Utopia’s Last Of The New Wave Riders Deface The Beatle’s Music (Part Two)

by Jeff Boule in Album Reviews, Concert Reviews, Editorials, Reviews, Uncategorized

Picking up from where we (mercifully) left off last week, we are smack-dab in the middle of what is part of the box set from Todd Rundgren and Utopia chronicling their Deface The Music tour. To recap, Deface The Music was Utopia’s tribute to the Beatles. Rundgren and Sulton have frequently stated that the Beatles were tremendous influences on them both. Powell and Wilcox are more comfortable in the jazz realm, but also have Beatle-influence (come on, everybody has Beatle influence, even if you didn’t like them, odds are, many of the artists you DO like were influenced by the Beatles so vicariously, you are influenced).

But this isn’t about the Beatles, it’s about Utopia, maybe for this tour we should call them Beatleopia.

The second disc starts off with one of my favorite songs from Adventures In Utopia, “Shot In The Dark.” Starting off with a hybrid of barroom and Honky-Tonk piano line, the song explodes with full instrumentation and backing harmonies (like you would expect less from Mr. “I Layer More Vocals Than Betty Crocker Layers Cakes” Rundgren) the song has the duet boys Rundgren and Sulton harmonizing about situations from the mundane (sitting at a desk waiting for quitting time) to the ridiculous (bombs thrown through kitchen windows landing in pies). Granted if their voices were in better shape, the harmonies would be more pronounced. Powell’s keyboards simply steal the show, as they often do. Rundgren’s only hope of countering the guitar part is to make it as tasty as a Betty Crocker cake (product placement anyone?). By this time, the voices are a tad shot. It may be from extensive touring. This is the second consecutive tour in as many years, and they had been touring the previous album Adventures In Utopia material since 1979. Rundgren and Co. held the album up several months to make sure it was one of the first albums released in the1980’s.

After the song, Rundgren claims they were out of tune for it. It didn’t sound that out of tune. But during the solo guitar parts, the guitar is a tad questionable. Not like hot stage lights and temperatures and weather won’t do that to a guitar. Never! I always feel this song goes by too quickly, but this version feels like they were late for something. Too rushed.

If they ran the songs together, the first three on disc two could be construed as an Adventures In Utopia medley. Rundgren even refers to them as a string of “hits” (although we all know no such thing exists in this Utopia). This next tune is a staple at Utopia shows; right on up to the last shows they played in California and Japan. Everybody loves “Caravan” from Adventures In Utopia, as it remains the quintessential keyboard/guitar solo duel song. Ever since the Another Live era, 1975, Powell and Rundgren have been trading solos back and forth. When you have two virtuoso players such as these two, these solos can be enthralling for the devout music fan. From the moment Rundgren starts that high note riff, the fans know it’s go time! Powell takes the lead vocal on this story of desert wanderers battling the elements and a surprise sandstorm during their cross-desert traversing. This track even includes a minor drum solo from Wilcox. Even Sulton gets a few bass licks in before the parts rejoin. Engineer Chris Andersen can work the delay button, but he still has the band sounding really brown. Another disappointing engineering aspect of this track is the noticeable drop in audio quality just as the song starts. Otherwise the performance is on point, tight and spirited. Unlike “Shot…” which they have a habit of playing kind of loosely. It has that kind of charm that will allow for a sloppy performance. After all, how tight can you be with a bomb on your kitchen table?

This version of “Caravan”, bad sound aside, is one of their better attempts at it. I have seen and heard many so I know just from whence I speak (wait, that was a lyric from the 1982 Utopia album Utopia, the song “Libertine”, we aren’t there yet). But this version ranks up there. Inventive additions to the recorded version, new takes on the vocal melody, some impromptu additions to the parts, little flourishes on the drums bring this version to nearly the top of the heap. The solos maintain their identity but have new life within them. What a great band you’ve never heard of.

Once the crowd calms from its frenzy, the last track from the Adventures medley, “The Very Last Time”, is presented. This track starts off deceptively light, but don’t get comfortable. As the contempt of the subject matter increases, so does the intensity of the song. The subject matter pertains to romantic abuse and mistreatment. Once Rundgren makes the proclamation that he “… won’t be your fool no more,” the riff with build that follows brings us into full hate mode with the accompanying instrumentation to back it up. Wilcox’s familiar offbeat ride cymbal keeps things propelled forward to get to more of those angelic Utopian harmonies. It would seem that some of the higher notes are a strain for the consummate vocalist Rundgren, but this was typical for him at the end of most tours. He gave you all of his best every night, and as any performer can tell you, it takes its toll on the human voice fast! The breakdown section had yet to develop the stop that became a feature in this song when played live later on. Right after the lyric “My head may go crazy, my heart it may burst” STOP. But by the time all is said and done, this song triumphs it’s way out carrying all it’s baggage and possessions with it. Then, a mysterious fade puts us back in Deface The Music territory.

“Alone” is a Sulton sung ballad, and exemplifies a typical characteristic of Sulton during this period: He kept forgetting the lyrics! I cannot tell you how many times we harassed him for flubbing the lines to various songs, not just this one. That’s what you get for trying to smoke as much pot as Rundgren was doing at the time. This was his self-proclaimed “white Rastafarian” period.

Don’t you just hate when your favorite artist gives up mind altering/expansion just because of age or industry pressure? Reference Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. Most fans will tell you after he got clean, he got lame! Until after he left Interscope. What does Brian Griffin say about John Coltrane? No junk, no soul… Afterward Rundgren makes an appeal to Tony Bennett to cover this song. My colon is going spastic at the thought!!

“Always Late”, also from Deface The Music is sung by Wilcox, and at this point Rundgren leaves the stage except to rush in to join the background vocals almost always late. Get it? Yuk yuk! During the middle break, Rundgren comes out with a towel wrapped around his head and mimics a harried housewife trying to wake a slumbering Wilcox. At one show I distinctly remember Wilcox telling him to F-off and leave me alone! Oh the fun.

More fun was to be found in this raucous almost hit, “Take It Home”, again from Deface. The comparison to the original Beatles song is obvious. Again, I won’t tell you, half the fun is figuring it out. From the riff to the cowbell ride, to the structure in general, this is one of those obvious rip-offs. The live solo is much more freewheeling than the album version, as it should be! The negative aspect of these songs is, they are way too short. Also, Rundgren’s voice is deteriorating before our ears.

“That’s Not Right”, another Deface tune, (perhaps this is the Deface near-medley?) has a bouncy rhythm, and is a veritable ditty in the truest sense of the word. Sometimes the lyrics are a tad trite, but remember, this is novelty, tribute, homage music. It doesn’t always have to be poignant, try to fix the world-type music or lyrics. Maybe, just maybe, this is just feel-good music!

Naaaaahhhhhhh.

The only issue with this take would be the vocals, but what can you do? Maybe mix the guitar a little louder, but I am not one to question Rundgren’s mixing technique.

As if right out of Magical Mystery Tour, “Everybody Else Is Wrong” was the final track from Deface. This is psychedelic defined. Some of the more trippy keyboard effects are absent as at one point where there is supposed to be a backward descending chord sequence the first time there is only one misplaced, meek note, the second time Powell makes up for it by playing the sequence sans backward effect. This song is a tribute to self-assuredness, you know, the absolute certainty: One can never be wrong if the incorrect position is already taken up by everyone else. Much like the presidency of George W. Bush. Andersen screws with this by adding far too many vocal effects at the end. Delays, reverbs and pitch-transposers, after a while it just sounds like mud.

From the psychedelic to the pathetic, next up is an oldie but a moldy, “I Saw The Light” from Something/Anything. Nothing like revisionist claptrap. Sorry but even Rundgren dislikes the songs from Something/Anything. On one of his recent appearances on David Letterman, Rundgren performed “Hello It’s Me” and afterward Letterman asked “Do you still like playing that song?” Rundgren replied “After 30 years?” Most of those unacquainted with Rundgren immediately equate his entire career to this one album. A huge mistake, similar to equating Journey to a quality band,

`Nuff said, although it is a capable version. I, like Rundgren, just have a tough time listening to it. Not to mention the fact that if there is a track where the guitar is purported to be out of tune, listen to this guitar part carefully. Either Rundgren REALLY doesn’t care about this song, or the rest of his road crew is as incompetent as Andersen. I am happy that they rushed through this song. Can’t be over fast enough for me.

From the outdated to the nihilistic, the power track “Trapped” from Oops Wrong Planet assaults our ears with performance power and sonic attempts at savage brutality. The message is basically get off your ass or you will atrophy. “If you don’t have the stomach for all this radical crap, then have the guts to stand for something or you’re gonna be trapped…” truer words. Andersen yet again ruins an otherwise great version by forgetting that Sulton shares a lead vocal during a bridge and his portion of the lead vocal is lost. He has ruined more good versions than Catholic priests have ruined young boys. Again poor sound aside, this is a full-tilt live version. Not to be missed. One thing the uninitiated listener must be aware of during solos by Rundgren, he is all over the place. Actually, physically, running from side to side of the stage during solos. During his appearances with the Ringo Starr All Star Band, Rundgren went deep into the audience during the version of the Guess Who’s “American Woman”, while Burton Cummings would lead the song, Rundgren would explore the audience only to return to the stage to body slam Timothy B. Schmidt (of the Eagle’s fame) during the bridge rejoinders.

“Love In Action”, another from Oops Wrong Planet (I say keep them coming, this album was acclaimed so much Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs did a Gold remaster of it, the only other album they did by Rundgren was Something/Anything, and that’s where that comparison ends, if there were a comparison. Something/Anything Rundgren describes in the liner notes as a “bouquet of ear catching melodies”. I would describe Oops as a terroristic bombast of nihilistic mayhem and apocalyptic forewarning.

This version is good, I just find the stop break after the dicey keyboard solo (I am surprised, usually Powell is consummate at soloing) disturbing as it is too clean, as though some unnecessary editing was done. Even Rundgren’s vocals are sounding better. Guess this song is more in his range when that range is impeded by wear. But the background vocals are washed away by more fader chasing.

We sojourn back to the days of those ear-catching melodies with a Utopian-end-of-show trademark tune, “Couldn’t I Just Tell You”, again from Something/Anything. This, then “Love Is The Answer”, followed by “Just One Victory” from the amazing A Wizard A True Star album were the carved-in-stone last songs of the night. I have saved many newbie Utopia concertgoers from missing this track as they would start to leave after “Love Is The Answer“ and I would tell them, there is (always) one more song. A true Utopia fan never made for the door until after “Just One Victory”. But this version of “Couldn’t…” had become one of those adopted Utopia tunes. The ones that were written and recorded for Rundgren solo albums but became Utopia feature songs. “Couldn’t I Just Tell You”, “Love Of The Common Man”, and “Just One Victory” are all examples of adopted Todd Tunes.

Omitting “Just One Victory”, our show ends with “Love Is The Answer” from Oops Wrong Planet. You adult contemporary/EZ listening fans will recognize this song as the one made famous by England Dan and John Ford Coley. Yup, those nice young men did NOT write this song, it was written by that long haired, freaky weirdo out of Philadelphia PA via Woodstock NY. This version is very, very good. The strains in Rundgren’s voice are sometimes supposed to be there. Version after version, the pleas for a more-peaceful-coexistence-of-mankind comes straight through Rundgren’s Daryl Hall-derived Philly blue-eyed soul vocal.

Did you know that Rundgren is a product of Philly suburb Upper Darby? Get out and support some local talent!!!!

Rundgren is using that wireless microphone he used frequently during this era, as some of his diction is lost, as he practically has to shove the mic down his own throat to get any response out of it. He usually kept the mic against his teeth as he sang. This was the mic he used when they did this song on the Mike Douglas show.

A nice feature of this disc is a hidden track that is actually not a song, but an impromptu interview with Roger Powell interviewing the other members of Utopia! Some laughs, some info, a little song, a little dance, a little wise acre in your pants!!!

But one thing I have to make known is the fact that I reviewed this disc using a 7.1 sound system. No, the added sonic capability of the 7.1 System DID NOT HELP THIS DISC SOUND ANY BETTER. Nor did a playing in two-channel stereo. If anything, it brought forward the inherent flaws in a “bootleg” live recording done by someone who has no business recording live concerts (Andersen). The positives are, this is a good show despite some rough vocals and some flubs. Without trying to harp on the subject, but questionable monitor and main mixing can throw the performer. The voice-of-experience Utopian concert veteran says buy this for the support of the band and to have as part of the collection as the songs remain the same, but the performances change in a musically adventurous, technologically advanced spirit unparalleled by any of today’s modern acts. WORD!

On a scheduling note, we will, in fact, be posting the review of the Devo show upcoming at the Penn’s Landing Festival Pier in Philadelphia next week, as the promotional material I was exposed to was incorrect. So I guess this is my first retraction. The Devo show is NOT going to be July 28, but in fact JUNE 28th. So next week, I will be catching you up on the latest performance of the spud boys! See you next week with some devolutionary information. Until then, get yourself down to the PREX and see if you can challenge them to find you a copy of either the Utopia box set Last of The New Wave Riders, or the individual concert I have reviewed for you these last two weeks, Deface The Music Tour, or at least if you are intrigued by Utopia’s take on what the Beatles might sound like if they were still going in 1980, have them get you Deface The Music, the album. Who knows, you may end up owning all three.

And to paraphrase Devo, That’s good!