As the '80s drew to a close, Todd Rundgren turned over a new leaf with his first album recorded specifically for Warner Bros. Not long after the release of A Cappella, he separated from Bearsville and disbanded Utopia, choosing to embark on a few years as a producer and session man. He finally returned with Nearly Human, his first album of new material in four years, in the summer of 1989. During his hiatus as a recording artist, Rundgren became fascinated with recording live music, deciding to record Nearly Human live in the studio -- not nearly as flamboyant as A Cappella, but a gimmick nonetheless. If anything, the live-in-the-studio gimmick works better than the all-vocal track, not only because it's easier to execute, but because the production style complements the soul-inflected songs. Song for song, Nearly Human is his best record since The Hermit of Mink Hollow, since not only is the bulk of the album filled with charging blue-eyed soul like "The Want of a Nail" or sweet ballads like "Parallel Lines," but because there are no novelties and the cover choice (Elvis Costello's "Two Little Hitlers") is fresh and surprising. At times, his eccentricities get the best of him, as he overstuffs his arrangements or lyrics with unnecessary details, but these are minor points -- Nearly Human finds Rundgren at the top of his game as a performer, producer and songwriter, sustaining his momentum in a way he hadn't for nearly a full decade. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
Michael Pluznick (Conga), Michael Pluznick (Shaker), Todd Rundgren (Guitar), Todd Rundgren (Arranger), Todd Rundgren (Producer), Todd Rundgren (Main Performer), Todd Rundgren (Artwork), Todd Rundgren (Typography), Bobby Womack (Vocals), Peter Apfelbaum (Clarinet), Brent Bourgeois (Synthesizer), Brent Bourgeois (Organ (Hammond)), Brent Bourgeois (Vocals (Background)), Clarence Clemons (Choir, Chorus), Eric Martin (Choir, Chorus), Roger Powell (Synthesizer), Jeanie Tracy (Vocals (Background)), Jeanie Tracy (Choir, Chorus), Bill Spooner (Vocals (Background)), Kasim Sulton (Bass), Vince Ebo (Choir, Chorus), Eric Thompson (Assistant Engineer), Paul Gilbert (Choir, Chorus), Byron Allred (Synthesizer), Byron Allred (Piano), Byron Allred (Synthesizer Brass), Mary Arnold (Vocals (Background)), Keta Bill (Vocals (Background)), Vernon "Ice" Black (Guitar), Greg Calbi (Mastering), Nate Ginsberg (Synthesizer), John Hampton (Vocals (Background)), Barbara Imhoff (Harp), Skyler Jett (Vocals (Background)), Skyler Jett (Choir, Chorus), Melisa Kary (Vocals (Background)), Melisa Kary (Choir, Chorus), Mingo Lewis (Conga), Scott Mathews (Vocals (Background)), Scott Mathews (Choir, Chorus), Richard McKernan (Editing), Narada Michael Walden (Choir Master), Kelly Moneymaker (Choir, Chorus), Scott Moon (Synthesizer), Jenni Muldaur (Choir, Chorus), Prairie Prince (Percussion), Prairie Prince (Drums), Prairie Prince (Drums (Electric)), Vicki Randle (Vocals (Background)), Vicki Randle (Choir, Chorus), Nathan Rubin (Strings), Cary Sheldon (Vocals (Background)), Cary Sheldon (Choir, Chorus), Shandi Sinnamon (Vocals (Background)), Shandi Sinnamon (Choir, Chorus), Tom Size (Engineer), Annie Stocking (Vocals (Background)), Bobby Strickland (Flute), Bobby Strickland (Sax (Baritone)), Bobby Strickland (Sax (Tenor)), Larry Tagg (Bass), Larry Tagg (Vocals (Background)), John Tenney (Strings), Michael Urbano (Drums), Michael Urbano (Timbales), Vince Welnick (Synthesizer), Vince Welnick (Piano), Vince Welnick (Accordion), Vince Welnick (Programming), Vince Welnick (?), Jon Wilcox (Drums), Lyle Workman (Guitar), Jimmy Pugh (Organ (Hammond)), Raz Kennedy (Vocals (Background)), Michael Semanick (Assistant Engineer), N.D. Smart II (Vocals (Background)), Mike Rose (Trumpet), Paul Scott (Choir, Chorus), Marnie Riley (?), Marnie Riley (Editing Assistant), Randy Jackson (Bass), Rob Beaton (Engineer), Jim Blinn (Trombone), Paul Brancato (Strings), Kim Cataluna (Vocals (Background)), Kim Cataluna (Choir, Chorus), Shirley Faulkner (Choir, Chorus), Den Fishkin (Artwork), Paul Shaghoian (Trumpet), Bryan Thym (Vocals (Background)), Bryan Thym (Choir, Chorus), Ed Vigdor (?), Ed Vigdor (Videography), Lisa Osta (Artwork), Lisa Osta (Photography), Lisa Osta (Typography), Michele Gray (Vocals (Background)), Michele Gray (Choir, Chorus), Jean Lannen (Photography), Ralph Legnini (Tambourine), Rick Anderson (Bass), Stefan Hersh (Strings), Gary Yost (Tambourine), Roberta Freier (Strings), Emma Jean Foster (Choir, Chorus), Bruce Paine (Trombone), Michael Rosen (Engineer)
Nearly Human is a 1989 album by Todd Rundgren, and his second for Warner Bros. Records. His first release in four years time - the longest break in Rundgren's discography up to that point, although he had been active as a producer in the intervening years - the album has a soulful, searching, sometimes ironic but ultimately life-affirming ambience. Many of the songs deal with loss, self-doubt, jealousy and spiritual recovery, themes that seem to reflect his final separation and divorce from Bebe Buell and the loss of custody of Buell's daughter Liv Tyler who had grown up thinking Rundgren was her father.
The album was also the first collaboration of Rundgren and Michele Gray, a singer and ex-model who helped organize the sessions, and sang background vocals both on the record and on the subsequent tours; she went on to become Rundgren's new wife.
Nearly Human garnered very favourable reviews and is considered one of Rundgren's best albums by many of his fans, the songs having aged well in the intervening years.
In contrast to much of his other solo work where Rundgren performed in isolation playing all instruments, the album was performed live in the studio with many musicians contributing. The technique was reminiscent of the fourth side of the popular Something/Anything?, except that the material reflected the more mature perspective of a 40-year-old.
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."[1]
