Supertramp - "Crime of the Century" (1974)

Until 7-8 years ago, I was quite negative towards Supertramp. I had not really heard anything with them, and thought they were a cheesy, super commercial, disco band, who performed songs for the 70's dance floor. Maybe a little like Boney M. It was probably the name that gave me the idea, I thought it sounded like a disco name.

Oh, so wrong I was, and so much good music I missed. Crime of the Century was the third album by the band and their breakthrough, the music is often defined as prog and / or artrock, and i.e. got the 28th spot on Rolling Stone's list of best prog albums of the time. Definitions is a difficult science, and personally I wouldn't put the label 'prog' on this album. Qualitative pop / rock, I think describes it well enough.

The album has consistently good songs, Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson officially share the composing, even though they worked quite individually in reality. The songs often consist of parts that differ quite clearly from each other, but therefore you get a nice variation. They wander a bit like a creek, a little to the left, a little to the right, but undoubtedly the same creek all the time. It is by no means messy, every song has a clear wholeness. The album offers lots of sweeping choruses, and the songs are generally quite epic, what that ever means. I'm a sucker for these things, so I fall for the album.

It has a clear 70s sound, but it still feels fresh. Lots of piano and nice singing gives me Elton John vibes, did he sound like this in the 70s? It is said that he did some groovy stuff then, I haven't heard it, am quite negative against Elton John's music. Have apparently not learned the lesson.


Tracklist

Side A
1. School 5:35
2. Bloody Well Right 4:32
3. Hide In Your Shell 6:49
4. Asylum 6:45

Side B
1. Dreamer 3:31
2. Rudy 7:17
3. If Everyone Was Listening 4:04
4. Crime of the Century 5:30