What can this strange device be? When I touch it, it brings forth a sound (2112)
^ What a shame that in the final stretch of their lives, this is a thing.
You got that right. A shame. I can still remember seeing Supertramp in concert in April 1976, right in the middle of the string of the four best albums they ever did (Crime Of The Century[11/74], Crisis? What Crisis?[11/75], Even In The Quietest Moments[4/77], Breakfast In America[3/79]). The show was great and I could never foresee the band splitting apart. Everything was looking up back then. I remember smiling in joy at the concert; I was happy to be there. Not all the concerts I have seen remain as clear in my mind these many years later. So it goes.
We're trying to build a monument to show that we were here
It won't be visible through the air
And there won't be any shade to cool the monument to prove that we were here. - Gene Parsons, 1973
I can’t believe there’s a court case against Roger Hodgson from the members of Supertramp, but Rick Davies is not involved!
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Yes, on page 2 it says that Rick Davies reached an agreement with the plaintiffs in 2023. Meaning that it left Roger Hodgson as the sole hold out.
This is sad and by coincidence, I went to see a Classic Albums Live Supertramp tribute concert two nights ago, it was very good. They played the entire Crime of the Century album plus highlights from the Quietest moments album including the Fool's overture finale and of course, the Breakfast in America hits.
Supertampon?
Sad to see great ones go, but truth be told - as with their once-so-current colleagues of UK 70s art-pop/rock canon ELO, 10CC and more - greatness sides with the past.
I remember when 'tramp records certified the weight of the cutout bins in the music stores back in Bergen in the early-to-mid 80s. There was arguably no single other band less hip than the 'tramps, and this is a country wherein Manfred Mann's Earth Band and Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show would play skiing resorts such as Geilo during winter seasons of that very same decade. No one seemed to dare admit that they liked or enjoyed the tunes of Davies/Hodgson, mere years after they positively ruled Norwegian as well as global charts.
Time, age and development were never as merciless as that dreadful object of 'memory' with individuals. Lifespans are short, though recollections serve immediacy. In a few years, many of the names our generation took for granted as common knowledge will be gone from cultural consciousness. I never thought it'd ever turn out as seriously miserable as evident, but the fact remains that "rock/pop" as a pillar phenomenon of fortitude in spiritual expressions of the modern mind appears somewhat destined for oblivion.
I guess we all kinda wondered in a ghastly fashion how that would be experienced; heroes of fire relinquishing in oldness safe from mold and mildew, whereas upstarts seem to care anought. Rock music had a fine run of half a century or so, although most of us in here thought it would deem anew on everything.
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
Interesting. Here in the U.S. I worked on a radio station in 1979 /1980. The “Breakfast In America” album was absolutely huge. It had come out in March of 79, but when I joined the station in September the album was still all over the radio and on constant rotation on our playlist. I think we ended up playing just about every track on air. The next album “Famous Last Words” in 82 wasn’t as successful, but Supertramp were about as big as it gets for a few years here.
You're right about Supertramp in the US in 1979/80. Breakfast in America was huge. But I think SS is right that their star fell fast, and that by the early to mid-1980s, they were extremely passe', and their albums littered the cutout bins in my area, and I'm guessing elsewhere. Personally, I never got the love for this band, other than a few of their hits, mostly penned by Hodgson. It's no wonder the rest of the band want a piece of that.
It will be interesting to see how this case plays out from a legal perspective in terms of how binding a verbal contract like this is.
Bill
Supertramp was HUGE in the 1970s. All bands fade. I think Crime Of The Century is a perfect album. Breakfast In America doesn't resonate with me as much but it was a huge hit too. I think Rick was not greedy and recognized the band. The're are lots of Rick Davies hits too.
What can this strange device be? When I touch it, it brings forth a sound (2112)
I agree that “Crime Of The Century” is their best album, but from a commercial standpoint it was nowhere close to as successful as “Breakfast In America.”
“Crime” was certified gold and made it into the U.S. top 40 album chart, but “Breakfast” was #1 in the U.S. for 6 weeks and sold 4X-Platinum. It was by far Supertramp’s bestselling album and spawned 3 top 15 singles. As I mentioned previously on FM AOR radio just about every track got airplay.
I always liked this one:
Well, who do you think you're foolin'?
You say you're havin' fun,
But you're busy going nowhere,
Just lying in the sun
You tried to be a hero,
Commit the perfect crime
But the dollar got you dancing
And you're running out of time
You're messin' up the water
You're rolling in the wine
You're poisoning your body
You're poisoning your mind
You gave me coca-cola
You said it tasted good
You watch the television
It tells you that you should
How can you live in this way?
(why do you think it's so strange?)
You must have something to say
(Tell me why should I change?)
There must be more to this life
It's time we did something right
Child of vision, won't you listen?
Find yourself a new ambition
I've heard it all before
You're saying nothing new
I thought I saw a rainbow
But I guess it wasn't true
You cannot make me listen
I cannot make you hear
You find your way to heaven,
I'll meet you when you're there
How can you live in this way?
(Why do you think it's so strange?)
You must have something to say
(Tell me why should I change?)
We have no reason to fight,
'Cause we both know that we're right
Child of vision, won't you listen?
Find yourself a new ambition
(Written by: Richard Davies, Roger Hodgson)
We're trying to build a monument to show that we were here
It won't be visible through the air
And there won't be any shade to cool the monument to prove that we were here. - Gene Parsons, 1973
One of those bands I completly lost interest in when punk came along. Never really got back into them.
It’s a shame to think such thoughtful, wonderful, high-quality music could ever be forgotten and dismissed.
Supertramp were completely a "radio band" to me; I was aware of the hits in high school, but couldn't definitely match the songs to the band name until BiA came out and they dominated the airwaves for what seemed like years. I never disliked what I heard, and in some cases was mildly enthused, but never enough to buy an LP. Due to this thread I had my first through-listen to CotC yesterday, and it really is excellent.
David
Happy with what I have to be happy with.
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