Hermit of Mink Hollow
| Hermit of Mink Hollow | ||||
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| Studio album by Todd Rundgren | ||||
| Released | April 7, 1978 | |||
| Recorded | Utopia Sound Studios, Lake Hill, NY | |||
| Genre | Pop rock | |||
| Length | 34:50 | |||
| Label |
Bearsville Rhino (reissue) |
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| Producer | Todd Rundgren | |||
| Todd Rundgren chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Hermit of Mink Hollow | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |
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| Rolling Stone | (Not rated) |
Hermit of Mink Hollow is Todd Rundgren's eighth solo album, released in 1978. It was his first album to be written and recorded entirely by Rundgren alone, though large portions of earlier albums also had been recorded alone (such as the first three sides of the double-LP Something/Anything).
The album is reminiscent of the artist's earlier, more pop-oriented records and marks a lyrical return to the subject of relationships (as in the single "Can We Still Be Friends"), as well as his views on social inequality (as in the songs "Bag Lady" and "Bread"). It remains one of his most popular albums.
Mink Hollow refers to a valley, and the road that runs through it, in Lake Hill, New York just west of . Rundgren recorded this album while living in a house on Mink Hollow Road. While many think that the hermit referred to in the title is Todd, it actually originated and refers to the character and events from a local legend centered on Mink Hill Road in Lake Hill, NY. The legend involved a 3-legged dog, a missing girl and an escaped mental patient hiding in the surrounding forested mountains. Yet, Rundgren himself acknowledged being a "studio hermit", working in an "insular little 24-hour-a-day think tank", and declared that prior to this experience he wasn't aware that "too much social interaction [had] affected [his] overall creativity."
Rundgren intended the songs on the album to be performed on piano with minimal arrangements, apart from the bass, drums and voices. In that sense, he stated that the songwriting process appeared to be "fairly conventional". Most of the songs on the record didn't have lyrics until completed.
The original track listing for the album, which can be found on the back of the album jacket, was rejected by Bearsville as being too haphazard. Bearsville re-listed the songs in a more "Pop Friendly" sequence, comprising the lighter poppy songs on "The Easy Side" and the more cerebral or harder rock songs on "The Difficult Side".
All songs written by Todd Rundgren.
Album
Single
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