Pushkin

Todd Rungren is a multi-talented musician who has made a name for himself both as a solo artist and a visionary music producer.

Rungren's career started in Philly in the mid-60s as part of the Garage Rock Band The NAS.

After playing lead guitar in the band for two years, Rungren left to pursue a solo career.

And over the next two decades, work as a producer for bands like Grand Funk Railroad, Bad Finger, and The New York Dolls.

But Rungren's crowning achievement was producing Meatloaf's Bat Out of Hell album, which is to this day one of the highest selling albums of all time.

But now Rungren lives far away from the spotlight in Hawaii.

He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this past October, but skipped out on the ceremony to play a local club down the street instead.

He also spent many months recording vocals for Kanye's Donda, but eventually bowed out of that as well.

He is busy working on an album of his own, however.

A collaborative project called Space Force with artists like Sparks, Rivers Cuomo, and Ben Folds that'll be out later this year.

On today's episode, we'll hear a conversation Rick Ruben-Hadroth Rungren just weeks before the start of the pandemic.

They talk about why he was the only producer who would work on the debut album for Meatloaf who just recently passed away.

Todd also talks about engineering the third album for the band when the group was in the midst of turmoil,

and why he always turns off Taylor Swift's music.

This is Broken Record, line of notes for the digital age. I'm Justin Richmond.

Here's Rick Ruben and Todd Rungren.

I'm in the middle of doing another collab record, so just in the last two weeks I got stuff from Sparks,

Adrian Blue, this new band that I've done a little work with called Lemon Twigs, Ben Folds sent me like 10 things,

and I got a pick one to focus on.

How long have you been doing collaborations like this?

Well, my last album was mostly all collaboration, some songs by myself, but I made a conscious decision because I've been making all my records out here,

...