Supertramp Week!

Oriphiel · 07-28-2015, 06:43 AM

Sorry for making you do all of this work, Trollheart. Liao Hua takes the vanguard...

I know it can be difficult to juggle so many tasks, but you should know that everyone really does appreciate it (even if it can be hard to tell when people rarely give feedback).

Trollheart · 07-28-2015, 09:07 AM

Note: I'm not doing any full reviews here, particuarly as this album is intended to feature in my journal later in the year, so this will be another short “Love or Hate?” style.

Famous Last Words (1982)

This was the last album to feature founder member and co-creative force Roger Hodgson, and remains my all-time favourite Supertramp album. I feel that Hodgson brought the fun, lighter element to the band, and when he exited their next few albums were all notable for being much more serious and for a sort of darker tone that began with Brother Where You Bound and more or less persisted right through to their, so far, last release. I've loads to say about the album but will reserve that for my actual review in my journal. For now, let's just get down to tracks.

1. Crazy: The classic Supertramp happy piano and a blast on the harmonica gives the song a cheerful feel, yet there's a dark tone of worry underlying it, as in much of this album, as the two friends contemplate life without each other. It's quite commercial, as is much of this album. It's almost like the guys are trying to put a brave face on things, grit their teeth and get through without getting too emotional. You'd certainly know this was a Supertramp song. Bouncy, uptempo, piano driven and a vehicle for Hodgson's higher, almost effeminate at times voice. A solo from John Helliwell on the sax completes the song and we segue directly into
2. Put on your old brown shoes: A song of letting it all go, saying to hell with it and just enjoying life. Davies sings the lead vocal and exults as he grins “Kick out the morning blues/ Who needs a job?/ Who needs the pain and the pressure?” Another uptempo one, with some great harmonica and backing vocals from Heart's Ann and Nancy Wilson.
3. It's raining again: You might know this even if you're not a fan, as it was a single and relatively successful. Upbeat despite the lyric, very catchy and certainly you can read between the lines when Hodgson sings “You're old enough some people say/To read the signs and walk away.” Indeed. Another great sax solo to end.
4. Bonnie: The first time the album slows down and gets a little maudlin, and surprise surprise, it's thanks to Rick Davies. “Bonnie” is a lovely song, but it has a sort of yearning that turns into something a little darker in it, like he's stalking the titular character. The piano is, well, darker, too: whereas up to now it's been bouncing along happily, now it's taken on a moodier tone. The first song on the album that has no harmonica.
5. Know who you are: Another slow one, but this time it's Hodgson (and yes, I am a fanboy) but it's a far gentler, softer song with a really nice lyrical line that basically tells the listener not to change, and to find what is good and unique in themselves. Again, Hodgson could be giving advice to himself here. He certainly plays some truly expressive and emotional guitar on the song. Dreamy is really the only way to describe this song.
6. My kind of lady: The boys ignore the impending departure of Hodgson and just have fun on a mid-paced love song, recalling the glory days of Breakfast in America and Crime of the Century. Great backing vocals, lots of fun, not a whole lot else you can say really in a short note on the track.
7. C'est le bon: Beginning to get more serious now. Actually, from here the album enters much more serious, darker, mature territory as the End draws nigh. It must have been like being on a train ride you hoped would never end and then suddenly the lights of the station are coming up fast. Almost an autobiogaphical song when Roger sings “I met a man from the ministry/ He said my son, better work in a factory/ Oh there are days I can tell you quite honestly/ I saw myself winding up in the military/ So lucky to have all this music running through me.” A reflective, thankful and yet in ways perhaps bitter and sad little song.
8. Waiting so long: Davies has his final say, and it's angry and hurt: “Did you get all you want? / Did you see the whole show? /Where's all the fun that we used to know?” A powerful, snarling sound on the guitar and a morose brooding piano, as it would seem Davies digs his heels in and refuses to change: “Must be set in my old ways”, he admits. “I would rather taste the old wine /Than mess around with something new” and though it's surely not the case I see this as being the metaphor for the final argument which leads to the departure; this is Davies trying to convince his friend not to leave the band, not to leave him, which then finally plays out in the final track, the last time we ever hear Hodgson as part of Supertramp. Superb and really emotional guitar outro which segues on a dark, hollow, ominous synth sound into
9. Don't leave me now: Opening on a lonely, melancholy sax from Helliwell, it bursts to life on powerful, emotional piano before Helliwell comes back in to join the melody. This song truly breaks my heart. It's hard not to see it as a plea from Davies to Hodgson (even the other way around perhaps, and even though it's Hodgson, who, fittingly, sings their last song together) as every line in the lyric begins with the title, with lines like “Don't leave me now out in the pouring rain” and the heart-shattering final line, “Don't leave me now, when I'm old and cold and grey and time is gone.” Sensational sax solo and it ends on a lonely harmonica, kind of harking back to the opener of what many people would consider their first real album, Crime of the Century.

So, Love or Hate? This is my favourite Supertramp album. It's stellar all the way through, it's heartbreaking and a triumph of passion and emotion, it captures them at their very best and makes you just wish that somehow, somehow they could have worked it out and stayed together, but it was not to be. An absolute True Love, and always will be.

Trollheart · 07-29-2015, 01:41 PM

Indelibly Stamped (1971)

I hate this album. I think most Supertramp fans do. It bears little or no resemblance even to the debut self-titled, which itself shows little of the flair for catchy and memorable melodies that would characterise their career during the later half of the seventies and into the eighties, and though it's billed as “progressive rock” there's very little to mark it as such, most of the songs being basic rock songs. Even then I don't like them: I think there are two songs I can stick on this album, out of the ten on it.

1. Your poppa don't mind: Starts off with a nice Supertramp-y piano but quickly devolves into a bog-standard twelve-bar blues rocker with a fairly mindless lyric. Kind of reminds me of the Zodiacs' “Stay”. Davies sings this one. Not that it really matters. At least it's short, just under three minutes. Good piano solo, but you can kind of hear early Eagles here too. Not what I had expected even after listening to the debut.
2. Travelled: Hodgson takes a turn at the mike, one of only three tracks he will sing on this album, it being very much a Davies-driven beast. There is some nice flute opening it which kind of reminds me of the likes of “Shadow song” and “Maybe I'm a beggar” from the debut, and it's nicely restrained after the exuberant but very ordinary opener. Problem here is that Hodgson's voice for some reason is very low and quiet. Nevertheless, I could see this on their first album; it certainly fits more into that mould than track one does. Kicks up fairly soon though into a CSNY/Eagles idea. Meh.
3. Rosie had everything planned: This is the only track I can honestly say I like on the album. With a swaying, waltz sort of rhythm it's a song about a girl who I think kills her lover on incorrect intel --- “Acting upon information received/ Rosie had everything planned/ Standing there with a shotgun in hand” --- and Hodgson sings it beautifully. It's a plain, simple tune but cuts to the heart of the issue, and if the rest of the album could have measured up to this it would have been a much better prospect. Some evocative accordion and a lovely rippling piano.
4. Remember: Back to Davies howling his guts out with a lot of hard brass, giving this song a kind of soul feel and I reckon the production is not so hot either. I will say it's the first time we hear sax on a Supertramp album, something that would become part of their trademark sound, but it's not John Helliwell but some guy called Dave Winthrop, and there's also some nice harmonica added. Still hate the song though.
5. Forever: Davies maintains his iron grip on the mike, and we get a sort of sixties Fender Rhodes based ballad, whcih to be fair is not too bad but still a long way from the best Supertramp can do. Lot of blues and soul in this, and with a bit of polishing up I could see it having been on something like maybe Some Things Never Change or Free as a Bird. Winthrop does add some nice sax licks, it has to be said.
6. Potter: New man Frank Farrell takes a shot at singing. Unsurprisingly, he, Winthrop and the new drummer Kevin Currie would be gone before the guys went into the studio to begin work on their seminal third album, Crime of the Century. It's nearly as bad as “Your poppa don't mind”, but with even less of an idea for the song. At least, again, it's short, even shorter than the opener.
7. Coming home to see you: Starts out like a ballad with some sort of discordant piano then throws off the disguise and becomes a rockabilly uptempo tune driven on fast guitar and what sounds like organ. Fun yes, but even the harmonica blast and the long instrumental jam that closes it out can't really save this from going on the meh pile.
8. Times have changed: Another sub-Eagles ballad with echoes of early ELO and a definite Country flavour to the tune
9. Friend in need: Uptempo piano tune with some good backing vocals. At least it's short. Decent piano outro.
10. Aries: Hodgson comes back to close out the album with the longest track on it, nearly seven and a half minutes long. Winthrop bring the flute again and for a moment you get the feeling this could be a return to the debut, but then it gets more psychedelic rock than anything else, too much flute in the end. Jaunty guitar but for such a long song it's quite empty; elements of “It's a long road” but it's nowhere near as good as that song. Like much of this album it's relatively short on lyrics and tries to survive through jams and instrumental improvisations. It doesn't really work and it's something of a damp squib to end on.

So, Love or Hate? If I had to pick my least favourite Supertramp album, it would either be this or Slow Motion, so it has to be a Hate.

Chula Vista · 07-29-2015, 02:39 PM

Thanks Unknown Soldier. I'll get to it in the next couple of days.

07-28-2015, 06:43 AM	#1 (permalink)
Oriphiel Ask me how! Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: The States Posts: 5,354	Sorry for making you do all of this work, Trollheart. Liao Hua takes the vanguard... I know it can be difficult to juggle so many tasks, but you should know that everyone really does appreciate it (even if it can be hard to tell when people rarely give feedback). __________________ ---------------------- \|---Mic's Albums---\| ---------------------- ----------------------------- \|---Deafbox Industries---\| -----------------------------

07-28-2015, 09:07 AM	#2 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,996	Note: I'm not doing any full reviews here, particuarly as this album is intended to feature in my journal later in the year, so this will be another short “Love or Hate?” style. Famous Last Words (1982) This was the last album to feature founder member and co-creative force Roger Hodgson, and remains my all-time favourite Supertramp album. I feel that Hodgson brought the fun, lighter element to the band, and when he exited their next few albums were all notable for being much more serious and for a sort of darker tone that began with Brother Where You Bound and more or less persisted right through to their, so far, last release. I've loads to say about the album but will reserve that for my actual review in my journal. For now, let's just get down to tracks. 1. Crazy: The classic Supertramp happy piano and a blast on the harmonica gives the song a cheerful feel, yet there's a dark tone of worry underlying it, as in much of this album, as the two friends contemplate life without each other. It's quite commercial, as is much of this album. It's almost like the guys are trying to put a brave face on things, grit their teeth and get through without getting too emotional. You'd certainly know this was a Supertramp song. Bouncy, uptempo, piano driven and a vehicle for Hodgson's higher, almost effeminate at times voice. A solo from John Helliwell on the sax completes the song and we segue directly into 2. Put on your old brown shoes: A song of letting it all go, saying to hell with it and just enjoying life. Davies sings the lead vocal and exults as he grins “Kick out the morning blues/ Who needs a job?/ Who needs the pain and the pressure?” Another uptempo one, with some great harmonica and backing vocals from Heart's Ann and Nancy Wilson. 3. It's raining again: You might know this even if you're not a fan, as it was a single and relatively successful. Upbeat despite the lyric, very catchy and certainly you can read between the lines when Hodgson sings “You're old enough some people say/To read the signs and walk away.” Indeed. Another great sax solo to end. 4. Bonnie: The first time the album slows down and gets a little maudlin, and surprise surprise, it's thanks to Rick Davies. “Bonnie” is a lovely song, but it has a sort of yearning that turns into something a little darker in it, like he's stalking the titular character. The piano is, well, darker, too: whereas up to now it's been bouncing along happily, now it's taken on a moodier tone. The first song on the album that has no harmonica. 5. Know who you are: Another slow one, but this time it's Hodgson (and yes, I am a fanboy) but it's a far gentler, softer song with a really nice lyrical line that basically tells the listener not to change, and to find what is good and unique in themselves. Again, Hodgson could be giving advice to himself here. He certainly plays some truly expressive and emotional guitar on the song. Dreamy is really the only way to describe this song. 6. My kind of lady: The boys ignore the impending departure of Hodgson and just have fun on a mid-paced love song, recalling the glory days of Breakfast in America and Crime of the Century. Great backing vocals, lots of fun, not a whole lot else you can say really in a short note on the track. 7. C'est le bon: Beginning to get more serious now. Actually, from here the album enters much more serious, darker, mature territory as the End draws nigh. It must have been like being on a train ride you hoped would never end and then suddenly the lights of the station are coming up fast. Almost an autobiogaphical song when Roger sings “I met a man from the ministry/ He said my son, better work in a factory/ Oh there are days I can tell you quite honestly/ I saw myself winding up in the military/ So lucky to have all this music running through me.” A reflective, thankful and yet in ways perhaps bitter and sad little song. 8. Waiting so long: Davies has his final say, and it's angry and hurt: “Did you get all you want? / Did you see the whole show? /Where's all the fun that we used to know?” A powerful, snarling sound on the guitar and a morose brooding piano, as it would seem Davies digs his heels in and refuses to change: “Must be set in my old ways”, he admits. “I would rather taste the old wine /Than mess around with something new” and though it's surely not the case I see this as being the metaphor for the final argument which leads to the departure; this is Davies trying to convince his friend not to leave the band, not to leave him, which then finally plays out in the final track, the last time we ever hear Hodgson as part of Supertramp. Superb and really emotional guitar outro which segues on a dark, hollow, ominous synth sound into 9. Don't leave me now: Opening on a lonely, melancholy sax from Helliwell, it bursts to life on powerful, emotional piano before Helliwell comes back in to join the melody. This song truly breaks my heart. It's hard not to see it as a plea from Davies to Hodgson (even the other way around perhaps, and even though it's Hodgson, who, fittingly, sings their last song together) as every line in the lyric begins with the title, with lines like “Don't leave me now out in the pouring rain” and the heart-shattering final line, “Don't leave me now, when I'm old and cold and grey and time is gone.” Sensational sax solo and it ends on a lonely harmonica, kind of harking back to the opener of what many people would consider their first real album, Crime of the Century. So, Love or Hate? This is my favourite Supertramp album. It's stellar all the way through, it's heartbreaking and a triumph of passion and emotion, it captures them at their very best and makes you just wish that somehow, somehow they could have worked it out and stayed together, but it was not to be. An absolute True Love, and always will be. __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

07-29-2015, 01:41 PM	#3 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,996	Indelibly Stamped (1971) I hate this album. I think most Supertramp fans do. It bears little or no resemblance even to the debut self-titled, which itself shows little of the flair for catchy and memorable melodies that would characterise their career during the later half of the seventies and into the eighties, and though it's billed as “progressive rock” there's very little to mark it as such, most of the songs being basic rock songs. Even then I don't like them: I think there are two songs I can stick on this album, out of the ten on it. 1. Your poppa don't mind: Starts off with a nice Supertramp-y piano but quickly devolves into a bog-standard twelve-bar blues rocker with a fairly mindless lyric. Kind of reminds me of the Zodiacs' “Stay”. Davies sings this one. Not that it really matters. At least it's short, just under three minutes. Good piano solo, but you can kind of hear early Eagles here too. Not what I had expected even after listening to the debut. 2. Travelled: Hodgson takes a turn at the mike, one of only three tracks he will sing on this album, it being very much a Davies-driven beast. There is some nice flute opening it which kind of reminds me of the likes of “Shadow song” and “Maybe I'm a beggar” from the debut, and it's nicely restrained after the exuberant but very ordinary opener. Problem here is that Hodgson's voice for some reason is very low and quiet. Nevertheless, I could see this on their first album; it certainly fits more into that mould than track one does. Kicks up fairly soon though into a CSNY/Eagles idea. Meh. 3. Rosie had everything planned: This is the only track I can honestly say I like on the album. With a swaying, waltz sort of rhythm it's a song about a girl who I think kills her lover on incorrect intel --- “Acting upon information received/ Rosie had everything planned/ Standing there with a shotgun in hand” --- and Hodgson sings it beautifully. It's a plain, simple tune but cuts to the heart of the issue, and if the rest of the album could have measured up to this it would have been a much better prospect. Some evocative accordion and a lovely rippling piano. 4. Remember: Back to Davies howling his guts out with a lot of hard brass, giving this song a kind of soul feel and I reckon the production is not so hot either. I will say it's the first time we hear sax on a Supertramp album, something that would become part of their trademark sound, but it's not John Helliwell but some guy called Dave Winthrop, and there's also some nice harmonica added. Still hate the song though. 5. Forever: Davies maintains his iron grip on the mike, and we get a sort of sixties Fender Rhodes based ballad, whcih to be fair is not too bad but still a long way from the best Supertramp can do. Lot of blues and soul in this, and with a bit of polishing up I could see it having been on something like maybe Some Things Never Change or Free as a Bird. Winthrop does add some nice sax licks, it has to be said. 6. Potter: New man Frank Farrell takes a shot at singing. Unsurprisingly, he, Winthrop and the new drummer Kevin Currie would be gone before the guys went into the studio to begin work on their seminal third album, Crime of the Century. It's nearly as bad as “Your poppa don't mind”, but with even less of an idea for the song. At least, again, it's short, even shorter than the opener. 7. Coming home to see you: Starts out like a ballad with some sort of discordant piano then throws off the disguise and becomes a rockabilly uptempo tune driven on fast guitar and what sounds like organ. Fun yes, but even the harmonica blast and the long instrumental jam that closes it out can't really save this from going on the meh pile. 8. Times have changed: Another sub-Eagles ballad with echoes of early ELO and a definite Country flavour to the tune 9. Friend in need: Uptempo piano tune with some good backing vocals. At least it's short. Decent piano outro. 10. Aries: Hodgson comes back to close out the album with the longest track on it, nearly seven and a half minutes long. Winthrop bring the flute again and for a moment you get the feeling this could be a return to the debut, but then it gets more psychedelic rock than anything else, too much flute in the end. Jaunty guitar but for such a long song it's quite empty; elements of “It's a long road” but it's nowhere near as good as that song. Like much of this album it's relatively short on lyrics and tries to survive through jams and instrumental improvisations. It doesn't really work and it's something of a damp squib to end on. So, Love or Hate? If I had to pick my least favourite Supertramp album, it would either be this or Slow Motion, so it has to be a Hate. __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

07-29-2015, 02:39 PM	#4 (permalink)
Chula Vista Toasted Poster Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: SoCal by way of Boston Posts: 11,332	Thanks Unknown Soldier. I'll get to it in the next couple of days. __________________ “The fact that we live at the bottom of a deep gravity well, on the surface of a gas covered planet going around a nuclear fireball 90 million miles away and think this to be normal is obviously some indication of how skewed our perspective tends to be.”