Music Review by Bill Rendall

Crime of the Century - Supertramp

The creative core of Supertramp was Roger Hodgson and Rick Davies. Crime of the Century was the first album from the most famous line up of the band, although there were a couple of albums from an earlier line up.

Hodgson and Davies shared songwriting and lead vocal duties. Although songs were credited to both partners it sounds like whoever was the lead singer of a song was also the predominant writer of that song. Hodgson wrote melancholy, wistful songs while Davies wrote more upbeat songs often with a touch of humour.

The differences in the songs is emphasised by the distinctive vocal styles of the two singers, with Hodgson's voice having a sad, despairing quality. In general I prefer the Hodgson songs but the songs from Davies make an effective contrast. 'Rudy' features an effective vocal interplay between Hodgson and Davies.

The instrumentation Supertramp used is unusual for a rock band. Davies and Hodgson both played keyboards, particularly pianos and organs rather than the synthesizers many of their contemporaries were playing. 'Dreamer' is a prime example of their distinctive electric piano sound.

Hodgson played guitar as well as keyboards. 'School' and 'Bloody Well Right' use guitars to get an aggressive rock sound but many Supertramp songs didn't have any guitar.

John Helliwell added colour with various wind instruments. A good example is 'If Everyone was Listening'. This song also features a string section, as did many Supertramp songs. 'Hide in Your Shell' features the eerie sound of a saw. The title track features the pitch dropping sound of a water gong in the extended instrumental coda.

Supertramp often integrated external sound samples into their songs. For example, sounds of a children's playground in 'School' and sounds of a train station in 'Rudy'.

Crime of the Century is my favourite Supertramp album and if you only wanted one Supertramp album this is the one to get. The subsequent albums Crisis, what Crisis?, Even in the Quietest Moments and Breakfast in America are all worthy offerings too. Later albums are disappointing, particularly after the departure of Hodgson.