I’ve been listening to a fair bit of Supertramp lately and am damn impressed. Stuff they put out 35 to 40(!) years ago still sounds awfully good. Very catchy melodies. Irrestible hooks. Tight musicianship (to my unsophisticated ears, at least). And a generally ‘crisp’, nicely produced sound.
I won’t link to the two albums below (but suggest strongly that anyone who’s not familiar with them check them out on YouTube, Grooveshark, Spotify, or however/wherever they listen to music online).
My favorite Supertramp albums? Crime of the Century came out in 1974 and sounds fresh, amazingly fresh actually, today. Same for Even in the Quietest Moments (released in 1977).
I’m curious - I know that many ‘kids today’ still enjoy Pinkfloyd, the Stones, . . . Is Supertramp still getting new fans. They should be.
A few years ago, I found some relatively-recent videos of Hodgson on a solo tour, just him and his piano and a wind player. He was singing his old Supertramp stuff, and I was amazed at the fact that he still sounded just as good.
A few years ago, I found some relatively-recent videos of Hodgson on a solo tour, just him and his piano and a wind player. He was singing his old Supertramp stuff, and I was amazed at the fact that he still sounded just as good.
Ah, here we go:
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Wow! That is amazing. He hasn’t lost much, has he? (The cynic in me wonders whether there may be a bit of electronic voice support going on somehow.)
When I was a teenager in the 80’s, my circle of friends would make fun of me because I liked this band.
If I was driving and this band came on the radio, I would turn it up and demand silence from everyone in the car! They would then just all roll their eyes at me.
Great band. I saw them in 1983 or so. It was the “Famous Last Words” tour, and I really enjoyed the show. Nice to know that they’re still listened to.
Fun fact: the sheet music on the piano of the cover of “Even in the Quietest Moments” LP may be titled “Fool’s Overture,” but if you can read music and play the piano, you’ll find that it is the music to “The Star-Spangled Banner.” (Cite for the following):
I can attest to this, as I once put my album on the piano and played the music. I had to squint, but there was no doubt that it was “The Star Spangled Banner.”
I was reminded of this thread last night after a class.
I was wandering through a grocery store when the muzak system started playing a cover of Give A Little Bit. The singer was a fifth or maybe an octave down from the original and I thought it sounded crappy – and realized I really like the original.
It also occurred to me that what I was hearing was a cover of the cover, because the previous cover I’d heard about eight years ago wasn’t as flat – though it was just as unimpressive.
Heck, I’m a big fan of Brother Where You Bound. Cannonball is still an awesome track. Like Anne Elk, I have a theory; mine is that it’s almost impossible for a song to suck as long as you name it either “cannonball” or “burn”.
(This is why I’m currently working on a song called Cannonball Burn. Yes, I’m hoping that using both words will compound the awesomeness, not cancel each other out.)
