![]() The first two albums - Todd Rundgren's Utopia (1974) and Another Live (1975) - featured lengthy, complex and highly arranged progressive rock pieces, performed by a six-piece multi-instrumental ensemble composed of Rundgren (guitar and vocals), Ellman (drums and percussion), Siegler (acoustic and electric basses and cello), Mark "Moogy" Klingman (keyboards), Jean-Yves Labat (now on synths), and Ralph Schuckett (keyboards). ![]() However, the Sales brothers had left by the time the band recorded its first release, being replaced by percussionist Kevin Ellman and bassist John Siegler. Frog" (Jean-Yves Labat), who initially played rhythm guitar and later synthesizers. On his 1973 album A Wizard, a True Star, Rundgren had sung the line "Wait another year, Utopia is here."įor a short period of time (1973–74) Todd Rundgren's Utopia consisted of Rundgren plus Hunt Sales and Tony Fox Sales together with the late David Mason (a musician from Florida, not to be confused with the former Traffic guitarist of the same name) and "M. ![]() In 2018 Rundgren, Sulton, and Wilcox reunited for a tour with new keyboardist Gil Assayas under the moniker Todd Rundgren's Utopia. In 2011 the earlier prog-rock incarnation known as Todd Rundgren's Utopia was revived for a series of live shows. The group broke up in 1986, but reunited briefly in 1992. Though often thought of as a Rundgren-oriented project, all four members of Utopia wrote, sang, produced and performed on their albums "Set Me Free", for example, was sung by Sulton. In 1980, they had a top 40 hit with "Set Me Free". This version of the group gradually abandoned progressive rock for more straightforward rock and pop. By 1976, the group was known simply as Utopia and featured a stable quartet of Rundgren, Kasim Sulton, Roger Powell and John "Willie" Wilcox. Most of the members in this early incarnation also played on Rundgren's solo albums of the period up to 1975. During its first three years, the group was a progressive rock band with a somewhat fluid membership known as Todd Rundgren's Utopia. Utopia was an American rock band formed in 1973 by Todd Rundgren. Listen to the dense, ethereal background vocals and the chord progression in the first few bars of the chorus and indeed, it's almost like "Photograph.Bearsville, Network, Passport, Epic, Rhino One last note: It has been acknowledged by Todd that "Crybaby" is a Def Leppard rip-off. For example, "Crybaby," the closest thing that resembled a hit on Oblivion, is a great track that Utopia was amazingly able to pull off on this recording. The recording is a wonderful document not just because the quartet was performing on all cylinders, but because it contains songs that have never resurfaced onstage beyond this brief tour. Kasim and Todd handled the rest of the lead vocals, sometimes in duet form as in the show opener, "Too Much Water." Drummer "Willie" Wilcox sang lead on the new wave-sounding "You Make Me Crazy" and Roger took the vocal spotlight on "Abandon City," a song from 1977's Oops! Wrong Planet that fit the Oblivion concept. If anyone had yet to receive the message in the previous seven years, the group was clearly not just Todd Rundgren's backing band. There were no songs from the Todd catalog like "Hello It's Me" to appease the audience members expecting to hear the hits. For the first time, the set was comprised of strictly Utopia tunes. Kasim Sulton uncharacteristically kicked off the first set of songs, replicating his bass guitar parts on a keyboard strapped to his body. Reflecting the sound of the times, the production was full of keyboards, drum machines and sequencers, as evidenced on the ballad "If I Didn't Try." Collectively, the songs were harder-edged than previous Utopia 1980's albums, although the pop element the quartet had become known for was certainly present in several tunes.Įconomy was a word that described the sights and sounds onstage, from Todd's trimmed locks, to the lack of between-songs banter, to the absence of Roger Powell's fortress of keyboards. In 1984, the band was promoting the apt-titled Oblivion album. The devoted fans still came to the shows, but for the rest, a Todd Rundgren project was preferred. Why? A good indication may lie in the general lack of support Utopia had faced since Todd Rundgren first formed the band in 1973. The American-only tour never ventured west of Illinois or south of Virginia. Utopia was still in peak form on the concert stage and also because most of Utopia's audience didn't have the chance to experience these concerts in person. Originally a local FM broadcast, the tapes were then mixed by Todd Rundgren before the show was heard nationally on the King Biscuit Flower Hour. Todd Rundgren - guitar, vocals Kasim Sulton - bass, keyboards, vocals Roger Powell - keyboards, vocals John "Willie" Wilcox - drums, vocals
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