Open My Eyes: Purple Pyramid Collects "The Complete Nazz"

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Todd Rundgren has struck up a fertile relationship with Cleopatra Records in recent years, with the label issuing a number of audio and video titles (including Utopia's Live at the Chicago Theatre and the Box O' Todd) as well as the artist's memoir The Individualist. Now, Cleopatra's Purple Pyramid imprint has issued The Complete Nazz, a 3-CD survey of Rundgren's early band, with all three of Nazz's albums plus 30 previously issued bonus tracks.

Todd Rundgren and bassist Carson Van Osten (both alumni of blues-garage outfit Woody's Truck Stop) formed Nazz - so named for the Yardbirds song "The Nazz are Blue" - in Philadelphia circa 1967, with drummer Thom Mooney and vocalist/keyboardist Robert "Stewkey" Antoni joining shortly thereafter. The band opened for such high-profile acts as The Doors and The Velvet Underground, and earned a deal with Screen Gems' SGC Records imprint. Two songs penned by Rundgren were released on a single in August 1968, and both would appear on the band's debut album that October. The A-side was "Open My Eyes," a fusion of The Who, The Beach Boys, and The Small Faces that defined power-pop before that phrase had ever been invented. The B-side was a slow, earnest ballad sung by Stewkey called "Hello It's Me" which would receive a second life just a few years later (in a new, more commercial arrangement) when Rundgren went solo. The eclectic Nazz LP performed respectably, making No. 118 on the Billboard Top LPs chart; DJs would flip the "Open My Eyes" single to make "Hello It's Me" a late-blooming chart entry. It entered the Pop chart in February 1969, peaking at No. 71, and then re-entered the following January for a No. 66 peak.

The band recorded a sprawling second album to be called Fungo Bat which would reflect the burgeoning influence of Laura Nyro on Todd Rundgren alongside the band's uptempo rave-ups reflecting both the mod British style and the blues rock of The Yardbirds or Cream. But Mooney and Antoni opposed the double album, a view shared by Screen Gems. A pared-down version arrived in stores in April 1969 as Nazz Nazz. While the album's psychedelic brew was heady - and even featured Todd's first lead vocal, on "Kiddie Boy" - Rundgren wasn't happy with the direction of his group and departed shortly after the album's release. Van Osten followed, and eventually began a long and fruitful career with The Walt Disney Company that saw the onetime art student graduate to executive status. He was recognized in 2015 as a Disney Legend.

When Todd's solo single "We Gotta Get You a Woman" showed promise for the Nazz wunderkind as a headlining artist, SGC thought twice about having let him go. The label assembled Nazz III to appear in December 1970 and directly challenge Todd's solo LP debut Runt. Somewhat oddly, given the label's seeming desire to capitalize on Runt, Rundgren's lead vocals on a number of tracks were replaced by those of Stewkey. But one thing was clear: the material that had been discarded was, indeed, quite strong - whether in the Nyro piano ballad vein or not. Stewkey and Mooney had pressed on for a while, but soon, Nazz was just a footnote in the Todd Rundgren story. The inclusion of "Open My Eyes" on the original Nuggets collection in 1972 solidified the band's reputation as much more than that, however.

Rhino released the original three Nazz LPs on CD, and various Nazz collections (often built around demos and rarities) have arrived with frequency over the years. Arguably the definitive editions were put together in 2006 by the Sanctuary label under the direction of compiler David Wells. The 2006 reissues have been collected in one clamshell box for The Complete Nazz. CD 1 of the new box is identical to the 2006 Nazz reissue. CDs 2 and 3 replicate the 2-CD set of Nazz Nazz Including Nazz III: The Fungo Bat Sessions, although the bonus tracks (including all of the original Rundgren Fungo Bat tracks) have been resequenced.

Collectors who already own the 2006 reissues may well want to think twice about this purchase; even the foldout liner notes from both releases have been reprinted here and constitute the only notes in the box set. The discs are housed in standard mini-LP sleeves replicating the original front cover artwork. There are no remastering credits here. Fans of Beatles/Who/Cream/Laura Nyro-esque pop (and who isn't a fan of at least one of those disparate artists?) and, of course, of Todd Rundgren who don't already own this material will find The Complete Nazz solid, one-stop shopping. If you want to open your eyes (and ears) to the Nazz, you'll find order links below!

Nazz, The Complete Nazz (Purple Pyramid CLO 1348, 2019) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

CD 1: Nazz (SGC SD 5001, 1968)