Breakfast in America [Import]

Supertramp | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 27, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• ASIN: B000AA7BNY
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,629,444 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars IT'S NOT REMASTERED !, May 19, 2006

By 

Rocket Man (Canada) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Breakfast in America (Audio CD)

This production is not remastered and sound exactly as the first print
of A&M (1990). The current "remastered" version is far away better.
I don't belive that it is a new coming out in Japan even if it's said to be 2005.
Don't spend any money on this limited japanese CD you will be disapointed. The quallity of the sound is simply not there.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Non-Remastered Version from Japan, September 26, 2006

By 

Lonnie E. Holder "The Review's the Thing" (Columbus, Indiana, United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Breakfast in America (Audio CD)

Several decades ago FM was where all the good music was played. AM was all pop, hype and commercials. However, occasionally powerful FM groups crossed from the relative obscurity of FM rock to AM rock, and when they were able to do so while retaining a measure of their artistic values the end result was usually either a killer song or a killer album; "Breakfast in America" is just such an album.

How often do you see reviews raving about how great a song or album is? Very frequently. How often does the hype meet reality? Occasionally. In the case of this album the creativity and originality are incredibly high. A harmonica, clarinet, saxophone, piano and a score of other instruments are combined in a completely unique way with the vocals of two strong lead singers, creative lyrics and music to yield a work of musical art that became Supertramp's biggest seller and among their most readily accessible music.

The vocal duties throughout the album are shared by Roger Hodgson and Richard Davies. The voice differences between the two singers provide a unique vocal contrast well-exploited on songs such as "Gone Hollywood." The music is frequently pop, but the lyrics are highly poetic and complex, and rarely evoke throw away pop lyrics.

The album spawned four hit singles, "The Logical Song," "Goodbye Stranger," "Breakfast in America," and "Take the Long Way Home." While the songs came across as pop, consider "The Logical Song." The complexity of the music shows its progressive rock influence. In one place the lyrics are:

There are times when all the world's asleep,
the questions run too deep
for such a simple man.
won't you please, please tell me what we've learned
I know it sounds absurd
but please tell me who I am.

Lyrics such as these are far from throw away pop lyrics and remind us of the progressive roots of Supertramp.

While every song on this CD is a gem, there are a number of unique moments. During "Goodbye Stranger" there is a whistling accompaniment, and the whistling is incredibly pure and beautiful. The harmonica introduction to "Take the Long Way Home" is excellent and well-performed. Very few people would consider the harmonica to be an instrument for a rock song. There are also several places where Supertramp effectively reminds listeners that the piano is a percussion instrument.

As powerful as much of the music is on this CD there are quite a few moments where the instruments are all acoustic and the song is quite mellow. The introduction to "Lord Is It Mine" with quiet singing and piano is one excellent example. Yet the song is decidedly rock.

Given that Supertramp started as a progressive rock group, it would have been unusual to create an album without at least one strongly progressive song; "Child of Vision" is that song. There is an excellent extended bridge in this seven plus minute song where the background music and piano are in counterpoint, and where the piano is once again effectively used as a percussion instrument. This song is my favorite from the CD. However, I enjoy progressive rock and this song is the most clearly progressive song on the CD.

There are moments in musical time where a group passes through a creative point where the music matches the sentiment of a broad range of listeners. Often those moments are when multiple musical styles are combined to create a fresh sound. "Breakfast in America" was one of those moments.