ANOTHER LIVE

It is true that overall, Utopia's second album (which I count as being their full-fledged second album, since even though it's a live album, it doesn't repeat any tracks from the first one) does come across as a cross between a live Utopia album and a live solo Todd Rundgren album, and it's not as serious (overall) as the debut, some of Side Two even bordering on mediocre ... and it's even true that hardly any of the music is as technically impressive as what was on the first one, but there is a noticable improvement in sound quality, and there are 3 gems that brighten the whole affair quite brightly. Both "Another Life" and "The Seven Rays" show a lot of growth in sound and composition, with great use of choir and truly memorable hooks applied to progressive songwriting, and a warm sense of band unity. "The Seven Rays" in particular is a wonderful example of the unmistakeble sonic identity this incarnation of the band had. The other gem is a deeply felt version of "Just One Victory", which in my opinion is a song that can't go wrong. Elsewhere we have "The Wheel", which is pretty decent, even if it is based on a riff that sounds a lot like the opening riff for Joni Mitchell's "California," a very impressive keyboard explosion piece from Roger Powell, two covers, one good ("Do Ya"), and one okay but a little rushed sounding ("Something's Coming"), and the Todd song, "Heavy Metal Kids." It's all at the very least entertainling, and in conclusion, Another Live is obviously not as mindblowing as the debut, but since the 3 gems are hidden in just the right places (the beginning, middle, and end), it's a very satisfying listen.