Afternoons in Utopia is the second album by German synth-pop band Alphaville, released in 1986 via Warner Music. The album was recorded between September 1985 and May 1986.
A remastered and re-released version of the album, on both CD and vinyl, was released on 7 May 2021.
Background Afternoons in Utopia is the follow-up to Alphaville's successful first album, Forever Young. Singer/songwriter Marian Gold said of these albums, "our first album emerged from the smut of the Here and Now and our second led back to our roots in Sugar Candy Mountain", and the band employed no less than 27 guest musicians and singers to record the songs. Alphaville released five singles from the album: "Dance with Me", "Universal Daddy", "Jerusalem", "Sensations" and "Red Rose", with all but "Sensations" charting internationally.
The album was remastered and re-released in May 2021 and includes the original album, plus "14 remastered B-sides, 12-inch and seven-inch remixes, demos and a rare live version of the single 'Dance With Me'. The release was overseen by original band members Gold and Bernhard Lloyd, and was remastered by Lloyd and Stefan Betke.
Reviews
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." The album finished in the Top 20 in five European countries and at #174 in the US. Another reviewer points out that "by the time of this album's 1986 release, synth-pop was no longer a chart concern."
Album notes The album's lyrics make several references to cosmic entities ("sci-fi" as one reviewer called it), including comets, 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."
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.First Harvest 1984-92 liner notes
Track listing
2021 Remaster The first disc of the 2021 remaster is the same as the original 1986 release.
The first song on the album, "IAO" ("International Aquarian Opera"), begins with the word "night" and fades into the short IAO chorus, which itself is a lyric from the song "Afternoons in Utopia". The album ends with the song "Lady Bright", a limerick about relativity, wherein the Lady Bright leaves one day and returns "the previous ...[night]", with the word "night" omitted, thus the album loops back to its beginning.
The song "Afternoons in Utopia" is dedicated "For Inka" in the liner notes for the album.
Chart positions Chart (1986) Peakposition Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) 21 Germany Albums Chart 13 Italy Albums Chart 41 Norway Albums Chart 8 Sweden Albums Chart 7 Switzerland Albums Chart 12 US Billboard 200 174
Chart (2021) Peakposition
Album credits 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