Nearly Human is the twelfth studio album by American musician Todd Rundgren, released on May 18, 1989, by Warner Bros. Records. It was his first release in four years, although he had been active as a producer in the intervening years. Many of the album's songs deal with loss, self-doubt, jealousy and spiritual recovery. It was also the first collaboration between Rundgren and Michele Gray, a singer and ex-model who helped to organize the sessions. Gray sang Backing vocalist, both on the record and on subsequent tours, and the pair later married.
Recording
The song "Parallel Lines" was originally written for Rundgren's musical theater Off Broadway production of
Joe Orton's
Up Against It. The original version is rather slow and can be found on Rundgren's Japan-only album,
Up Against It! The song was re-recorded here with an uptempo and lusher arrangement.
Unlike a large portion of Rundgren's solo albums on which he played all the instruments and sang all lead and backing vocals, Nearly Human was performed live in the studio with numerous musicians, including the members of Rundgren's defunct band Utopia which had broken up three years earlier; Roger Powell, Kasim Sulton and Willie Wilcox all play on the track "Can't Stop Running". Scott Mathews and the former The Tubes members Vince Welnick (keyboards) and Prairie Prince (drums) also perform on Nearly Human. The track "Feel It" was originally recorded (with slightly different lyrics) by the San Francisco band on its 1985 album Love Bomb, produced by Rundgren. Brent Bourgeois and Larry Tagg of Bourgeois Tagg, whom Rundgren had produced, also played on the album along with the rest of the band, making Nearly Human effectively a Rundgren-Utopia-Bourgeois Tagg-Tubes collaboration, plus extra vocalists and keyboard players.
Reception
Nearly Human received very favorable reviews. The album's single, "The Want of a Nail", featuring the soul legend
Bobby Womack, was Rundgren's last charting
Billboard single.
One other single was released "Parallel Lines" B/W "I Love My Life" but did not chart. Andrew Martin, reviewer of British music newspaper
Music Week, praised the album by saying "Todd Rundgren forays into making his own albums are rarer these days, but when they do arrive they tend to be slick, taut affairs which exude class. This is no exception." In the end Martin said: "From the delicious horn-tinged overdrive of 'The Want of a Nail' to the strident bass-lead 'Unloved Children' it demonstrates a man cable of delving into a myriad of rock styles without floundering."
In review of 10 June 1989 David Spodek of
RPM, named this album "a welcome return." He wrote: "This is radio-tailored pop at its best, with material that will fit both AOR and NC formats" and summarized that "this LP should be a winner on radio and in the stores, provided it is backed with the right promotion in order to attract a new legion of fans to Rundgren's sound."
Japanese release
For the Japanese release of the album, the sixth finger of the handprint on the cover was removed, "due to the religious significance of six fingers in Japan".
Track listing
CD issue
LP issue
The LP release had a slightly different track list and did not include "Two Little Hitlers".
Personnel
Credits adapted from the CD liner notes.
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Todd Rundgren - lead vocals (all tracks), guitar (6), arranger (all tracks), producer (all tracks), cover art design
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Lyle Workman - guitar (1–7, 9, 10)
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Vernon Black - guitar (5, 8, 9)
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Larry Tagg - bass guitar (1–4, 10), backing vocals (5, 6, 9)
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Kasim Sulton - bass guitar (5)
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Rick Anderson - bass guitar (6)
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Randy Jackson - bass guitar (8, 9)
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Brent Bourgeois - Hammond organ (4), synthesizer (3, 5, 7, 9), backing vocals (1, 2, 6)
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Vince Welnick - piano (1), digital piano (1–3, 6, 8), accordion (4), synthesizer (5)
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Byron Allred - synthesizer (2), piano (9)
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Nate Ginsberg - synthesizer (3, 7), piano (10)
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Scott Moon - synthesizer (3)
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Roger Powell - synthesizer (5)
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Jimmy Pugh - Hammond organ (6, 10)
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Mingo Lewis - congas (5)
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Michael Pluznick - shaker (5), congas (7–9)
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Gary Yost - tambourine (1, 6)
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Ralph Legnini - tambourine (5)
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Willie Wilcox - drums (5)
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Michael Urbano - drums (1–4, 6, 7, 9, 10), timbales (5)
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Prairie Prince - percussion (3), electronic drums (5), drums (8)
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Barbara Imhoff - harp (1)
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Bobby Strickland - tenor saxophone (1, 4, 8, 9), baritone saxophone (6), flute (7)
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Peter Apfelbaum - clarinet (7)
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Jim Blinn - trombone (1)
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Bruce Paine - trombone (8)
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Mike Rose - trumpet (1, 8)
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Paul Shaghoian - trumpet (4)
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Bobby Womack - co-lead vocals (1)
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Vicki Randle, Jeanie Tracy - backing vocals (1, 10)
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N.D. Smart - backing vocals (1, 2, 7, 8)
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Michele Gray - backing vocals (1–3, 5–8, 10)
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Scott Mathews - backing vocals (2, 3, 6–8, 10)
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Keta Bill - backing vocals (2, 3, 9)
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Melisa Kary - backing vocals (2, 3, 10)
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Kim Cataluna, Cary Sheldon - backing vocals (2, 5–8, 10)
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Skyler Jett - backing vocals (2, 9, 10)
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John Hampton - backing vocals (3)
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Annie Stocking - backing vocals (3, 9)
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Mary Lou Arnold, Bill Spooner - backing vocals (5)
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Bryan Thym - backing vocals (5, 9, 10)
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Shandi Sinnamon - backing vocals (7, 8, 10)
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Raz Kennedy - backing vocals (9)
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Clarence Clemons, Daymon Cooper, Vince Ebo, Shirley Faulkner, Emma Jean Foster, Paul Gilbert, Derick Hughes, Eric Martin, Kelly Moneymaker, Jenni Muldaur, Charles Reed, Paul Scott - backing vocals (10)
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Dean Franke, Roberta Freier, Stephen Gehl, Nathan Rubin - strings (1)
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Paul Brancato, John Tenney - strings (1, 8)
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Stefan Hersh - strings (8)
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The Dick Bright Strings - strings (8)
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Narada Michael Walden - choirmaster (10)
Charts
Album - Billboard
Singles - Billboard
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| 1989 | "The Want of a Nail" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 15 |
