The Very Best Of Supertramp [Original recording remastered]

Supertramp | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 11, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: A&M
• ASIN: B000007492
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (103 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,485 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #52 in Music > Rock > Progressive > Progressive Rock
  • #60 in Music > Classic Rock > Arena Rock
  • #78 in Music > Pop > Soft Rock

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

In the midst of the late 1970s punk/new wave revolution, England's Supertramp tore a page from the Genesis playbook, suffusing their previously overwrought prog-rock influences and bittersweet hippie optimism gone sour with muscular pop hooks. They eventually became one of the world's foremost rock acts--and later a rich source for contemporary TV commercial music. But while Supertramp peaked quickly, they nonetheless spawned at least two bona fide classic albums--Crime of the Century and Breakfast in America--and a slate of FM radio staples, all of which are included on this near 80-minute anthology. Fully three-quarters of Crime is represented, and rightly so. That 1974 album both stripped down and reinvented the band's sound, centering it around the songs of Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson, pulsing electric piano chords, and distinctively reedy vocals on tense, spare songs like "Bloody Well Right" and "Dreamer." But by the time of the multiplatinum Breakfast, they had refined their edgy prog sensibility to virtual extinction with well-crafted pop hits like "The Logical Song" and "Take the Long Way Home." This well-chosen collection spans a decade, but focuses intently on the five great years that cemented Supertramp's reputation. --Jerry McCulley

Product Description

It's about time for a comprehensive Supertramp collection, right? Bloody well right! 15 tracks, including Take the Long Way Home; The Logical Song; Bloody Well Right; Give a Little Bit; It's Raining Again; Dreamer; Goodbye Stranger; Crime of the Century; School; From Now On; Cannonball; Rudy; Breakfast in America; Ain't Nobody but Me , and Hide in Your Shell .

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

139 of 143 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Pure Pop Rock Heaven January 17, 2002

By The Scenario

Format:Audio CD

Supertramp was definitely an anomaly in the late 70's musical landscape. They were really too pop to be considered rock, too rock to be considered pure pop, too mainstream to be considered progressive, too quirky and avant garde to be considered mainstream, not quirky and avant garde enough to be considered new wave or punk. And like any great band with a signature sound, they experienced their peak popularity at a time when they were TOTALLY out of place with the predominant music of the time (disco). Now that over 20 years has passed since "Breakfast In America", we can conveniently classify them as "classic rock", but they definitely defied categorization in their heyday. Listening to the tracks from "Crime of the Century", you can definitely sense a jazz and R&B influence woven into their take on progressive rock that made them stand out from the more arty and guitar rock trappings of bands like Genesis, Yes, and King Crimson. Their style evolved over the course of several albums to become something purely their own, a sound which thankfully was never ripped off by a slew of wannabes. One reviewer of BIA classified their sound as almost "carnival-like", which makes sense even though it's not a conventional description. But then few things about Supertramp were convenitional. From the vocals of Roger Hodgson (the nasal-y voiced one) to the viscous sax of John Halliwel, to the jazzy-staccato electric piano work of Rick Davies (also their other lead vocalist - the deeper voiced one), this was a band that had several distinct trademarks.

This collection does indeed copy the running order of the previous best-of "Classics Vol. 9", but ups the ante three different ways:

(1) It adds the track "School"
(2) It digitally remasters all the songs ("Take The Long Way Home" in particular sounds absolutely pristine)
(3) it includes the full-length versions of all songs.

The anemic "Classics Vol 9" included shamelessly edited versions of "Take The Long Way Home" (the intro is what really made the tune cool) and "Goodbye Stranger", which upset me so much I immediately carted it off to the second-hand CD store. I bet on the fact that a better compilation would come along eventually, and my wish came true. There's hardly a hit missing here. If you're a fan of 70's rock, your collection is incomplete without "The Very Best of Supertramp"

84 of 87 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Super Compilation, but... December 9, 2004

By James Simon

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

CONSUMER ALERT: A prior review by Terrence J Reardon claimed that this compilatation has the full length versions of the songs. THIS IS NOT TRUE ON ALL VERSIONS, that is there are at least TWO BEST OF's on the market. I purchase a copy from E-Shops on Amazon and received a South American printing. The tracks are the same as on the the 25th Anniversary classics edition. Goodbye Stranger still has a whole verse missing and the outro is dramaticly shorter. Same is true on Take The Long Way Home as the end fades out much too soon. All the other tracks run the same time as the albums they originally appear on. Only the US printing seems to have the full length versions. Both printings include includes School, a good track but you wouldn't miss it. If you don't have any Supertramp recordings, then you should defenitely get this (you really should have "Crime Of The Century" and "Breakfast In America" anyway as they should be heard in their entirety, truly classics). If you have the 25th A&M Anniversary copy of Supertramp Classic, then it's worth replacing. Just make sure you're getting the right version of The Very Best Of Supertramp. If the timing on "Goodbye Stranger" is under five minutes, then it's the bad one (It should run 5:40). "Cannonball" should be over 7 minutes too.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars What you get here and what you get on Volume 2 May 29, 2005

By Warhorse

Format:Audio CD

The Very Best of Volume 1 and 2 are not chronologically sequential. Volume 2 which came out later is a suppliment to volume 1. Between the two you get the bulk of certain albums.

To begin with neither album features anything from the groups largely ignored first two albums, Supertramp 1970 and Indelibly Stamped 1971.

Volume 1 features six of the eight songs on Crime of the Century 1974 while a seventh appears on Volume 2. The only thing not featured is 'Asylum'. [7/8]

Only one song from Crisis? What Crisis? 1975 was put on volume 1. Volume 2 meanwhile has two tracks of the ten songs on the album. A cassette version of volume 1 also included Sister Moonshine, but this is not on either CD. Despite only featuring three songs, Crisis is still as good an album as the other heavilly featured ones of this decade. Aside from 'Sister', the other major overlooked track is 'Another Man's Woman'. [3/10]

Even in the Quietest Moments 1977 is represent by two tracks on Vol 1 and four on volume, leaving only 'Lover Boy' of the seven tracks excluded. [6/7]

Of the 10 tracks on Breakfast in America 1979 four are featured on volume 1 and another three on volume two. Of the leftovers the greatest omission is 'Child of Vision' - which is unfortunate. [7/10]

Volume 1 featured only one track out of the nine from Famous Last Words 1982. Volume 2, meanwhile features three. Of the remaining five, the main one that sticks out as being overlooked is 'Crazy'. [4/9]

Only volume 1 features a track (out of six) from the first post-Rgoer Hodson album, Brother Where You Bound 1985. This is not a particularly great album, though 'Still in Love' would have been a good addition. [1/6]

Likewise, only volume 2 features a track from the medicore Free As a Bird 1987 (which was also on the tape version of Volume 1). Another song out of the nine they could have considered was 'It's Alright'. [1/9]

Given the date of their release the Very Best ofs feature nothing from either Some Things Never Change 1997 or Slow Motion 2002.

So basically with these two best ofs you are getting virtually all of two albums, most of a third, half of another and just token selections from three others. You may prefer to just get the albums for the stuff you aren't getting on the less featured ones and get the others anyway since you'd be pretty much getting the whole albums on the Very Best ofs.

All in all, save a few overlooked tracks, the two volume together give a very generous representation of Supertramp's 74-82 work.