For a guy who always seemed to be recording, one might think Todd Rundgren would have a vault of unreleased music rivalling that of Prince or Bob Dylan. Yet for the longest time, he only had one “lost album” to speak of. A goofy celebration of disco and sci-fi, Disco Jets was recorded by the first quartet incarnation of Utopia shortly after Faithful, but was seemingly shelved to be replaced soon enough by Ra, which was only unintentionally silly. The album is predominantly instrumental; while the title track does sport lyrics in the form of a repeated chant, it’s really more of a general fanfare. “Cosmic Convoy” picks up on the CB radio craze (and novelty song) of the time, complete with “breaker, breaker” conversation, only six years ahead of Neil Young’s own futuristic mashup. “Time Warp” rearranges a jazzy Rick Derringer instrumental from a few years earlier and adds sound effects that sound like Space Invaders two years before the game even came out. “V.H.F.” is clearly considered something of a TV theme song, and just for good measure, their arrangement of the familiar Star Trek theme song follows. (This would’ve been a top ten single had it been released then.)
Speaking of fads, the funky “Pet Rock” is a cross between K.C. and the Sunshine Band and “Car Wash”. “Space War” proves that titles could be interchangeable on this album, but this one has more prominent lead guitar than the keyboards that dominate elsewhere. It’s odd that he didn’t seem to find any more lyrics for “Rising Sun”, even with what would soon end up on their next album. “Black Hole” brings back the funk, punctuated by laughter and shouting deep in the mix. Finally, the overlapped melodies of “Yankee Doodle”, “The Star-Spangled Banner”, and other patriotic tunes in “Spirit Of ‘76” remind you what year they recorded all this.
Despite the constant thump and seemingly random bloops and bleeps, Disco Jets is still in line with their earlier prog excursion. It’s also very melodic, with pieces short enough to digest. One must have a sense of humor to enjoy this album, and just accept it as it is. It is not for everyone.
Todd Rundgren & Utopia Disco Jets (2012)—3