BROTHER WHERE YOU BOUND

This is the first album Supertramp made after Roger left, and as I have listened to alot other albums by the band I can't really tell if it affected the band much. But in my opinion this album seems to be alot more serious than the other Supertramp albums I've heared, dealing with issues like cold war on Brother Where You Bound.

1. Cannonball (7:38)

This might just be the best way to start an album, Cannonball has always been one of my favourite tracks by Supertramp and why shouldn't it, the song immediately starts with Rick repeating the G chord with the piano and builds up when other instruments join in. Also the piano and keyboard solos at the end are in my opinion easily the most important thing to me in this track. It's an awesome way to end an awesome song. I also think that Rick's voice is perfect for this song, can't think of anyone who could do it better than him. Some might consider this to be a bit too poppy. And the song tends to get a little repetitive but there always seem to be some minor changes whenever the main riff is played to keep you interested.

2. Still in Love (4:36)

Immediately when the song starts I think to myself, yeah this is exactly what comes to my mind when I think of jazz. I get an image in my head of a 60's bar with smoke floating around late in the night and this is what the band is playing in the background. And I start relaxing and feeling like this is going to be a nice calm song, then Bob hits the drums and I realize I'm in for another poppy song. Not that it's a bad thing. And as the title already suggests the lyrics are about love. For me the sax solo in the middle and end are real life savers for otherwise an pretty average song. John is in my opinion a really innovative and good sax player, he always seems to get his playing to go perfectly with the other instruments. Another thing I liked was the way how the song fades away with the solo still playing.

3. No Inbetween (4:36)

The second the piano starts you know this is going to be a very emotional one. Don't really have much to say about this song, except that John's sax solo ones again is the highlight. And in the mood of the song the solo is also very emotional. This is one of those kind of songs that sound very good on a rainy day or when it's dark. Can't think of listening to this on a sunny day with the birds singing and all that kind of stuff. As I already said I don't really have alot to say about this one, it's just a nice calm song that sets you into the right mood for the rest of the album.

4. Better Days (6:17)

The song starts of with a very chaotical piano section, which continues to play on the background for a while before changing to another kind of section. While the piano keeps playing synth becomes the main instrument, with some good drumming backing it up. Then suddenly comes a moment of silence, after which the song comes to a very energetic part, where the synth is dropped out and the piano takes it place with the drums still backing up. Then the lyrics come in and the song goes on for a while, before the guitar finally joins in. About in the middle theres is an excellent flute solo. It's something that you never would expect from a song like this, but it stil fits in perfectly. Then we go back to the singing, pretty average stuff now, nothing mind blowing. Then comes a part where everything kinda drops into the background and an instrumental part begins, with occasional speaking. John once again does an excellent job with the sax. This part goes on until the end with the song slowly fading out.

5. Brother Where You Bound (16:30)

This 16 minute long prog epic is Supertramps longest song and also one of my favourites besides Cannonball. The track starts with pretty sinister sounding synth and very quiet speaking on the background. The song very slowly builds up with the piano repeating the same section until around 3:30 where all the instruments jump in and the song finally starts. The singing in this part is very good. I like how they're sang like in one long sentence and you hold breath until theres finally a break. Then comes some singing again, which quickly ends and an instrumental part begins, with the piano still repeating the same section as it has throughout the whole song. The part doesn't last very long and is quickly joined again by singing. The same stuff repeats for a little while, when about at 6:00 you start occasionally hearing some guitar in the background which for someone who has listened to alot of Pink Floyd sounds very familiar. The song also slows down a bit at this part, you also still keep hearing that familiar sounding guitar playing. This goes on for a few minutes and at 9:00 comes a silent moment, after which a very chaotical piano section starts. This once again goes on for a few minutes until theres silence again. Then some very groovy guitar playing starts, this builds up with cymbals and finally builds up into a kind of a piano solo. Then theres a part with singing taking turns with the saxophone, after which there is a guitar solo and atleast at that point it hits you, you've been hearing David Gilmours guitar for the whole song. The song ends with the guitar solo still playing, which seems to be repeated alot in this album. All the songs seem to fade out in the middle of a solo. All and all, an excellent song. And in my opinion the album should have ended with this

6. Ever Open Door (3:06)

This song is a very big disappointment for me, don't have anything good to say about it. Boring and a bad way to end such an excellent albums. Otherwise I would have given this album 5 stars but this song made it lose one.