Customer Reviews

Oops Wrong Planet

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

'Oops' is really the first time Utopia went rigorously after top ten and it really worked for me, although it never really went anywhere when released. Funny thing is that the 'big hit' "Love is the Answer" was made more popular by England Dan. That's strange because Todd's version is so much better.

My friends gave me a lot of grief for liking this record (Oops, Wrong Record, ha ha), but I didn't care. They could not adapt to Utopia being anything other than prog/art rock. Not that I don't like that genre, ("Todd Rundgren's Utopia" still stands as my favorite Utopia disc) it's just that I also enjoy "pop" Todd very much.

The rebellious & rocking "Trapped" has all the angst and passion that one song can contain. Equally forceful is "Love in Action," which is biting and rocking pop candy at its best. Both these greats are sung by Todd.

Surprisingly good are some of the "non-Todd" vocal tracks, particularly "Abandon City," a jazzy romp sung quite effectively by Roger Powell.

Of course the gem of the disc is "Love is the Answer," which stands as one of Todd's all-time best compositions, rivaling greats of the "Faithful" and "Hermit" era.

There are a couple throw-aways like "Gangrene," and "Crazy Lady Blue" (a great song if only Todd was singing it instead of the drummer) but all in all I found it a memorable and enjoyable disc.

Though it followed close on the heels of Ra, Oops! Wrong Planet is a marked departure from their previous work, eschewing longer epics for short, sometimes noisy songs with layered harmonies and a certain amount of Beatlesque charm. With Todd Rundgren involved in writing most of the material, the result often feels like a Rundgren solo album from the same period (e.g., Hermit of Mink Hollow). Far from the spacey subject matter of their earlier work, Oops! is concerned primarily with social criticism: "Rape of the Young," "Gangrene," "Back on the Street." Nothing on here is as heavy-handed as "Hiroshima," but you'd have to look forward to Swing To The Right to find another Utopia album so cynical. As one would expect, any dozen songs from Todd (even when he cowrites them with the rest of the band) are bound to include some winners: the soulful ballad "Love Is The Answer," the caged fury of "Trapped" and the energized "Love In Action" are all top-shelf Todd. True to the Utopian model, each member takes their turn at the microphone with better-than-expected results. Highlights from this side of the band include the pretty "Crazy Lady Blue" from Willie Wilcox (again suggesting shades of ELO), "The Martyr" featuring Kasim "Kaz" Sulton, and a funky turn from Roger Powell on "Abandon City." Because little light shines into this album, some who prefer Rundgren in the role of spiritual optimist might want to opt out of Oops!, though the album is careful to close both sides on an upbeat note. It's worth noting that this album marked a crossover from prog rock to edgier pop music, thus starting the second phase of Utopia's career (Ra was something of a transition between the two).

Fans of Todd/Utopia would do well to add this to their collection at some point, since there are a handful of moments (like the neat ending on "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell") that represent pop music at its most sublime.

This is Utopia`s single greatest master work, and IMHO, one of the best albums of all time.

The album begins with the powerful, extremely catchy "Trapped", which leaves no doubt that the band has expanded its horizons from their previous, very ethereal RA album. "Trapped" is perhaps the best track on the album -- which is high praise, because this album is packed full of outstanding songs. The band does not totally remove itself from the RA sound, though, as Roger Powell`s wonderful "Windows" makes use of the soft vocal harmonies that were a big part of RA. Roger is not known for an outstanding vocal range, and "Windows" is absolutely perfectly suited for his deep, somewhat limited vocal range -- it comes off brilliantly.

The album contains two songs which became staples of their live shows -- the rocking, largely overrrated, (but still very good) "Love In Action", and the soft classic, "Love Is The Answer". Other highlights include the pounding "Back On The Street", "My Angel", in which Kasim and Todd pull off some outstanding vocal performances (and which also includes a brief sax solo by Todd!), Willie`s raunchy "Gangrene", and Todd`s furiously paced "Rape Of The Young". Willie pulls off an uncharacteristicly smooth vocal performance in the very lovely "Crazy Lady Blue" -- I wish we had gotten to hear that vocal style a little more.

If the album has a weak point (a BIG if), it would be the mildly lackluster "The Martyr". But one is forgiving of a single less than spectacular song on an album that has so many strengths. This album is a must have, not only for Utopia and Todd Rundgren fans, but also for anyone wholikes great music. It`s one of my all time favorites.

This is a classic Utopia album with most of the songs becoming classics in their set lists: Trapped, Love In Action, Abbondon City, Crazy Lady Blue, Love Is The Answer, ect. A concept album involving urban decay and social unrest. Once again, the Rhino version is out of print but it is availible as a Japan import on JVC with a bonus live version of Love Is The Answer which isn't availible on the other versions.

This is Utopia`s single greatest master work, and IMHO, one of the best albums of all time.

The album begins with the powerful, extremely catchy "Trapped", which leaves no doubt that the band has expanded its horizons from their previous, very ethereal RA album. "Trapped" is perhaps the best track on the album -- which is high praise, because this album is packed full of outstanding songs. The band does not totally remove itself from the RA sound, though, as Roger Powell`s wonderful "Windows" makes use of the soft vocal harmonies that were a big part of RA. Roger is not known for an outstanding vocal range, and "Windows" is absolutely perfectly suited for his deep, somewhat limited vocal range -- it comes off brilliantly.

The album contains two songs which became staples of their live shows -- the rocking, largely overrrated, (but still very good) "Love In Action", and the soft classic, "Love Is The Answer". Other highlights include the pounding "Back On The Street", "My Angel", in which Kasim and Todd pull off some outstanding vocal performances (and which also includes a brief sax solo by Todd!), Willie`s raunchy "Gangrene", and Todd`s furiously paced "Rape Of The Young". Willie pulls off an uncharacteristicly smooth vocal performance in the very lovely "Crazy Lady Blue" -- I wish we had gotten to hear that vocal style a little more.

If the album has a weak point (a BIG if), it would be the mildly lackluster "The Martyr". But one is forgiving of a single less than spectacular song on an album that has so many strengths. This album is a must have, not only for Utopia and Todd Rundgren fans, but also for anyone wholikes great music. It`s one of my all time favorites.

Cut for cut, this album stands out as the best Utopia effort. If you are already a Todd Rundgren fan, I don't need to preach to the converted-but those new to Todd's extensive catalogue can't go wrong with this one. Truly a group effort,all of Utopia's strengths are spotlighted here, from Roger Powell's ethereal "Windows", to Todd's anthemic rocker "Love In Action". You'll also find the original version of the inspirational humanist ballad "Love Is The Answer" (a minor late 70's radio hit for England Dan + John Ford Coley, of all people!) Note to hard-core Rundgren completists: The company that manufactured the gold disc edition is going out of business as of this writing, so if you can snag a copy now, it will be a worthy investment! (No, I don't work for them!)

OK, so I had to wait until the second great Depression to finally purchase this in CD format (I bought the vinyl when it came out in the 70's), but this has to be Utopia's best by far. If you love Todd, you will agree with me on this. He is a true American musical genius of the highest caliber. If you are not a Todd fan and are browsing some of his stuff, start with this one.

why isn't this record/cd more available and why is it so expensive for a new copy?

This is classic Todd Rundgren. I used to have this album on vinyl and I have been searching for in on CD since I got my first CD player. Great commentary on the world in 1978, which still holds true today. The final cut, Love Is the Answer is very spiritual, and inspiring.

One listen to Oops! Wrong Planet will tell you that Todd was listening carefully to the then burgeoning new wave scene. Gulp! It's so energetic, it almost sounds like an XTC album. Many of the songs are catchy, tuneful, and full of high energy, particularly the burning "Trapped" as well as "Gangrene" and "Love Is the Answer." But then there's the group's arty side as exemplified by the quite lovely track "The Martyr," "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell" and the groovin' "Abandon City." Naturally, there are a few tracks that really go nowhere (e.g. the ballads "Crazy Lady Blue" and the execrable "Windows"), but these shortcomings are what one expects from Todd: enormous talent, sometimes unfocused, but always engaging.