The Road to Utopia: M. Frog and Roger Powell of Rundgren’s Classic Band, Reissued

Bearsville is back!  Even as Edsel Records has been tackling Todd Rundgren’s catalogue, both solo and with Utopia, the enterprising label hasn’t stopped there.  This month has brought two releases related to the Rundgren mystique but still capable of standing on their own considerable merits.  Roger Powell may be the most well-known of Utopia’s keyboard/synthesizer players, but he was actually preceded in the band by Jean Yves “M. Frog” Labat.  Both Labat and Powell recorded solo albums at Bearsville, and so the former’s M. Frog and the latter’s Air Pocket have been joined together on one disc by Edsel.

Though it comes first on the new CD, Roger Powell’s Air Pocket arrived in 1980, seven years after M. Frog’s solo album.  Like much of Utopia’s best work, Air Pocket is atmospheric, shimmering, ethereal, and futuristic.  Largely self-created by Powell, it does feature some special guests, such as John Holbrook (rhythm guitar and also the album’s engineer), Mark Styles (RMI keyboard computer), Clive Pozar (drums) and a certain Mr. Rundgren (E-bow guitar solo).

The first side of the original LP betrayed the pop influence of the changing Utopia, with fully developed songs still true to Powell’s spacey synthesizer sound; the second side emphasized more esoteric instrumental compositions.  Each and every track was written entirely by the artist, who also produced this unique effort.  Of the more accessible tracks, “Windows” is a very Utopia-like soft rock song with prominent harmonies (one could easily hear Todd having contributed) and oblique lyrics that lend an air of mystery.  “Emergency Splash-Down” boasts a harder-edged, jagged melody (“Warning light flashes/Emergency splashdown/It’s every man for himself now!”).  Rundgren makes his presence known via a subtle but recognizable guitar solo to the brief “Morning Chorus.”

Though there’s a coherence of sound among the album’s ten tracks, each song also has enough dynamics to keep the album interesting.  “March of the Dragonslayers” is a rather playful cut, though it doesn’t sound medieval at all, despite its title!  (Another title just begging to be a prog-rock song, “Dragons ‘n Griffins,” appears a couple of tracks later!)  Its B-side, a then-modern update of the surf-rock hit “Pipeline,” has been appended to this reissue.

A little of Air Pocket might go a long way for listeners less inclined to Utopia’s more far-out explorations, but the album is positively conservative compared to Jean Yves “M. Frog” Labat’s self-titled release, previously available on CD only in Japan.  Like Powell, Labat self-produced his debut effort, but Rundgren was on hand to mix the album.   (In case you’re wondering, Bearsville impresario Albert Grossman had suggested “Maestro Frog” as Labat’s moniker, but only the initial stuck!)  John Holbrook was heavily involved in M. Frog’s album, as well, but he was hardly the only member of the Bearsville family to contribute.  John Simon and Paul Butterfield make appearances, as do Garth Hudson and Rick Danko on “Welcome Home” and Rundgren on both “Suckling-Pigs Game” and “Hey Little Lady.”  In addition to his short-lived tenure as a member of Utopia, Labat also repaid the favor to Rundgren by playing EMS synthesizer on Todd’s 1973 solo album A Wizard, A True Star.

Hit the jump for much, much more including track listing with discography and an order link!