Search - Utopia :: Deface the Music

Forgive me, Beatles fans...

rattlerbrat | Rattler Country, Florida A&M | 06/07/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"...but this album could've passed for one of the Fab Four's earlier albums - and one of the BETTER ones at that. So they ripped of The Beatles. Who cares? At least they did a darn good job of it! One of my favorites - "Crystal Ball" is a classic and "All Smiles" is one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard."

GOOD STUFF

C. Demar | Los Angeles, California United States | 09/08/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I used to have this on vinyl, back in the day. A great HOMAGE to the fab four. Still sounds great TODAY. Todd Rundgren has some serious skills. A really fun CD/ALBUM listen."

Meet Utopia

Hitchner Gitalong | 11/04/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Coming after Utopia's most successful album to date (the radio-friendly Adventures in Utopia), this Beatles tribute/parody was...not what people were expecting. The fact that John Lennon was assassinated around the time of the record's release didn't help matters any. As a result, the Utopia boys took a critical shellacking this time out.



And that's a shame, because if more people could have looked past their confusion and the bad timing, this brilliant little record would have been justly lauded for what it really is: half an hour of straight up fun. You can have a good time figuring out which Beatles tunes are being riffed on, but Utopia had far too much intelligence, wit and talent to simply crank out a bunch of Beatles knockoffs. They put their own stamp on the material, and the album is crammed with catchy songs that should have been all over the radio. Try "That's Not Right." Or "Feel Too Good." Or "Take it Home." Or "All Smiles." Or...heck, try any of 'em.



As I heard it, after Adventures yielded a hit single, Roger, Willie and Kasim understandably wanted to put out another record in that vein in hopes of expanding the fan base and maybe getting another hit or two, but Todd vetoed that idea and said they'd be doing a Beatles album, so the others had to go along with that. And as usual, they gave it their all and put out a great record. Unfortunately, it didn't get the welcome it deserved.



If you love the Beatles, or just great pop music, you owe it to yourself to give this one a listen. Wrap it up and take it home."