ADVENTURES IN UTOPIA

As with my recent-enough listen-thru of Oops! Wrong Planet, it's been a long while since I've heard and/or appreciated Adventures In Utopia front-to-back. This now feels a bit more significant, and maybe even more understandable, too, with Oops! truly being the last Utopia album that left any lasting impression on me (regardless of its own weaknesses). Adventures marked the beginning of Utopia as moreso the thing Todd was doing most steadily and consistently from this point through to the mid-80s, to their final album; they put out about an album a year until the end, his solo output being significantly less than '70s Todd.

AOR sounds off this release in a most effective manner to my ears on "The Road to Utopia", a minute and a half in calling Rush to mind to me, most surprisingly. The vocal style (Todd fronting) and melody is very them though. Clear, pop-oriented, even still apparently Blue-Eyed-Soul melodies give it its strength. The progginess is limited, and coming out just over two years after Oops! in 1977, the same year as their final Progressive Rock statement, Ra, definitive changes to their sound were pretty clearly made. Anyways, solid opener in my opinion, and this second-wave era sound works pretty well, even if it is a Pop Rock track far more than it is Prog. Continuing in a not-too-surprising direction even glancing back to Ra, the Willie Wilcox-lead "You Make Me Crazy", not exactly the AOR Pop Rock sound I associate with him, seems to directly reference The Cars sonically--and now thinking back to when Todd fronted The New Cars whenever the hell that was, that puts an interesting spin on things. I've been listening to a lot of Power Pop over the past few years, so I am so for this track; I don't recall really enjoying it much before today. Another I'm already keenly suspecting I'll enjoy, with Philly Soul vocals from Todd, is "Second Nature", sporting some soft keys, and Todd's sweet falsetto (or simply upper register). And with all the tastiness herein from the start, we then get this beautiful Disco Jets-esque synth solo. Spacy, imaginative feature for such a now-Adult Contemporary-type track. I like labels. And I like this song. Will you? I have no idea.

Mixing it up, Kasim Sulton fronts "Set Me Free" next, another poppy number which will have limited miles here. Really enjoying it, though, it has an upbeat, swinging lilt you might find on an ELO tune. And even the group vocals may evoke them, as well as others. "Caravan", the only track lead vocally by Roger Powell, begins much like "Determination" from Todd's Hermit of Mink Hollow (1978). What it has far more in common to my ears, though, is early-80s America. It's very radio-friendly, at least before you notice its 7 minute track length. It's a fairly interesting song, and the guitar solo nearing the halfway mark feels a lot like a Utopia solo of yore. In that, it's awesome, and is followed by an equally excellent, far shorter solo from Powell. And then it's John's turn on the drums; this section alone I found very successful, clearly making for the most progressive thing thus far. There's a second jam-out solos trade from the final chorus to the end, lasting a good 2 minutes or so. Very cool. Kasim and Todd trade off vocals as they're apt and welcomed to do on "Last of The New Wave Riders", a meta-lyric about New Wave musicians(?) turning to "New Age"? I don't understand it much on my own; Genius.com also lacks an answer. This is a chunky, metal-inflected AOR song through and through, like Styx from around this time perhaps. It's a pretty cool sound, with Todd's guitar once again the ever-shining entity, from his long-held melodic strikes to his lead work. Yet another I don't remember enjoying so much; to say it, though, not Prog.

Our vocal duo sticks together on "Shot in the Dark", a song with a pretty daring and surprising sonic mix. It reads very Art Rock to these ears (Sparks? 10cc?). Kasim's vocals are so high, matched fittingly with this bright, chiptuney chirp from the keys. The guitars are... heavy? Sometimes. Now this is the most progressive thing so far haha; the first I can really recommend. Then we're back to AOR form, with the Todd-lead "The Very Last Time". I like it, but it is approaching Meatloaf. Jerkin' us around once again, but with the lightest touch possible, Kasim Sulton croons over Roger's faux-organ on "Love Alone". Very soulful, it's also sort of hymn-like. The group vocals are of course standout. Finally we have "Rock Love", of course yet another genre pastiche. It's like disco and... whatever it is, it is hokey, [pause for effect] schlock. I like how it doesn't seem to take itself all that seriously, at least. But the line "Get thee behind me Satan" certainly rings out strong. As celebrated throughout this release, the solos are quite nice. If anyone can schlock incredibly well, next to the likes of Sir Paul, Utopia's got the chops.

An odd, but not totally untethered album from a favorite band.

True Rate: 2.75