Nearly Human
| Nearly Human | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 18 May 1989 | |||
| Recorded | June 1988 – February 1989 | |||
| Studio | Fantasy Studios, Berkeley and The Plant, Sausalito, California | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 53:02 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Producer | Todd Rundgren | |||
| Todd Rundgren chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Alternative Cover | ||||
 Japanese Edition Artwork | ||||
Nearly Human is a 1989 album by the rock musician Todd Rundgren, released by Warner Bros. Records. It was his first release in four years, although he had been active as a producer in the intervening years. Many of the album's songs deal with loss, self-doubt, jealousy and spiritual recovery. It was also the first collaboration between Rundgren and Michele Gray, a singer and ex-model who helped to organize the sessions. Gray sang backing vocals, both on the record and on subsequent tours, and the pair later married.
Recording
The song "Parallel Lines" was originally written for Rundgren's musical theater Off Broadway production of Joe Orton's Up Against It. The original version is rather slow and can be found on Rundgren's Japan-only album, Up Against It! The song was re-recorded here with an uptempo and lusher arrangement.
Unlike a large portion of Rundgren's solo albums on which he played all the instruments and sang all lead and backing vocals, Nearly Human was performed live in the studio with numerous musicians, including the members of Rundgren's defunct band Utopia which had broken up three years earlier; Roger Powell, Kasim Sulton and John "Willie" Wilcox all play on the track "Can't Stop Running". Scott Mathews and the former The Tubes members Vince Welnick (keyboards) and Prairie Prince (drums) also perform on Nearly Human. The track "Feel It" was originally recorded (with slightly different lyrics) by the San Francisco band on its 1985 album Love Bomb, produced by Rundgren. Brent Bourgeois and Larry Tagg of Bourgeois Tagg, whom Rundgren had produced, also played on the album along with the rest of the band, making Nearly Human effectively a Rundgren-Utopia-Bourgeois Tagg-Tubes collaboration, plus extra vocalists and keyboard players.
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Classic Rock |   [3] |
| Hi-Fi News & Record Review | A/B:1[4] |
| Rolling Stone | [5] |
Nearly Human received very favorable reviews. The album's single, "The Want of a Nail", featuring the soul legend Bobby Womack, was Rundgren's last charting Billboard single.[6] One other single was released "Parallel Lines" B/W "I love My Life" but did not chart. Andrew Martin, reviewer of British music newspaper Music Week, praised the album by saying "Todd Rundgren forays into making his own albums are rarer these days, but when they do arrive they tend to be slick, taut affairs which exude class. This is no exception." In the end Martin said: "From the delicious horn-tinged overdrive of 'The Want of a Nail' to the strident bass-lead 'Unloved Children' it demonstrates a man cable of delving into a myriad of rock styles without floundering."[7] In review of 10 June 1989 David Spodek of RPM, named this album "a welcome return." He wrote: "This is radio-tailored pop at its best, with material that will fit both AOR and NC formats" and summarized that "this LP should be a winner on radio and in the stores, provided it is backed with the right promotion in order to attract a new legion of fans to Rundgren's sound."[8]
Japanese release
For the Japanese release of the album, the sixth finger of the handprint on the cover was removed, "due to the religious significance of six fingers in Japan".[9]
Track listing
CD issue
All tracks are written by Todd Rundgren, unless otherwise noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Want of a Nail" | 5:14 | |
| 2. | "The Waiting Game" | 4:16 | |
| 3. | "Parallel Lines" | 4:22 | |
| 4. | "Two Little Hitlers" | Elvis Costello | 3:55 |
| 5. | "Can't Stop Running" | 5:00 | |
| 6. | "Unloved Children" | 4:03 | |
| 7. | "Fidelity" | 4:39 | |
| 8. | "Feel It" | Rundgren, The Tubes | 5:47 |
| 9. | "Hawking" | 6:51 | |
| 10. | "I Love My Life" | 8:55 |
LP issue
The LP release had a slightly different track list and did not include "Two Little Hitlers".
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Want of a Nail" | 5:14 |
| 2. | "The Waiting Game" | 4:16 |
| 3. | "Parallel Lines" | 4:22 |
| 4. | "Unloved Children" | 4:03 |
| 5. | "Can't Stop Running" | 5:00 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Fidelity" | 4:39 | |
| 7. | "Feel It" | Rundgren, The Tubes | 4:39 |
| 8. | "Hawking" | 6:51 | |
| 9. | "I Love My Life" | 8:55 |
Personnel
- Todd Rundgren - lead vocals, guitar, arranger, producer, cover art design
- Lyle Workman - guitar
- Vernon Black - guitar
- Larry Tagg - bass guitar
- Randy Jackson - bass guitar
- Kasim Sulton - bass guitar
- Brent Bourgeois - organ, synthesizers
- Vince Welnick - piano, electric piano, accordion
- Byron Allred - keyboards, piano
- Jimmy Pugh - organ
- Nate Ginsberg - piano
- Michael Pluznick - congas, shaker
- Mingo Lewis - shaker
- Gary Yost - tambourine
- Michael Urbano - drums, timbales
- Prairie Prince - electronic drums, drums
- Barbara Imhnoff - harp
- Bobby Strickland - flute, saxophone
- Peter Apfelbaum - clarinet
- Jim Blinn - trombone
- Mike Rose - trumpet
- Bobby Womack - lead vocals on "The Want of a Nail"
- Various guests - backing vocals
- Various guests - strings
- Narada Michael Walden - choirmaster on "I Love My Life"
Charts
Album - Billboard
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | The Billboard 200[6] | 102 |
Singles - Billboard
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | "The Want of a Nail" | Mainstream Rock Tracks[6] | 15 |
References
- ^ Scapelliti, Christopher (1998). "Todd Rundgren/Utopia". In Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds.). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Detroit: Visible Ink Press. pp. 963–964.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Todd rundgren - Nearly Human review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
- ^ Quantick, David (March 2012). "Todd Rundgren - Reissues". Classic Rock (168): 108.
- ^ Kessler, Ken (August 1989). "Review: Todd Rundgren — Nearly Human" (PDF). Hi-Fi News & Record Review (magazine). Vol. 34, no. 8. Croydon: Link House Magazines Ltd. p. 111. ISSN 0142-6230. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 September 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021 – via World Radio History.
- ^ Fricke, David (29 June 1989). "Todd rundgren - Nearly Human". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 30 November 2007. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
- ^ a b c "Todd Rundgren: Billboard Albums and Singles". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 October 2012.
- ^ Martin, Andrew (10 June 1989). "Review: Todd Rundgren — Nearly Human" (PDF). Music Week. London: Spotlight Publications Ltd. p. 20. ISSN 0265-1548. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 December 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2022 – via World Radio History.
- ^ Spodek, David (10 June 1989). "Review: Todd Rundgren — Nearly Human" (PDF). RPM. Vol. 50, no. 6. Toronto: RPM Music Publications Ltd. p. 7. ISSN 0315-5994. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2022 – via World Radio History.
- ^ "Nearly Human". The Todd Rundgren Connection. 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
