Afternoons in Utopia
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Albums:
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Afternoons in Utopia
- Artist: Alphaville
- Rating:
- Release Date: 1986
- Total Time: 46:36
- Type: Lyrics are included with the album
- Genre: Rock
Review
Alphaville's second album, produced for the most part by Peter Walsh, found the group creating something close to a concept record, in overall atmosphere and structure if not in specific storyline. That Alphaville wanted to aim high can be gauged from the credit list -- the three core members "composed" the album, while no less than 30 musicians and singers helped perform it. Certainly the opening track, "IAO," a brief a cappella piece with Gold backed by a heavenly children's choir, finds the group reaching just enough and getting away with it. While at the time Afternoons in Utopia got lost in a welter of mid-'80s Euro releases with airbrushing and bad synth playing galore, in retrospect it's actually a successful endeavour, perfectly evocative of a mainstream style long vanished while containing its own artistic worth. "Dance With Me" and "Red Rose" were the much more conventional singles which got released in America, the former benefiting from some great U2-inspired guitar and the latter a reasonably sassy pop number that's one of various chances for Gold to exercise his Bryan Ferry fascination. The true character of the album, though, appears on most of the other songs, such as the sweeping passion of "Fantastic Dream" (Yes goes synth-pop, only this time without Trevor Horn) and the gentle pace and sci-fi scenario of "Carol Masters." "Jerusalem," which was the final single from the album released in Germany, is the secret highlight, with a wonderful chorus and an inspiring, just epic enough atmosphere. Other winners include the sweetly sung title track, which musically sounds like Enya some years before her own big splash with Watermark, and the Pet Shop Boys-reminiscent "Universal Daddy." At points things are just bad yup-funk for wine bars, but a couple of misfires aside, Afternoons in Utopia holds up well. ~ Ned Raggett, Rovi| Afternoons & Coffeespoons (1994 Album by Crash Test Dummies) | |
| Afternuclearbomb (2004 Album by Duopandamix) |
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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Afternoons in Utopia
| Afternoons in Utopia | ||||
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| Studio album by Alphaville | ||||
| Released | June 5, 1986 | |||
| Recorded | September 1985 – May 1986 | |||
| Genre | Synthpop | |||
| Length | 46:36 | |||
| Label | Warner / Atlantic | |||
| Producer | Wolfgang Loos, Peter Walsh, Steve Thompson, Michael Barbiero | |||
| Alphaville chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Afternoons in Utopia | ||||
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Afternoons in Utopia is the second album released by Alphaville in 1986, by Warner Music. The album was recorded between September 1985 and May 1986, and Alphaville employed no less than 27 guest musicians and singers to record the songs.[1] 500,000 copies of the album have been sold.
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Contents
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Reviews
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
Reviews for this album were again generally positive, with one reviewer saying "at points things are just bad yup-funk for wine bars, but a couple of misfires aside, Afternoons in Utopia holds up well" and "in retrospect it's actually a successful endeavour, perfectly evocative of a mainstream style."[3] The album finished in the Top 20 in five European countries, and while its #174 placement on the US charts may be considered a disappointment, that was actually better than its arguably better-well-known predecessor, Forever Young fared. Another reviewer points out that "by the time of this album's 1986 release, synth-pop was no longer a chart concern,"[4] which may explain Alphaville's poor showing in the charts from that point forward in their careers.
Album notes
The album's lyrics make several references to cosmic entities ("sci fi" as one reviewer called it[3]), including comets (in general), the planet Mars and its landscape, and a starship. When the word "smile" is used in the songs "Afternoons in Utopia," "Lassie Come Home," and "Red Rose," it's printed in the liner notes as the acronym S.M.I².L.E., a reference to Timothy Leary, which stands for "Space Migration, Increased Intelligence, [and] Life Extension."[1]
Marian Gold, singer and songwriter for the band, acknowledged that the message of their music was different from their previous album with this comment, which accompanied the song "Sensations" in the liner notes for the 1992 release First Harvest 1984-92:
| “ | Sometimes people used to say, "Have they gone crazy now? Talking with dolphins and all that!!" But I think that once we've learned the language of the dolphins - this mutual approach - that could be the moment of significant change in our messed up civilization.[5] | ” |
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "IAO" | 0:42 |
| 2. | "Fantastic Dream" | 3:56 |
| 3. | "Jerusalem" | 4:09 |
| 4. | "Dance With Me" | 3:59 |
| 5. | "Afternoons In Utopia" | 3:08 |
| 6. | "Sensations" | 4:24 |
| 7. | "20th Century" | 1:25 |
| 8. | "The Voyager" | 4:37 |
| 9. | "Carol Masters" | 4:32 |
| 10. | "Universal Daddy" | 3:57 |
| 11. | "Lassie Come Home" | 6:59 |
| 12. | "Red Rose" | 4:05 |
| 13. | "Lady Bright" | 0:43 |
The first song, "IAO" (which stands for International Aquarian Opera) begins with the word "night," which fades until the short IAO chorus is sung (which itself is just a lyric from the song "Afternoons in Utopia"). This word is the last word of the song "Lady Bright," which ends the album. "Lady Bright" is a limerick about relativity, wherein the lady Bright leaves one day and returns the night before.
The song "Afternoons in Utopia" is dedicated "For Inka" in the liner notes for the album.
Chart positions
| Chart (1986) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Germany Albums Chart[6] | 13 |
| Italy Albums Chart | 41 |
| Norway Albums Chart[7] | 8 |
| Sweden Albums Chart[8] | 7 |
| Switzerland Albums Chart[9] | 12 |
| US Billboard 200[10] | 174 |
Album credits[1]
Afternoons in Utopia was composed by Marian Gold, Bernhard Lloyd, and Ricky Echolette. All songs produced by Peter Walsh except where noted.
- IAO
- Children's Choir: Stephanie Cooling, Peter Docherty, Louise McKenna, Jenny Troy, David Walround
- Fantastic Dream (produced by Steve Thompson and Michael Barbiero)
- Alan Childs: Drums
- David Lebold: Keyboards
- Jimmy Maelen: Percussion
- Jimmy Ripp: Guitars
- Carmine Rojas: Bass guitar
- Jerusalem (produced by Wolfgang Loos)
- Denice Brooks: Backing vocals
- Turhan Geza: Percussion
- Roger Linn: Drums
- Wolfgang Loos: Keyboards
- Gustl Luetjens: Guitars
- William "Kooley" Scott: Backing vocals
- Jocelyn B. Smith: Backing vocals
- Dance with Me (produced by Steve Thompson and Michael Barbiero)
- Michael Barbiero: Backing vocals
- Dave Lebold: Keyboards
- Roger Linn: Drums
- Jimmy Maelen: Percussion
- Jimmy Ripp: Guitars
- Afternoons in Utopia (produced by Wolfgang Loos and Peter Walsh)
- Children's Choir: Stephanie Cooling, Peter Docherty, Louise McKenna, Jenny Troy, David Walround
- Wolfgang Loos: Keyboards
- Sensations
- Guy Barker: Trumpets
- Stuart Brooks: Trumpets
- Andy Brown: Bass guitar
- Judy Cheeks: Backing vocals
- Roger Linn: Drums
- Victoria Miles: Backing vocals
- Phil Palmer: Guitars
- Frank Ricotti: Percussion
- Neil Sidwell: Trombone
- Robin Smith: Brass arrangements
- Phil Todd: Saxophones
- 20th Century
- Roger Linn: Drums
- Robin Smith: Keyboards
- The Voyager
- Guy Barker: Trumpets
- Stuart Brooks: Trumpets
- Andy Brown: Bass guitar
- Judy Cheeks: Backing vocals
- Bob Jenkins: Additional drums
- Roger Linn: Drums
- Robin Smith: Keyboards and Brass arrangements
- Phil Todd: Saxophones
- Peter Walsh: Keyboards
- Carol Masters
- Andy Brown: Bass guitar
- Bob Jenkins: Additional drums
- Roger Linn: Drums
- Phil Palmer: Guitars
- Frank Ricotti: Percussion
- Peter Walsh: Keyboards
- Universal Daddy
- Guy Barker: Trumpets
- Stuart Brooks: Trumpets
- Andy Brown: Bass guitar
- Judy Cheeks: Backing vocals
- Bob Jenkins: Additional drums
- Roger Linn: Drums
- Victoria Miles: Background vocals
- Phil Palmer: Guitars
- Frank Ricotti: Percussions
- Neil Sidwell: Trombone
- Robin Smith: Keyboards and Brass arrangements
- Phil Todd: Saxophones
- Lassie Come Home
- Andy Brown: Bass guitar
- Bob Jenkins: Additional drums
- Janey Klimek: Guest vocal performance
- Roger Linn: Drums
- Phil Palmer: Guitars
- Frank Ricotti: Percussion
- Robin Smith: Keyboards and Brass arrangements
- Phil Todd: Saxophones
- Red Rose
- Guy Barker: Trumpets
- Stuart Brooks: Trumpets
- Andy Brown: Bass guitar
- Judy Cheeks: Backing vocals
- Roger Linn: Drums
- Victoria Miles: Backing vocals
- Phil Palmer: Guitars
- Frank Ricotti: Percussion
- Neil Sidwell: Trombone
- Robin Smith: Keyboards and Brass arrangements
- Phil Todd: Saxophones
References
- ^ a b c Afternoons in Utopia Liner Notes
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ a b "All Music Guide". answers.com. http://www.answers.com/topic/afternoons-in-utopia-1.
- ^ "MusicFolio". musicfolio.com. http://www.musicfolio.com/modernrock/alphaville.html.
- ^ First Harvest 1984-92 liner notes
- ^ "German chart". Charts-Surfer. Archived from the original on 28 June 2009. http://www.charts-surfer.de/musiksearch.php. Retrieved 2009-07-01.[dead link]
- ^ "Norwegian albums chart". norwegiancharts.com. http://norwegiancharts.com/search.asp?cat=a&search=alphaville. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
- ^ "Swedish albums chart". swedishcharts.com. http://swedishcharts.com/search.asp?cat=a&search=alphaville. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
- ^ "Swiss albums chart". Die Offizielle Schweizer Hitparade. http://hitparade.ch/search.asp?cat=a&search=alphaville. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
- ^ "Artist Chart History: Albums". Billboard charts. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.chartFormatGroupName=Albums&model.vnuArtistId=3951&model.vnuAlbumId=506463. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
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AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Albums
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Mentioned in
Breathtaking Blue
(1989 Album by Alphaville)
Afternoons in Utopia
(1986 Album by Alphaville)
The Singles Collection
(1988 Album by Alphaville)
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