Utopia (band)

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Utopia
Origin New York City, New York, USA
Genre(s) Rock, Progressive rock, Hard rock, Soft rock
Years active 1974 – 1986
Label(s) Columbia, Sony BMG, Sanctuary
Website All Music Guide link

Utopia was an American progressive rock band led by Todd Rundgren that toured and recorded from 1974 to 1986.

Contents

[edit] History

The first two Utopia albums -- credited as "Todd Rundgren's Utopia" -- featured a six-piece ensemble featuring Todd Rundgren, guitar & vocals, Kevin Ellman- percussion, Moogy Klingman-Keyboards, M.Frog Labat(Jean Yves Labat)- Synthesizers, Ralph Schukett- keyboards and John Siegler- Bass and Cello

The first two albums, Todd Rundgren's Utopia and Another Live featured lengthy, complex and highly arranged progressive rock pieces, performed by a six-piece multi-instrumentalist ensemble. The debut album in fact contained only four tracks and ran for almost sixty minutes in total, opening with "Utopia Theme" -- recorded live in concert -- and closing with the extended concept piece "The Ikon", which ran almost thirty minutes and took up all of Side 2 of the album.

1975s live-in-concert LP Another Live, which marked the debut of Powell(replacing Labat) and Wilcox(replacing Ellman), also featured several extended progressive rock tracks but it also displayed Rundgren's continuing interest in the Broadway musical (a version of "Something's Coming" (from West Side Story) and the music of his rock heroes (a cover of "Do Ya", written by Jeff Lynne and originally recorded by The Move).

By the third album the group became known simply as "Utopia" and settled into a four-person lineup of Rundgren (guitar, vocals), Kasim Sulton(bass, vocals), Roger Powell (keyboards, synthesisers, trumpet, vocals) and Willie Wilcox (drums, vocals).

Like The Beatles Utopia rotated lead vocals and shared writing credits, although Rundgren was the undisputed leader. One distinctive feature of Utopia was its stylistic breadth, which ranged across psychedelic-progressive '70s rock, soul-pop, blues, 'stadium rock' and heavy metal. Another was the band's unabashed optimism, as evidenced by its name.

The third album Ra (1977) continued the progressive trend, opening with an electronic arrangement of the "Overture: Mountaintop and Sunrise" theme (from Bernard Herrmann's score for the film Journey to the Centre of the Earth), but it also contained several shorter, more accessible songs, and the group's subsequent albums increasingly featured more concise and 'pop-oriented' material that showed the influence of the prevailing New Wave trend.

Though the band had satirical political songs, showcased on 1982s Swing to the Right and plenty of bitter heartbreak songs, it was best known for its hopeful, uplifting spirit, which is why its live shows often ended with "Love Is The Answer" from Their 1977 album, Oops! Wrong Planet. This theme resonated with its utopian fan-base -- a mix of older Rundgren fans and Utopia's own starry-eyed followers, who tried to carry hippie idealism on through the barren early-1980s. "Love Is the Answer" later became a big hit for England Dan & John Ford Coley.

Although they had only one song hit the Top 40 in 1980 with "Set Me Free", they achieved cult status throughout the 1980s with their albums, concert performances and videos that were shown on MTV early years. Further, the band had a number of Album-oriented rock hits including "Caravan", "Feet Don't Fail Me Now", and "Love In Action". The influence of Utopia is notable on the heavily played Todd Rundgren solo album, Hermit of Mink Hollow, particularly on the hit song "All the Children Sing", as well as the tune "Real Man" from his solo effort Initiation (album). "Feet Don't Fail Me Now" was one of the original videos aired by MTV, in heavy rotation by default, when the channel debuted in 1981 and featured the band dressed in insect costumes.

Rundgren had a successful solo career before, during, and after Utopia, but his bandmates also had modest success beyond Utopia. Roger Powell toured with David Bowie and worked in electronic music. Willie Wilcox gained modest fame for his unique motorcycle-shaped drum kit and his percussive talents, and bassist Kasim Sulton has toured as a bandmember with Meat Loaf, Joan Jett and others.

Though the band broke up in 1986, they reunited briefly in 1992, yielding a live album. Various members have continued to work with Rundgren in the intervening years. In 2005 Rundgren and Sulton began working together again in a new lineup of The Cars. After Elliot Easton broke his left clavicle following a tour bus accident, The New Cars took a hiatus. During this hiatus, Kasim took on some work with Meat Loaf and Todd to support Bat out of Hell III'.

[edit] Members

Utopia 1974

  • Todd Rundgren
  • Kevin Ellman
  • Moogy Klingman
  • M. Frog Labat
  • Ralph Schukett
  • John Siegler

Utopia 1975

Utopia Late 1975

Utopia 1976-1986

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] Singles

  • Communion With The Sun, 1976
  • Love Is the Answer, 1977
  • Set Me Free, 1980
  • The Very Last Time, 1980
  • Second Nature, 1980
  • I Just Want To Touch You, 1981
  • One World, 1982
  • Lysistrata, 1982
  • Hammer In My Heart, 1982
  • Feet Don’t Fail Me Now, 1983
  • Crybaby, 1984
  • Mated, 1985

[edit] External links