Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Supertramp
Label: Polydor Records
Release: 1970
Running time: 47:50
Rating: 4/5
“Supertramp” is the debut from the legendary British prog rockers Supertramp. It came out before they found worldwide fame with unforgettable hits like “Dreamer”, “The Logical Song”, “Goodbye Stranger” and “Give a Little Bit”, and before they carved their names into immortality with the monumental albums “Crime of the Century” (1974) and “Breakfast in America” (1979). With their heavy leaning on personal, confessional lyrics, their melancholic mood and their retreat into classic prog-rock experimentation, where you could find traces of folk, symphonic rock, blues, psychedelia and jazz, early Supertramp were a pretty different story from the far more polished, sarcastic art/pop rock champions they later became. All through this commercially low-profile album you can feel that this band of tireless musical adventurers, who even then weren’t hiding their talent for social satire, were still hunting for a sound of their own, one you’d recognize from a mile away. Alongside the influence of the prog pioneers, you can pick up plenty of sonic shades close to the so-called Canterbury scene bands, led by Caravan, yet in every other respect they still delivered a surprisingly strong debut.
Even back then, their musical direction was dictated by a brilliant songwriting-instrumental-vocal duo: keyboardist and singer Rick Davies and singer and guitarist Roger Hodgson. Unlike their later vocal practice, when the two traded lead vocals in perfect harmony with Davies, here all the lead vocals were sung by the vocally one-of-a-kind Roger Hodgson, who, besides playing acoustic guitar, also handled bass duties at this stage. Hodgson more or less steers clear here of the high-flying falsetto feats that made him famous later in the career and stamped the band with what’s arguably their most recognizable trademark. His unmistakable voice still carried a bit of kinship with Jon Anderson (Yes) and Pye Hastings (Caravan) here, whereas later on he shook off those family resemblances almost completely.
Hodgson’s pastoral acoustic guitar arrangements get strong backing from Davies’ feisty Hammond organ, which already gave them an exceptionally full and lively sound. It also seems curious today that, unlike in later years when Hodgson took over as lead guitarist, the electric guitar was strictly the domain of the blues-rooted Richard Palmer, who left not long after this album came out and later became a lyricist for King Crimson. With his many blues phrases and solos, Palmer helped hugely to create the deep melancholy that runs through most of the compositions. Drummer Bob Millar was a story of his own: he quit the band after suddenly suffering a nervous breakdown. That wasn’t much of a loss, to be honest, since in my opinion his drumming was the weakest link in this highly talented outfit.
Most of the compositions drift through melancholic, mellow waters, occasionally cut across by rowdy, hard-rock-spiced charges with lush layers of Hammond and juicy, bluesy guitar phrases. One example of this flirting with harder sounds is the spirited “It’s a Long Road”, which, with its grooving rhythms and juicy Hammond organ passages, makes for a fitting opening party, though sadly it has a somewhat half-baked ending that keeps it from leaving a deeper impression. “And I’m Not Like Other Birds of Prey” is a far more interesting piece, even if not the most original, as it sounds a lot like something Caravan might have come up with at their best. After a psychedelic intro, they build a distinctly gentle pastoral melody carried by acoustic guitar chords, fine layers of Hammond and excellent singing from Roger, who’s nowhere near the high registers he’d lean on later in his career.
The melancholic dirge “Words Unspoken” is another acoustic-leaning piece with a pleasant pastoral melody and fragile vocals. The prog-rock epic “Maybe I’m a Beggar” is the first of the album’s two peaks and one of their first compositions where you can already spot traces of lyrical sarcasm and social satire. Here Hodgson gets help with backing vocals in the intro from guitarist and future poet Palmer, who then really shines with a phenomenal, ultra-melancholic guitar solo. Hodgson’s trademark falsetto comes into its own here for the first time, while symphonic-pastoral flourishes and bluesy guitar phrases slowly build a majestic atmosphere. “Home Again” is a short but lovely acoustic ballad that brings a brief calm before the storm in the form of the hard-rocking romp “Nothing to Show”, one of the heaviest things in their whole story, though it doesn’t lack the usual Celtic melancholy either. Davies shows off his signature organ solo, while the bluesman Palmer, with piercing guitar phrases, gives himself over to exorcising his inner demons.
The folk-rock-flavored “Shadow Song”, with its piano intro and Hodgson’s mellifluous singing, already hints a bit at their later exploits, except that instead of the saxophone they’d use later, the woodwind parts here are played on whistles, which adds a heaping dose of pastoral melancholy. The twelve-minute epic “Try Again”, with its countless twists and sprawling instrumental sections, is structurally the most complex prog-rock experiment of their career and easily the best composition on the album, although the finesse and drama of their later epics are still missing. Spirited arrangements and vocal outbursts are followed by long, highly complex instrumental sections where they also show off some jazzy pretensions, the kind that would become routine in the years to come. Palmer casually weaves in yet another outstanding solo, which suddenly segues into a rowdy blues section, after which Davies uses his organ kingdom to steer the whole thing toward folk-rock territory. In the closing stretch they even treat us to a short avant-garde section, which is without a doubt one of the strangest instrumental adventures in their history. The closing “Surely”, reprising and building on the opening pastoral motif, leads the album to the finish in a style similar to the one it started with.
On this splendid debut, Supertramp presented themselves as great melancholics who were, from the very start of their career, looking for a totally original, instantly recognizable form of progressive rock. Attentive ears will easily pick out individual details on most tracks that they’d go on to hone, over the following years, into masters of refined art-rock forms. “Supertramp” is a high-quality debut in every respect, with no shortage of interesting songwriting and instrumental feats. Of course, in its faithful following of the lessons of the prog-rock pioneers, it’s far from the later art-rock perfection heralded by the classic “Crime of the Century”, since in their early phase Supertramp were still limping a little in their search for that instantly recognizable sonic direction with which they’d later write themselves forever in golden letters into the hearts of music gourmets. The album, which in some later editions came out under the title “Then and Now”, didn’t make any big commercial splash with audiences at the time, but it earned them enough recognition to land a spot at the legendary Isle of Wight festival.
Lineup
Richard Davies – organ, piano, electric piano, harmonica, backing vocals
Roger Hodgson – vocals, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, cello, whistles
Richard Palmer – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, balalaika, backing vocals
Bob Millar – drums, percussion
Production
Supertramp
Track list
1. Surely (0:30)
2. It’s A Long Road (5:26)
3. Aubade (0:48)
4. And I am not Like other birds of Prey (4:28)
5. Words Unspoken (3:58)
6. Maybe I’m A Beggar (6:48)
7. Home Again (1:14)
8. Nothing To Show (4:55)
9. Shadow Song (4:20)
10. Try Again (12:03)
11. Surely (3:08)
