01 - I Just Want to Touch You.flac:6ca3c7396eacf23ce08b0b4756b389ba
02 - Crystal Ball.flac:e98d1ee3408ffb22369c320b8b6579ca
03 - Where Does the World Go to Hide.flac:49d4e5b1d104d4c8bb519243e47731db
04 - Silly Boy.flac:c840a3e207da60cbc967997975b36903
05 - Alone.flac:2afee977b4d25c28b948097f5fd06b3d
06 - Thats Not Right.flac:1016c246fdef65059bd10b86242c9eb7
07 - Take it Home.flac:461ccd123074b5e94195923171fc96dd
08 - Hoi Poloi.flac:6df38575fcbadc23ed72b300f0ce4421
09 - Life Goes On.flac:b3e1107b752da76ff051877a75e7496c
10 - Feel Too Good.flac:16c331822e5ee5eb25ccbe6d930c574a
11 - Always Late.flac:9f2bafbd636e4203d07741bb08772c61
12 - All Smiles.flac:30a71fd81f914942ea7552b17d2b4bc0
13 - Everybody Else is Wrong.flac:da4394bd803f709cd848ef8ee74e2d0f
Currently OOP, though several vinyl and digital releases have been out at one time or another
Utopia: Todd Rundgren (vocals, guitar); Roger Powell (vocals, keyboards); Kasim Sulton (vocals, bass); John Wilcox (vocals, drums).
In 1975, Todd Rundgren released FAITHFUL, an impressive technical feat that found him perfectly re-creating six classic '60s pop-rock singles by the Yardbirds, Beatles, Dylan, Hendrix, and the Beach Boys. Side two consisted of an equal number of Rundgren originals in the same stylistic vein.
In 1980, Rundgren and his band Utopia returned to this idea with DEFACE THE MUSIC, an album that sounds exactly like the '60s pop songs that inspired it. The Beatles are the most obvious influence, but there are also hints of the Beach Boys, SELL OUT-era Who, and the Kinks. Rundgren and keyboardist Roger Powell even approximate some Simon and Garfunkel-like harmonies in moments. If you're a fan of the Rutles or XTC's albums as the Dukes of Stratosphear, you will love DEFACE THE MUSIC.
Like The Beatles Utopia rotated lead vocals and shared writing credits, although Rundgren was the undisputed leader. One distinctive feature of Utopia was its stylistic breadth, which ranged across psychedelic-progressive '70s rock, soul-pop, blues, 'stadium rock' and heavy metal. Another was the band's unabashed optimism, as evidenced by its name.
Deface the Music --undoubtedly the most misunderstood and under-appreciated album in the Utopia canon is a deliberate and calculated set of Beatles parodies--but whether it's meant to flatter the Fab Four or send them up is debatable (I think it was born out of frustration at the acusations against him as a "McCartney rip off artist"). A terrific Beatles send-up that still manages to be an entertain listen on its own, Todd lovingly recreates the signature sound from different periods and adds funny, tongue-in-cheek lyrics. Making fun of the Beatles? Grow up! No one goes to this much trouble without having studied and loved the original records. But hey, irony isn't for everyone.
Turntable - A vintage VIP Boyscout circa 1966 recently upgraded with a custom plinth hand made of Nubian Dragon wood illegally harvested from Djibouti at great personal risk but used for it's exceptionally nubian tonal response.
Tonearm - SMEK series 1984 modded with X-1R Crawler Track Lubricant from the Space Shuttle to give an out of this world character.
Cartridge - Koetsuzuki Ivory Platinum, a very limited production run of fifty three units, each one hand carved from a white key removed from the Blüthner Grand Piano that was used by The Beatles during the "Let it Be" sessions. The resulting musicality and magical aura is thought to be obvious to all.
Phono stage - Womanley Labs Marlin all tube stage with Edison tubes that were actually hand made by Edison himself.
A/D converter - Apologee Schmenke 192 converter with firewire and vintage ESDI interfaces.
Software - Audacious for Vistakon OS with proprietary dither program written for me by Peter Gotcher because we're boys.
Ugh...okay...I made all of that up...here is the actual "mid-fi" system that was used...
Fisher Direct Drive Turntable MT-6225
Audio-Technica AT440MLa Cartridge
Marantz Model 2230 Receiver (Phono Pre)
Digidesign Digi 001 (ProTools Hardware)
Protools Software (pencil tool, levels and track splits)
Lightly polished with ClickRepair
No other signal processing is used
Another quality GALEMARK needledrop