Music Review: Utopia, POV (Reissue)

By Jeffery X Martin

Todd Rundgren’s music has always been an acquired taste. His chart hits have felt like flukes, strange cracks in the system. You aren’t supposed to know who Todd Rundgren is. He leads a cult that resides so far underground, they may as well be Morlocks.

One of the reasons for this status is Rundgren’s musical twitchiness. He jumps from style to style, from Philly white-boy blues to synth-pop, from down and dirty rock and roll to salsa. Never knowing what he’ll do next is exciting for some, laborious for others.

In the late Seventies, Rundgren formed a band called Utopia. It was designed to be his big foray into progressive rock, exploring grand concepts and incorporating deep philosophical lyrics. As it gradually shrank from seven members to four, Utopia became one of the sharpest New Wave bands of its time, delivering perfect three-minute pop songs, deliciously textured with soaring, shifting harmonies.

Utopia was never as gritty as The Cars or as raunchy as Blondie. It’s feasible to consider them as a bridge between New Wave and the New Romantics, with their “Shape of Things to Come” fashion sense and lyrics ranging from sweet to snappy. They even released an album called Deface the Music, which aped and improved upon the classic sound of the Beatles.

Their final album, POV, is a jagged, compartmentalized affair. It seems like everybody wants a solo, all the musicians vying for the listener’s undivided attention, and they all get it one way or another. Bass player Kasim Sulton, who later went on to have a long career playing bass for Meat Loaf, attacks the songs he has lead vocals on like an angry little dog, snarling and biting. Todd, a crooner at heart, takes somewhat of a softer approach, especially in songs like “Mated.” That song seems a little sappy now, but Todd’s vocal performance is excellent.

Utopia was using collective credits at this time; no matter who wrote the song, it was credited to the entire band. A long-time Utopia fan is left with the task of trying to figure out a few things. Who really wrote what song? Is that Todd singing, or Kasim trying to sound like Todd? What is going on with this record?

This is the sound of splintering. Thanks to the flawless remastering by Esoteric/Cherry Red Records, every crack is audible. The sound quality is fantastic, and the three extra tracks, especially the fantastic “Monument,” would have worked well on the original release.

POV is not a bad record by any stretch of the imagination. Any songwriter would be pleased as punch with themselves for writing a lead-off song as good as “Play This Game.” It rollicks along through weird chord changes and has a great sing-along chorus. It’s one of the better Utopia songs, and it sets the bar pretty high for the rest of the album. Now, the rest of it doesn’t compare, but that doesn’t make a bad album. It just isn’t great, and for a while there, Utopia was releasing nothing but greatness.

Certainly, get a couple other Utopia albums under your belt before jumping into POV. Start with Oops! Wrong Planet! or the restrained bombast of Oblivion. It’s necessary for a bit of history, to understand what Utopia was before immersing oneself in what Utopia became. POV disappoints, but only because it seems like a slow, hissing deflation instead of a triumphant ending for an amazing band.

POV was reissued by Cherry Red Records on July 7.