The Nazz took their name from the song "The Nazz are Blue" by The Yardbirds from their album Roger the Engineer. That song, in turn, took its title from Lord Buckley's comic monologue, "The Nazz," which is a re-telling of the story of Jesus of Nazareth.
Formed in Philadelphia, USA in 1967, the psych-pop Nazz were not really Todd Rundgren's first band, both he and Van Osten had earlier played with Woody's Truck Stop, who were basically a white blues band and released their own album on Smash in early 1969.
Essentially a British-influenced mod band, the Nazz were quickly signed by Screen Gems Columbia who were looking for a replacement for The Monkees. 1968 saw the release of their debut album and a single Open My Eyes. Both were superb. The single was a high energy rocker with a compulsive beginning (which begged comparison to The Who's I Can't Explain), and beautifully blended harmonies. It received a lot of airplay in Britain, but inexplicably was not a hit. In the U.S. it was only a minor hit. It may well have been a much bigger hit, but many stations preferred to play its flip side Hello It's Me, which was also a minor hit when re-issued as the 'A' side to Crowded in 1969.
The album was full of variety - aside from the stunning Open My Eyes, it contained a number of fine rock ballads such as See What You Can Be, Hello It's Me, and If That's The Way You Feel and other dynamic hard rock numbers such as Back Of Your Mind, When I Get My Plane and She's Goin' Down (the latter showing a distinct Hendrix influence). Despite its acclaim, in retrospect, as a superb album, Nazz did not sell, either in the U.S. or the UK. Released at the height of the American West Coast's heyday, perhaps it cut across the general musical tide that year. However, it became a sought after collectors' item.
Nazz Nazz, recorded in Los Angeles, was a more consistent album and arguably the band's best. It was originally planned as a double album, but relationships within the group, particularly between Rundgren and Mooney were beginning to deteriorate to such an extent that only a single album was possible. (Nazz III was later released after the band split and made up of left overs from the earlier recording sessions.) Opening track, Forget All About It was a cohesive, melodic number. Not Wrong Long was the band's third U.S. single - the final one to be released in the UK. Under The Ice and Rain Rider were further examples of their heavier brand of rock. Gonna Cry Today and Letters Don't Count were melodic ballads, whilst Meridian Leeward was a rather strange number about a piloting human-eating pig. The final track, an eleven minute extravaganza entitled A Beautiful Song, married together all of The Nazz's musical styles as well as many of the influences on them.
Rundgren's departure for a solo career in 1970 brought the Nazz to an end, and Nazz III, compiled from material from the Nazz Nazz sessions, was issued posthumously...Nazz - Nazz (1968, SGC)
1 Open My Eyes
2 Back Of Your Mind
3 See What You Can Be
4 Hello It's Me
5 Wildwood Blues
6 If That's The Way You Feel
7 When I Get My Plane
8 Lemming Song
9 Crowded
10 She's Goin' Down





Nazz - Nazz Nazz (1969, SGC)
1 Forget All About It
2 Not Wrong Long
3 Rain Rider
4 Gonna Cry Today
5 Meridian Leeward
6 Under The Ice
7 Hang On Paul
8 Kiddie Boy
9 Featherbedding Lover
10 Letters Don't Count
11 A Beautiful Song



Nazz - Nazz III (1971, SGC)
1 Some People
2 Only One Winner
3 Kicks
4 Resolution
5 It's Not That Easy
6 Old Time Lovemaking
7 Magic Me
8 Loosen Up
9 Take The Hand
10 How Can You Call That Beautiful?
11 Plenty Of Lovin'
12 Christopher Columbus
13 You Are My Window

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