BREAKFAST IN AMERICA

Supertramp delivered three very good albums between 74 and 77. I don't remember from where I got this description but I believe it is very true : "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".

In the meantime punk/new wave on the one hand and disco/sould on the other had surged. So, how will they cope with this, musically ? Well, the trend is definitely towards a more commercial music (but who can blame them) ?

IMO anyway, Tramp has always wrote commercial numbers. So, it is not really an innovation.

"Gone Holywood" opens the album, and one has to wait for about three minutes to have the song really started. The second part is, indeed, a very good Tramp song : good sax, great keys and beautiful melody. "The Logical Song" is 100% pure traditional Supertramp classic : wonderful vocal harmonies, the keys ... so typical (so logical) ? The hit from this album and a very (logical) song.

"Goodbye Stranger" could have been on "Crime" : very good Davies'one : great melody (beautiful dual singing), good rythmic section. Another highlight. "Breakfast in America" follows the poppy orientation, but when it is pop songs of this caliber, let's go for pop ! I have absolutely no problem (I only wish more bands could delivered that high). Short but nice. "Oh Darling" is the weakest track so far. An other attempt on "Goodbye Stranger" but failed.

On the contrary, "Take the Long Way Home", from Hodgson (definitely the Tramp songwriter I like most) is another good poppy moment. Sax and piano in evidence like in most of their good songs (from both Davies and Hodgson). It keeps the level of the album to a very high one.

Unfortunately, the next numbers of this record will not be on par and are a bit of a desillusion for me. "Lord Is it Mine" is a mellow ballad, with a weak melody and too edulcorated. Maybe Roger was touched by the "Lord" when he writes : "When everything's dark and nothing seems right, There's nothing to win, and there's no need to fight". It is not a bad track, because the vocals are, as usual, very good but the general feeling rather melancholic (a bit too much). "Just Another Nervous Wreck" is a poopy tune with little feeling. It's th third weak track followed by the fourth one "Casual Conversations" : a jazzy ballad with almost no flavour (except the sax from Helliwell).

"Child Of Vision" is my preferred song of the album. It is a kaleidoscope of the band's production : wonderful intro, harmony at an all time-high, catchy riff. Tramp's trademark. So typical.

I have been trying for several minutes to remind from which song this one took the chorus from : the answer is "Schools'Out" (by Alice Cooper in 1972). Listen carefully around minute 2'22" and 3'15" : "Child of Vision, won't you listen? Find yourself a new ambition". It is really obvious. Anyway this wonderfully closes the album with a great instrumental part.

Three stars.