Botch. Posted November 29, 2001 Share Posted November 29, 2001 Over Thanksgiving weekend I was digging through my old vinyl and came across my Utopia albums, been playing them ever since. For you younger guys, Utopia was Todd Rundgren's band from the mid-70's to the mid-80's. What a great band! They had their problems (Todd was never quite the singer he thought he was, and most of the keyboard solos were just bleep-blip sound effects) but the ace songwriting, excellent musicianship and great call-and-response lead/harmony vocals (no multitrack/Autotune here, these were four guys SINGING!) really makes me miss these guys. I had the fortune of seeing them live just once, during the intermission the PA played Ravel's "Bolero" and each of the four guys would come out on stage, playing the solo on a different instrument each time, they must've played on a dozen different instruments or so. Then the second half of the show, they brought out the transparent guitars, strap-on keyboards, and Willie's rotating, smoke-belching motorcycle drumkit, what a great show! I've found three DVDs at Amazon on the band, and I hope Santa brings me a DVD player this Christmas! Any other fans out there? Botch "Eccentric language often is symptomatic of peculiar thinking" - George Will www.puddlestone.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GY Posted November 29, 2001 Share Posted November 29, 2001 I personally like the early, solo Rundgren stuff myself. Todd possesses an excellent sense of melody and harmony. Like the Beatles... no matter how many times I hear some of his songs, they still hold up. "Wailing Wall", "Hello It's Me", "Can We Still Be Friends", and then there's the novelty type song "Bang The Drum". Although I didn't listen as much, Utopia was a great band. I still have a great MIDI sequencing program written by Roger Powell. These guys are wizards. GY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbox Posted November 29, 2001 Share Posted November 29, 2001 My favorite Utopia album is "Another Live" I like Todd's early stuff too, but he also did great work later on as well. "A Cappella" comes to mind... Enthusiasm powers the world. Craig Anderton's Archiving Article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Zeger Posted November 29, 2001 Share Posted November 29, 2001 One of my favorite bands in the late '70s and early '80s. "Adventures in Utopia" was my favorite Utopia album. "Ra" was a pretentious piece of crap. I've seen them maybe half a dozen times and they were a very solid live act. But give me Todd's solo material any day (and some memorable solo gigs I've seen of just him on guitar and piano). [ 11-29-2001: Message edited by: mzeger ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedster Posted November 29, 2001 Share Posted November 29, 2001 The first two Utopia albums, the one with Utopia Theme and The Ikon, and "Another Live"...fantastic LPs. Once he trimmed the band down to Powell, Wilcox, and Kaz...it got a little loopy, kinda like they were trying to be commercial but it wasn't quite there. "Adventures in Utopia" had some shining moments...my favorite was "The Very Last Time", classic power pop Todd. His progged out-spacey stuff, or his Philly Soul-influenced pop stuff are some of my favorite Todd material. But, yep, I'm a total Todd-head. Saw him on his three piece tour last year with Kaz on bass, and I can't think of who the drummer was...someone of note. But you can't knock the guy, he's been very prolific, and he's entitled to a few clunkers along the way. "Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. Gauss Posted November 29, 2001 Share Posted November 29, 2001 utopia was my first concert. turns out they made that concert into "utopia Live." as noted elsewhere on these forums, i'm the idiot who yells during the ballad "the wheel" on that record.... what a moron! -d. gauss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XNU8D Posted November 30, 2001 Share Posted November 30, 2001 Was a fan of Utopia, got into them when a late night radio guy used to play "Singring and the Glass Guitar" from "RA." He must of been on the crapper. Thought it cool at the time, but can't listen to it anymore. Can listen to "Oops, wrong planet" and "Adventures.." these days. Especially like "Love Alone." But lost it all for them on "Deface the music" Who keeps moving my chair? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor Frankensteinway Posted November 30, 2001 Share Posted November 30, 2001 . . . just picture wee fairies playing wee tiny electric guitars . . . . [i]< pfffff~fff~t ~t ~ ~ [b]T![/b] > < cough > < cough >[/i] Here, [i]< cough >[/i] take it, [i]< cough, cough [/i] take a hit and pass it on . . . . Todd's gonna do a solo, man . . . [i]< cough >[/i] Oh yeah? That's fine for you, you're an accepted member of the entertainment community. What about me? What about Igor? Marginalized by Hollywood yet again. I want my Mummy . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedster Posted November 30, 2001 Share Posted November 30, 2001 I saw that tour. The Ra tour. Todd had this hyoooge pyramid (framework) with steps on it. They played "Singring" and passed around the solos (while everyone else was passing around what Dr. Frankensteinway said). During Todd's solo, he climbed up the pyramid (about 25 or 30 feet above the stage) while playing the guitar break off that second side of "Initiation", you know that half-hour-plus long instrumental piece. He got to the top of the pyramid, grabbed a rope and flipped back down to the stage. DUUUUDE. You gotta hand it to the guy for showmanship. Perhaps not quite as acrobatic as David Lee Roth, but it beats wearing a Donald Duck outfit. For those who aren't Toddheads, listen to "Initiation", "Todd", "A Wizard, a True Star", or the first two Utopia LPs. But, then again, specialized music for specialized tastes. "Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KJ Posted November 30, 2001 Share Posted November 30, 2001 I met Kaz when he was touring with Joan Jett in '87. I was the concert chair for the campus activity board. Great guy, very gracious, no 'tude at all, unlike Billy Pierce who blew me off when I told him I saw on tour with Billy Idol earlier that year! I never got much into Utopia, but I loved Meat Loaf! I mentioned that to Kaz and he smiled and said thanks. He sounds great on that album. KJ ------------------- "50 million Elvis Presley fans can't be all wrong" - John Prine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skip_dup1 Posted November 30, 2001 Share Posted November 30, 2001 Never saw them live but always loved their songwriting and musicianship. Last year on summer break I heard a song called `Influenza` on the radio. A mellow, jazzy kind of groove-loved it. The DJ said it was an old song but I never heard it before then-anyone know what CD it`s from? I`m pretty sure it would be one of Todd`s solo works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XNU8D Posted November 30, 2001 Share Posted November 30, 2001 [ 11-30-2001: Message edited by: audio-idiot ] Who keeps moving my chair? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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