Summary
Deface the Music is the fifth studio album by the band Utopia. The concept of the album was to pay homage to the Beatles and create songs which sounded very similar to the Fab Four's tunes throughout the various stages of their career. Their song "Take It Home", replete with guitar riff, is their homage to "Day Tripper". The first track, "I Just Want to Touch You", was written by Todd Rundgren for the Roadie soundtrack. It was rejected by the movie's producers for fear of legal action because it sounded so much like the Beatles.[4] The original pressing was made to look like an early 1960s Beatles release, with custom inner sleeve advertising their previous three albums even down to the way the vinyl was mastered with wide bands of silence between each song.
| Deface the Music | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 24, 1980 | |||
| Studio | Utopia Sound Studios | |||
| Genre | Pop rock | |||
| Length | 32:06 | |||
| Label | Bearsville | |||
| Producer | Todd Rundgren and Utopia | |||
| Utopia chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Deface The Music | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Billboard | (positive)[2] |
| Rolling Stone | [3] |
Track listing edit
| Track | Song | Running time |
Sources and notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "I Just Want to Touch You" | 2:00 | "I'm Happy Just to Dance with You", "I Want to Hold Your Hand", "Little Child" |
| 2 | "Crystal Ball" | 2:00 | "Can't Buy Me Love", "She's A Woman" |
| 3 | "Where Does the World Go to Hide" | 1:41 | "A World Without Love", "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" |
| 4 | "Silly Boy" | 2:20 | "I'm a Loser", "I'll Cry Instead", "Help!" |
| 5 | "Alone" | 2:10 | "And I Love Her" |
| 6 | "That's Not Right" | 2:37 | "Eight Days a Week", “Tell Me Why” |
| 7 | "Take It Home" | 2:53 | "Day Tripper" |
| 8 | "Hoi Polloi" | 2:33 | "Penny Lane", "Lovely Rita" |
| 9 | "Life Goes On" | 2:21 | "Eleanor Rigby" |
| 10 | "Feel Too Good" | 3:04 | "Getting Better", "Fixing a Hole", “I’m Only Sleeping” |
| 11 | "Always Late" | 2:22 | "Yellow Submarine", "A Day in the Life (middle section)", “Don’t Pass Me By” |
| 12 | "All Smiles" | 2:27 | "Michelle", "I Will" |
| 13 | "Everybody Else Is Wrong" | 3:38 | "Strawberry Fields Forever", "I Am the Walrus" |
Charts edit
| Chart (1981) | Position | |
|---|---|---|
| US Billboard Year-End[5] | 65 | |
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2011). "Deface the Music - Utopia | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved July 8, 2011.
- ^ "Review: Utopia – Deface the Music" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 85, no. 41. 11 October 1980. p. 70. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 30 May 2020 – via American Radio History.
- ^ Fricke, David (2011). "Utopia: Deface The Music : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 7, 2008. Retrieved July 8, 2011.
- ^ Sharp, Ken. "Q&A with Todd Rundgren on His Career and Being in Ringo's All-Starr Band". Rockcellar Magazine. Archived from the original on February 8, 2014. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
- ^ "Top Pop Albums of 1981". Billboard. Retrieved February 16, 2022.