LAST OF THE NEW WAVE RIDERS, UTOPIA LAND ON THE WRONG PLANET

by Jeff Boule in Album Reviews, Concert Reviews, Musician Reviews, Opinion Posts, Reviews

Roger Powell from Utopia Photo by Coming Age

For those of you following my blogs, you know that some of my earlier posts were eradicated through the magic of ones and zeros.  The reason I am bothering to repost them is that some are referred to in other blogs.  Then when the hapless reader looks for those blogs they aren’t even there!  This blog is BRAND NEW!!!  This section of the box set Last Of The New Wave Riders never made it to press as concerts came first.  I won’t be making that mistake this time.  We will finish the box set and THEN begin an onslaught of new reviews.  Upcoming will be The Tubes from B.B. Kings in NYC and then the Nine Inch Nails FAREWELL TOUR.  Yup, you heard it right, Trenty is hangin’ up Nails.  At least for a while.  New Tori Amos album Abnormally Attracted To Sin will soon be reviewed here, and hopefully some new releases as well, as well as dipping our toes in some literary territory.

It ain’t all about Utopia, but we are going to review two more discs from the box set then we have all new events and music to sink our teeth into.

The last two Review Redux’s were done out of chronological order.  All these concert discs were done in the order they were arranged in the actual box set.  Why a show from 1983 came before a tour that happened in 1980, then 1978 and then one in 1979 is beyond me.  I have a feeling this box set was packed by dyslexic monkeys as when I opened the disc jacket for this show set an extra copy of disc one of this the Oops Wrong Planet Tour came tumbling out of the jewel case.

Firstly, I must warn you about the audio quality of this CD set.  I do understand the value of this tour; it was early in the band’s career and was the tour to promote their phenomenal apocalyptic vision of post nuclear earth after the powers that be have decimated it.  Clearly a landmark performance in terms of the bands playing, but even with a post-production mix by Todd Rundgren himself, there was no saving this victim of analog tape.  There are dropouts, and mixing errors by, most likely at this time, Chris Andersen.  He was Rundgren’s live mixer and assistant engineer.  It remains my opinion today that he was not too good at it.  I am immediately reminded of a story a friend of mine told me about his brother attending a Utopia show and upon hearing the mix he turned to Andersen and said “Turn the guitar DOWN!”

Memories…

This show began with a ratty recording of a segment from Isao Tomita’s The Planets.  Tomita is a Japanese synthesizer enthusiast who re-arranged Gustov Holt’s masterwork for synthesizers.  Rundgren die-hards remember that Rundgren acquired the rights for this in conjunction with a videodisc project he undertook for RCA when they were developing the laser-disc video system.

The transition from this to the next track “Trapped” is nice with a pulsing bass synth note that Powell seamlessly transitioned into the intro of “Trapped”.  But the audio antics are brutal.  After the rest of the band kicks in, Powell’s keyboards are lost to the ages.  Sulton and Rundgren’s vocals SHOULD be evenly mixed, nope.  Andersen still thinks Rundgren is the only lead singer.

“Marriage Of Heaven And Hell’s” mix isn’t there yet.  Still no keyboards, and now the drums are dropping out. If you want to hear Utopia as a power trio, here it is.  During the solo exchange, you don’t hear Powell’s half of the solo the first go-round.  The whole mix gets louder towards the end.  This will begin to end the mixing issues for a spell.

The clandestine notes of  “Abandon City” are through like a bell now.  Initially the song is scarce but after the first verse, the band kicks into full gear, but yet again, the keyboards are still buried in the mix.  Powell’s trumpet playing on the solo is well mixed with the remaining power trio.  The band is able to stray tight during the quiet outtro.

At this point Rundgren welcomes the Chicago attendees.

We take a two year trip even further back to promote Faithful, and eventual Utopia standard “Love Of The Common Man”.  This is a letter-perfect version with Sulton adding richness to the backing vocals.  So worth the price.

We go back to Wrong Planet for “Back On The Street”.  Still not enough keyboards for me, they are there until Rundgren plays chords, and then they are buried.  The drums are kind of anemic as well.

After some guitar tinkering, we go back to the Faithful album again for the always worth it “Black And White”.  While this is a cracking version, Powell may as well be just a background singer for all we hear out of the keyboards on this one.  Again, when Rundgren plays quiet you can hear Powell’s keys.  Otherwise they’re gone.  But a nice tight chorus during the solo and a good tight ending.

After more guitar tweaking, we return again to Wrong Planet.  This time for the Wilcox-led “Crazy Lady Blue”.  With Rundgren playing single note arpeggiations, you can finally hear Powell’s keyboards.

Or Andersen found the keyboard fader on the mixer…

None of this deters Wilcox’s vocal, as enthusiastic or better than the recording.  Backing vocals are also buried by the lead vocal.  This irons out by the second chorus.  During the guitar solo I hear very little keys, which are there but under everything else.

A nice version, mix aside.

We progress to the perennial rocker “Love In Action”.  Once again Rundgren’s guitar steals the show.  For this track the vocals are more blended. Andersen realizes there is a keyboard solo and only then starts to give the keys some volume.  But even before the chorus rejoinder, the keys again sink into obscurity.  Top-notch vocals, just no keys.

We venture into strange and new (or in this case old) territory.  A Sulton sang “Death Of Rock And Roll” from Initiation brings us fresh.  A mighty version for what is amounting to that power trio again.  By the second chorus Andersen is starting to notice, little keyboard!  When that keyboard solo hits, you don’t know what to expect, agile runs across the keys, modulations flying, replete with a crazed three fingered maniac solo at the end.

If that weren’t enough, they go right into “Communion With The Sun” from Ra.  We can finally hear the synths!  About time.

This version is a tad quicker than the recording.  When you get amped up on stage these things will occur.  The vocals are particularly strong on this take.  That was one of Utopia’s strong points, four very talented vocalists giving purchase to the magnificent harmonies of “Communion…”  The mix is starting to take shape.  The final break is a bit shaky until they get to the vocal chorus.  They bring it home with a standard rock and roll burnout ending.

Next is a treat for most Rundgren fans.  The Utopian version of “When The S*** Hits The Fan (International Feel)” from the groundbreaking psychedelic album A Wizard A True Star.

On an aside at this point, I’d like to mention that Rabid Rundgren fans know about an event happening in Akron Ohio on September 6th of this year, similar to that event from New Year’s Eve (check the archive blogs under January and you will find my entry about the New Year’s Eve event, “Rundgren Rings in 2009 With Rituals, Reverie and Rock…”).  This event in September is historic in that Rundgren, Sulton, Prairie Prince, Jesse Gress, Greg Hawkes of The Cars fame and Roger Powell will be performing the entire album A Wizard A True Star for the first time ever.

Getting back to the AWATS medley (two songs) my personal take is upon hearing the intro, I hear Wilcox’s playing outshining that of John Siomos of Peter Frampton fame, who recorded the part.  While Rundgren’s guitar is slightly out of tune, this version is faster and can get clunky around the riffs.  The vocals make up for it.

Rundgren’s solo is nearly note for note of the recording.  It’s almost as if they are tripping over themselves trying to get this one done.

They produce a royal fanfare for the change into “International Feel”.  The tempo slows and we are transported into a royal court somewhere.  That is until the end guitar solo.  Strictly rock and roll now.  After the coronation, Rundgren waxes humorous about post-urban blight.  He often waxes oblique about something or another as a way to introduce a song that is highly favored by Rundgren fans and Rundgren band members alike.

Next up is a strong entry from my favorite Rundgren solo album, Todd, “The Last Ride” can have multiple special meanings to people.  I recall singing this in the halls at school as my term winded down.  He claims this will mellow things out.  Not by the end it won’t.  Powell’s keyboards are heard but now the bass is distant in the mix.  At this point Rundgren is warbling only vocally, his trusty Fender Mustang hanging headstock down behind his back.  He’ll need it at the end.

The backing vocals are lush, but when Rundgren whips that guitar around at the end of the second verse, THIS is why I consider him a guitar godd.  The dynamic is back down after the first solo excursion.  The harmonies are consummate in inflection.  But this mellow dynamic is gone when Powell whips out the brass patch and Rundgren returns to soloing out of the song.  More guitar goddary.  After things settle down, an edit is made to cut out the time it took for 3/4 of the band to switch instruments.  Wilcox to bass, Sulton to guitar and Rundgren to drums.  Before “The Last Ride” track ends, Wilcox is already greeting us and threatening with rock and roll!  This switch is the tell for “Gangrene”.

While the intro is rather choppy but Powell and Sulton keep the tonal instruments tight.  This time we don’t hear much from the drums.

A little bashful there Todd?

The keyboards and guitar sound so much alike you’d swear Powell had a guitar too.

The backing vocals behind the lead vocal get lost.  I know Rundgren is contributing, we just can’t hear it.  Sulton’s solo is a hot one, as well as the outro solo.  Too bad Wilcox’s vocals get doused in the mix at the end.  There are some funny ad-libs.  “Gonna have to chop your d*** off…”.

This concludes disc one.  Disc two only has seven tracks, but two of them are extremely long.

Disc two picks up with Oops’ “My Angel”.  At first there is a glitch with Sulton’s mic.  Dueting the lead vocal on choruses, the voices are heavenly.  If a little lacking in high end.  During Rundgren’s second solo vocal verse, it seems the high end WANTS to come in.  Then treat of treats, Rundgren plays the sax solo!  Even flourishes at the end.  The crowd is loving it.

Clocking in at a meager nine-plus minutes, we have “The Seven Rays” from Todd Rundgren’s Utopia (insiders call it The Ikon, named for the record’s 20+ minute plus epic track of the same name).

The concept is derived from the book The Seven Rays Of Consciousness originally penned by Tibetan Master Djwhal Kuhl.  This is the first recorded and released time Sulton has played bass on “…Rays” as John Siegler played on the original live recording.  This song is progressive rock at its commercial best.  Not that ANY radio station dare play this on the air.  But with Sulton’s voice and bass agility, this does seem like a meatier version.  Were it a board recording it would be smashing!

At one point Rundgren and company detail the rays and what they stand for in generalized terms.  Followed by a wicked solo from Powell.

Then the song breaks down to guitar alone for the riff that goes everywhere.  Bass joins and then the band as Powell plays supporting ascending chords behind the riffing.

Next a track from Todd, “Heavy Metal Kids” burns through our ear canals.  Distortion-a-plenty.  This is a tight, full version with Sulton filling out the background vocals.  When all the harmonies kick in, it is truly a thing of beauty.  None of these players save for Rundgren (of course) played on the album track.  When the full contingent of vocalists sing “Poison all the water use up all the air, blow your stupid heads off see if I could care, put me down but don’t blame me for what you did, cause inside everyone is a heavy metal kid…” you really want to blow something up!

The lone negative is some schlub in the audience yelling “Bravo” throughout.  This ain’t no symphony buddy.

Easily the climax of either the live show or the live CD, “Singring And The Glass Guitar” is a Utopia showcase from the album RA.  Literally.  The second the audience hears the prerecorded intro voice of John Holbrook announcing “This is an electrified fairy tale, if you’ve never heard of an electrified fairy tale, just picture little fairies, with wee tiny electric guitars” the whole place falls apart for it.  A twenty-plus minute extravaganza, each and every member will get a solo throughout various points in the song.

Many of the themes will reappear throughout the varied course of this long play.  Again, once the full band kicks in, we lose Powell’s keyboards but not any vocals.  Once the story is detailed, another solo brings in another section of the song.

Each member is a “brave adventurer” searching the four corners of the earth for four keys that will free the spirit of harmony from his glass guitar-shaped prison.  The four earth elements are also enlisted to aid in the telling of this tale.  The tape voice of Holbrook comes back in to introduce the first adventurer, Wilcox.  A couple of wayward guitar notes introduce Wilcox’s verse dealing with the first of the four elements the adventurers will individually face, water.  After Wilcox details how he will bravely row the rapids, with trite backing vocals and all, his solo is treated with a flanger for that underwater effect; this solo is a particular rager.  This solo would later be played on Wilcox’s famous motorcycle drum kit (once ogled by Erik Estrata of CHiPS fame).

But this solo is on an acoustic set and as he enters the home stretch, he is greeted with a bubbling sound effect right before he finishes beating the living crap out of that clear blue acrylic Sonor kit.  I’m surprised they didn’t explode!  The crowd, naturally, are loving it.

They come back together and Sulton’s verse (which is much like the chorus at the beginning) details his quest.  The bass is flanged to give it more depth.  As if it needed it.  There is also a slight harmonization on it as well.  This is perhaps one of the best examples of Sulton’s agility on the fret board.  Pink “wind” noise is added behind him to accentuate the element of his battle.  Sulton once recalled how he was thrown off his game once in Texas as during his solo there, he is pitted against a wind machine for this bit throughout the tour.  The only difference between all the other gigs and Texas was, the crew thought it would be funny to toss real tumbleweeds into the airflow of the wind machines!  After whipping the solo into frenzy, it ends abruptly.

The next element to be battled is fire, and the opponent is Powell and his keyboards rock their way onto the stage.  To describe a Powell solo is difficult.  Take someone with an encyclopedic knowledge of key, composition, harmony, theory, etc., and to try to analyze that would take too many pages.  Regal, frightening, adventurous and unexpected are some adjectives that might apply.  Not only was the solo out-of-this-world, but also you have to know that the entire solo was most likely played on the Powell Probe, the industries FIRST remote midi controller.  Bends, vibrato, cv adjustments, all done from a remote controller with a sleek silver/green finish with soft lines to make it comfortable to wear about the neck.  THIS is why Powell is doing what he does at Apple.  What he doesn’t get to do at Apple is pantomime fighting off a Kabuki fire-breathing dragon, which were his theatrics for his solo segment.  Having vanquished said dragon, and we know he is vanquished as a tape plays the sound of what seems like a synthesized dragon in its death throes.

While the three had their elements introduced rather reasonably, Wilcox’s “water” came in the form of water fountains surrounding his drum riser (Rundgren confessing he used to go for some spills after returning to the stage), wind machines for Sulton, fire pots and a paper mache dragon for Powell, but how will Rundgren portray earth?

His verse is similar to Sulton’s and the intro chorus, and in it he proclaims he will “climb the face of the highest mountain…”  There is no mountain in the performance venue, so what’s an eager adventurer to do?  You bring (as part of your stage design) a giant sphinx in the background and a 20 + foot pyramid over the drums and other parts of the stage, and in order to earnestly climb a mountain, they will just have to bring their own.  The backdrop for the stage is a giant sphinx named Maurice who is spending his retirement as a backdrop for a church.  In the foreground, there stood a giant pyramid with only four supports forming the point, no walls.  On the front right (facing crowd) rail of the pyramid, there were ladder-like steps.  That is correct; Rundgren would ascend the stairs one at a time while soloing (usually with a custom guitar, formed in the shape of the Egyptian symbol for fertility, the Ahnk) and reach the top and perch on the two top-level rungs, each set at a level high enough for Rundgren to reach up and grab a winch cable, fasten it to something and when the solo has reached it apex (after venturing into areas such as other previous, well known solos from his previous catalog, this solo’s foray into Initiation’s “Treatise On A cosmic Fire”), Rundgren enters some notes into a delay, and as they play over and over, he steps off the pyramid to spiral down while attached to the winch letting him down almost in time to the music’s cacophony.

Whatever drugs they were on when they wrote this, I want some, man.

You just had to see it to appreciate it.  There is said to be no video worth processing into a mass release of this tour, but it was interesting.  They would warm up for themselves dressed in white T-shirts and black jeans, sneakers.  After the mid-point intermission of their set, they would come out dressed in Egyptian garb playing custom instruments, the Ahnk, Powell Probe and Sulton played an Ahnk-style bass as well.  The Ahnk instruments were destroyed in a fire I believe.  Rundgren said the Ahnk guitar was one of the best sounding he had played up to that point.

Once Rundgren is safely on the ground and detached, he finishes the solo on terra firma as backing vocals accompany the sound of marching feet and the ‘oohs and ahhs’ that were under the solo give way to round-robin vocals from each member singing their individual part as the narrator’s voice comes through one more time to tell us that all four brave adventurers were successful and they about to unlock the four locks to a chest that encloses the glass guitar which imprisons the spirit of harmony, Singring.

But the Utopsters love to have fun with this, making comments about what a fine chest it is, so on and so forth.  As they “unlock” the locks, Wilcox adds a drum roll with a series of strokes for each number key, roll, 1 hit for key one, roll, then two snare hits, for the second key and so on.  Finally, Rundgren reveals not exactly a glass guitar, but a guitar made of ice!  So after they all join in unison urging Rundgren to smash the guitar, he obliges by launching the ice guitar into the air and letting it hit the floor and shatter.  Theatrically, the band would wait for the guitar to make impact and that would be their cue to start up again with the music, at least the outro part.

Singring is a complicated song, a complicated arrangement with complicated parts.  For them to be able to pull this off with ANY degree of proficiency is proof that these guys were not your average, run-of-the-mill band.  They were something special and bands like this come along once every so lifetime or so.  But the show didn’t end there.  Although it could have been as the audience went wild after the electrified fairy tale.

But this would not be your Utopian standard concert ending would it?  You faithful readers to the blog know the final few songs in most Utopia shows went like this; “One World”, “Couldn’t I Just Tell You”, “Love Is The Answer”, and every show ended with “Just One Victory”.

Since “One World” hadn’t yet been written at this time, we hop directly to “Love is The Answer” from Oops. The piano is replaced with an organ sound from what I would assume is from the RMI Keyboard Computer.  It sounds very muddy, but I am operating on another assumption that this was from either the keyboard or the keyboard’s settings on the mixer as it just doesn’t sound right.  I hear the high hat clearly counting in the song, and having seen him play this song, you can tell the difference between when he is hitting as opposed to closing the high hat with his foot.  One striking difference is Rundgren’s lead vocal doesn’t sound mashed as it usually does whenever Rundgren takes the role as lead vocalist with no instrument to encumber him.  When he is instrument free, he usually employs a wireless mic that condenses his enunciation and tonality.  Perhaps it wasn’t available yet.  Rundgren does enjoy utilizing the latest in technological gizmos, but he also usually pushes that technology beyond what it was meant to do, or used in configurations you wouldn’t necessarily come up with, beyond the status quo.  Eventually the high end is brought in just before Rudngren implores audients to clap.  While this is performed masterfully, it has its weak moments vocally, but from the performer’s point of view, it was late in the show and these guys gave it all through the entire show so far.

As we get towards the “we got to love one another” break, vocal chords are blowing out left to right and Powell’s is especially noticed as he does high register backing vocals (usually one of the hardest degree of difficulties).  Only during the a cappella end can you hear the individual parts, and they back off the mics to form a fade.

After expressing various non-sequiters about the able audience participation (that clapping of hands Rundgren urged earlier) the band decide they will offer their appreciation with “Couldn’t I Just Tell You” with a pained vocal from a scorched earth throated Rundgren.  With an extended intro to focus on Rundgren playing guitar hero to the crowd, the version is top-notch rock, but Rundgren’s throat is shot.  The other members, specifically Sulton, help by “doubling” Rundgren’s vocal in spots.  By the time this rollicking version comes to the “I don’t come whinin’ with my heart on my sleeve” rejoinder, Rundgren knows better to yell/rap than attempt the melody.  The whole song is so tight, admittedly the solo goes into some, er, dicey territory at the end, this is a gold standard version that I would rather listen to than the original from that dreadful album Something/Anything.  Rundgren also loses some guitar acumen during the chord feature as he is probably showmanshipping to the audience.

Then that bittersweet chord, the first one from “Just One Victory”.  Always depressed me at Utopia concerts because this was it, nothing after a good anthem like “JOV” from AWATS.

The version proffered here is nothing less than spectacular but there are still sparse keyboards in the offing.  But the rhythm section mix is good, the vocals are mixed well, but I know there is a keyboard in there somewhere.  The tempo is quicker than the album and all four musicians can handle it.  Then for the chorus breakdown before the last verse, it is glamorous.  They are in great form, bass riffing, background vocals up to par, Rundgren’s voice shredded from the night’s events, memories.

After a healthy vocal ad-lib, with Rundgren’s voice making a close to recovery, the end solo comes up shaky but that won’t last long.  Rundgren likes to start his solos on one particular pickup on the guitar and then half way or so through the solo he will revert to an alternate pickup or pickup array.

As the solo dances through the masculine backing track, everything comes to a halt for three notes, and then after the third, the standard rock and roll ending during which all members address the crowd with their thanks and bring this mother to a close.

My personal count for seeing Rundgren live is well into AT LEAST 40 appearances.  Utopia concerts represent a great deal of that number.  I can see these images as I hear this music.  That’s what a good live CD will do, regardless of a bad mix, a good live PERFORMANCE will bring back fond, even Utopian memories.