Utopia: Swing to the Right (1982)

In a world where might makes right, Utopia swings to the left of the radio dial.

Kronomyth 7.0: Defund the police.

Apparently Healing wasn’t, and Todd Rundgren came out swinging on Swing to the Right. This is Utopia’s nastiest, most cynical record since Oops! Wrong Planet, taking aim at Reagan-era America with all the smartass satisfaction you’d expect from that band that gave you “Rape of the Young.” Twisting their pop songs into brutal, discordant pieces like Last Dollar on Earth, The Up and Junk Rock illuminates the melodies in blacklight. Far from the overly cute approach of Deface the Music, Swing is the scariest album in the Utopia collection. But underneath all the standoffish screaming and cutting-edge cacophony are some remarkably catchy tunes, which is the record’s real appeal. Who else could turn totalitarianism into an infectious dance parody like Fahrenheit 451 or paint mankind as a bunch of monkeys and still make it a barrelful of fun? If you said Frank Zappa, give yourself a star. Utopia has often slipped into Zappa’s camp at night, stealing some of the avant jazz noisiness and overcaffeinated arrangements found on Frank’s mid ‘70s work. Swing to the Right will attract the same sort of listeners who don’t mind tunneling through dark passages to find the occasional vein of gold. And the melodies wrapped in Shinola, “The Up” and a radical rework of For the Love of Money are worth the effort. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Todd Rundgren affair without some lump-in-the-throat love songs, and the anti-war Lysistrata is worth the album price alone (Only Human is also very good, but out of place on this album). The record closes on the upbeat (and optimistic) One World, which tones down the electronic onslaught for an acoustic John Cougar vibe. It’s not enough to dispel the negative energy that accumulates over the course of the album, but the song’s minty simplicity removes some of the bad taste. Me, I’ll ride along with energy (negative or otherwise) where I find it, and Swing to the Right has provided plenty of good rides over the years.

Original elpee version

A1. Swing to the Right (4:20)
A2. Lysistrata (2:42)
A3. The Up (4:07)
A4. Junk Rock (Million Monkeys) (3:17)
A5. Shinola (5:17)
B1. For the Love of Money (Kenneth Gamble/Leon A. Huff/Anthony Jackson) (3:41)
B2. Last Dollar on Earth (4:11)
B3. Fahrenheit 451 (2:47)
B4. Only Human (5:09)
B5. One World (3:24)

All songs written by Utopia unless noted.

The Players

Roger Powell (keyboards, trumpet, vocals, lead vocals on B2), Todd Rundgren (guitar, vocals), Kasim Sulton (bass, vocals), Willie Wilcox (drums, vocals, lead vocals on A4). Produced by Todd Rundgren and Utopia; engineered by Todd Rundgren and Chris Andersen.

The Pictures

Album design and production by The Creative Directors, Inc. Cover by Walt Behnke. Art direction by John Wagman. Design by Lisa Amowitz. Tinting by Geoffrey Thomas. Photo credits by UPI, The Bettman Archive.

The Plastic

Released on elpee and cassette in March 1982 in the US (Bearsville, BRK/M5 3666), the UK (Avatar/Bearsville, AALP/BRK 3666) and the Netherlands (Bearsville, 204 523).

1. Re-issued on elpee in the US (Rhino, RNLP 70875).
2. Re-issued on remastered compact disc in Europe (Essential, ESMCD 759).
3. Re-issued on remastered compact disc in 1998 in Japan (Bearsville, VICP-60277).
4. Re-issued on remastered compact disc on June 25, 2008 in Japan (Victor, VICP-64219).