Utopia (band) - Utopia Background information Origin New York City, New York, United States G … Wikipedia
Utopia band 1984 full#
Oblivion - may refer to: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, a 2006 video game Oblivion (comics), a Marvel Comics character Oblivion (film), a 1994 western/science fiction film from Full Moon Entertainment Oblivion: The Mystery of West Point Cadet Richard Cox,… … Wikipedia Utopia (Utopia album) - Infobox Album Name = Utopia Type = studio Artist = Utopia Released = 1982 Recorded = August 1982 Genre = New wave Length = 48:18 Label = Network Producer = Todd Rundgren Reviews = * Allmusic Rating|3|5 [… … Wikipedia Utopia Album par Utopia Sortie août 1982 Durée 48:18 Genre … Wikipédia en Français That kind of experimentation was never rewarded with major label distribution of chart success and Utopia would eventually call it quits the following year after the release of the equally interesting POV.Utopia (album d'Utopia) - Pour les articles homonymes, voir Utopia. Utopia would evolve its sound as the ’80s progressed, always a step behind what the rest of the music scene was doing and being all the more interesting for it. ‘Love With a Thinker’ was one of those funny songs that only Rundgren (or maybe Split Enz) could have written. That sense of corniness was a byproduct of Rundgren’s clever if not zany songwriting. Songs like ‘I Will Wait ‘ and If I Didn’t Try’ would have been great songs for any number of artist Rundgren produced in the ’70s, but sounded a bit corny here under the guise of New Wave. But it was the album’s ballads or slower paced songs that seemed to work best. ’70s melody fused with ’80s rhythm via synthesizers yielded oddities like ‘Too Much Water’ and ‘Itch In My Brain’. Part of the by product of mixing up ’70s and ’80s musical styles lent many of the songs their awkward and uneasy pacing. Despite the general success of ‘Crybaby’, Oblivion would peak in the last quarter of the Billboard top 100 Albums chart.
Bolstered by a great conceptual video, it’s easy to imagine the song as a hit for some heavy metal band like Def Leppard. It would remain Utopia’s biggest hit with its power rock chorus and a catchy hook. The albums most formidable hit, ‘Crybaby’ was a great example of this odd out of time juxtaposition. In a strange kind of way, this was all part of Oblivion’s charm, that and the fact that it sounded like a unintentional throwback to late ’70s rock with a few synthesizers thrown in. Years later I found a decent sounding LP at my local Half Priced Books store that confirmed that there must have been a issue with some CD pressings – I can only speculate. To my ears, the sound quality issue was never resolved, as CD pressings only exasperated the problem. Despite Rundgren’s production (with Utopia), the album had a harsh sound that at times sounded rough around the edges – much like unfinished studio creations might. It gave no clue as to what kind of creation was inside, but one listen would reveal a band that was clearly out of time or out of step with the rest of the New Romantic turned electro pop class of 1984. Some pressings featured a black album jacket with a embossed title. With any luck they could slip in under the new wave banner on MTV and pick up some new fans along the way. Oblivion was Utopia’s way of bringing themselves firmly into to ’80s with synthesizers, laser light shows and album cover graphic references to grids and triangles. Utopia’s kind of rock was beginning to look and sound dated as the ’80s approached, so the band did with many ’70s era rockers did – they remade themselves, or at least tried to. Utopia made a name for itself in the ’70s as a hard arena rock band with progressive tendencies. When he was not making his odd brand of Philly blue eyed soul, he fronted Utopia pretty much from it’s inception in 1974. It’s lead vocalist Todd Rundgren (by some accounts a musical genius) was a true studio master, singer and songwriter. Utopia could have been one of those bands much like XTC. Sometimes a band can sound so out of time that they could almost start their own sub genre. Still I was drawn to their music, mostly on the strength of Todd Rundgren’s unique voice and style. The more I listened to my friends Utopia cassettes, the more it dawned on me that this was an interesting and unique quartet, but not in a way I was completely comfortable with. I like anyone who grew up on AM radio knew who Todd Rundgren was and had seen ‘Crybaby’ on MTV, but never considered the album beyond that single. Thanks to friends in college, I was able to dive deeper into the oddly cool yet nerdy world of Utopia.
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