Todd Rundgren – A Wizard, A True Star

The Robert Ludwig mastering on this pressing is absolutely insane! Strongly recommended.

Beautiful pressing!

Did anyone happen to mail in the post card with their name on it for Todd to put in his next album? Curious how that turned out-wondering if it’s not too late at the time of writing this 👀

This was always one of the worst sounding albums from Todd. Way too much music for one disk. The sound on this is ok but nothing more. This needs to be a two record set before any accomplished sound improvement happens

Plenty to like about this one... nice flat, clean and quiet vinyl. Pretty too. Consistent solid sound quality across the two sides given the length.... DMM does its job to even hand things but its unavoidable some igd will occur even with the finest of line s. Jacket is decent quality of build.

Downsides... the 2014 RSD and the newer FM 2xLP editions have better cover/art repro quality. The MOV is abit soft and washed but its more a thing when you have them together than an outright beef.

The FM cut is crucially spread over 2xLPs and while the FM could have better pressing qualities itself theres no doubt the music breathes easier. More dynamics and less pinched sounding. 30mins per side vs 15mins per side is not a fair fight unless the cutter is drunk for the 2xLP!

For a 1xLP edition then, this is very respectable. But im sad MOV didnt do it over 4 sides and utilise the gatefold properly because with that and a slightly better repro this would the definitive one!

Should have been a double album words words words words

I think Bob Ludwig made this album sound as good as it can possibly be on a single disc. Due to its length it's a little bit muddy and compressed compared to other RL's I've heard but in my opinion that gives it a more punchy rock 'n roll sound. Cut surprisingly loud for nearly 30 minutes per side with well balanced dynamics. A teeny tiny bit of sibilance, most noticeable on the drum machine hi-hats on track A7. Probably just a problem with my setup. Also the vinyl is a bit noisy. Still an improvement over my UK original which I always thought was decent, not terrible but not amazing. I am well chuffed to have this pressing, it does not disappoint.

Pressing: 8/10
Music: 10/10

At £50 in the UK this needed to be good. My 2014 Demon and 2019 MOV reissues suffer from the side lengths but for sure this is better. The recording is NEVER going to be audiophile but its cleaner and better levelled here than ive heard so far on vinyl at least. The pressings are excellent too. For sure disc one is just a royal blue marbled. The second disc is closer to turquoise but still mostly a light blue. However they are quiet of playback througout which is some going. Ive no idea which US plant pressed this but they did a good job!
Im happy with this cooy and its my goto vinyl edition now but does it beat the Analog Spark SACD?

No.

I have a more recent pressing of this record, but this one will stay dear to my heart. The die-cut sleeve alone makes it worth keeping. My copy looks and sounds like it has lived every moment of its 50 years the way Todd Rundgren most likely has and it has no remorse about aging ungracefully. I would grade mine G+, but it still plays great, blemishes and all. A work of mad genius.

Is there a version of the CD that splits the tracks more accurately than the original Rhino version? I noticed a lot of the tracks in the first half of the album aren't cut quite where they should have been.

compared to the new rsd edition and my old vintage copy, this is def the best i’ve heard this record sound!! this much music needs two discs, plain and simple. mastering is nice and clear