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48 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best Supertramp anthology so far, November 12, 2005
Unlike the previous releases, "Retrospectacle" focuses on material from the band's entire career including their poor selling first two albums and the single they released prior to "Crime of the Century". The first disc takes 1 track each from the band's first two albums. We get a rare single the band released prior to "Crime of the Century". "Crime" deservedly gets five tracks while "Crisis? What Crisis?" has four from this fine album. "Even in the Quietest Moment" also features four strong tracks including the hit single "Give a Little Bit". For fans of the band the real highlight here is the release on CD of the band's virtually unheard single "Land Ho"/"Summer Romance". This was the first single recorded by the band's most successful line up and the same one that would record every album from "Crime of the Century" to "Famous Last Words". If you've leard Roger Hodgson's solo album "Hai Hai" you've heard "Land Ho" as Hodgson did a virtually identical remake of the original version but with different production touches. A note to fans who may have purchased the single--this is not the original 1973 mix of the song but, instead, a previously unreleased 1975 remix when the song was being considered for inclusion on "Crisis? What Crisis?". The flip side of the single features Rick Davies on lead vocals on the R&B inflected "Summer Romance".
The second disc opens with six tracks from "Breakfast in America" ("Another Nervous Wreck" should also have been included but that's just my personal opinion). We get "You Started Laughing" the only new song on "Paris" and then three tracks from the most popular line up's swan song "Famous Last Words". The second disc goes on to document the post-Hodgson line up including the marvelous "Cannonball", overlooked "Free as a Bird" (the best song on the weak "Free as a Bird" album even if it had too much of a techno element to it), "You Win, I Lose" (which was originally supposed to be a reunion album featuring Roger Hodgson. It didn't work out) from the band's first studio recording in a decade "Some Things Never Change" and the big bandish "Over You" from the last release by the current line up "Slow Motion". While "Over You" is a marvelous song I would have gone for the marvelous jazz inflected "Tenth Avenue Breakdown".
The booklet has comments from Davies as well as a discography for the band and which songs were culled from which albums. It's not a complete discography though as there's nothing mentioned about "Extremes" a soundtrack the band did in 1973 which I've never heard. A very nice job all around this is the anthology to get if you want all the hits and some additional pleasant stuff as well.
Davies and co-producer Bill Levenson (who has done some marvelous reissues by the way. My hat's off to Bill who has continued to be a guiding force behind a series of excellent remastered/reissued albums and new compilations/boxed sets) have picked the cream of the crop for the band's albums. Sure, you could argue about songs NOT being included but just about every song on this anthology DESERVES to be here.
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Whole Supertramp Story, June 10, 2006
The way Supertramp has been depicted in recent years gives an indication that they were some sort of embarrassment in pop music history. Case in point is Homer Simpson's affection of the group. This compilation proves that though Supertramp did have some art-rock tendencies, they produced some great tunes.
This compilation is very complete; basically anything Supertramp did of any worth, with the possible exception of Hide in Your Shell, is here. Personally I would have preferred the live version of Dreamer that became a hit in the US, but overall, the song selection is perfect. The six tunes from Breakfast in America are for example the obvious choices from that album.
The music is, well, mostly good in mine opinion. There are a few tracks I don't care that much about, especially post It's Raining Again. I did, however, re-discover some ones again. Special mention goes to Take the Long Way Home, with its majestic opening and incredible harmonies. The craft of the production is faultless, these guys and the studio were a match made in heaven. Most music produced today, 30 years later, lacks the great production in most aspects as Supertramp did in their heyday. Despite being studio wizards, the creative aspect of making music enjoyable was yet in place. Listen to Goodbye Stranger, with the organ intro, the drums added and the snapping sound into the second verse. Give a Little Bit on the other hand is pure bright guitars driving the song.
I have another Supertramp collection called Classics - 25th A&M Anniversary. That compilation has some edited tracks which appear here in their full length editions. The sound quality is also vastly better on this new compilation, as if a carpet was put over the speaker whilst listening to the old version. The inner booklet is also fine on this compilation which can't be said about the Classics compilation.
To sum it up, this is a fantastic compilation and although some tracks are not my cup of tea, they all deserve being included on a Supertramp anthology. The sound re-mastering is great with full length tracks. This is the one CD for most Supertramp fans, excluding the most hard core ones, to buy.
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22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Supertramp Is Accomplished, Audacious and Self Possessed, March 26, 2006
The name of the band "Supertramp" was taken from W. H. Davies' 1908 novel "The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp".
"Mr. Davies is no propagandist of the illusions of the middle-class tramp fancier. He does not tell you that there is honor among tramps. On the contrary, he makes it clear that only by being too destitute to be worth robbing and murdering can a tramp insure himself against being robbed and murdered by his comrade on the road. The tramp is fastidious and accomplished, audacious and self- possessed; but he is free from divine exploitation and the endless discountenance of being passed by as useless by the life force that finds superselfish work for other men." Editor's review of "The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp".
From my review of "Breakfast In America", I stated that "Starting life as a British progressive rock band, Supertramp shifted gears and became a real pop band. Supertramp was formed in England in 1969 by keyboardist/vocalist Roger Davies. 1974's "Crime Of The Century" became the band's first big smash, followed by "Crisis! What Crisis?" and "Even In The Quietest Moments". 1979's "Breakfast In America" was a huge success on both sides of the Atlantic, and is considered by most people to be the band's best album." Despite chart success the band never attained stardom; it was remarked at the height of their popularity that Supertramp was the best-selling group in the world whose members could walk down any street and not be recognized.
And, now, in 2005 they have given us their "Retrospectale: The Supertramp Anthology". As Supertramp's first career retrospective, the 2-CD Retrospectacle contains a compilation of the most popular songs, live tracks and favorite album tracks from all of their albums "Supertramp", I"ndelibly Stamped", "Crime of the Century"", Crisis? What Crisis?", "Even in the Quietest Moments", ""Breakfast in America, P"aris", "Famous Last Words", "Brother Where You Bound", "Free As a Bird", "Some Things Never Change", "It Was The Best Of Times "and "Slow Motion". Also, Retrospectacle marks the first ever official appearance on a Supertramp album of the long out of print single "Land Ho" and its B-side "Summer Romance" which were the first two songs that Supertramp's classic lineup recorded. These tracks were recorded for the "Crime of the Century "album but were left off and released as a non-album single. The versions of "Land Ho" and "Summer Romance" on Retrospectacle were the 1975 re-mixes which the band intended to use on "Crisis? What Crisis?" but left off at the last minute. They are but two of the superb songs to appear. For fans of Supertramp this is the best, the very best that we could hope for. An undulating romance of the songs that we listen to over and over again in our minds and in our reality. Twenty of the songs that Supertramp recorded during their heyday. We all have our favorites and mine is "Take The Long Way Home", which to me, portrays the cycle of our life. While "Logical Song" is the favorite of my best friend, BK.
This is one of those albums that can not be praised highly enough. It just is the best, beyond compare, capital, unparalleled,and unrivaled. Highly Recommended. prisrob March 26, 2006
Disc 1
"Surely" (edited) (from Supertramp)
"Your Poppa Don't Mind" (from Indelibly Stamped)
"Land Ho" (non-album single)
"Summer Romance" (non-album single, B-side to Land Ho)
"School" (from Crime of the Century)
"Bloody Well Right" (from Crime of the Century)
"Dreamer" (from Crime of the Century)
"Rudy" (from Crime of the Century)
"Crime of the Century" (from Crime of the Century)
"Sister Moonshine" (from Crisis? What Crisis?)
"Ain't Nobody But Me" (from Crisis? What Crisis?)
"Lady" (from Crisis? What Crisis?)
"Two of Us" (from Crisis? What Crisis?)
"Give a little Bit" (from Even in the Quietest Moments)
"Downstream" (from Even in the Quietest Moments)
"Even in the Quietest Moments" (from Even in the Quietest Moments)
"From Now On" (from Even in the Quietest Moments)
[edit]
Disc 2
"Gone Hollywood" (from Breakfast in America)
"The Logical Song" (from Breakfast in America)
"Goodbye Stranger" (from Breakfast in America)
"Breakfast in America" (from Breakfast in America)
"Oh Darling" (from Breakfast in America)
"Take the Long Way Home" (from Breakfast in America)
"You Started Laughing" (Live) (from Paris)
"It's Raining Again" (from ...Famous Last Words...)
"My Kind of Lady" (from ...Famous Last Words...)
"Don't Leave Me Now" (from ...Famous Last Words...)
"Cannonball" (from Brother Where You Bound)
"Free As a Bird" (from 'Free As a Bird)
"You Win I Lose" (from Some Things Never Change)
"Another Man's Woman" (Live) (from It Was the Best of Times)
"Over You" (from Slow Motion)
Members Rick Davies
John Helliwell
Bob Siebenberg
Mark Hart
Past members Roger Hodgson
Dougie Thomson
Richard Palmer
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