to Me" – 3:27
  4. "Hope I'm Around" – 4:55
  5. "Parole" – 4:22
  6. "Remember Me" – 0:51

Personnel

Adapted from the original album liner notes

  • Todd Rundgren – vocals (all tracks), piano (1, 2, 4-10, 12), organ (6, 7, 10), pump organ (2), Clavinet (1, 11), Wurlitzer electric piano (10), EMS VCS 3 (4, 6, 9), guitars (1-3, 5-8, 10, 11), slide guitars (5), mandolins (2), fiddles (5), tenor and baritone saxophones (8), talk box (2), vibraphone (8), tom-toms (1), cabasa (1), cowbell (1, 8), tubular bells (2), maracas (3), beer can (3), bottles (3), timpani (7), gong (7), finger cymbals (8), Swiss hand bells (9), glockenspiel (9), triangle (9), sand blocks (9), tambourine (9), sleigh bells (9)
  • Tony Sales – bass guitar (1-3, 5-8, 11), conga (1), tambourine (1, 8), vibraslap (8)
  • Jerry Scheff – bass guitar (9, 10)
  • N. D. Smart – drums (1-3, 5-8), timbales (1), maracas (8)
  • John Guerin – drums (9, 10)
  • Hunt Sales – drums (11), conga (8)

Charts

Album

Chart (1971) Peak
position
US Billboard Bubbling Under the Top LP's[6] 214
US Record World Album Chart[7] 136

Singles

Year Single Chart Position
1971 "Be Nice to Me" Canada RPM 100 Singles[8] 92
US Billboard Hot 100[9] 71
US Cash Box Top 100[10] 87
US Record World Singles Chart[11] 59
"A Long Time, a Long Way to Go"
US Billboard Hot 100[12] 92
US Cash Box Looking Ahead[13] 113
US Record World Singles Chart[14] 86

References

  1. ^ "Ampex Gets Hot with a Single Called 'Boo'" (PDF). Record World. Vol. 26, no. 1249. May 22, 1971. p. 3. ISSN 0034-1622. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  2. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2011). "Runt: The Ballad of Todd Rundgren – Todd Rundgren | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved July 8, 2011.
  3. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: R". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 12, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  4. ^ Smith, Patti (2011). "Todd Rundgren: Runt: The Ballad Of Todd Rundgren : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on January 16, 2009. Retrieved July 8, 2011.
  5. ^ Liner Notes from Runt. The Ballad of Todd Rundgren (link offline)
  6. ^ "Bubbling Under the Top LP's" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 83, no. 29. July 17, 1971. p. 43. ISSN 0008-7289. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  7. ^ "The Album Chart" (PDF). Record World. Vol. 26, no. 1258. July 24, 1971. p. 255. ISSN 0034-1622. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  8. ^ "RPM 100 Singles" (PDF). RPM. Vol. 15, no. 15. May 29, 1971. p. 9. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  9. ^ "Billboard Hot 100" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 83, no. 21. May 22, 1971. p. 52. ISSN 0008-7289. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  10. ^ "Billboard Hot 100" (PDF). Cash Box. Vol. 32, no. 48. May 22, 1971. p. 4. ISSN 0008-7289. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  11. ^ "The Singles Chart" (PDF). Record World. Vol. 26, no. 1250. May 29, 1971. p. 29. ISSN 0034-1622. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  12. ^ "Billboard Hot 100" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 83, no. 37. September 11, 1971. p. 60. ISSN 0008-7289. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  13. ^ "Looking Ahead" (PDF). Cash Box. Vol. 33, no. 13. September 18, 1971. p. 27. ISSN 0008-7289. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  14. ^ "The Singles Chart" (PDF). Record World. Vol. 26, no. 1265. September 11, 1971. p. 25. ISSN 0034-1622. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
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