Long lost early Todd Rundgren recordings surface in deluxe Nazz box set

Nazz
(Image credit: Cleopatra Records)

Long lost early Todd Rundgren recordings have surfaced in a new deluxe Nazz box set that unearths the original recordings from the 60s power-pop/psych project that brought Todd Rundgren his first taste of musical notoriety. Lost Masters & Demos will be released through Cleopatra Records on December 2.

Rundgren’s ambitious vision for the second Nazz album actually encompassed 26 songs spread across two LPs. And although the recordings were eventually scrapped and most of the songs reserved for the band’s posthumous third album, 1971's III, these early versions of the songs would profoundly shape not just Nazz’s sound but the trajectory of Rundgren’s own career.

These tracks are taken directly from the original master acetates of the originally conceived 1968 rough mix of Nazz's second album, 1969's Nazz Nazz. It was at the sessions that Rundgren took his first turn behind the mixing desk.

Lost Masters & Demos brings all of these rarities into one gorgeous package, available as either a three CD or four LP set, that includes a full-colour booklet with detailed liner notes from music historian Michael Armes as well as an extensive interview with Nazz engineer and future engineer on Rundgren’s first three solo albums James Lowe, plus a stack of rare photos! 

In addition, the other recently discovered acetates contain alternate mixes of Nazz’s signature tune Open My Eyes as well as the future Rundgren hit Hello, It’s Me. And you can hear the original acetate version of Forget All About It below.

Pre-order Lost Masters & Demos.

Nazz

(Image credit: Cleopatra Records)
Jerry Ewing

Writer and broadcaster Jerry Ewing is the Editor of Prog Magazine which he founded for Future Publishing in 2009. He grew up in Sydney and began his writing career in London for Metal Forces magazine in 1989. He has since written for Metal Hammer, Maxim, Vox, Stuff and Bizarre magazines, among others. He created and edited Classic Rock Magazine for Dennis Publishing in 1998 and is the author of a variety of books on both music and sport, including Wonderous Stories; A Journey Through The Landscape Of Progressive Rock.