ANTHOLOGY (1974-1985)

Now largely superseded by the superior "City in my head", "Anthology" was an earlier compilation of tracks from Utopia's back catalogue. While "City.." only goes up to "Swing to the right" however, "Anthology" also gathers in the later albums such as "POV" and "Oblivion". On the other hand, the excellent first album is omitted altogether. The overlap between the two compilations in terms of the tracks selected is limited, although three from "Oops wrong planet" and the opening track from "Ra" appear on both.

The tracks which appear here largely represent the more commercial side of Utopia, such as the fine ballad "Love is the answer" and the upbeat "Love in action" (both from "Oops wrong planet"). They are presented in a random order with some albums only contributing a single track (in the case of "Deface the music", a two minutes song!).

There's little here to whet the appetite of those seeking prog, the aforementioned lack of anything from the first album being unforgivable from that point of view. The inclusion of only one track from arguably Utopia's best album, "Ra" further emphasises the fact that this collection is far from essential.

Those seeking to taste the music of Utopia for the first time would be better advised going for the superior "City in my head" compilation. Better still, pick up "Todd Rundgren's Utopia" (not to be confused with "Utopia", they are two different albums), or "Ra" for the band's best and most progressive works.

Share this UTOPIA review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to Easy Livin
• Report this review (#26515)
• Buy UTOPIA music online with PA partners
• Show all UTOPIA MP3/Stream
• Go to UTOPIA page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Anthology (1974-1985) page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for UTOPIA related discussions