Initiation (1975)

""Initiation" arguably stands as Todd Rundgren's most progressive release either as a solo artist or as a member of Utopia. By this time, Todd had fully realised the potential of the synthesiser as a means to achieve the sounds he was looking for; happily this coincided with a period which produced some of his most inspired writing. The album can be divided neatly into two distinct parts, each of which occupies one side of the original LP. Such was the length of these sides that each is only marginally shorter than most full LPs. The first side is a bona fide band production, indeed had he been so inclined this could have formed Utopia's second album. A number of the musician's who played on Utopia's debut also perform here and the music is a natural development of the extended prog numbers which featured on the 1974 release. The six tracks, which run to well over 30 minutes offer a diverse selection of masterfully crafted songs which are then treated to an array of superb arrangements." (progarchives)