Free as a bird (1987)
I suppose everyone will have their own ideas about
Brother Where You Bound, but I have only listened to it once or twice (originally only had it on a cassette tape and was not in any way impressed enough to buy it on CD or even vinyl) and did not like what I heard. For me, with the departure of Roger Hodgson in 1982 the magic was gone, and Supertramp have struggled to regain it ever since. This was their second album since his departure, and shows a continuing slide in quality, with again I think one or maybe two tracks I could point to as being noteworthy, the rest pretty much filler, and bad filler at that.
1. It's alright: It most certainly is not, with a kind of reggae/soul opening, utilising electronic drumbeats and what sounds like timpani, trumpets and not too much of the famous Supertramp piano, it being initially swapped for electronic synth. It is upbeat, but it doesn't really say Supertramp to me; the female backing vocals give it too much of a soul edging into gospel feel and it just doesn't sound right. Good piano solo though, which is always nice to hear.
2. Not the moment: A big sax blast at the beginning raises hopes this might pick up the quality, and it's not the worst song but it's still a long way from what I expect from this band. Sort of a low-key new-wave feel to it, thinking Split Enz or Cutting Crew here. Helliwell does his best, but the song is just not up to it.
3. It doesn't matter: Starts out with some nice rolling piano then harder organ takes over with heavy percussion. Kind of echoes of Hodgson here in the almost Beach Boys-style backing vocals, but it's a poor shadow and I'm just not feeling it.
4. Where I stand: Now this is very new-wave with elements of later Springsteen and Meat Loaf thrown in. And I hate it. With a passion. Sounds like something Kenny Loggins might write if he was really desperate for cash and didn't care about artstic int --- yeah I know: Kenny Loggins caring about artistic integrity? Who am I trying to fool? Anyway, terrible terrible song.
5. Free as a bird: One of the two songs I can stand on this album. Something of a return to form, for a few minutes, with sprinkly piano and a decent vocal, expressive organ and a great hook in the melody. Sax solo from Helliwell and it goes all sort of gospel for the chorus fadeout.
6. I'm beggin' you: Ah, if only all the tracks were like this! Actually gets into my top ten favourite Supertramp songs, this does. A breezy, uptempo song that you would not have been surprised to have found on
Breakfast in America or
Famous Last Words. Driven on Davies's exuberant piano with a great lead-up to the chorus and then a great chorus itself, a hook to die for and in fact this apparently became a big hit in the clubs! Who woulda thought it? Great brass section really “happys-up” the song, as do the squealy keyboard runs.
7. You never can tell with friends: As if he's said “Okay, you had your two happy tracks, now let's get back to sulking”, Davies inflicts this on us, and to be honest there's no let-up until the end of the album, as he plumbs the depth of mediocrity and certainly makes me wish the album would end. Heavy brass here gives the song a weird forties feel for me then mixes in a kind of seventies soul vibe, neither of which work.
8. Thing for you: More regage, and a sort of preview of the opener to the next album. One of the worst tracks on the album, and it's up against some stiff competition, so that's really saying a lot.
9. An awful thing to waste: Considering how bad most of this album is, why Davies saw fit to end it on a nearly eight-minute track is beyond me, but that's what he decided to do, so we have to suffer through this. Starts off really well, with a piano intro that harks back to the days of
Even in the quietest moments, a slow kind of overture I guess, then it jumps into some sort of weird salsa rhythm which reminds me of James Bond and has French vocals? Also seems like Davies suddenly decided he wanted to be Santana. Weird. I find it hard to follow the song and it leaves me with a feeling of beign a little lost at the end of the album.
So, Love or Hate? One really good song and one good song cannot rescue an album, and so it's a clear
Hate for this one.