Something happened to me after I was turned on to Todd/Utopia in 1974, when I was 17. Like someone else commented, it opened up a part of me that my alcoholic Dad had tried to wipe out of me. I turned on to the positive side, and learned alot about how to get back to the fact that there was hope after all. Seeing Todd on 12/15/75 at the Beacon in NYC, with this same band in its last years may have been the most influential concert I'd ever been to at that point.
Im the 50,000 viewer, i feel so privileged. First i'd like to thank my parents, i'd never be here without them, Next I'd like to thank the establishment for supporting me and finally Todd Rundgren for making such beautiful tunes over the years
I just saw todd with a string quartet called ethel...he was great... nd so friendly, unassuming and personable after the show... He signed my book and told me a bit about the making of "a wizard" .. they played Zen Archer during the show and I asked him about the album version....he was so nice... he said on the album version in the background of the song they used a a ruler on a desk to make the sound of the arrow striking..lol...my all time vave album and imo the best album ever made
my sister bought me for xmas a wizard a true star and man it was like the biggest gift i ever received even to this day. at that time it was like the ultimate gift to go with your first stereo!
Brings back good memories of when I was 18yo. One of the many cassettes I played in my car while driving round town when I couldn't sleep at nite. Great to hear it again.
Todd has been a force in my life since I was a teenager... And his work with Utopia the most influential on me.. I loved 'The Hermit of Mink Hollow", and Runt and all his other earlier work, but this band just kicked major butt....
This lineup was my first live Rundgren exposure. Wall of synthesizer speakers. Played utopia. Amazingly great. Trinity in S A. About third full. Shook hands after encore from the stage. Got hooked. Rundgren is the best.
I was young teen when came out. Had a profound effect on me as far as music goes. What an incredible composer, arranger, artist, guitarist, musician, lyricist, poet, singer, even a computer geek ;), this man was and continues to be... the complete package!
I saw Todd Rundgren in like I think 1973 in Cleveland. We were so fortunate to be carrying a bunch of Alcapolco Gold and the security guards let us in for a few joints to see the show. I will always remember that he was alone with just a tape deck. That was it! he sang the entire show. Boy was it great. Todd was heavy into Video Toasters and Amiga computers as well. Man were those the daze.
He was in a great class of singers but you cannot say he was "better" than Jon Anderson of YES, or Steve Perry of Journey, Steve Walsh of Kansas, Dennis DeYoung of Styx, etc.
Todd all time favorite. And loved utopia ... roger Powell the keyboard player ... super nice ... when we met him he worked for ARO doing demos in music stores across the world ... after talking with him a week later I bought the one of the first Odyssey’s synths sold at Arnold and Morgan music in ... garland , Tx ... my fav local music stores. Great staff but roger was awesome Great player and nice guy RIP ... just one of the many artist that played concerts in Dallas and we would get to meet tons of them .... Arnold & Morgan was the store to go to for all your musical needs and wants 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻☮️☮️☮️
Donald Lee, don’t know if you meant RIP for Roger Powell, I’m certain he’s still with us. Was lucky enough to meet him a number of years ago at a RundgrenRadio party in Akron. Bumped into him in a crowded room actually. Darned nice guy.
Returning again ❤️ He’s coming to Melbourne! Have tickets! Missing out on the Todd-A-Roo weekend glamp site on Cockatoo Island. Damn. He made such an impact on me. My first spiritual Guru. Why oh why do we have to age. He’s rarely expressing this side of himself musically.
I saw them play at the Santa Monica Civic in 1974. Close to 3 hours , no opening band, Tod on piano for 30 minutes and the band for the rest of the time. They killed! It will forever be etched in my mind as one of the best concerts I ever attended!
I saw Utopia play this live back in the 70's, loved it then, love it now. I can remember all these rays of colored lights just flashing. One of my Utopia favorites!
Saw the first gen UTOPIA band Oct. 30, 1974. I was already hooked, but this show was more than I'd ever have expected or imagined. The ultimate professional. Since then I've seen him about 90 - 100 times. Seriously.
You are right. Most people have forgotten that when this video was made, the clothes were considered very cool. Personally, I don't care about appearance when someone can perform such a stunning as this.
I got really into Todd and other progressive rock bands when I was in high school back in the 70's. I saw Utopia in concert for the Ra album and the stage performance was awesome...they had the giant pyramid with Todd perched up at the top and a "glass guitar" Todd smashed. I love "thinking man's rock". If you like Todd you need to check out Yes, Kansas, Emerson Lake & Palmer, King Crimson...
This recording was made five months after the first time I saw Utopia perform at The Mpls Auditorium, November 3rd, 1974 . The band included drummer Kevin Ellman, Ralph Shuckett ( an Apple Valley, MN native, ) John Siegler, and ongoing members Kasim Sultan and Roger Powell.
I saw Todd Rundgren & Utopia at the Poplar Creek Music Ampitheatre in Hoffman Estates, IL. in 1985 or 86, as a 5th or 6th grader, incapable of fully appreciating the musical complexity and finesse of such a gifted artist and his band. At the time, Kiss, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, & Van Halen were about all I could really digest at that stage in my life.
Next month, on June 18th, Todd will be sixty. He so helped me survive the seventies and every decade since. My absolute favorite video ever posted on RUclips !
This is almost like a holy relic, this performance. Who of their right mind would attempt this now? And look at how easily Todd carries it... as if it were no burden at all...
@spergs If you move quickly, they are getting together for a reunion in NYC at the Highline Ballroom on January 29th and 30th. The first show has already sold out, and the second is not yet on sale. But it is Todd, Moogy Klingman, Kevin Ellman, John Sigler and Ralph Shuckett. It is part a reunion of this version of Utopia (minus M. Frog, but his contribution was never exactly clear) and partly a celebration of Moogy's musical life.
Yes, and I was wondering where Powell's transcendental keyboard solo after "beauty" went? Todd played a guitar solo with some backing keyboards but no monster solo. I always listen for this solo as Powell played it so masterfully on Another Live.
wow, the todd versus zappa analyses was over the top, but fun to read this song brings me back to college daze...i remember putting my speakers out the windows and blasting this song
I dont know how many people know what I mean by the arrow striking in the background of zen archer....but he used a wooden ruler on the table and made the part hanging off vibrate...to get the sound of the arrow striking ...lol
So psyched to be going to the highline tomorrow for the second night of this reunion! (sure wish I didn't have to work at 7AM in Schd'y Monday AM though!
@@kevinkline7242 Yeah kids should.You can have it all these days but many youngsters don't take advantage.I was looking at films of Woodstock and it struck me (and many commenters) how much thinner people were on the average.Drive by a ballfield these days and it's a ghost town.BTW I liked A fish called Wanda.
This version of the band is really cool. The jamming they could do was awesome. Don't get me wrong I like Utopia as a 4 piece also but they couldn't stretch the musical boundaries like these guys. Kevin Ellman's drumming is powerful and precise which was perfect for what they were doing. Would love to see these guys reunite if just for one or two shows.
TR, Roger Powell (synth), Moogy Klingman (kbd), John Siegler (bass), Ralph Schuckett(kbd), and the awesome Kevin Ellman on drums, this is Utopia mk 2 (if you count the earlier Sales Brothers as Mk1)must be one of the earliest versions, pre Willie Wilcox.BTW on tour they used no less than Luther Vandross as backing vocalist!
Well, drunkinsgsheep, now is the time to support your local musician! Seems that we are revolting from the norm, and many indie bands are starting to surface. this is why I, a drummer of over 30 years experience is thinking about coming back out again! go see a band that plays originals, ,go see a band that is REAL! No autotuner, no gimmicks. Just real!.
Wow, this is an absolute masterpiece. Btw, this must have been the only rockband with three keyboard players / synthesists ever... A huge pile of gear! I wonder if they ever got "experimental" with the modular system etc. in the live shows coz all I hear in the vids on youtube is regular synth stuff that could easily be played by one keyboarder even back then...
I will never be able to put my finger on it as to why Todd and Utopia never achieved the "Popular acclaim" that others did in the 70's. They were innovative, unique, tight-like Zappa-original in every sense. I think it was the clothes. Really, it was the clothes. I'm serious!
I wrote a small piece about Kevin Ellman for Modern Drummer, in the current issue (April '13). He and Seigler play around New York in a cover band called Group Therapy. Check them out, and the story, if you can!
Jep! I think the lineup is Schukett / Powell / Moogy from your left to right. Fantastic lineup! And vox choruses are sweet too, its really a live show.
This is great! The extended Utopia band was short-lived, I saw the show at DAR Constitution hall. I thought Kevin Ellman was a GREAT drummer, and Moogy was a great compliment to the unit. Where did this come from?
They just don't make em like this anymore....*sighs at his generations lack of talent and originality* At least I have a few windows to this lovely music...
Something happened to me after I was turned on to Todd/Utopia in 1974, when I was 17. Like someone else commented, it opened up a part of me that my alcoholic Dad had tried to wipe out of me. I turned on to the positive side, and learned alot about how to get back to the fact that there was hope after all. Seeing Todd on 12/15/75 at the Beacon in NYC, with this same band in its last years may have been the most influential concert I'd ever been to at that point.
Im the 50,000 viewer, i feel so privileged.
First i'd like to thank my parents, i'd never be here without them,
Next I'd like to thank the establishment for supporting me and finally Todd Rundgren for making such beautiful tunes over the years
This is my favorite song. Not just from Utopia but from all of the everything in the universe!
I just saw todd with a string quartet called ethel...he was great... nd so friendly, unassuming and personable after the show... He signed my book and told me a bit about the making of "a wizard" .. they played Zen Archer during the show and I asked him about the album version....he was so nice... he said on the album version in the background of the song they used a a ruler on a desk to make the sound of the arrow striking..lol...my all time vave album and imo the best album ever made
Many people dunno hw lucky we are to have this footage. I just wish it were available higher res. It's out there somewhere!
TE MA ZOOOOO!!!!!
my sister bought me for xmas a wizard a true star and man it was like the biggest gift i ever received even to this day. at that time it was like the ultimate gift to go with your first stereo!
Brings back good memories of when I was 18yo. One of the many cassettes I played in my car while driving round town when I couldn't sleep at nite. Great to hear it again.
Todd has been a force in my life since I was a teenager...
And his work with Utopia the most influential on me..
I loved 'The Hermit of Mink Hollow", and Runt and all his other earlier work, but this band just kicked major butt....
Amazing song! Psychedelic sound is very good in these kind of music.
brilliant, i can't seem 2 get this song out of my head, which is no bad thing!!!
This lineup was my first live Rundgren exposure. Wall of synthesizer speakers. Played utopia. Amazingly great. Trinity in S A. About third full. Shook hands after encore from the stage. Got hooked. Rundgren is the best.
So that's how my brother got hooked. He went to school there in the mid-'70s, probably stood right next to you!
That's so cool. Love how he high fives the crowd for whole songs in the old vids. He seems like the coolest.
I was young teen when came out. Had a profound effect on me as far as music goes.
What an incredible composer, arranger, artist, guitarist, musician, lyricist, poet, singer, even a computer geek ;), this man was and continues to be... the complete package!
If only stuff was played like this on TV these days.... it' be a different world
So great!
I saw Todd Rundgren in like I think 1973 in Cleveland. We were so fortunate to be carrying a bunch of Alcapolco Gold and the security guards let us in for a few joints to see the show. I will always remember that he was alone with just a tape deck. That was it! he sang the entire show. Boy was it great.
Todd was heavy into Video Toasters and Amiga computers as well.
Man were those the daze.
did the Akron Civic the same year.. epic
In those days Todd could sing rings around any rock singer.
He was in a great class of singers but you cannot say he was "better" than Jon Anderson of YES, or Steve Perry of Journey, Steve Walsh of Kansas, Dennis DeYoung of Styx, etc.
Perhaps not a better technician. More soulful, though.
@@BluesLicks101 totally diff styles.. but more soul..
@@BluesLicks101 Journey and Styx?
One of my all-time favorite songs, it contains so many elements...He's a master, and has been since his teens!
Back when Todd still loved me!❤
Still amazing...
Omg love this song
Todd all time favorite. And loved utopia ... roger Powell the keyboard player ... super nice ... when we met him he worked for ARO doing demos in music stores across the world ... after talking with him a week later I bought the one of the first Odyssey’s synths sold at Arnold and Morgan music in ... garland , Tx ... my fav local music stores. Great staff but roger was awesome Great player and nice guy RIP ... just one of the many artist that played concerts in Dallas and we would get to meet tons of them .... Arnold & Morgan was the store to go to for all your musical needs and wants 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻☮️☮️☮️
Donald Lee, don’t know if you meant RIP for Roger Powell, I’m certain he’s still with us. Was lucky enough to meet him a number of years ago at a RundgrenRadio party in Akron. Bumped into him in a crowded room actually. Darned nice guy.
@@bobhamiltonphc5531 I’m not sure I thought I read that he had passed ... really great guy very nice 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻💯
TODD! DA MAN!! NOBODY DOES IT BETTER!!!!!!♥
Excellent drumming.
Returning again ❤️ He’s coming to Melbourne! Have tickets! Missing out on the Todd-A-Roo weekend glamp site on Cockatoo Island. Damn.
He made such an impact on me. My first spiritual Guru. Why oh why do we have to age. He’s rarely expressing this side of himself musically.
I'm in love... with Todd
was at Todd Stock in virginny with Mike who was behind Todd a roooo
yeah, I was & so grateful to have found Todd, in the late 60's, my devotion has continued....thru the test of time!!!!
I saw them play at the Santa Monica Civic in 1974. Close to 3 hours , no opening band, Tod on piano for 30 minutes and the band for the rest of the time. They killed! It will forever be etched in my mind as one of the best concerts I ever attended!
I was at that Santa Monica show, too! I thought I recognized you!
I saw Utopia play this live back in the 70's, loved it then, love it now. I can remember all these rays of colored lights just flashing. One of my Utopia favorites!
Saw the first gen UTOPIA band Oct. 30, 1974. I was already hooked, but this show was more than I'd ever have expected or imagined. The ultimate professional. Since then I've seen him about 90 - 100 times. Seriously.
Todd♥
You are right. Most people have forgotten that when this video was made, the clothes were considered very cool. Personally, I don't care about appearance when someone can perform such a stunning as this.
Damn this is sooo good!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! The Utopia I never got to see.
this is one of the best song ever done anyone. todds lyrics were always so beautiful and made you think about the good things.
Tickets for Jan. 30 on sale now. I'll be there as a long time Todd fan!!!!
I got really into Todd and other progressive rock bands when I was in high school back in the 70's. I saw Utopia in concert for the Ra album and the stage performance was awesome...they had the giant pyramid with Todd perched up at the top and a "glass guitar" Todd smashed. I love "thinking man's rock". If you like Todd you need to check out Yes, Kansas, Emerson Lake & Palmer, King Crimson...
Man oh man can them boys play! Tight. One of my Utopia favs. And on drums the original Utopia drummer Kevin Ellman. Cool.
This recording was made five months after the first time I saw Utopia perform at The Mpls Auditorium, November 3rd, 1974 . The band included drummer Kevin Ellman, Ralph Shuckett ( an Apple Valley, MN native, ) John Siegler, and ongoing members Kasim Sultan and Roger Powell.
this is without a doubt my favorite video on youtube. period. thanks for the brilliant post!
I saw Todd Rundgren & Utopia at the Poplar Creek Music Ampitheatre in Hoffman Estates, IL. in 1985 or 86, as a 5th or 6th grader, incapable of fully appreciating the musical complexity and finesse of such a gifted artist and his band. At the time, Kiss, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, & Van Halen were about all I could really digest at that stage in my life.
Next month, on June 18th, Todd will be sixty. He so helped me survive the seventies and every decade since. My absolute favorite video ever posted on RUclips !
So Very Awesome. . . . Todd is such a Perfect Musician! Amazing!
One of my favourite Utopia tracks - great stuff - thanks for posting.
PS. What muppets have been giving this less than 5 stars - I despair.
A wizard...A true star....
..Todd is a genius..
This is almost like a holy relic, this performance. Who of their right mind would attempt this now? And look at how easily Todd carries it... as if it were no burden at all...
I'm glad the audio and video are synched this time!
A wizard, a true star!
@spergs If you move quickly, they are getting together for a reunion in NYC at the Highline Ballroom on January 29th and 30th. The first show has already sold out, and the second is not yet on sale. But it is Todd, Moogy Klingman, Kevin Ellman, John Sigler and Ralph Shuckett. It is part a reunion of this version of Utopia (minus M. Frog, but his contribution was never exactly clear) and partly a celebration of Moogy's musical life.
Wish there was more clips form this line-up?
Might be clips from Another Live Utopia circa 1979
long live Todd, a brilliant talented man.
This is ABSOULUTELY STELLAR!!!
Yes, and I was wondering where Powell's transcendental keyboard solo after "beauty" went? Todd played a guitar solo with some backing keyboards but no monster solo. I always listen for this solo as Powell played it so masterfully on Another Live.
wow, the todd versus zappa analyses was over the top, but fun to read
this song brings me back to college daze...i remember putting my speakers out the windows and blasting this song
I still just love this performance!
I dont know how many people know what I mean by the arrow striking in the background of zen archer....but he used a wooden ruler on the table and made the part hanging off vibrate...to get the sound of the arrow striking ...lol
Always wondered how he did that!
I always loved this one sing and this is the best version
live to tape... TV studio mix in glorious mono...
C maj. with a D note on the 5th string-3rd fret, standard tuning. It is also played again just a few seconds later.
This is the first Todd that opened up my heart Chakra.
Up till then, I had only known of Chakra Khan. This is a "dance around the house" song.
heart chakra, so true. his music really does that
Brilliant!! Thanks for posting this.
john
Striking
I love this version, with the 3 keyboard players..my first few shows were like that.
So psyched to be going to the highline tomorrow for the second night of this reunion! (sure wish I didn't have to work at 7AM in Schd'y Monday AM though!
Todd gives 110 percent...wether u like it or not.
Its weird i never like any Todd solo stuff, and yet really like Utopia !
Congratulations. If you arrived here you have solved the internet. Now go outside and throw a baseball around or something....
MorbidBoy .You obviously don't know the meaning of hypocrite. Get a dictionary.
@@kevinkline7242 Yeah kids should.You can have it all these days but many youngsters don't take advantage.I was looking at films of Woodstock and it struck me (and many commenters) how much thinner people were on the average.Drive by a ballfield these days and it's a ghost town.BTW I liked A fish called Wanda.
This song will never sound right to me without those synth riffs.
This version of the band is really cool. The jamming they could do was awesome.
Don't get me wrong I like Utopia as a 4 piece also but they couldn't stretch the musical boundaries like these guys. Kevin Ellman's drumming is powerful and precise which was perfect for what they were doing. Would love to see these guys reunite if just for one or two shows.
TR, Roger Powell (synth), Moogy Klingman (kbd), John Siegler (bass), Ralph Schuckett(kbd), and the awesome Kevin Ellman on drums, this is Utopia mk 2 (if you count the earlier Sales Brothers as Mk1)must be one of the earliest versions, pre Willie Wilcox.BTW on tour they used no less than Luther Vandross as backing vocalist!
To me the first 2 Utopia Albums were just as cool as What John McLaughlin was doing in the 70's ... very cool stuff Todd.
Not taking anything from John McLaughlin but how many M.O. tunes can you hum the melody or hook?
Well, drunkinsgsheep, now is the time to support your local musician! Seems that we are revolting from the norm, and many indie bands are starting to surface. this is why I, a drummer of over 30 years experience is thinking about coming back out again! go see a band that plays originals, ,go see a band that is REAL! No autotuner, no gimmicks. Just real!.
I'm an old singer bassist,let's start a band!
ah OK, thanks for the information, have to check out those guys immediately...
Wow, this is an absolute masterpiece. Btw, this must have been the only rockband with three keyboard players / synthesists ever... A huge pile of gear! I wonder if they ever got "experimental" with the modular system etc. in the live shows coz all I hear in the vids on youtube is regular synth stuff that could easily be played by one keyboarder even back then...
Didn't realized TR flubbed the line "Indigo - the others seeking beauty"). He says that line twice.
This is so sick.
Where have all of the masters gone?
Great song,Like the Karate suits.
I will never be able to put my finger on it as to why Todd and Utopia never achieved the "Popular acclaim" that others did in the 70's. They were innovative, unique, tight-like Zappa-original in every sense. I think it was the clothes. Really, it was the clothes. I'm serious!
Todd had a really cool alternative philosophy going on back then!
cool vid... really seems played live...and Todd was still close to being a baby...
Post-psychadelic prog-techno? Only Todd...
I wrote a small piece about Kevin Ellman for Modern Drummer, in the current issue (April '13). He and Seigler play around New York in a cover band called Group Therapy. Check them out, and the story, if you can!
Nice!!!!
thanks rarebirdprod.
I'll probably get flyswatted for this post! " Oh Well""?
wow. a hard, cool studio-leaning live version.
however, i prefer the warm & much more fun agora version.
apples & oranges tho.
thx for both!
gettting my tickos!!!!!!!! wooooo!!!!
Jep! I think the lineup is Schukett / Powell / Moogy from your left to right. Fantastic lineup! And vox choruses are sweet too, its really a live show.
this version of utopia had the frog man!
nice of you to comment.. but M
Todd is God
C maj. w/ a D note on the 5th string.
PAH! Take away Todd's talent, charisma, genius, and what have you got....erm... Me! (Sob)... Lol
Very "PROG", which I dig!
BTW, neorunt sent me...
This is great! The extended Utopia band was short-lived, I saw the show at DAR Constitution hall. I thought Kevin Ellman was a GREAT drummer, and Moogy was a great compliment to the unit. Where did this come from?
Who’s the keyboard player? Moog? Kevin from CNBC on drums? 😊
They just don't make em like this anymore....*sighs at his generations lack of talent and originality* At least
I have a few windows to this lovely music...
I'm sorry, is this Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson or Todd Rundgren and Mark Siegler? All you need is the Seven Rays.
M. Frog was long gone at the time of this recording. Promise :-)
yeah badmuddy, that would be right, Todd ... bandwagon jumper. I think not!!! Awesome rundgrenfan thanks for posting, keep 'em coming.
@neorunt I don't think Todd can play Bagpipes...unless he's decided to pick them up recently...really don't know...lol