Roger Powell

Not only is it a long-standing person in Todd Rundgren’s progressive/fresh wave outfit Utopia, keyboardist/synthesizer participant Roger Powell has issued many single albums by himself, and lent his skills for some of the largest titles of ’70s rock and roll. Powell debuted in 1973 with an overlooked single launch, Cosmic Furnace, and soonafter, was asked by Rundgren to become listed on up with the lately created Utopia. Powell’s debut with Utopia was on the second launch, 1975’s Another Live, which resulted in further focus on Rundgren single albums (1975’s Initiation, 1976’s Faithful, and 1978’s in-concert Back again to the Pubs), aswell as another prog rock-based Utopia discharge, 1977’s RA. But using the musical tide moving dramatically with the past due ’70s, Utopia made a decision to alter their path from bombastic, self-indulgent prog to streamlined, brand-new influx pop — a strategy debuted on the second discharge of 1977, Oops! Incorrect Planet (an record which featured among Powell’s greatest vocals while with Utopia, the tranquil “Home windows”). 1978 noticed Powell play using one of rock’s all-time best-selling albums, Meats Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell (with Rundgren creating, Utopia offered as Meats Loaf’s backing music group), and toured within David Bowie’s music group — appearing in the Thin Light Duke’s live record, Stage, the same season, as well as the 1979 single album, Lodger. It had been also for this period that Powell developed and performed his very own synthesizer, known as the Powell Probe. The first ’80s had been a busy period for both Powell and Utopia, as Utopia liked their biggest graph success (1980’s outstanding Ventures in Utopia), while Powell released a second single album, Atmosphere Pocket (the last mentioned of which included a track that could soon discover its method into Utopia’s live established, the hyperactive rocker “Crisis Splashdown”). But Utopia’s graph success became short-lived, despite a string of exceptional albums (1980’s Beatles parody Deface the Music, and such brand-new influx/power pop functions as 1982’s Golf swing to the proper and Utopia, etc.) and preserving a solid group of fans. Sadly, Utopia made a decision to contact it per day in the past due ’80s, because of record organization turmoil and dwindling record product sales. Powell completed another single album for this period, nonetheless it was eventually shelved, as he and Utopia reunited briefly for any Japanese tour and following recording/video (Redux 92: Reside in Japan) in 1992, before divorce once and for all. Powell functions as an sound programmer for the Silicon Images company in SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, and plays acoustic guitar sporadically with regional bands.