My best friends and I were in Atlanta, seated in perfect seats, at this 1974 performance. Our lives were altered forever, and so much for the better. Ever grateful for Todd!
I didn't want it to end either. loved the chorus part, the lead guitar , drums , organs, everything. My 19 year old introduced this to me. There is hope for the future!!!
Todd was one of those folk who maintained total artistic control at a time when the big record companies often did not allow that. There's sooo much good Todd to be heard, and so many different flavors. He is an icon. He pushed the album tech for this album, produced several albums where he played all the instruments, was a producer for MANY musicians albums, and his work has spanned decades. Your plate is full with Todd! HUGELY. A recommendation? His 2004 album "Liars". You should allow yourself to listen to a couple of songs of his over the decades. You'll NEVER get to all his good stuff here. Don't deny yourself! And when you get more of a taste you will want to do more Todd. Blessings.
First saw Todd & Utopia May 11, 1974 at Winterland in San Francisco, a few months before this first Utopia album was released...Todd opened the show solo, performing tunes from Wizard a True Star and Something/Anything by playing various instruments (piano/keyboards, guitar, drums) with the other recorded instruments, for the first 45 minutes...He took a 20 minute break (intermission), came back with the Utopia band, and performed all of the music from this Utopia album that would be release later that year...Blew everyone away!! Utopia was one of the first American Prog-Rock Bands before anyone called it "prog-rock". - Then in May of '78, there were some of Todd's best "Back to the Bars" tour at The Roxy in West Hollywood for 7 nights in a row (2 shows/night); saw 4 of those performances. Over the years I have seen Todd solo and with Utopia at least 40+ shows. Always new and innovative, and just down right Great Music!! Many recording artist owe much to Todd as a record producer (...just ask Daryl Hall). Finally Todd has been voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Hope he attends, as he has never saught such an honor. Looking forward to your reaction to the rest of this album...my favorite!!
One thing you need to know is this is the only album that Todd ever did like this. The next album "Another Live" was recorded with the same band and it has a few songs in this style but after 1975 he changed course and Utopia became a four piece band that went in a more pop music direction. One of my first concerts was Utopia in The Fox Theater in Atlanta in 1975 one year after this song was recorded there. It was the same band and they played Utopias Theme just like on this recording. I was 16 years old and I actually snuck in a cassette recorder and recorded the show from my seat.
Hi JP ! Being a big Todd & prog fan I fell in love with this LP 1st thing ,so when they were going to play Radio city music hall / NYC me & a few buddies of mine got tickets right away . The day of the show we decided to get to NY early & hang around ,when we showed up at Radio city that afternoon who come walking down the street with his multi colored hair but Todd to do a sound check for the concert that evening .So we hung outside for a while chatting with him, he was very nice & funny . At the show we had 6th row center seats & they opened up with Utopia theme the same band as on the album .It was an Incredible show they played this whole LP ,the Utopia live LP...plus .They played so long ( over 3 hours ) Radio city management finally told them to PLEASE ! get off the stage 😂 lol We got back to the train station so late we missed our last train home & had to stay the night in the station . But it was worth it ,I still have the triangle shaped program they gave away at the show . ✌️😎
Nice memories, thanks for that. I’ve been lucky to see Todd solo maybe 3 times at different junctures, TR1 metal cone, solo with a his quacky acoustic, and with a Twist, indeed.
Hey…found Rogers brother in a Facebook post & found out I live in their great-uncles house & those 2 spent their childhood here very often, since their grandma lived 1 block over!! ♥️
It was great to meet you and see you enjoy Utopia! I had the privilege of hearing Utopia Theme live in 1974 in San Diego CA. I was astonished to see only about one third of the venue filled. Nonetheless, Todd and troupe put on a spectacular show. I remember thinking to myself, "how can they be so tight in the performance!!!????". They were spot on. As an aspiring drummer, Kevin E blew me away. What impresses me about the Utopia Theme is one of things that you mention in your review here. The score and performance is viscerally explosive! But when Todd adds his vocals and the sparse lyrics, the music becomes transcendent--spiritual. Then you get driven back in closing to the gut and muscle. One of if not my favorite Utopia pieces!
“There's a guy named Kevin Ellman who played with Todd Rundgren's Utopia for a while... He was the first guy I heard lean into the concert toms. “(Modern Drummer, April/May 1980)
I had never seen Todd Rundgren before I saw this tour. It was at The Keil Opera House in St. Louis. The first 45 minutes of the show was just Todd alone on stage with an acoustic and electric guitar (his signature multicolored Gibson SG) and a baby grand piano. He played his lite rock and pop songs including Hello It's Me...We Gotta Get You A Woman, etc...and even the quirky tune Piss Aaron. At the end of his set he thanked everyone and said that the band Utopia would be out shortly. I had never heard of Utopia. I assumed the band would include his longtime band and recording mates Hunt and Tony Sales (sons of comedian Soupy Sales).Oh..but then the lights went out, the curtain parted and there was Todd leading this unbelievably incredible band thru The Utopia Theme. My musical life was never the same again. It is still the greatest performance I have ever seen. No other has so completely left me gobsmacked as this one did. Kevin Ellman is a beast on drums and is always in my top 5 favorites.
Utopia Theme, Freak Parade, and The Ikon are all great listens from this album. Also check out Rundgren's solo work: Something/Anything, Todd, A Wizard A True Star, and Initiation are great.
I definitely agree. Some great work on his other albums too, but that is his best period. "Todd" is totally mind blowing almost alien music to me, "A Wizard" is a more lighthearted journey. All you mentioned would be good choices.
Now Justin, I want you to imagine this: You loved the songs "I Saw The Light" and "Hello It's Me" and many of the songs on his first three albums and as a result, you are very determined to see Todd Rundgren at your first opportunity. You get tickets to his upcoming concert thinking you're going to have a pleasant evening of pop tunes. But THIS is what you get hit with. From my understanding it was the tour with this particular album that had to be stopped after 4 shows because many of the patrons exited the venue way before the show was over and the word was out that this guy got, well, weird. Now fortunately for me, when I started listening to Todd and Utopia, I somehow knew of this history so I wasn't as taken aback as they were a few years earlier. However, it was THIS track that took me the longest to warm up to believe it or not. Todd would say that writing songs in the "Something/Anything?" vein were too easy, citing "I Saw The Light" as a song that only took 20 minutes to write. My sarcastic reaction to this song - especially in the first few minutes - was "Really, it took MORE than 20 minutes to come up with THIS? REALLY?" Now I see it is not a bad song and has many redeemable elements to it. Can't say it's my favorite track, but I sure as hell don't hate it as much as I once did.
Good review. I first heard this when I was about 15 or 16. I grabbed that melody and it stuck with me for decades. To me that is a melodic masterpiece that is framed by the rest of the song. A very epic song. A short symphony of sorts really.
Again, it's after 1:00 AM and still sitting here watching. your reviews since like 6 hours ago. Don't even turn on the TV much since I discovered your channel a few days ago. I saw you review Todd's "Hello It's Me'' earlier and I was thinking about suggesting Todd's Utopia album but someone beat me to it. Be sure to check out "The Ikon" for sure.
Ah, prog Todd in the early ‘70s. I’m a bigger fan of the later ‘Utopia’ with Kas, Roger, and Willie (Adventures in Utopia is a must-listen), but I still enjoy the early stuff. I’m glad you’ll be going through this one. Enjoy!
Hi JP. Dave from a damp London, but trust Just JP to Chase The Clouds Away! Fantastic prog/fusion track from an early incarnation of the band. I really got into Utopia with the their classic prog album Ra and then the melodic rock of Adventures in Utopia, but Todd covers so many musical bases in his group and solo output. Yes, that's him singing - his voice is unmistakable. Another great reaction, Justin.
Finally! Made my day. So glad you enjoyed it. So hoping you go down the Todd/Utopia rabbit hole! He’s so eclectic! Yes, musical genius and my all time favorite musical artist. And yes, that is Todd singing.
Saw TR & Utopia perform this on tour in '75. I was already a HUGE Todd head, but seeing/hearing him/them live for the first time was mind blowing. R.I.P. Ralph Shuckett.
Wow! I started requesting Utopia, specifically Ikon about 6 months ago, but I gave up. This Album is Historically Significant, under recognized, underappreciated. Tod Rundgren is one of the Most Important people in Music, not only as an excellent guitarist and vocalist but as a writer, engineer, producer, and arranger/composer. His influence reaches Far and Wide. SO glade you enjoyed it and can't wait to see your reaction to Ikon. I'll try with another request, much in the same vein as this song but Shorter----- Argent "Music of the Spheres". This song changed my Life.......yadda yadda yadda.
TR's own recording career has so many hard left turns, all the while blazing new trails into parts unknown. Can be hard for new fans to wrap their heads around sometimes. I learned early on to drop expectations and just go along for the ride. I've followed him since early 70s.
As a then 16 year old back in 76 with a developing interest in prog rock a friend recommended I check this out. And it blew me away. What an album. And though there aren't too many vocals in this particular track it does highlight what a fantastic voice Todd Rundgren possesses.
I remember other Todd Rundgren albums but I'd forgotten this one. My memory of the 70's may be questionable but I swear the last time I heard the "Utopia" album was in quadraphonic from tape. It still sounds fine in stereo. I'll bookmark this and come back to check out Ikon when I get time. Thanks!
I am thrilled to see that you enjoyed this song, and I really enjoyed your reactions and your analysis! So glad you are getting back to Todd! There is just SO much to discover with him! I look forward to what's next! :)
Great to see you checking out the first Utopia album. I had a class in High School called Rock and All That Jazz and once a week we had a day where people could bring in albums to play and talk about. This had just come out and someone brought it in and played this track. Me and most of the class was just blown away. In a time when we were all listening to Deep Purple and Alice Cooper etc, well we had never heard anything like this. And like you mentioned, it was almost a full hour of music on the album. Within a week, I had gone out and bought the album so I could study it in detail at home. I learned later that Todd Rundgren had a history of being way ahead of what other bands were doing and surprising his fans with each album he put out.
Utopia in its various incarnations was all top tier musicians. Todd's ideas demanded it. When I first heard this, I thought it had to be a studio recording where Todd had dubbed in crowd noise. Years later hearing him and a 3rd or 4th get Utopia, I was sure it was live. They must rehearse like madmen.. Thnx for doing this one.
The Ikon is the best track on this album. An unabashed prog delight, and at just over half an hour long, a no brainer for a 'long song Saturday' reaction.
First time listen for me. I found it started very nice and just went onwards and upwards from there. What a way to start an album. If side two is better, I am looking forward to this journey
Hi Justin, I know you do your research but in case you weren't aware, Todd Rundgren produced Steve Hillage's second album "L". Good stuff to be found there. Hillage then starts going all funky on "Motivation Radio" and "Green".
Very cool! Haven't heard this album in at least 100 years. Gonna have to go back and check it out, again. The Utopia album that I really got into was Adventures In Utopia (1980 ), which is a little more straightforward rock album. Set Me Free is the obvious first track to check from that album. Caravan is probably my 2nd fave on the album. You Make Me Crazy has a definite Cars vibe ( always reminds me of Moving In Stereo / All Mixed Up ). Second Nature would have fit on just about any Todd Rundgren album. The opener, The Road To Utopia, is cool, too.
Jean Yves Labat (keyboards on this album) had at least one album on Warner Bros. (sharing Todd's & Utopia's "mother" label...Bearsville was distributed by WB in the day) in the mid-'70s...very synthy. He was billed as "M. Frog," and would be worth digging up, especially if you're into Eno-esque synth work with treatments and the like.
Ah, the memories!... back in high school, the guy that taught me how to play Blood on the Rooftops was a huge Utopia fan and I also got to hear Nektar for the first time. After the lessons, we'd watch the Benny Hill show!
Saw them do this live at The Filmore in Detroit for there Return to Utopia tour meet and greet. Great show to be sure . Todd is a Wizard a True Star.The entire album is a Great Play! 🎸🎶🎶🎶🎶🎸🎸.
Check out utopia's RA album particularly the song Singring and the Glass Guitar. Yeah man this song was my first introduction to them,I mean come on Todd rundgren 🤷🏾♂️ good stuff right there
In the Winter of '75 I was 13 and I went over to a friend's house and her older sister put this album on. I was a fledgling drummer, and this blew me away... so much so that she gave me the album because she didn't like it. Her loss. I have this song in my top 10 prog songs of all time, and I have this burned on 3 or more compilation CD's I keep in my car. There is a modern version of it live, on the AXS cable music channel, which they air a couple times per year. It's from around 2015 and features a different lineup than this, except for maybe the drummer.
I always felt that Todd’s guitar playing had a certain umph that others didn’t. The EMS synthi Hi-Fi guitar synth was the reason, plus his gorgeous vibrato and melody. Glad you dug the song and are into doing the album. I don’t like everything he does, it’s like wading through some rushes to often find a life altering song, it’s worth the exploration. Peace and synthi Music
The EMS synth effects on his guitar (controlled by M Frog Labat) are very interesting on this song and on the Wizard A True Star album, and other live performances of early Utopia.
@@-davidolivares There’s a good interview with M Frog Labat on Rundgren Radio from 2008 where he talks about his synth processing I also recommend watching the Utopia 1974 performance on Don kirshners rock concert (best quality version on CZcams uploaded this year), pay attention to Synthi effects on “when the shit hits the fan” and “Utopia theme”. Very interesting stuff
A really great album by a band of really talented musicians that Todd put together! This is my favorite period of Todd's varied career, those couple of years of: A Wizard, A True Star (which featured some of these same Utopia musicians on some tracks) and then the next year Todd Rundren's Utopia...a very creative and inspired period for Rundgren! This opening track Utopia Theme is a real tour de force that sets the mood for the rest of the album brilliantly. Considering it's a live in concert track, the level of playing and musicianship of the band is pretty amazing, as is the production by Todd! It's only when you hear the applause a few minutes in, do you realise/remember it's actually a live track! Great choice of an album to hear, a real hidden gem. Love it!
And he produced the New York Dolls album! From blue eyed soul to prog to punk. I have this on a cassette tape that I listen to from time to time. Cool, live stuff. I was in NYC when he performed in the early 1970's in Central Park and I think he opened with this. I was just a kid and was with my brother in law who was trying to single handedly save NY from crime. Funny memory. We were not there for the concert.
He was part of the "Philly Sound" back in the '60s with Nazz and Woody's Truckstop. First heard Nazz live in a Wildwood, NJ bar. Been a huge fan ever since.
@@BritIronRebel :)...Wildwood was so great in those days...Heaven...You can still see remnants of it today...I haven't heard the Nazz mentioned in at least 45 years...:)...I was more of a Witness group wildwood era guy... mid to late 70's I'm glad I caught the tail end of a great era...
Exhilarating stuff! Thanks, JP. TR has so many facets to his music-making, but melody is always to the fore. A great sense of musical dynamics in his arrangements and production.
What a Rock Show! I'm glad to have seen Todd / Utopia live at the Fox in St. Louis during the RA Tour, with the Great Sphinx and Pyramid over the stage. And I got to see Todd's cast metal Onc Guitar, which later perished in a warehouse fire. The group Utopia is very precise and innovative. Some zaniness too ("Freak Parade" and "The Glass Guitar" are examples), all part of the show.
You know, it's really fun watching you hear this for the first time. Seeing you pick out your moments like you did is very reminiscent of how I felt after the first listen. I think you're going to enjoy the rest for sure. Freak Parade is a personal favourite of mine from this album, rather quirky in spots (like me). 😁
Another artist I know shamefully little about. I really liked this. I look forward to the remainder of the album. The usual. p.s. I am jealous of my wife and one of my sons. They started curling last night. I like the sport (it can be competitive but it can also be like beer league softball) but my knees don't bend that anymore.
I love his album "Initiation" from 1975. Side one has six songs and the whole of side two is a 35:23 track called A Treatise On Cosmic Fire. Amazing work and from the mid-1970s too.
It's actually longer but Todd had to speed up the master tape to make it barely fit the constraints of vinyl. I've taken the the song and adjusted it in my DAW to restore the original length.
Nice bombastic opening song. The production is great and sounds good even on my iMac speakers. Love that old analog tape/console saturation that phattens everything up. The drummer is great, nice incorporation of smaller concert toms for tonal variety (I have a set of vintage Slingerland concert toms - like Neil's 70s kit).
This song/album is a great introduction into prog in general. It's obviously prog but remains rather "simple" throughout, so as to not scare anyone off who aren't used to some of the key features in what makes prog, prog. A great surprise for me today, thank you for that. Wishing everyone a great weekend! 😀
Todd loves his triangular, and other straight lined shapes, graphically and musically. Sometimes it can get repetitive and basic sounding. Love him though.
Adventures in Utopia is a must if you like this one! Caravan & The Last of the New Wave Riders are great songs. This album is still proggy but a little more commercial.
Good on you for reacting to this. Todd was mostly known for his early MOR hits like Hello It's Me, and then took up this prog persona in the mid 70s. He also wore lots of stage makeup during this period, so to some people it looked contrived. He wasn't British, didn't have a mix of classical or folk influences, so he didn't really fit the mold. But I thought this first album was excellent. What always comes through with Rundgren is his strong sense of melody and songwriting ability. That shows up strong in the latter half of this song. He did some strange interviews back then where he sounded a bit defensive against the criticism and claimed he could play guitar as fast as John McLaughlin (I guess to boost his credibility). But this is a great, oddball prog album that everyone should own. I wasn't so impressed with the later Utopia stuff. Of course he went on to be a big 80s producer and produced one the best albums of the 80s, XTC Skylarking.
JP, be great for you to listen to the more stable line-up of Utopia, their first album Ra, teenager Kasim Sulton makes his debut alongside Roger Powell John Wilcox and Todd, it also gave the band 3 prominent writers alongside Todd as well as vocals, Neal Morse originally of Spock's Beard claimed it to be his favourite Utopia album!!! 😊
Amazing performer and album. I saw him back when we was called simply "Runt". I seem to recall him flipping on tiny trampolines, but alas, I may have been the one tripping. Great share! Love to suggest "Second Spasm" by Gryphon, "Talybont" by Gentle Giant and/or "Folk Song" by Bongwater.
Re the acrobatics, you may be thinking of Nils Lofgren. I remember him performing 'Night fades Away' on the Old Grey Whistle Test, UK TV show. Towards the end of the song he puts down his geet, the drummer keeps pounding for the big finish. Nils the skips over to a trampette, jumps on it, does a back flip, and the song ends as he lands. A crackin' finish.
@Jfergs. You're absolutely correct on that, thank you! Now that I think about it, Todd would look mighty funny doing that. Was Nils going by "Runt" at the time? Seems like he was called something else. Both great performers.
@@MisterWondrous I don't really know about the name thing, my memories going :) I do remember Nils cos he did a few numbers on the show, and i particularly liked 'Keith don't go'. And obviously the back flip, which I thought very cool. I was more easily impressed BITD, haha.
I always felt Todd was a better engineer than a songwriter, but I was obsessed with his Utopia era back in the 70s. Some of his songs were actually recorded in his front room. He can replicate the songs in concert to the note and that to me is very impressive. Of course, this song is live.
I think totally the opposite when it comes to some productions of his own albums in the 70s, which I find rather messy and neglected. but nothing surprising when we know that on vinyl support, the average duration per side must have been around 22 minutes at most and that Rundgren tried to reach extreme durations to put as much music as possible! (26mn and 29mn for each side of the album A Wizard, a True Star. 32mn and 35mn for both sides of the 33rpm Initiation).
@@a.k.1740 Yeah, he was pushing the boundaries sometimes at the cost of deeper and higher end values, dimensional fullness. There’s a word for this, on the tip of my tongue… dynamic, that’s it.
Justin, I love that you are getting to this and going to hear the whole album. The two long songs are the real meat of the album but the two middle songs are worth a listen as well if not quite up to the high level of the long plays. I really love your channel because not many others give some of these lesser heard progressive albums/bands a listen. I REALLY ask you to KEEP DIVING deeper. There are SOO many good bands and progressive songs out there that may not have the name recognition of Genesis or even Todd Rundgren. You have enjoyed bands like Rare Bird, Egg, and Greenslade so I implore you to keep going down the rabbit hole. Dig deeper! Some of my top suggestions are bands like IQ (their 90s music), Beggars Opera ("Time Machine"), Neal Morse, Beardfish, Phideaux, Lucifer's Friend ("Spanish Galleon" and "Sorrow"), Jordsjø, and Quatermass ("Post War Saturday Echo"). So many others I would like to mention but you probably can't get to these for another year!!
Justin!! So glad you are doing this album!!! The studio recordings on the rest of this album are actually well produced and fantastic!! "Utopia Theme" is one of my favorite live song of all time!! Is "A Wizard A True Star" next??!!
I found this version of Utopia to be rather self indulgent, like modern jazz- a lot of notes but very little meaning. But it still kicks ass! However, I much preferred their 3rd album Ra, released in '77. There is a different line up of musicians and the songwriting is better IMHO. Perhaps you will react to Ra sometime. I especially like the songs "Singring and the Glass Guitar (An Electrified Fairytale)" and "Magic Dragon Theatre". Justin, I think you would really like Ra. Utopia is an awesome band. Todd Rundren is the original multi-instrumentalist, very talented, and a successful producer. His album Something/Anything? is stellar.
A long-awaited Initiation to the Wizard Of a True Star! I have been calling for Something Anything from Todd! Thank you Umbrella Man You have Set Me Free! Peace from the farm.
LOVE me some Prog todd...but then i like most of what he's ever done. genius. A lot of people were turned off by this phase. I guess when you expect 'Hello it's me' type songs and piano ballads to be pumped out for an entire career then this could disappoint. But to many fans (myself included) the fact that you NEVER knew what you were going to get was the beauty of it all. Even if i didn't like a particular phase, I LOVED that Todd would do what HE wanted to do....record sales and fan base be damned. if you want some other Prog Todd gems....'freak parade' from this same album, 'The Seven Rays' and 'Another Life' from 'another live utopia'....and although it's not really 'prog' check out the version of 'don't you ever learn?' from the album 'back to the bars'....some great weirdness inside a gorgeous song. oh...side note. Neil Peart has sited this album (and song) as a major influence on him as he had never heard anyone lean into the toms as Kevin Ellman does here. great stuff...
Thanks for doing the Utopia debut album JP! This album along with a couple others from Return To Forever to Gentle Giant; rock as I knew it was in my rearview mirror. Aerosmith who??
Yes yes, what a great track. So glad you liked it. Todd is so underrated in the Uk. Now buckle up for The Ikon. 👍When you reach it.. Chicken skin aplenty lol..
This was a daring album to make. How many bands chose a live setting for their debut. Also, given that the UK and and Europe were mecca, as far as prog goes, (I think that Kansas first album may have been released around this time)North America musicians had not considered prog as a musical option. Once again a wonderful reaction. Although they are newer, you might consider bending your ears to some of Band Maid's proggy instrumental tracks. They tend to be short in length, but no less musically challenging and stimulating (from a listener's point of view). Cheers.
That sounds like it is in need of a re-mastering. Love the song though. Only know a few Todd Rundgren songs. I will have to explore more. Thanks for the reaction.
Great album that I have listened to so many times ! I hope you do the rest (with the wacky and funky "Freak Parade", the more rock "Freedom Fighters" and the progressive epic "The Ikon"). The only small complaint that I could make with the album is its little messy sound but the compositions are so great that this small defect does not affect its listening in any way.
Actually this was a long album, almost 60 minutes - because it had to be compressed so much to fit onto a vinyl disc, it suffered the same sonic fate that plagued many early Todd albums. I listened to this album incessantly during high school.
Yes it's really weird that Todd who was a famous producer since the early 70's neglected his own albums when it comes to their sound quality ! But ultimately not so surprising when Rundgren admits that, in the case of his own records, he doesn't think "as a producer", but uses the studio to "help create a performance".
Some of the songs from Nazz III, cobbled together after the band had split up, are just about perfect. Not forgetting 'Open My Eyes' from the first album, with its nod to Pete Townshend at the beginning.
Yes the next line in that Wikipedia article says they avoided that compression on the CD. I love how you can concentrate and absorb a music piece so quickly and point out the highlights the way you do. To me it sounds like a lot of jamming. All Music has an amusing description of the band on their "Anthology" review: They were just as capable of turning out great pop tunes as they were to wander into meandering jams or directionless hard rock. I have listened to that album (which they praise) but don't recall anything about it now, need to give it another listen.
It’s been somewhat spotty, the price of trying new things, like blindly walking through the desert and more than periodically finding wonderful gorgeous oasises.
I never really listened to this because I wasn’t much of a fan of the Ra album and I wasn’t too impressed with Utopia’s later, more power pop direction. But this is straight up great progressive rock with a jazzier bent than his earlier, more trippy solo works like “Wizard” and “Todd.” Both of which are my favorites of his. Fantastic live performance, too. Can’t wait to hear more.
Todd is underrated. I think it's his best seventies record other than the first Utopia album. "The Spark of Life" from Todd is one the greatest electronic pieces of music ever recorded.
Huge Todd fan. Saw him many times in each decade since the early 70s. I prefer his solo albums. The first four or five. (Runt: Ballad; Something Anything, A Wizard a True Star, Hermit etc.....
This track and The Ikon are for me the hilights of the album. I once heard a bootleg recording of his song Hiroshima, which blew me away (no pun intended). Much more intense than the studio version. I have looked for it but unfortunately never found it again.
I've never listened to this album despite knowing about it for 3 decades... interesting to hear this title track... has a feeling of George Duke/Zappa/RTF at times... not sure I would ever listen to it again but interesting to hear what other acts were doing in this time period.... would have been amazing to have been a teenager in this time period and gone to concerts and witnessed the bitrth of these progressive acts... I think I prefer the Canterbury scene vibe overall though.
Yippee! I was hoping you would work your way around to this masterwork of an album. You have to love the way the music starts off; takes you somewhere else way out there, then brings you back to where you started (almost). How does that old saying go; "You will return to where you started, only to see it for the first time". I'm sure you can apprecite what an impact this album had on an 18 year old mind, swirling in a sea of mind expanding substances and discovering the wider universe! I think it was about six months ago when you were doing long tracks I suggested you have a look at "The Ikon" (I still make the same suggestion with the same belief...The first 7 or 8 notes will grab you and off you will go for the next 35 minutes!). Also; it is well worth your while to delve into Todd's "Faithfull" album; in which one side is devoted to covers, and the other to originals. Some of the bands he faithfully covers are The Beatles, The Byrds, Hendrix, Dylan; all impeccably done.
My best friends and I were in Atlanta, seated in perfect seats, at this 1974 performance. Our lives were altered forever, and so much for the better. Ever grateful for Todd!
I didn't want it to end either. loved the chorus part, the lead guitar , drums , organs, everything. My 19 year old introduced this to me. There is hope for the future!!!
Hi JP - You listen to music of my youth, music that very few are listening to. This brings back so many memories, thank you
Todd was one of those folk who maintained total artistic control at a time when the big record companies often did not allow that.
There's sooo much good Todd to be heard, and so many different flavors. He is an icon. He pushed the album tech for this album, produced several albums where he played all the instruments, was a producer for MANY musicians albums, and his work has spanned decades.
Your plate is full with Todd! HUGELY.
A recommendation? His 2004 album "Liars". You should allow yourself to listen to a couple of songs of his over the decades. You'll NEVER get to all his good stuff here. Don't deny yourself! And when you get more of a taste you will want to do more Todd.
Blessings.
First saw Todd & Utopia May 11, 1974 at Winterland in San Francisco, a few months before this first Utopia album was released...Todd opened the show solo, performing tunes from Wizard a True Star and Something/Anything by playing various instruments (piano/keyboards, guitar, drums) with the other recorded instruments, for the first 45 minutes...He took a 20 minute break (intermission), came back with the Utopia band, and performed all of the music from this Utopia album that would be release later that year...Blew everyone away!! Utopia was one of the first American Prog-Rock Bands before anyone called it "prog-rock". - Then in May of '78, there were some of Todd's best "Back to the Bars" tour at The Roxy in West Hollywood for 7 nights in a row (2 shows/night); saw 4 of those performances. Over the years I have seen Todd solo and with Utopia at least 40+ shows. Always new and innovative, and just down right Great Music!! Many recording artist owe much to Todd as a record producer (...just ask Daryl Hall). Finally Todd has been voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Hope he attends, as he has never saught such an honor. Looking forward to your reaction to the rest of this album...my favorite!!
One thing you need to know is this is the only album that Todd ever did like this.
The next album "Another Live" was recorded with the same band and it has a few songs in this style but after 1975 he changed course and Utopia became a four piece band that went in a more pop music direction. One of my first concerts was Utopia in The Fox Theater in Atlanta in 1975 one year after this song was recorded there. It was the same band and they played Utopias Theme just like on this recording. I was 16 years old and I actually snuck in a cassette recorder and recorded the show from my seat.
Hi JP ! Being a big Todd & prog fan I fell in love with this LP 1st thing ,so when they were going to play Radio city music hall / NYC me & a few buddies of mine got tickets right away . The day of the show we decided to get to NY early & hang around ,when we showed up at Radio city that afternoon who come walking down the street with his multi colored hair but Todd to do a sound check for the concert that evening .So we hung outside for a while chatting with him, he was very nice & funny . At the show we had 6th row center seats & they opened up with Utopia theme the same band as on the album .It was an Incredible show they played this whole LP ,the Utopia live LP...plus .They played so long ( over 3 hours ) Radio city management finally told them to PLEASE ! get off the stage 😂 lol We got back to the train station so late we missed our last train home & had to stay the night in the station . But it was worth it ,I still have the triangle shaped program they gave away at the show . ✌️😎
Nice memories, thanks for that.
I’ve been lucky to see Todd solo maybe 3 times at different junctures, TR1 metal cone, solo with a his quacky acoustic, and with a Twist, indeed.
That's a great story! I'm all envious and stuff!
But seriously, that was a dream experience!
I saw Todd solo in 2017 touring with Yes. Fantastic!
Yep! Saw this in Flint, Mi. I still have my pyramid program! 🔼✌️🎶
Hey…found Rogers brother in a Facebook post & found out I live in their great-uncles house & those 2 spent their childhood here very often, since their grandma lived 1 block over!! ♥️
It was great to meet you and see you enjoy Utopia! I had the privilege of hearing Utopia Theme live in 1974 in San Diego CA. I was astonished to see only about one third of the venue filled. Nonetheless, Todd and troupe put on a spectacular show. I remember thinking to myself, "how can they be so tight in the performance!!!????". They were spot on. As an aspiring drummer, Kevin E blew me away. What impresses me about the Utopia Theme is one of things that you mention in your review here. The score and performance is viscerally explosive! But when Todd adds his vocals and the sparse lyrics, the music becomes transcendent--spiritual. Then you get driven back in closing to the gut and muscle. One of if not my favorite Utopia pieces!
That hit in ALL the right places. Brilliant.
The opening track is like an overture to an opera.
He was playing Claptons old SG back then.
✌️🎸💥
I still have the program from this show from back in 1975. The concert was 4 hours long!
Kevin Ellman's drumming on this album was a big influence on Neil Peart.
That is exactly what I thought. Rush must have been influenced by them. Did you read that somewhere?
“There's a guy named Kevin Ellman who played with Todd Rundgren's Utopia for a while... He was the first guy I heard lean into the concert toms. “(Modern Drummer, April/May 1980)
Great start to finish. Thanks haven't heard this for almost 35 years.
I had never seen Todd Rundgren before I saw this tour. It was at The Keil Opera House in St. Louis. The first 45 minutes of the show was just Todd alone on stage with an acoustic and electric guitar (his signature multicolored Gibson SG) and a baby grand piano. He played his lite rock and pop songs including Hello It's Me...We Gotta Get You A Woman, etc...and even the quirky tune Piss Aaron. At the end of his set he thanked everyone and said that the band Utopia would be out shortly. I had never heard of Utopia. I assumed the band would include his longtime band and recording mates Hunt and Tony Sales (sons of comedian Soupy Sales).Oh..but then the lights went out, the curtain parted and there was Todd leading this unbelievably incredible band thru The Utopia Theme. My musical life was never the same again. It is still the greatest performance I have ever seen. No other has so completely left me gobsmacked as this one did.
Kevin Ellman is a beast on drums and is always in my top 5 favorites.
Utopia Theme, Freak Parade, and The Ikon are all great listens from this album. Also check out Rundgren's solo work: Something/Anything, Todd, A Wizard A True Star, and Initiation are great.
I definitely agree. Some great work on his other albums too, but that is his best period. "Todd" is totally mind blowing almost alien music to me, "A Wizard" is a more lighthearted journey. All you mentioned would be good choices.
So is Freedom Fighter.
Now Justin, I want you to imagine this: You loved the songs "I Saw The Light" and "Hello It's Me" and many of the songs on his first three albums and as a result, you are very determined to see Todd Rundgren at your first opportunity. You get tickets to his upcoming concert thinking you're going to have a pleasant evening of pop tunes. But THIS is what you get hit with. From my understanding it was the tour with this particular album that had to be stopped after 4 shows because many of the patrons exited the venue way before the show was over and the word was out that this guy got, well, weird. Now fortunately for me, when I started listening to Todd and Utopia, I somehow knew of this history so I wasn't as taken aback as they were a few years earlier. However, it was THIS track that took me the longest to warm up to believe it or not. Todd would say that writing songs in the "Something/Anything?" vein were too easy, citing "I Saw The Light" as a song that only took 20 minutes to write. My sarcastic reaction to this song - especially in the first few minutes - was "Really, it took MORE than 20 minutes to come up with THIS? REALLY?" Now I see it is not a bad song and has many redeemable elements to it. Can't say it's my favorite track, but I sure as hell don't hate it as much as I once did.
Good review. I first heard this when I was about 15 or 16. I grabbed that melody and it stuck with me for decades. To me that is a melodic masterpiece that is framed by the rest of the song. A very epic song. A short symphony of sorts really.
Again, it's after 1:00 AM and still sitting here watching. your reviews since like 6 hours ago. Don't even turn on the TV much since I discovered your channel a few days ago. I saw you review Todd's "Hello It's Me'' earlier and I was thinking about suggesting Todd's Utopia album but someone beat me to it. Be sure to check out "The Ikon" for sure.
Ah, prog Todd in the early ‘70s. I’m a bigger fan of the later ‘Utopia’ with Kas, Roger, and Willie (Adventures in Utopia is a must-listen), but I still enjoy the early stuff. I’m glad you’ll be going through this one. Enjoy!
I’m looking at you but I’m talking to myself…
@@-davidolivares ***gets chills, tears well up, chokes up***
@@-davidolivares There’s a lot to like about that album too.
Got to see later Utopia as a 14 yr old kid.Mind blown.They each played drums bass guitar and keys at one point.Godz.
Agreed!!!
Hi JP. Dave from a damp London, but trust Just JP to Chase The Clouds Away! Fantastic prog/fusion track from an early incarnation of the band. I really got into Utopia with the their classic prog album Ra and then the melodic rock of Adventures in Utopia, but Todd covers so many musical bases in his group and solo output. Yes, that's him singing - his voice is unmistakable. Another great reaction, Justin.
Finally! Made my day. So glad you enjoyed it. So hoping you go down the Todd/Utopia rabbit hole! He’s so eclectic! Yes, musical genius and my all time favorite musical artist. And yes, that is Todd singing.
Sometimes this is my favourite sometimes it's Ra, I'm more than happy with either. Todd always makes me happy so I'm happy today, thanks!
Saw TR & Utopia perform this on tour in '75. I was already a HUGE Todd head, but seeing/hearing him/them live for the first time was mind blowing. R.I.P. Ralph Shuckett.
RIP “Moogy” Klingman
Wow! I started requesting Utopia, specifically Ikon about 6 months ago, but I gave up. This Album is Historically Significant, under recognized, underappreciated. Tod Rundgren is one of the Most Important people in Music, not only as an excellent guitarist and vocalist but as a writer, engineer, producer, and arranger/composer. His influence reaches Far and Wide.
SO glade you enjoyed it and can't wait to see your reaction to Ikon.
I'll try with another request, much in the same vein as this song but Shorter----- Argent "Music of the Spheres".
This song changed my Life.......yadda yadda yadda.
TR's own recording career has so many hard left turns, all the while blazing new trails into parts unknown. Can be hard for new fans to wrap their heads around sometimes. I learned early on to drop expectations and just go along for the ride. I've followed him since early 70s.
Very Well Put.
As a then 16 year old back in 76 with a developing interest in prog rock a friend recommended I check this out. And it blew me away. What an album. And though there aren't too many vocals in this particular track it does highlight what a fantastic voice Todd Rundgren possesses.
I remember other Todd Rundgren albums but I'd forgotten this one. My memory of the 70's may be questionable but I swear the last time I heard the "Utopia" album was in quadraphonic from tape. It still sounds fine in stereo. I'll bookmark this and come back to check out Ikon when I get time. Thanks!
Todd is handling the vocals
I am thrilled to see that you enjoyed this song, and I really enjoyed your reactions and your analysis!
So glad you are getting back to Todd! There is just SO much to discover with him!
I look forward to what's next!
:)
Great to see you checking out the first Utopia album. I had a class in High School called Rock and All That Jazz and once a week we had a day where people could bring in albums to play and talk about. This had just come out and someone brought it in and played this track. Me and most of the class was just blown away. In a time when we were all listening to Deep Purple and Alice Cooper etc, well we had never heard anything like this. And like you mentioned, it was almost a full hour of music on the album. Within a week, I had gone out and bought the album so I could study it in detail at home. I learned later that Todd Rundgren had a history of being way ahead of what other bands were doing and surprising his fans with each album he put out.
Utopia in its various incarnations was all top tier musicians. Todd's ideas demanded it. When I first heard this, I thought it had to be a studio recording where Todd had dubbed in crowd noise. Years later hearing him and a 3rd or 4th get Utopia, I was sure it was live. They must rehearse like madmen.. Thnx for doing this one.
The Ikon is the best track on this album. An unabashed prog delight, and at just over half an hour long, a no brainer for a 'long song Saturday' reaction.
Excellent song, goes into a lot of genres and crazy solos
First time listen for me. I found it started very nice and just went onwards and upwards from there. What a way to start an album. If side two is better, I am looking forward to this journey
Hi Justin, I know you do your research but in case you weren't aware, Todd Rundgren produced Steve Hillage's second album "L". Good stuff to be found there. Hillage then starts going all funky on "Motivation Radio" and "Green".
You must see Todd Rundgren on this tour if you're able to, the setlist is amazing.
Very cool! Haven't heard this album in at least 100 years. Gonna have to go back and check it out, again. The Utopia album that I really got into was Adventures In Utopia (1980 ), which is a little more straightforward rock album. Set Me Free is the obvious first track to check from that album. Caravan is probably my 2nd fave on the album. You Make Me Crazy has a definite Cars vibe ( always reminds me of Moving In Stereo / All Mixed Up ). Second Nature would have fit on just about any Todd Rundgren album. The opener, The Road To Utopia, is cool, too.
One of my favorite songs- period.
T.R.Utopia was one of the best concerts I ever attended.
Myself as well
Jean Yves Labat (keyboards on this album) had at least one album on Warner Bros. (sharing Todd's & Utopia's "mother" label...Bearsville was distributed by WB in the day) in the mid-'70s...very synthy. He was billed as "M. Frog," and would be worth digging up, especially if you're into Eno-esque synth work with treatments and the like.
Ah, the memories!... back in high school, the guy that taught me how to play Blood on the Rooftops was a huge Utopia fan and I also got to hear Nektar for the first time. After the lessons, we'd watch the Benny Hill show!
Ah, finally…oh and I will come out and jam with you. This is the best man.
Saw them do this live at The Filmore in Detroit for there Return to Utopia tour meet and greet. Great show to be sure . Todd is a Wizard a True Star.The entire album is a Great Play! 🎸🎶🎶🎶🎶🎸🎸.
Check out utopia's RA album particularly the song
Singring and the Glass Guitar.
Yeah man this song was my first introduction to them,I mean come on Todd rundgren 🤷🏾♂️ good stuff right there
I saw this tour at the Calderone concert hall '77 in Hempstead LI, fantastic show.
it was a favorite in the beginning but, has lost some of it luster, for me.
Communion With the Sun and Sunburst Finish were cool too!
In the Winter of '75 I was 13 and I went over to a friend's house and her older sister put this album on. I was a fledgling drummer, and this blew me away... so much so that she gave me the album because she didn't like it. Her loss. I have this song in my top 10 prog songs of all time, and I have this burned on 3 or more compilation CD's I keep in my car. There is a modern version of it live, on the AXS cable music channel, which they air a couple times per year. It's from around 2015 and features a different lineup than this, except for maybe the drummer.
I always felt that Todd’s guitar playing had a certain umph that others didn’t. The EMS synthi Hi-Fi guitar synth was the reason, plus his gorgeous vibrato and melody.
Glad you dug the song and are into doing the album.
I don’t like everything he does, it’s like wading through some rushes to often find a life altering song, it’s worth the exploration.
Peace and synthi Music
Todd's guitar tone has always been choice to my ears....
@@ZalMoxis
One of a kind. Angelic vibrato and heavenly harmonics…
The EMS synth effects on his guitar (controlled by M Frog Labat) are very interesting on this song and on the Wizard A True Star album, and other live performances of early Utopia.
@@nickmastro6870
Tell me everything or nothing . I appreciate any information though .
@@-davidolivares There’s a good interview with M Frog Labat on Rundgren Radio from 2008 where he talks about his synth processing
I also recommend watching the Utopia 1974 performance on Don kirshners rock concert (best quality version on CZcams uploaded this year), pay attention to Synthi effects on “when the shit hits the fan” and “Utopia theme”. Very interesting stuff
A really great album by a band of really talented musicians that Todd put together! This is my favorite period of Todd's varied career, those couple of years of: A Wizard, A True Star (which featured some of these same Utopia musicians on some tracks) and then the next year Todd Rundren's Utopia...a very creative and inspired period for Rundgren! This opening track Utopia Theme is a real tour de force that sets the mood for the rest of the album brilliantly. Considering it's a live in concert track, the level of playing and musicianship of the band is pretty amazing, as is the production by Todd! It's only when you hear the applause a few minutes in, do you realise/remember it's actually a live track! Great choice of an album to hear, a real hidden gem. Love it!
And he produced the New York Dolls album! From blue eyed soul to prog to punk. I have this on a cassette tape that I listen to from time to time. Cool, live stuff. I was in NYC when he performed in the early 1970's in Central Park and I think he opened with this. I was just a kid and was with my brother in law who was trying to single handedly save NY from crime. Funny memory. We were not there for the concert.
"Meanwhile, back in the jungle...." (A NY Doll reference) lol
BIG TODD FAN
Tod; Local boy does well!...:)...He had a big following, in the 70's and 80's, around here...He's a genius producer and musician...He's a keeper...:)
He was part of the "Philly Sound" back in the '60s with Nazz and Woody's Truckstop. First heard Nazz live in a Wildwood, NJ bar. Been a huge fan ever since.
@@BritIronRebel :)...Wildwood was so great in those days...Heaven...You can still see remnants of it today...I haven't heard the Nazz mentioned in at least 45 years...:)...I was more of a Witness group wildwood era guy... mid to late 70's I'm glad I caught the tail end of a great era...
Exhilarating stuff! Thanks, JP. TR has so many facets to his music-making, but melody is always to the fore. A great sense of musical dynamics in his arrangements and production.
What a Rock Show! I'm glad to have seen Todd / Utopia live at the Fox in St. Louis during the RA Tour, with the Great Sphinx and Pyramid over the stage. And I got to see Todd's cast metal Onc Guitar, which later perished in a warehouse fire. The group Utopia is very precise and innovative. Some zaniness too ("Freak Parade" and "The Glass Guitar" are examples), all part of the show.
Had this album back in the day n always enjoyed immersing myself in it. Tks Justin, looking forward to more!
You know, it's really fun watching you hear this for the first time. Seeing you pick out your moments like you did is very reminiscent of how I felt after the first listen. I think you're going to enjoy the rest for sure. Freak Parade is a personal favourite of mine from this album, rather quirky in spots (like me). 😁
Ty :)
Another artist I know shamefully little about. I really liked this. I look forward to the remainder of the album.
The usual.
p.s. I am jealous of my wife and one of my sons. They started curling last night. I like the sport (it can be competitive but it can also be like beer league softball) but my knees don't bend that anymore.
Impressive family, someone needs to hold down the farm.
I love his album "Initiation" from 1975. Side one has six songs and the whole of side two is a 35:23 track called A Treatise On Cosmic Fire. Amazing work and from the mid-1970s too.
"Initiation" is one of my favorite Todd albums!
It's actually longer but Todd had to speed up the master tape to make it barely fit the constraints of vinyl. I've taken the the song and adjusted it in my DAW to restore the original length.
Nice bombastic opening song. The production is great and sounds good even on my iMac speakers. Love that old analog tape/console saturation that phattens everything up. The drummer is great, nice incorporation of smaller concert toms for tonal variety (I have a set of vintage Slingerland concert toms - like Neil's 70s kit).
This song is epic! Great Prog. Good choice JP.
This song/album is a great introduction into prog in general. It's obviously prog but remains rather "simple" throughout, so as to not scare anyone off who aren't used to some of the key features in what makes prog, prog.
A great surprise for me today, thank you for that.
Wishing everyone a great weekend! 😀
Todd loves his triangular, and other straight lined shapes, graphically and musically. Sometimes it can get repetitive and basic sounding.
Love him though.
@@-davidolivares I haven't explored him beyond this album, so I'll take your word for it.
@@-davidolivares Absolutely true, and great way to describe it!
Adventures in Utopia is a must if you like this one! Caravan & The Last of the New Wave Riders are great songs. This album is still proggy but a little more commercial.
Good tune and I particularly like On the Road To Utopia.You May want to react to that one as well!
I only knew his name but not his music.
Progrock with a bit of jazz rock; love it.
Good on you for reacting to this. Todd was mostly known for his early MOR hits like Hello It's Me, and then took up this prog persona in the mid 70s. He also wore lots of stage makeup during this period, so to some people it looked contrived. He wasn't British, didn't have a mix of classical or folk influences, so he didn't really fit the mold. But I thought this first album was excellent. What always comes through with Rundgren is his strong sense of melody and songwriting ability. That shows up strong in the latter half of this song. He did some strange interviews back then where he sounded a bit defensive against the criticism and claimed he could play guitar as fast as John McLaughlin (I guess to boost his credibility). But this is a great, oddball prog album that everyone should own. I wasn't so impressed with the later Utopia stuff. Of course he went on to be a big 80s producer and produced one the best albums of the 80s, XTC Skylarking.
Had heard Todd Rundgren before but in 1974 as a young prog and heavy rock fan, this album blew me away when it came out. Proto prog metal?
JP, be great for you to listen to the more stable line-up of Utopia, their first album Ra, teenager Kasim Sulton makes his debut alongside Roger Powell John Wilcox and Todd, it also gave the band 3 prominent writers alongside Todd as well as vocals, Neal Morse originally of Spock's Beard claimed it to be his favourite Utopia album!!! 😊
Oh, this album is so awesome throughout! This, and Ra. The Ikon definitely has some tasty licks for sure.
Amazing performer and album. I saw him back when we was called simply "Runt". I seem to recall him flipping on tiny trampolines, but alas, I may have been the one tripping. Great share! Love to suggest "Second Spasm" by Gryphon, "Talybont" by Gentle Giant and/or "Folk Song" by Bongwater.
Re the acrobatics, you may be thinking of Nils Lofgren. I remember him performing 'Night fades Away' on the Old Grey Whistle Test, UK TV show. Towards the end of the song he puts down his geet, the drummer keeps pounding for the big finish. Nils the skips over to a trampette, jumps on it, does a back flip, and the song ends as he lands. A crackin' finish.
@Jfergs. You're absolutely correct on that, thank you! Now that I think about it, Todd would look mighty funny doing that. Was Nils going by "Runt" at the time? Seems like he was called something else. Both great performers.
@@MisterWondrous I don't really know about the name thing, my memories going :) I do remember Nils cos he did a few numbers on the show, and i particularly liked 'Keith don't go'. And obviously the back flip, which I thought very cool. I was more easily impressed BITD, haha.
The name of his first band was Grin
@@gaughin1 Ah yes, of course! I knew it had four letters. He should have teamed up with Syd Barrett. Grin & Barrett. Has a ring to it.
I always felt Todd was a better engineer than a songwriter, but I was obsessed with his Utopia era back in the 70s. Some of his songs were actually recorded in his front room. He can replicate the songs in concert to the note and that to me is very impressive. Of course, this song is live.
I think totally the opposite when it comes to some productions of his own albums in the 70s, which I find rather messy and neglected. but nothing surprising when we know that on vinyl support, the average duration per side must have been around 22 minutes at most and that Rundgren tried to reach extreme durations to put as much music as possible! (26mn and 29mn for each side of the album A Wizard, a True Star. 32mn and 35mn for both sides of the 33rpm Initiation).
@@a.k.1740 I remember they would come with a warning about the quality of your stylus and damage to the vinyl.
@@davmtu Absolutely, it was mentioned on the sleeves !
@@a.k.1740
Yeah, he was pushing the boundaries sometimes at the cost of deeper and higher end values, dimensional fullness. There’s a word for this, on the tip of my tongue… dynamic, that’s it.
Justin, I love that you are getting to this and going to hear the whole album. The two long songs are the real meat of the album but the two middle songs are worth a listen as well if not quite up to the high level of the long plays. I really love your channel because not many others give some of these lesser heard progressive albums/bands a listen. I REALLY ask you to KEEP DIVING deeper. There are SOO many good bands and progressive songs out there that may not have the name recognition of Genesis or even Todd Rundgren. You have enjoyed bands like Rare Bird, Egg, and Greenslade so I implore you to keep going down the rabbit hole. Dig deeper! Some of my top suggestions are bands like IQ (their 90s music), Beggars Opera ("Time Machine"), Neal Morse, Beardfish, Phideaux, Lucifer's Friend ("Spanish Galleon" and "Sorrow"), Jordsjø, and Quatermass ("Post War Saturday Echo"). So many others I would like to mention but you probably can't get to these for another year!!
Justin!! So glad you are doing this album!!! The studio recordings on the rest of this album are actually well produced and fantastic!! "Utopia Theme" is one of my favorite live song of all time!! Is "A Wizard A True Star" next??!!
I found this version of Utopia to be rather self indulgent, like modern jazz- a lot of notes but very little meaning. But it still kicks ass! However, I much preferred their 3rd album Ra, released in '77. There is a different line up of musicians and the songwriting is better IMHO. Perhaps you will react to Ra sometime. I especially like the songs "Singring and the Glass Guitar (An Electrified Fairytale)" and "Magic Dragon Theatre". Justin, I think you would really like Ra. Utopia is an awesome band. Todd Rundren is the original multi-instrumentalist, very talented, and a successful producer. His album Something/Anything? is stellar.
This is the very first time (perhaps the last!) I listen to a Bass laughing!
A long-awaited Initiation to the Wizard Of a True Star! I have been calling for Something Anything from Todd! Thank you Umbrella Man You have Set Me Free! Peace from the farm.
Love is the answer baby!
LOVE me some Prog todd...but then i like most of what he's ever done. genius. A lot of people were turned off by this phase. I guess when you expect 'Hello it's me' type songs and piano ballads to be pumped out for an entire career then this could disappoint. But to many fans (myself included) the fact that you NEVER knew what you were going to get was the beauty of it all. Even if i didn't like a particular phase, I LOVED that Todd would do what HE wanted to do....record sales and fan base be damned. if you want some other Prog Todd gems....'freak parade' from this same album, 'The Seven Rays' and 'Another Life' from 'another live utopia'....and although it's not really 'prog' check out the version of 'don't you ever learn?' from the album 'back to the bars'....some great weirdness inside a gorgeous song. oh...side note. Neil Peart has sited this album (and song) as a major influence on him as he had never heard anyone lean into the toms as Kevin Ellman does here. great stuff...
Thanks for doing the Utopia debut album JP! This album along with a couple others from Return To Forever to Gentle Giant; rock as I knew it was in my rearview mirror. Aerosmith who??
Yes yes, what a great track. So glad you liked it. Todd is so underrated in the Uk. Now buckle up for The Ikon. 👍When you reach it.. Chicken skin aplenty lol..
🐔
The entire album rules. Rundgren produced Steve Hillage's L album, and I believe most of Utopia was the backing band on that record.
L is a good record 👍🏼
This was a daring album to make. How many bands chose a live setting for their debut. Also, given that the UK and and Europe were mecca, as far as prog goes, (I think that Kansas first album may have been released around this time)North America musicians had not considered prog as a musical option. Once again a wonderful reaction. Although they are newer, you might consider bending your ears to some of Band Maid's proggy instrumental tracks. They tend to be short in length, but no less musically challenging and stimulating (from a listener's point of view). Cheers.
That sounds like it is in need of a re-mastering. Love the song though. Only know a few Todd Rundgren songs. I will have to explore more. Thanks for the reaction.
Steven Wilson where are you?
First time hearing this piece and it was awesome. I'm familiar with his hits but never dug deep. Now I'm inspired to do so. Thanks JP.
Brave selection..... T.R's Utopia is a monster album. JP - Steve Hillage - Solar Musik Suite.... a must.
Great album that I have listened to so many times !
I hope you do the rest (with the wacky and funky "Freak Parade", the more rock "Freedom Fighters" and the progressive epic "The Ikon").
The only small complaint that I could make with the album is its little messy sound but the compositions are so great that this small defect does not affect its listening in any way.
Can’t argue with any of it.
I think he liked this song so much, so I'll be shocked if he doesn't do the whole album. 🙂
Their album "Ra" is amazing!
Actually this was a long album, almost 60 minutes - because it had to be compressed so much to fit onto a vinyl disc, it suffered the same sonic fate that plagued many early Todd albums. I listened to this album incessantly during high school.
Yes it's really weird that Todd who was a famous producer since the early 70's neglected his own albums when it comes to their sound quality ! But ultimately not so surprising when Rundgren admits that, in the case of his own records, he doesn't think "as a producer", but uses the studio to "help create a performance".
As someone else metioned in the coments above the cd version is not compressed. Luckily for me, that's what I have.
4:00 bit of Pink Floyd - ish. Yet they have come up with song "Love Is The Answer", which provided John Ford Coley & England Dan a huge hit.
Look into Todd’s original band, Nazz. The Nazz Nazz album with Under the Ice and Beautiful Song. Great stuff from from a young Todd.
Some of the songs from Nazz III, cobbled together after the band had split up, are just about perfect. Not forgetting 'Open My Eyes' from the first album, with its nod to Pete Townshend at the beginning.
@@richardfurness7556 total agreement on your reply. Nazz was a real jewel. Even the second album was originally pressed on red vinyl. So cool!
Yes the next line in that Wikipedia article says they avoided that compression on the CD. I love how you can concentrate and absorb a music piece so quickly and point out the highlights the way you do. To me it sounds like a lot of jamming. All Music has an amusing description of the band on their "Anthology" review: They were just as capable of turning out great pop tunes as they were to wander into meandering jams or directionless hard rock.
I have listened to that album (which they praise) but don't recall anything about it now, need to give it another listen.
Ah thank you for that information, I was wondering what he was talking about since I've never felt my cd was compressed at all... 🙂
It’s been somewhat spotty, the price of trying new things, like blindly walking through the desert and more than periodically finding wonderful gorgeous oasises.
Love it to death. Saw him and Utopia do that album live as a warm up for Led Zeppelin at Knebworth in 1979. Good times 😎
I never really listened to this because I wasn’t much of a fan of the Ra album and I wasn’t too impressed with Utopia’s later, more power pop direction. But this is straight up great progressive rock with a jazzier bent than his earlier, more trippy solo works like “Wizard” and “Todd.” Both of which are my favorites of his. Fantastic live performance, too. Can’t wait to hear more.
Todd is underrated. I think it's his best seventies record other than the first Utopia album. "The Spark of Life" from Todd is one the greatest electronic pieces of music ever recorded.
Huge Todd fan. Saw him many times in each decade since the early 70s. I prefer his solo albums. The first four or five. (Runt: Ballad; Something Anything, A Wizard a True Star, Hermit etc.....
If you do Utopia, you gotta do Adventures in Utopia. Caravan is a good place to start. The whole album is fantastic
This track and The Ikon are for me the hilights of the album.
I once heard a bootleg recording of his song Hiroshima, which blew me away (no pun intended). Much more intense than the studio version. I have looked for it but unfortunately never found it again.
That song was the first thing that came to mind when I saw JP's t-shirt.
"Feet Don't Fail Me Now"!
Amazing album!!!😋
Good choice!
I've never listened to this album despite knowing about it for 3 decades... interesting to hear this title track... has a feeling of George Duke/Zappa/RTF at times... not sure I would ever listen to it again but interesting to hear what other acts were doing in this time period.... would have been amazing to have been a teenager in this time period and gone to concerts and witnessed the bitrth of these progressive acts... I think I prefer the Canterbury scene vibe overall though.
Yippee!
I was hoping you would work your way around to this masterwork of an album.
You have to love the way the music starts off; takes you somewhere else way out there, then brings you back to where you started (almost).
How does that old saying go; "You will return to where you started, only to see it for the first time".
I'm sure you can apprecite what an impact this album had on an 18 year old mind, swirling in a sea of mind expanding substances and discovering the wider universe!
I think it was about six months ago when you were doing long tracks I suggested you have a look at "The Ikon" (I still make the same suggestion with the same belief...The first 7 or 8 notes will grab you and off you will go for the next 35 minutes!).
Also; it is well worth your while to delve into Todd's "Faithfull" album; in which one side is devoted to covers, and the other to originals. Some of the bands he faithfully covers are The Beatles, The Byrds, Hendrix, Dylan; all impeccably done.
I've been digging his music. Especially the albums Something/Anything and "A Wizard, A True Star" A grandiose title 😝 but excellent groovy but weird
Thanks for the video. I'm there for any Todd you choose to react to even if his progressive side isn't my favorite.
This one's good, although stumbled on it after looking for Todd Rundgren's "Road to Utopia" (no reaction video for it, at present).
I-I-I've been waiting for this....
Wait no more! :D