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Steve Hillage's first post-Gong solo album (Fish Rising, remember, was produced whilst he was still a member of the band) sees him joining forces with Todd Rundgren, with Todd at the producer's console and Utopia backing Steve in the studio. This is a matchup which, to my ears at least, doesn't work as well as might have been hoped; Rundgren's muscular, forceful power pop production approach and Utopia's sonic attack don't entirely sit well with Steve's own style. Furthermore, the album suffers from a profound lack of decent material, with no less than three cover songs - Hurdy Gurdy Man is pretty decent, but It's All Too Much is a little too much.

Plus, if you thought Fish Rising had silly lyrics you'll find Electrick Gypsies completely hilarious. Very evidently this album's attempt at a hit single or a hippy anthem, it's horribly dated and is probably the nadir of the album.

That said, the extended instrumentals Hurdy Gurdy Glissando and Lunar Musick Suite rather save the album, and on repeated listens I find that Utopia are able to bring a bit more subtlety to the table in these extended workouts than I'd previously credited them for. It's overall a fun listen, but it's a major step down next to Fish Rising.