THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
2,052) The Nazz — “Forget All About It”
The Nazz were power pop’s ground zero and “Forget All About It”, fuhgeddaboudit, it was like an H-bomb going off. “[It] makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up” (Aidenbro-s2k, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQDbhp0Qwkc), “a kind of protoprogressive powerpop, with unusual phrasing, high energy arrangement and carefully crafted massed vocal choruses” (Bill Kopp, https://blog.musoscribe.com/index.php/2019/07/10/dont-forget-all-about-it-nazz-nazz-at-50/), “an absolutely breathtaking rock-fest complete with great harmony vocals and a scorching guitar solo by Todd [Rundgren]”. (Pop Matters, https://www.popmatters.com/nazz-nazz-2496011188.html) It “gets the [Nazz’s second album — Nazz Nazz] going in a highly exhilarating manner . . . zip[ping] and zoom[ing] with storming harmonies and melodies as sharp as glass”. (Beverly Paterson, https://somethingelsereviews.com/2018/03/15/nazz-nazz-nazz-1969/),
Stephen Thomas Erlewine tells us of the Nazz:
Todd Rundgren and his Woody’s Truck Stop colleague Carson Van Osten formed the Nazz in 1967. . . . [T]he Nazz were arguably the first Anglophiles in rock history. There had been many groups that drew inspiration from the Beatles [see #28-29, 113, 132, 374, 422-23, 520-22, 545, 669, 779-81, 840, 872, 942, 1,087, 1,256, 1,437, 1,473, 1,910] and the Stones [see #382, 298, 537, 579, 1,098, 1,403, 1,911], but none had been so self-consciously reverent as the Nazz. One of their first singles, “Open My Eyes,” [see #145] twisted the riff from the Who’s [see #119, 548, 833, 976, 1,912] “I Can’t Explain[.]” . . . Playing lead guitar and bass, respectively, Rundgren and Van Osten were joined by drummer Thom Mooney . . . and lead vocalist/keyboardist Stewkey (born Robert Antoni). The Nazz had their first gig in July 1967, landing an opening slot at a Doors concert. By September, the group received some financial support from the local record store Bartoff & Warfield, who also put them in touch with John Kurland, a record promoter who was looking for a guitar pop band. Kurland took a shine to the Nazz and signed on as their manager. . . . [C]onvinced that the Nazz could be marketed as a sharp, stylish boy band for the teenybopper audience, [he] helped the quartet members to refashion themselves in that mode. With a wardrobe of clothes and an album’s worth of material ready, Kurland and [co-manager Michael] Friedman had the Nazz sign with SGC Records . . . in the summer of 1968. Their debut album, Nazz, appeared in October, supported by the single “Hello It’s Me.” Although the song would later become a major hit for Rundgren as a solo artist, the dirgey original version barely scraped the national charts, largely due to mismanagement. The managers wanted the Nazz to play only large halls, which was virtually impossible for an unknown, unproven band with a newly released debut album. . . . [T]he Nazz headed to England to cut their second album, but they became embroiled in work visa problems. Undaunted, they returned to America and began work on an ambitious self-produced double album named Fungo Bat. By the time it was released in April 1969, it was trimmed to a single album and titled Nazz Nazz. . . . [T]he music remained dizzyingly diverse, as the record ran the gamut from psychedelic rockers to pop ballads. One problem emerged, however. In the process of editing, much of Rundgren’s newer, Laura Nyro-influenced material — which he had sung himself — was left on the shelves. Neither the management nor his bandmates gave Rundgren much encouragement to sing, nor was his new introspective direction warmly received by his colleagues. . . . [He] left the group not long after their summer 1969 tour . . . Stewkey took control of the Nazz, erased Rungren’s vocals from the album sitting in the vaults, and replaced them with his own. The result was released as Nazz III in 1970, but it stiffed.
Here is the acetate:
Don’t worry, it’s the first song!
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