''Adventures in Utopia'' is the fourth studio album by

Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', describing a fictional ...

. Mixing their earlier

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

style with mainstream

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

, pop and

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

music, ''Adventures in Utopia'' achieved success both with the band's established

fan base A fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significant p ...

and wider commercial success, with the track "Set Me Free" released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

. The song became the only Top 40 single for Utopia in the United States. "Umbrella Man" was its

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

. The by-then established Utopia line-up of

Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, multimedia artist, sound engineer and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the band Ut ...

Kasim Sulton Kasim Sulton (born December 8, 1955) is an American bass guitarist, keyboardist and vocalist. Best known for his work with Utopia, Sulton sang lead on 1980's "Set Me Free," Utopia's only top 40 hit in the United States. As a solo artist, Sulton ...

, Roger Powell and John "Willie" Wilcox wrote, performed and produced the album on their own. According to Rundgren, the album was intended to be the soundtrack for a TV show the band was working on. Even though the album was recorded in a place with video equipment, they never got around to writing or producing the TV pilot Rundgren, Todd comments from the 2018 CD reissue of the album put out by Friday Music

Track listing

All tracks are written by Utopia (Rundgren, Powell, Wilcox, Sulton).

Personnel

- Electric guitar, lead vocals (1, 3, 6–8, 10), backing vocals * Roger Powell - keyboards, lead vocals (5), backing vocals, trumpet (4) *

- bass, lead vocals (1, 4, 6, 7, 9), electric piano (4), backing vocals *

Willie Wilcox John "Willie" Wilcox (born September 21, 1951, in Trenton, New Jersey) is an American drummer, vocalist, producer, recording engineer, sound designer, composer and senior audio director. He is best known for being a member of the band Utopia. He ...

- drums, lead vocals (2), backing vocals Engineered and produced by Rundgren, front cover concept by Rundgren

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adventures In Utopia 1979 albums Todd Rundgren albums Albums produced by Todd Rundgren Utopia (band) albums Bearsville Records albums Rhino Records albums