: Todd Rundgren’s Utopia – “Utopia”
Posted on July 18, 2010
Rundgren took a huge leap from pop fame to intense guitar fusion when he created Utopia. The band's self-titled debut, released in 1974, features Todd diving into pre-shred, effects-driven solos, notably on the 30-minute epic, "The Ikon." Monster power chords sit side-by-side with prog-rock noodlings and abrupt time changes, showing that Rundgren's guitar playing was as advanced as nearly any other guitarist of the time.
No one has done an album remotely like "Utopia" since -- unfortunately, that includes Todd -- but it remains the undiscovered gem of fusion guitar.
July 20th, 2010 - 05:22
Undiscovered? By the under-45 crowd perhaps. Guitarists over 50, like me, have at least the vinyl stashed away…. Reminds me I need to source a CD.