Originally intended as a double album titled
Fungo Bat
,
Nazz Nazz
is at once as equally diverse and more cohesive than
the Nazz
's eponymous debut. It's a weird trick, but the group pulls it off, largely due to the rapidly maturing talents of
Todd Rundgren
, their main songwriter and producer. Throughout
's first record, he proved that he was a gifted mimic and a savvy melodicist, yet he never quite landed upon a signature style outside of their debut single
"Hello It's Me"
/
"Open My Eyes."
Not coincidentally, these were the two songs on the record that
produced themselves, and they followed that lead on
, fusing their sundry influences into a distinctive
psych pop
sound. Sonically, it's certainly more ambitious than its predecessor and, apart from the odd forays into
soul
and
blues
(filtered through
Cream
, naturally) on
"Featherbedding Lover"
"Kiddie Boy,"
it's more consistent. In many ways, that makes
a better listen than its predecessor, even if it doesn't have a knockout punch like
That's because
Rundgren
's songs exhibit a stronger sense of identity, as
ballads
like
"Letters Don't Count"
and snarky
pop
-rockers like
"Hang On Paul"
point the way toward his solo career. There are a few embarrassing detours, such as the hippie-dippy
"Meridian Leeward,"
but the second
Nazz
record rivals the first because it offers a progression. It shows that the band, or at least
, have figured out how to blend their influences into something original.
The Nazz
may never have delivered a follow-up to this --
Nazz III
consists of the remaining sessions from the abandoned double album -- but this is certainly ground zero for
's fascinating solo career. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine