Back in 1974, the world already had a band mired in wretched
\nexcess – they were called Yes. Todd Rundgren should have realized
\nthat he didn’t have to create an American version of that
\nexcess.<\/p>\n
While Rundgren had been enjoying success with a solo career, he
\neither felt a need to be part of a band again (instead of being the
\nstudio
\nwunderkid<\/i> doing everything himself), or he wanted to catch
\nthe tail end of the progressive rock scene. Whatever the case, the
\nend result was Utopia, and their debut release
\nTodd Rundgren’s Utopia<\/i> is a serious slap in the face to
\nthose expecting the happy, poppy sound of Rundgren’s solo days.
\nIt’s a change, all right – and it’s not one for the better.<\/p>\n
You almost know you’re in trouble when you look at the album and
\nsee only four songs on the whole platter – including a 30-minute
\nmonstrosity called side two. Uh-oh. Funny thing is, during the
\npompousity of some of these tracks, you hear the undercurrent of
\nthe rock-and-roll monster waiting to burst forth and take control
\nof the band. They’d eventually turn to more conventional music, but
\nfor now, prog rock was the thing for them, and they make all the
\nsame mistakes the big bands of their time did.<\/p>\n
In one sense, they do one thing correctly: they don’t always
\ntake themselves so seriously. Rundgren still knows how to laugh at
\npeople, evidenced on “Freak Parade”: “In a world full of freaks \/
\nYou can creep, you can crawl \/ But the world’s biggest freak \/ Is
\nthe one with no balls.” Unfortunately, moments like these aren’t
\ncommon on
\nTodd Rundgren’s Utopia<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Whether it’s the 14-minute birth cry of the band (recorded live
\nin Atlanta) on “Utopia,” or the side-long “The Ikon,” the greatest
\nlimit of progressive rock is plainly heard: the moment you decide
\nthe instrumental development is more important than the song, the
\nwhole thing falls apart. And at least on “The Ikon,” you can still
\nhear glimpses of Rundgren the solo artist in his guitar solos. But
\nfrankly, I think they stretched things
\nway<\/i> too far when they threw in some country-tinged bits at
\nthe end. (Mike Oldfield tried this back on
\nTubular Bells<\/i> – it didn’t work.)<\/p>\n
Ironically enough, the one short song on this album, “Freedom
\nFighters,” doesn’t work as well as “Freak Parade,” which clocks in
\nat 10 minutes. The difference? Song development. “Freak Parade”
\ncontains some good performances (such as the work of keyboardist
\nMoogy Klingman and the synthesizers of M. Frog Labat – as well as
\nKevin Ellman’s trap work), and the song is more solidly crafted.
\nGranted, it’s not perfect, but it’s a far cry better than the
\norgasmic chord crunching at the beginning of “Utopia”.<\/p>\n
Of course, I realize that Rundgren’s career lends itself to a
\n“love-it-or-hate-it” attitude due to his stylistic changes from
\nalbum to album, and that what I think is a questionable sidestep
\nmight be revered by other people. (Hell, I’m the one that liked
\nNo World Order<\/i>, for Crissakes.) If you like progressive
\nrock, you’ll probably be quite intrigued by
\nTodd Rundgren’s Utopia<\/i>, while those looking for another
\n“Bang The Drum All Day” will turn this one off in disgust.<\/p>\n
I guess that, in the end,
\nTodd Rundgren’s Utopia<\/i> was an album worth experiencing, but
\nI sure as hell am not looking forward to listening to it again.<\/p>\n
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