It's a question of time, not talent.

Sulton, you see, has for almost three decades been a highly coveted sideman to a Milky Way of rock and pop stars. He played bass on Meat Loaf's "Bat Out of Hell" and has led the Loafster's touring band for years. He's done sessions for Celine Dion, Mick Jagger, Bon Jovi, and Cheap Trick - to name a few of dozens. He's toured with such stylistically diverse artists as Joan Jett and Hall & Oates.

And perhaps most notably, Sulton, an original member of Todd Rundgren's progressive pop experiment, Utopia, remains one of Rundgren's principal musical confidantes.

As for his own talents, Sulton is an accomplished songwriter, producer, bassist, guitar player, keyboardist, and has the voice of a happy angel - all of which are on high-beam display with "Quid Pro Quo." The CD will be out any day and is the reason for a one-man acoustic tour that brings him to Carley's in Westerly at 9p.m. Saturday.

An advance sampling of "Quid Pro Quo" reveals a batch of pristine, sophisticated pop songs. "Before She Was Gone" is an exemplary ballad that, in a just world, would dominate adult alternative radio. "Heaven Help the Child" is a lullaby one would expect from the father of three daughters - which Sulton is - and "Over For Now" is a refreshing bit of post-alt-rock, one-man doo-wop.

"Wow, it's been a long time since I put this much energy into my own stuff," says Sulton, 46, referring to "Kasim," an album released at the height of Utopia's popularity that made less than a huge splash. "For most of my career, I've been a passenger in someone else's car. We're always going interesting places, and the view is spectacular, but with this particular car I'm driving."

In a sense, suggesting that Sulton has been riding shotgun all these years is misleading. He's been working on his own material over that time, but the process is obviously slower given his schedule. Sulton played all the instruments and did all the vocals on "Quid Pro Quo," which further protracted the experience.

"I am doing the entire CD by myself," Sulton says. "It takes forever that way, but I can do it right. And it's been so long since I've had a record out that it doesn't matter if it takes a bit longer."

Not that Sulton suffers from anonymity. He joined Utopia as a teenager in 1977 and the band released nine albums through the 1986, including classics like "Ra," "Utopia," "Oops! Wrong Planet" and "Swing To The Right." Sulton wrote the band's only Top 30 hit, "Set Me Free," from "Adventures in Utopia."

In a prog market dominated by British and European bands, Utopia was a frequently incredible and visionary band, one that Sulton wouldn't mind seeing resurrected. After all, he was onboard in 2000 for Rundgren's enthusiastically received "Power Trio" tour, which dipped into Todd's expansive past and performed two summers ago at the Mohegan Sun Wolf Den.

"I talk to Todd about reuniting Utopia," Sulton says. "I say, 'What's the big deal? Styx and Bad Company go out and have a good time.' Todd's like, 'Ah, I don't wanna do that.'

"But I'm trying to beat him down. You know: 'Would you just shut up and let's do it already?'"

For now, Sulton is happy to have some new product in the marketplace, and to have the opportunity to hop in his car, relax with some talk radio, and cruise the highways to play for folks.

"I'm a musician and a songwriter. That's what I do," Sulton says. "In my line of work, there's no insurance, no stock options, no corporate buyouts or golden parachutes. This is the second time I've gone solo in 20 years, so I'm hoping there'll be a natural progression."

Like many rockers who experienced a modicum of success at an early age, Sulton admits he lacked the discipline to handle it responsibly.

"I'm much more seasoned and wise now. At this point," he laughs, "I just wanna be Jimmy Buffet."

Tickets to Kasim Sulton are $10. Carley's Bar & Grill is located at 65 High St. in Westerly. Call 401-348-6477.

Sulton on his memorable gigs:

Todd Rundgren: "I don't care what Todd does or wants to do musically - it's always challenging and I always enjoy it. My relationship with him over the years has gotten so good that there's an unspoken intuition there. As far as working on his solo stuff is concerned, I will say that, if he wants your opinion, he'll ask for it."

Meat Loaf: "It's challenging in different ways than playing with Todd. It's a specialty act - hard-driving, very big music. It's fun being out there, but it's three hours of hard work every night. He gets my wife and daughters Christmas presents."

Celine Dion: "In the studio, she doesn't do more than one take. That's it. And she has to have - she requires - lighted candles when she sings. I don't mean a dozen candles. I mean a couple hundred."

Joan Jett: "It was fun playing with Joan but, at my age, I don't have the energy to do something I don't really enjoy. I did my 'Sting' thing with her for three years" - referring to the era when Sting hired the cream of the jazz world to tour as his backing band - "and that's enough. I appreciate and respect her but the music isn't my cup of tea."

Hall & Oates: "They're great performers and we had a great band. I could look forward to getting onstage every night knowing I was gonna have a good time."