SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE

I bought this album in July 1997, some months after it was released.It is a good album, with a very good recording and mixing, with very good arrangements, and it was done with all members of the band involved in the arrangements and with two songs co-composed and sung by Mark Hart. This is the last new studio album that I have bought from Supertramp. I still don`t have their latest studio album called "Slow Motion", because I read in their official website that "Slow Motion" was planned in all things by Rick Davies alone: he is the only composer of the band; he recorded demos which included all the arrangements for the songs. The rest of the members of the band only learned ,played and recorded the songs with Davies`arrangements, without contributing to the arrangements. Mark Hart co- produced the album, but he didn`t sing lead vocals or co-wrote songs. So, I`m not interested in solo albums released under some band`s name (like Jethro Tull, who is "Ian Anderson`s Enterprises", really). But this "Some things never change" album is still a "real" Supertramp`s album.It also has some good lyrics. My favourite songs from this album are: "You Win, I Lose", with an interesting "management" of the rhythm, some "Dixieland" arrangements and humorous lyrics; "Live to Love You", a good ballad with a very good clarinet solo; "Listen to me please", with lyrics which seem to me that are about promises made by managers to talented but naive musicians;"Sooner or later", a song sung and co- composed by Mark Hart, with very good arrangements; "And the Ligh" (with Tom Walsh on drums), an old song rehearsed and recorded in demo form while Roger Hodgson was still in the band, and it has good lyrics too about "reconciliation" with someone;"Give me a chance", another song sung and co-composed by Mark Hart; "Where there`s a will", which sounds to me like a Gospel song, with a very good piano, and it includes a choir too. I don`t know why Davies didn`t let Mark Hart to be more himself and not mainly the lead singer of Hodgson`s songs on tour. "Some things never change" was a good step towards having another composer and lead singer in the band. But Davies decided to control everything in the "Slow Motion" album. Maybe one day I`m going to buy "Slow Motion", but I still prefer this 1997 album.