LAST OF THE NEW WAVE RIDERS

Utopia

Eclectic Prog

3.00 | 8 ratings

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Easy Livin
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin

Love in action all over the world

This mammoth 7 CD collection mirrors sets such as ELP's and Tangerine Dream's bootleg series. The recordings here are not from official live albums, but are gathered together from a range of Utopia bootlegs. The intention is clearly to beat the bootleggers at their own game by bootlegging the bootleggers. Four separate gigs are covered, with three of these extending to two CDs each.

The results are to say the least predictably variable. The sound quality at times is awful sounding like a smuggled cassette recorder in someone's pocket. Other sets are not too bad, with some perhaps being taken directly from the sound board. Unfortunately, it is the "Oops wrong planet" tour recordings which are the worst. I say unfortunately, as these contain the best of the songs, including several from the fine "Ra" album. Heard through the haze, "Communion with the sun" is given a superb workout including a dazzling synth solo. The highlight though is the 34 minute run through of "Singring and the glass guitar", which is combined with the "Utopia theme" from the band's first album to form a 34 minute monster.

There is of course a lot of overlap in the set lists, with tracks like "Love is the answer", "Love in action" and "Trapped" appearing numerous times with little variation. The songs from the later albums were much more variable in standard to start with, and this is reflected in the overall attraction of those discs.

Summed up, this is of course intended only for the dedicated Utopia/Todd Rundgren fan. The sound quality, the repetition of tracks, and the lack of any great innovation in a live environment all lead to the conclusion that for most people, the original studio albums will more than suffice.

Easy Livin | 2/5 | 2008-10-23

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