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In the 1970s, artists and bands released live albums as a means to expose their best material to the public, or to give fans the chance to relive their favorite concerts on vinyl. For 1975's Todd Rundgren's Utopia: Another Live, things were a little different. Sure, you got some of Todd's searing guitar solos and synthesizer prowess from three keyboardists. But unlike other bands who were putting out greatest hits live, Another Live gave you one side with three totally new compositions, and the other side with a mix of Todd's solo material played live ('Heavy Metal Kids,' 'Just One Victory'); experimental progressive rock sounds of Rundgren's blistering guitar contrasted with Roger Powell's synthesizer mastery; and cover tunes of West Side Story's 'Something's Coming' and the Move's 'Do Ya' (made into a hit a year later by Electric Light Orchestra). Despite some muddiness to the sound of the original recording, the performance was very good. I rated this CD Good because of the improved sound of this remaster, the contrasting material, and the natural use of the UK version of this album's cover and inside sleeve (featuring a sweaty profile of Todd Rundgren, who had obviously given his all), which were only available as an import back in the days of vinyl, when it cost a bit more to bring it home. And this version is part of a series of Todd Rundgren and Utopia albums that were issued with extensive liner notes from Uncut magazine's Paul Lester. If you're looking for Utopia's power-pop output, you might like side two of this, but you'd probably be better off with later albums like Adventures In Utopia or Oops! Wrong Planet. If you're looking for Todd Rundgren's hits, stick to Rhino's The Very Best Of Todd Rundgren.Read full review
If you're a Todd fan you most likely already have this-- on vinyl, like me. That it's been out-of-print and unavailable on CD so long (thus it will cost far more than it should to replace that worn-out LP in your collection) really sucks. Every tour throughout his entire career, Todd has always done pretty much an entirely different set, often with an entirely different band (except for Kasim Sulton, who is not on this one,) and certainly vastly different arrangements of whichever of his favorite nuggets he pulls out of the nostalgia bag. For many years though, he finished every show, regardless of what else is in the set, with "Just One Victory." This album has the definitive version of that song. Lots of Roger Powell synth, a fun version of Jeff Lynne's "Do Ya" and a big hard "Heavy Metal Kids." All in all, an excellent representation of a pre-space and pre-pop Utopia. Highly recommended. (But much too expensive except for hard-core Todd fans, which is a shame because this is one of his best and most accessible albums.)Read full review
This is a tremendous live Album particularly hard rockers Do Ya and Heavy Metal Kids. Prog Rocker 7 Rays very good
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned