Todd Rundgren's Utopia (album)

Todd Rundgren's Utopia is the debut album by the American rock band Utopia, released on October 4, 1974 on Bearsville Records. The band was formed in 1973 by musician, songwriter, and producer Todd Rundgren who decided to expand his musical style by moving from pop-oriented rock towards progressive rock. He assembled a six-piece group that featured three keyboardists and toured as a live act. Most of the album was recorded in the studio except "Utopia", the opening track, which was recorded live in concert April 25th, 1974.

Todd Rundgren's Utopia
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 4, 1974
RecordedFox Theatre, Atlanta, Georgia on April 25th, 1974 ("Utopia") and The Secret Sound (all other tracks)
Genre
Length59:18
LabelBearsville
ProducerTodd Rundgren
Todd Rundgren's Utopia chronology
Todd Rundgren's Utopia
(1974)
Another Live
(1975)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [1]
Rolling Stone(Not rated)[2]
Tom HullC+[3]

The album peaked at number 34 on the Billboard 200 and critical reaction towards it was mixed.[4]

Background

edit

Like Rundgren's solo albums A Wizard, a True Star (1973) and Initiation (1975), the album pushed the limits of vinyl. At almost an hour in length, the sound needed to be compressed in order to fit it onto one record, resulting in a decline in audio quality. The CD version avoids this issue. On the first reissue of the album, released in 1978, the title of "Utopia" was changed to "Utopia Theme" and publishing credits were changed from Earmark Music to Earmark Music and Screen Gems - Columbia Music. "Utopia" was recorded live in concert at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia on April 25, 1974.

Track listing

edit

Note: "Utopia" is titled "Utopia Theme" on later editions.

Side one
No.TitleMusicLength
1."Utopia" (Live)Mason, Rundgren14:18
2."Freak Parade"Klingman, Rundgren, Siegler10:14
3."Freedom Fighters"Rundgren4:01
Side two
No.TitleMusicLength
1."The Ikon"Klingman, Rundgren, Schuckett, Siegler30:22
Total length:58:55

Personnel

edit

Utopia

Production

  • Todd Rundgren – producer and engineer
  • David Le Sage – assistant engineer
  • Maruo Miyauchi – design and illustration at Push Pin Studios

References

edit
  1. ^ "allmusic ((( Todd Rundgren's Utopia > Review )))". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
  2. ^ "Todd Rundgren: Todd Rundgren's Utopia : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on August 14, 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
  3. ^ Hull, Tom (April 1975). "The Rekord Report: Second Card". Overdose. Retrieved June 26, 2020 – via tomhull.com.
  4. ^ Utopia chart placings, AllMusicGuide.