Post Description
This represents what was to be Utopia"s last tour together. I remember how excited I was when I first heard that Utopia had reformed in 1992 (after lying silent for seven years after the release of 1995"s underrated "POV"). This "reunion" was supposed to begin with a series of shows in Japan, which was then supposed to lead to further touring and a new studio album...but unfortunately for Utopia fans, things just didn"t happen that way! However, we DO have this fine document of Utopia"s short-lived 90"s reunion, and it is a document that no fan of this band should be without! Although, like the original video release, the DVD only runs 55 minutes (I was hoping for some bonus tracks to finally be added!) the band put on a show heavy on energy, emotion, and excitement. If their was any personal conflict that lead to the early demise of this reunion, it is certainly NOT obvious from the smiling faces on stage. Some musical highlights include the rarely heard gem "Fix Your Gaze", the progressive rock anthems "Hiroshima", "Caravan", and "Just One Victory", and the high energy pop of "One World", "Love in Action", and "Princess Of the Universe". Watching this concert again, with the added sonic quality of full digital sound & picture, I really began to long for another Utopia reunion, and hey, with Todd Rundgren and Kasim Sultan now working together once again, how long before Roger Powell and Willie Wilcox join on for the ride?..It would be nice to see, wouldn"t it? So, do I have any complaints about this DVD? Well, I would have liked to have seen some tracks included from the bands excellent late 80"s works like "Oblivion" and "POV", as well as more material from "Swing To the Right" (and from what I understand, many of those songs were indeed played at the actual Japanese shows, but were edited out of the video release for reasons that could ONLY make sense to a record company executive!), but as good as this particular perfomance is, it"s easy to overlook such complaints and just enjoy the show!
Comments # 0