Editing Nazz (section)

===''Nazz Nazz'' and ''Nazz III''===
An attempt at recording in England in January 1969 was cut short when the [[Musicians' Union (United Kingdom)|Musicians' Union]] found they had not obtained proper permission to record in the country, though before returning to the United States the Nazz did a shopping spree to update their wardrobe, building their definitive look.<ref name=StewMoonInt/><ref name=OpenAnt/> The Nazz then recorded their second album in Los Angeles in late 1968 and early 1969. Sources have claimed the album was originally called "Fungo Bat", but Rundgren, Stewkey, and Mooney have all said "Fungo Bat" was just a [[working title]].<ref name=StewMoonInt/><ref name=OpenAnt/> (A [[fungo bat]] is a special [[baseball bat]] used only for practice; it is not intended to hit pitched balls.)

Due to tensions which emerged during the recording of the album, Van Osten left shortly after it was completed. The Nazz then played a few shows as a trio, with temporary bassists filling Van Osten's slot, before Rundgren quit as well.<ref name=OpenAnt/> At this point, the Nazz's second album had still yet to be released. At Stewkey and Mooney's request, the planned [[double album]] was shortened to a single LP before being released as ''[[Nazz Nazz]]'' in May 1969.<ref name="Larkin"/> Much of what was cut was piano-based Rundgren material, influenced by singer/songwriter [[Laura Nyro]] - a far cry from the group's original [[The Beatles|Beatles]]-[[The Who|Who]]-[[the Yardbirds|Yardbirds]]-[[Cream (band)|Cream]] derived sound.<ref name="Larkin"/> For a short time the Nazz continued as a duo, touring with support musicians now covering for both Rundgren and Van Osten, before formally dissolving.

In a 2002 interview Rundgren said of the Nazz's career: "It was brief and very intense. I've made peace with it, but a lot of potential was wasted. I don't really blame any single person for that. I had a hard time focusing on the band, I continued to develop myself as a songwriter and a performer. Eventually everyone would feel like a [[backup band]] - I was writing the songs, producing the records. As time went on my presence was bound to distort the thing."<ref name=OpenAnt/>

''[[Nazz III]]'' was released in May 1971, over a year after the break-up. It consists primarily of material that was cut from the second album.