Todd Rundgren's long awaited re-issue of his seminal "Something/Anything?" album is on indefinite hold -- due to a dispute over The Marx Brothers.
The 1972 double album, which propelled Rundgren into mainstream status with such top 40 hits like "Hello It's Me" and "I Saw The Light", was to include some radio promo material that Rundgren prepared for the original release of "S/A?" which featured background material from the Marx Brothers. According to a music industry source, the rights to all Marx Bros. material are presently being withheld due to an impending film project on the comedy legends.
Those familiar with the "S/A?" project told JAM! the Marx Bros. material was an important part of the reisssue and as such, may not proceed without it.
Along with seven "S/A?" promos, the reissue was to include a demo of "It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference", live tracks, rarities by Rundgren's old band, the Nazz, plus songs by performers whom Rundgren has worked with, including three acts with special significance to Canadians: Jesse Winchester, Great Speckled Bird, and The Band. The set's tracklisting can still be viewed at Amazon.com, which lists the release date as Jan. 1, 2010.
Rundgren, who has been without a major record deal since the '80's, has been concentrating lately on the online delivery of his music through his PatroNet concept, in which fans pay a subscription fee to receive music as patrons via Internet download. ( For a free sample of a new Rundgren original, Surf Talks, www.tr-i.com/)
In a recent New York Times article, it was revealed that Rundgren had sold his "exclusive online distribution rights" to ArtistEnt, a new company founded by Artemis Records president, Danny Goldberg. With a PatroNet in-place subscriber base of around 2000, and the added promotion and resources of ArtistEnt, Rundgren told the Times that he expects his base of subscriptions to rise dramatically.
Presently an average patron of Rundgren's music pays approx. $60 US annually, with video and written material un-available elsewhere also available. However, Rundgren does not intend to leave his regular CD buying customers totally out of the loop. There are plans to "cull" the best of Rundgren's past two years of Internet only music and release it on compact disc for sale in stores.
Rundgren, 52, has also kept busy producing albums by 12 Rods, Bad Religion and Splendor. The man who once released a greatest hits package called "Go Ahead, Ignore Me" retains a base of fanatical followers, but the mainstream is something else altogether.
"In essence," explained a long time observer of Rundgren's career, "Todd does not subscribe to the traditional models that the music industry plays by, and therefore has not participated in the activities that would have supported bigger sales.
"And he changes his style from album to album so much that unless you are a die-hard fan of the man versus the music, you've lost a lot of people along the way, accordingly."
Rundgren has no firm plans to tour in the near future, although late fall dates could not be completely ruled out. Nor is he working on any major music project. However, as the spirit moves him, online subscribers will continue to receive music from him.
Plans are also afoot for a self-penned autobiography on Rundgrens's career dating back to his garage band Nazz days through solo endeavors, Utopia ,and his present incarnation as an Internet pop-star wizard.
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