IN THE EYE OF THE STORM

In the bull's eye, but through the ears

Almost 3 stars, but not enough. After having left Supertramp in what appeared an amicable parting at first (but growing tense fairly rapidly), Roger had to respond to Tramp's amazing Brother Where You Bound album, so good that Roger's presence wasn't missed. Roger answered with a fairly good solo debut album, taking the chance to play most instruments himself, except mainly for the great Michael Shrieve drumming on 5 tracks and some bass works and more details. With a very evocative artwork, Eye Of The Storm raised many hopes among Supertramp fans, but the album is really a mixed bag

As Surpertramp's Brother album had given in to a bit of modernity (the Canonball groove is fairly 80's-ish), Roger also gave in t "progress", but more noticeably so, mainly in the drumming department, when not Shrieving, it's . Opening on the album is the almost 9-mins Had A Dream, which came in with an ambitious but frenetic and stressing MTV videoclip to accompany the album's release. A lengthy intro leads in a very fearsome ambiance, as if Roger had more of a nightmare than a dream. We'd never seen that facet of Roger in Supertramp. Right after this interesting start, Roger attacks the better known In Jeopardy, a very Davies-ian piano tune with an ultra-high synth line, but the vocal line is typically Roger's usual self. Lovers In The Woods is a good mainly piano tune with Roger's usual sensibility and sparse arrangements. However, Hooked On A Problem is a return to the bad Last Words album (best skipped fwd), and again sounds as if Davies had written it. These two influenced each other more than they thought.

On the flipside, Give Me Life is one of those wanker melodies Roger got us used to in every album since Dreamer on Crime, and here it doesn't serve his cause and that track overstays most of its 7-mins+. A bit more interesting is the guitar-ey I'm Not Afraid, but it quickly becomes repetitive and becomes irritating by the end of its 7 minutes. To close the album, Roger strikes a big one, Only Because Of You, a calm and sad lament (and album best) that seems aimed at Davies, whose shadow seems float all over album, when it should've Roger's that should've soared over Brother Where You Bound. So for this first post-split album, Davies takes the first inning with the outstanding Brother, despite a meriting Hodgson effort.

As the album title and the song texts indicates, Roger's state of mind was not exactly in peace with himself after exiting the group. Some of those numbers could've bettered (if possible) the fabulous Brother Where You Bound album from his former band, but on the whole Supertramp proved they could do without him, at least at first. Most likely the acrimony between the factions will stem from this first round, and worsen as it went unhealed. Eye Of The Storm is an honest solo album in the sense that Gilmour or Hackett or Banks made solo album - Of limited interest, but no doubt that many Hodgson enthusiasts will praise beyond reason.

Immediately following the break-up of SUPERTRAMP, Roger released "Eye Of The Storm". This recording contains some of Roger's most progressive solo work ever. From the opening moments of a baby's cry to the unmistakeable sounds of Roger's keyboards, EOTS will keep your toes tapping. Roger also slows down the pace on a few numbers bringing a very strong SUPERTRAMP theme into this album.

The best album Supertramp never made

This is probably the best "Supertramp" album with the possible exception of "Crime of the century".

Having previously departed said band, Hodgson came up with some of his finest work for his first solo album. His distinctive voice, combined with very "Supertramp" instrumentation, made this album more worthy of bearing the band name than any of the post Hodgson Supertramp output.

"Had a dream" kicks of the album with a child birth sound effects leading to a great upbeat piano intro and an uplifting, feel good number. Hodgson is clearly enjoying himself here. "In Jeopardy" has a bluesy feel to it, thanks to the brass keyboards section which combines with a slower but nonetheless driving beat, think of Supertramp's "Babaji" and your pretty much there.

Three excellent long pieces make up the latter half of the album, the best of which is the closing "Only because of you". This has to be Hodgson's finest piece, solo or otherwise. It start slowly and quietly building to a wonderful synthesiser solo which sweeps the listener majestically upwards, soaring on fantastic waves of sound before the ending places ones feet ever so gently back on terra firma.

A truly exceptional album which, had it born the Supertramp name would undoubtedly been among their most successful. Recommended.

This solo album of SUPERTRAMP' singer Roger HODGSON sounds mostly like SUPERTRAMP of the 80's. The difference is that the work is more diluted: less saxophone, the keyboards mostly consists in piano; the other keyboards are not present enough. The guitar also seems less present. But you still have HODGSON's voice, better than ever. Everything is some kind of accessible pop songs. The recording quality is very good, like the SUPERTRAMP albums of the 80's, as always.

ROGER HODGSON left SUPERTRAMP to make this mildly Orwellian album, which sounds like his former band affected by PINK FLOYD's pessimism and paranoia. It's an ambitious record, HODGSON handling everything from writing and playing to production, but better to save your appetite for "Breakfast" than this bitter entry. Hopefully, you'll already own most of SUPERTRAMP's albums before venturing into these waters, and for those fans this may indeed be smooth sailing. Yet the opening moments, clearly inviting comparison to PINK FLOYD, set my expectations for a concept album that never arrived. "Had A Dream (Sleeping With The Enemy)" is a logical launching point for an anti-war album, but the remaining songs point to a more general malaise borne from modern life. "In Jeopardy" wonders "where is the golden age", while "Give Me Love, Give Me Life" looks for hope in a better tomorrow. The appeal of Supertramp, so it seemed to me, was their ability to match upbeat melodies with downbeat observations. That happens on "Hooked On A Problem" (which would have been my choice for the single), but otherwise In The Eye of the Storm takes itself seriously. That's not a bad thing in and of itself, leading to a nice ballad ("Lovers In The Wind") and an atmospheric closer "Only Because of You." But it could have been a better album if Hodgson had been able to step away from his creation and add the requisite dramatic touches: additional sound effects, better separation of the instruments in the mix, more instrumental passages.

Someone did a very good job of promotion at A&M, because this album (and the single "Had A Dream") managed to tap into SUPERTRAMP's US fan base despite the fact that HODGSON was hardly a household name. He leveraged the opportunity by producing an ambitious, impressive album that goes well beyond the scope of most DIY efforts. Ultimately, it's not a case of what HODGSON would do without SUPERTRAMP but what he could do without them.

I find it hard to understand how Hodgson's music can be archived on this site but not Phil Collins or Bo Hansson or Tangerine Dream etc. Still who am I to argue! This is probably Roger Hodgson's best solo effort but for me he never cut it as a solo artist. At the same time Rick Davies has gone on to do some terrific stuff with Supertramp in a more jazzier mould which I am thankful for. Eye of the storm has some great moments but nothing compared to what Hodgson created in Supertramp.' The track ' Only because of you' the best on the album. An eight minute treasure, the rest for collectors only.

After Roger Hodgson left Supertramp in 1983, he recorded his own solo album, "In The Eye of The Storm", which was in the same way as Supertramp's "...famous last words..." album from 1982. You can clearly hear here that this album is very Supertramp-ish, only darker and more moodier. "Had a Dream" is a great opener with some really good twsts in it and "In Jeopardy" is very catchy and is difficult to forget, but the real apex of the album is the wonderful epic closer, "Only Because of You", an epic, moody and downright beautiful closer to this album. Among my favorite "Supertramp" tracks indeed! Well, the rest of the album is also good, but could have been a bit better too.

Supertramp fans should check this one out, definetly! It's not to be missed. Otherwise, stay away until you have heard some of Supertramp's work. Me personally give this album a solid 4 stars since im a Supertramp fan, AND because I found this album really enjoyable and absoultely essential for Hodgson fans!

Deserves 4/5

The first Hodgson effort after his troubled departure from Supertramp, "In the Eye of the Storm" contains many great Supertramp-oriented songs, that is, songs that creatively explore the most ambitious side of the aforesaid band. This album shows (as if it hadn't been clear for years) how strong was Hodgson's own musical vision for the shaping of Supertramps' essence, although Richard Davies would also write a splendid repertoire for "Brother Where You Bound", Supertramp's best post-Hodgson album (...but that's a matter for another review) - this reveals how necessary it was for both parties to break their bond in order to translate their ideas into a wider space.

Anyway, going back to this album, it is really excellent, not only regarding the inventiveness of the compositions and the tightness of the performances (all guitars and keyboards and most bass provided by Roger himself), but also the mood. You can tell that this guy went over the confusion of transition quickly and felt himself refurbished and re- energized. Even in those tracks in which the lyrics are not as optimistic ('In Jeopardy', 'Hooked in a Problem') there is an energetic vibe patent in Hodgson's singing and the instrumentation.

The album kicks off with a mini-suite that starts with a sequence of clocks ticking, baby crying, order giving and ultimately, a primal shout that serves as sing for things to get started for real. The melodic hooks and the tight rhythm section go all the way, only interrupted by a soft interlude on piano and vocal. This brilliant entry is followed by 'In Jeopardy', which bears a rockier feel despite not being as fast in tempo: the introductory synth solo and the stylishly bluesy tempo provide a more somber aura to the album's ambiance, despite its patent colorfulness. With more melancholy but also a more hopeful vibe, the beautiful ballad' Lovers in the Wind' provides some spiritual relaxation for the listener's mind. This song is pure beauty, anticipated by a majestic intro theme and wrapped in a blanket of contemplative serenity.

'Hooked in a Problem' is the least important item in this album: an easy going waltzer with pessimistic lyrics sung in a deceitfully joyful way. Nice and well delivered, but not great. The second half of the album is almost totally perfect. 'Give Me Love, Give Me Life' is one of the most amazing progressive tunes that Hodgson ever wrote, very much in the vein of the "Crisis? What Crisis?" album albeit with a more pompous structure. 'I'm Not Afraid' has its major merits in the interplay between Hodgson's piano and Shrieve's drum kit: this mid-tempo rocker has a pleasant jamming feel to it, although it is obviously framed in a controlled scheme.

'Only Because of You', the album's closer, has to be labelled as the best prog ballad that Supertramp never recorded (but should have). Keeping a similar feel to that of 'Don't Leave Me Now' (one of the few gems of "Famous Last Words"), it surpasses it in majesty, splendor and dynamics. The evocative lyrics perfectly fit the powerful mood created by the piano chords, which in turn, gets properly enhanced by the keyboard orchestrations and the emotionally charged guitar solo. While Hodgson's final lines and the last piano arpeggios fade away, one can only feel lucky to have listened to such a beautiful album. Hodgson had a million reasons to prove the world that his creative juices had not run dry yet, and may I dare bet that he even surprised himself... Crisis?... what crisis?

The funny thing about this album is that is sounds much more like Supertramp than Supertramp. I mean, this first solo album by Roger Hodgson sounds much more like the Supertramp of old, than the albums his old band mates did after he left the band. As always in these sorts of situations there is the conflict between different "camps". When Ozzy left Black Sabbath, for example, there were fans supporting him and others the band. Or take the two camps of "Yes" that existed side by side in the 80's who would later unite to make the Union album and tour. I have always found such conflict stupid and irritating - it is ok to like both, you know! Or neither; Or one without having to hate the other; etc. Just because artists have fights doesn't mean that the fans will have to take sides.

Still, the question is inevitable: who did the best album without the other? Well, I would have to say that Roger Hodgson made the best Supertramp album, while Supertramp made the best album full stop. Does that make sense? I mean that conservative Supertramp fans, or fans wanting more a commercial sounding Supertramp, should go for this album. While more open minded fans, and fans of progressive rock in particular should go for Brother Where You Bound?

Personally, I am glad I went for both. Since both are very good and rewarding albums that hold up very well in relation to the earlier "team-efforts". Crime Of The Century will never be surpassed, of course, but with the exception of Crime Of The Century, and maybe Even In The Quietest Moments, both In The Eye Of The Storm and Brother Where You Bound? are among the better "Supertramp" albums. But I tend to play Brother Where You Bound? a lot more.

There is really no need for me to describe the individual tracks here, since if you know what Supertramp sounded like, you will know how this sounds like. Only, that this album is a little bit darker in its moods. The title track, I liked instantly and the last two tracks took a bit more time to get into.

Essential album for Supertramp fans. For others this is a good, but non-essential album.

I'm really puzzled here. Not with Rodger Hodgson or Supertramp but with myself. Some time next year I will do my review of a Supertramp compilation and will reveal my feelings about this band there but to me the front man of the band (mr Hodgson) has never had my full respect. I always regarded him as a sort of cunning shrewd guy trying to play a double game and gain advantage of both sides so to speak. Maybe it's a wrong interpretation but I have the feeling he wants both the respect from communities like ours by writing sophisticated music and at the same time keep the sales in mind as well. A bit like mr Collins decided to do in the late seventies but for me Supertramp has been like this their entire career.

And Rodger Hodgson as the prime mastermind behind this concept, that's the idea more or less. And where I already see Supertramp as a sophisticated pop group, Hodgson solo is even worse in this respect. Well, at least he's just in prog related where the band is in crossover so that's at least better taken care of. Now about the album and that's where the being puzzled came from: how on earth could I ever buy both the vinyl and the disk of this release ??? That's how cunning mr Hodgson is: somehow he made me do it. The only excuse I have is that the disk was for sale at a very low price here but other than that ...

Because In the Eye of the Storm is an album with very little prog in it I have to say. I just played it for the very last time (since many many years) and it appeared even worse than I thought. But I will try to be fair here. Is this bad or poor music ? No way ! Is this interesting for a prog fan ? No way ! My opinion is even that it shouldn't be on this site but that's the only thing I will say about this.

Conclusion: six nice pop songs at best and ... one truly excellent piece of work to finish off the album with: the splendid Only because of you is worth the purchase and must have been the reason I went for the disk as well. But in the end I feel I shouldn't have. Anyway, in what rating does this all result ? It's somewhere in between two and three stars for me but the main thing is that this isn't anything like prog and I maybe even shouldn't have reviewed it but it for sure makes me decide for the two stars in the end.

This is by far the most Supertrampish work ever recorded aside from their own production. But was it a surprise?

As far as I'm concerned, I've always preferred Hodgson compositions, even if Davies also did his great part of the job. In terms of singing, there is no doubt that Hodgson is catchier and much more pleasant. At least, this is my opinion.

Fans of the band could only be extremely pleased to have listened to such a work back then but in those days, the Tramp wasn't any longer a concern of mine and I only discovered this album a few years ago.

And the feeling is pretty good even if the popish sound which is present all the way through might be irritating sometimes. But this direction was already taken by the band in their later releases while both Richard and Roger were together.

My favourite track is the long closing number which has a definite feel of ''Fool's Overture''. Maybe therefore.I guess. It builds crescendo and a wonderful and hypnotizing vocalize part lead to a very emotional closing section.

Three stars for this good album.

"In the Eye of the Storm", Roger Hodgson's solo-debut, came out a short time before his former band-mates released "Brother where you bound", it had even been finished quite a while before, and so. sorry that I'm playing the "correcting teacher's role", it was neither an "answer" to Supertramp nor had it to live up to anything else but Roger's own song-writing standard, it has to be seen and judged independently - while Supertramp had, at least, to live up to this one cause it simply was first of the two.

Some of you you may prefer "Brother where you bound". Honestly, I preferred both of the albums to "Famous last words" then, and both were able to please me a lot in spite of some things that could have been better... and I'm not keen to choose between them. In terms of "Prog-Rock" Roger may have brought us the lesser album, right, he didn't have David Gilmour nor an epic as complex as "Brother" on his one, and it was him, singing and performing his songs, in the foreground solely, though the musicians who accompanied him did well... it was really a "Solo-Album" ( other than perhaps "Hai Hai" ) and serves well to show us two things:

1. ) What, in its essence, Roger really contributed to the band he was in before and

2. ) What was missing now, without the other 4.

And Point 1, in my ears, is quite some more essential things than Point 2, so, although "Brother where you bound" had been a great achievement, it was quite a lot of what had made Supertramp the hugely successful band that it was in the 70s that was down to his songs, his playing, his singing, his energy and spirit, only to have said that.

Arranging... well, that's perhaps a field in which he came to over-estimate his role during the years of battle that had begun when Rick Davies no longer kept his word in 1988, and also perhaps one of the things that keep this album from a higher rating than the same 3 stars that I gave to "Brother". The arrangements aren't bad, but they lack a bit of variety, could have used some additional flavour to the many, many things we were familiar with already when this album came out. The production may be a bit "too much 80s" nowadays and have not aged too well on you, but I quite like the overall mood and feel of it, still, and, on the other hand, it's all of those things and more that make "In the Eye of the Storm" so highly regarded as "one of the best Supertramp-Albums" or "the missing piece" ( amongst the devoted ).

It's full of energy and genuine emotion. It's got a lot more driving sparkle than "Famous last Words" had, a freshness that Supertramp had lost and, sorry, not really regained with "Brother", read my review to that one, it explains why "Brother" nonetheless sounded better as well. This another plus-point, the spirit is alive on "In the eye of the Storm". And there's quite some excellent stuff on it, be it pop ( "In Jeopardy" ), be it grand ballad ( "Lovers in the Wind" ), or be it the symphonic climax ( with "Only because of You" ), not forget the strong opener that for once, though based on acoustic guitar, transformed the energy into a rock-song ( I'd like to call it "Pop-Rock with a prog-appeal" ). All in all, it was still a singer/songwriter-biased Pop Album, distinctively more than Supertramps', that was more one of the "Rock"-Vein but... well, you really better read my review to that one cause I'm growing tired of those comparisms now.

I wanna tell you what keeps me from giving it a higher rating although, same as with "Brother" ( SIC ! ), I like it very much and, depending on my personal condition and feel, find it adorable and worth a five-star during the afore mentioned best tracks. Cause what came to make "Hai Hai" such a disappointing, lesser effort in terms of songwriting, it already began here, though this album, still, maintained the feel of being a direct and genuine outing of the artist who hadn't lost control over the project underway. It had, in parts, lost something else - but not because the other guys of Supertramp weren't there to add it, simply because of the things that Roger had been focussed on during parts of the song-writing-process.

Roger didn't have a pattern. He wrote as he felt and went with his feelings while he wrote. And, in some ways, the energy got more important than the melody or the structure of composition ( and, yes, the arrangement ) was. It started out to be about that "feel" I was trying to have you get a grip on in my review to "Hai Hai", cause, at that time, this seemed to be more important ( in terms of creativity and progression ) than doing another "Hide in your Shell" or even "Fool's Overture". Not that Roger didn't care about melodic aspects at all, but with "Lovers in the Wind" and "Only because of you" being ( very, very beautiful and haunting ) exercises into that category, he probably thought they were enough of "slowies in the old vein" and for the rest he simply wanted to capture the feel he felt excited about. This led to "Hooked on a Problem", "Give me love, give me Life" and "I'm not afraid" to be rather simple but lively knocked out expressions of the state he was in, and, because the emotion was in there, he didn't really work them out to be good songs. Some people even think of "In Jeopardy" as a weaker one, but I don't think so if seen as a pop-song. What this pop-song has in common with the others that I can't rate that high... is the repetitive chant with the same feel as an expression, but this one had been worked out great. The others sound not only unfinished, today they even may sound uninspired, although they surely weren't. It was only... Roger did not develop their melodies and chord-structures any further soon as he "felt" them to be right.

Sign of the times, this is what I say. Given that with "Had a Dream" - although I always think this one could have used a bit more arranging as well - the album starts out great ( and with far more interesting chord-progressions than - I start hating myself, another comparism - "Cannonball" that made up for this with the arrangement ! ) and keeps the good vibe until it ends on a high note again, for the 80s, anyone could have been proud of it, and, in retrospect, Roger can still be.

It's genuinely him. Tragically he got off track afterwards, having quite some hard times to overcome until he reappeared into the limelight again many years later... spirited and alive, and, this has to be said, especially on stage, beating out whatever we could get from "Supertramp" without playing a single song from Rick, but playing one song of the Beatles that I had never heard as beautiful as this: "Across the Universe".

"In the Eye of the Storm" can sometimes make you feel as if you're flying across the universe as well. 4 stars for his fans, 3 stars for this site.

As a big fan of Supertramp, I remember when this came out and I purchased it, I listened to itoften. If you like the work of Roger Hodgson rather than the Davies part of Supertramp, then IN THE EYE OF THE STORM is for you. It is an 80s album so sounds it, but it still has wonderful songs like "Had a Dream", "Lovers in the Wind", and "I'm Not Afraid". This is not CRIME OF THE CENTURY or CRISIS WHAT CRISIS, but it is way better than anything the band did after Roger left, and better than their last album with Roger, FAMOUS LAST WORDS.

I've been quite hesitant when it came to exploration of solo careers of different artists in the past but lately I've managed to overcome this barrier and began to uncover quite a few hidden gems!

Roger Hodgson is best known for his formidable career with Supertramp, a band that most of us have come to appreciate over the years. I wasn't even born when Hodgson decided to leave the band and so I obviously had a lot of catching up to do once I discovered the music of this wonderful band. After getting familiar with most of the band's repertoire up until Brother Where You Bound, it became quite obvious to me that my personal music preference had more resonance in the music of Roger Hodgson than Rick Davies. Both of the members had their musical ups and downs but overall Hodgson's ambitious melodies was undeniably the reason that made Supertramp the hit-selling band of the late '70s and early '80s.

Still, I wasn't exactly keen on exploring In The Eye Of The Storm due to a number of reasons. First off, I've never really had time to explore solo projects by some of rock historie's icons due to the time constrain that I've always felt. Whenever the choice fell between another album by a famous band or a solo album by one of the band's members I've always chose the former. The second minor problem was the fact that the record was recorded in the middle of the '80s, a decade that has generally not been kind to progressive rock. I remember reading a few review that mentioned that the production of this album had a distinct '80s sound to it, which wasn't exactly something I was keen on experiencing. Finally, I never read any reviews that had praised Hodgson's solo output to the iconic status that Supertramp's records have been lifted to over the years.

So why have I finally decided to give this record a go? Due to the invention of great streaming services such as Spotify, I was finally able to legally listen to and experience music that I might have previously have neglected. I've recently made quite a discovery by listening to the solo career of Paul McCartney and have followed it up by exploring other solo careers, Roger Hodgson among others.

I found my first experience of In The Eye Of The Storm to be a bit of a mixed bag since most of the songs really didn't feel as catchy as some of artist's previous work but after a few revisits it finally all started to make a lot more sense. The pieces finally fell into place and the minor masterpiece has began to take shape!

The intro to Had A Dream (Sleeping With The Enemy) sounds almost like something taken from a Pink Floyd song, which is quite unfortunate considering that the remainder of the composition is such an enjoyable piece of music. In Jeopardy and Hooked On A Problem are two pretty catchy tunes that I learned to love, even though they weren't all that enjoyable at first. Lovers In The Wind is a strong melodic ballad which reminds me of Supertramp songs like Even In The Quietest Moments and If Everyone Was Listening. Give Me Love, Give Me Life takes a while to get going but, once it does, the melodic hooks really bring a lot of joy to my ears. The only real miss comes in the form of the 7-minute I'm Not Afraid which should probably not have been longer than 3 minutes since it has little content to it. The final track is the crown jewel that brings In The Eye Of The Storm to a majestic conclusion; Only Because Of You reminds me of a Supertramp crossover between Don't Leave Me Now and Fool's Overtune, simply put one of the most gorgeous compositions that have been put to tape!

If you're like me and enjoy Hodgson's work in Supertramp but feel a stigma related to artist's solo albums then let me reassure you that you won't be disappointed by this debut solo album.

***** star songs: Had A Dream (Sleeping With The Enemy) (8:27) Only Because Of You (8:38)

**** star songs: In Jeopardy (5:58) Lovers In The Wind (4:14) Hooked On A Problem (5:09) Give Me Love, Give Me Life (7:33)

*** star songs: I'm Not Afraid (7:05)

Having been such a huge Supertramp fan, I was really excited for this album when it came out, and I wasn't disappointed back then either, I thought the album was terrific. Now, many years later, I still enjoy it, but I don't love it as much as I did. It is a well crafted album, for sure, but it is an album that tends to lose it's draw after time, unlike the Supertramp album released around the same time under the direction of the other Supertramp leader, Rick Davies. That album has definitely withstood the test of time and has actually gotten better over the years. It's too bad that the two leads had to break up because they were perfect together, and they probably would have continued to produce top quality work. While Supertramp's "Brother Where You Bound" was top notch progressive rock, Roger's "In the Eye of the Storm" only retained progressiveness in the length of the songs on this album, but it is definitely a pop album, even though the music is of the best quality of pop.

If this album and "BWYB" had been release together as a double Supertramp album, we would have had a Supertramp album as good as any of their best. That would have been in a perfect world. Alas, the next albums that Roger and Supertramp put out were both mediocre attempts at trying out new sounds to fit with the 80s, and that was a sad thing.

This album, even if it does grow old after a while, is still a great album and shouldn't be totally ignored, especially by Supertramp fans. You will be satisfied with the piano led songs, that sound like they could have been written at the same time as Roger's "Breakfast in America" songs. They are still very listenable and catchy, sometimes very emotional and beautiful. Those of you that missed Roger's voice in the later years of Supertramp should try to find this album. Then do the same thing I did, make a mixtape of this and "BWYB" albums and alternate the tracks of the albums, and you will have a real Supertramp album. The opening track "Had a Dream" is some of the best Roger Hodgson music ever, and the song immediately draws you in with it's infectious rhythm and lyrics. "Give Me Love, Give Me Life", once the rhythm kicks in will also get you happy with it's bright beat and piano hooks. "Only Because of You" is also a beautiful ballad along the lines of Roger's previous lovely ballads "Lord Is it Mine" (from Breakfast in America) and "Fool's Overture" (from Even in the Quietest Moments). Unfortunately, the other tracks take on a lot of the same style and sound. The tracks "In Jeopardy" and "I'm Not Afraid" are just too repetitive, especially for the length of the songs. I think the main problem is we don't have Rick Davies to balance out the music creating more of a dynamic and variable album that was one of Supertramp's strengths.

Anyway, it's a great album, but I can't bring myself to consider it excellent or essential like I once did. It's not progressive music, it's just highly enjoyable, especially with the first several listens. For that reason, it is a worthy purchase. But, it doesn't hold up for me over the years like BWYB does. 3 stars.

Review Nº 222

"In The Eye Of The Storm" is the debut studio album of the former Supertramp's member Roger Hodgson, as a solo artist. It was released after Roger Hodgson decided to leave Supertramp. That decision was taken by him during the live tour of Supertramp's seventh studio album "Famous Last Words". So, it became to be the last Supertramp's album with their classic line up. Somehow, "In The Eye Of The Storm" is seen as the Spertramp's lost album, by some of their fans.

Despite Roger Hodgson plays the vast majority of the musical instruments by himself along the all album, he also invited several musicians to collaborate with him on this album. So, the line up on the album is Roger Hodgson (lead and backing vocals, guitars, keyboards, bass guitar and drums), Claire Diament (vocals), Ken Allardyce (backing vocals and harmonica), Scott Page (saxophones), Jimmy Johnson (fretless bass) and Michael Shrieve (drums).

"In The Eye Of The Storm" has seven tracks. All songs were written and arranged by Roger Hodgson. The first track "Had A Dream (Sleeping With The Enemy)" is a long version of the minor hit "Had A Dream (Sleeping With The Enemy"), the album's first single with about four minutes long. This long version features an extended introduction full of great sound effects like a child birth, an emotional middle part and a longer musical section full of those so typical Hodgson vocal improvisations. This is a great beginning to the album, a song very powerful and where Roger plays some amazing piano and guitar. The second track "In Jeopardy" is a song with a bluesy feeling. This was the second single from this Roger's solo album, and in reality, it didn't too much at all. This is a track with a lower tempo and leaned strongly with the piano and keyboards. Musically, it consists of a repetitive hook with a very slight variation, each time. This is another song that keeps in a very high level the general quality of the album. The third track "Lovers In The Wind" is the first ballad on the album and represents, indeed, one of the highlights of the album. I first met this song trough his DVD "Take The Long Way Home ? Live In Montreal", and I must confess that I fell deeply amazed with that song. This is a very beautiful ballad with an almost classical piano play, a warm fretless bass combined with a soft percussion and nice vocal work, making of this song a magic and dreaming ballad that is very unusual to be heard. The fourth track "Hooked On A Problem" sees the return of the typical Roger Hodgson singing, along all the track, supported by a friendly catchy chorus coupled with Scott Page's saxophone playing. This is probably the weakest song on the album. It's nice and well delivered, but isn't as great as the others. However, it represents a happy and enjoyable way to close the first side of the album, if we have the vinyl version. The fifth track "Give Me Love, Give Me Life" is, in my humble opinion, one of the two epic tracks of the album and is probably one of Roger Hodgson's most amazing, complex and most progressive musical creations. The track can be divided into several musical segments. It starts with a hopeful sounding section with vocals and piano, which soon explodes in the most energetic and powerful song on the album. This is one of the three my favourite songs on the album. The sixth track "I'm Not Afraid", as happened with "In Jeopardy", has also a bluesy feeling. It features the repetitive musical sequence that Roger Hodgson so likes to use. It starts in a dark and bombastic mood and features some great harmonica work. Then, the mood switches to a more up tempo pace and the song gets more joyful for a while. Finally, the track ends with an atmospheric vocal play and a big bang. The seventh and last track "Only Because Of You" represents the emotional progressive ballad of the album. This is definitely the great highlight of the album and one of the most progressive tracks of it too. It's also, without any doubt, the best progressive ballad of Roger Hodgson, which unfortunately Supertramp never recorded. This is a song that reminds me very strongly "Don't Leave Me Now", the best song composed by Roger Hodgson to Supertramp's seventh studio album "Famous Last Words". This song represents simply a fantastic way to conclude this great album.

Conclusion: "In The Eye Of The Storm" is simply the best Supertramp's album released outside of the band's musical catalogue. We even can say that "In The Eye Of The Storm" is the Supertramp's lost album. It's, in my humble opinion, better than Supertramp's eighth studio album "Brother Where You Bound", released in 1985, a year after this album, and is definitely better than the rest of the studio albums released by the group after Roger Hodgson departure. "In The Eye Of The Storm" is, as far I'm concerned, Roger's best studio album, to date, and represents also one of my favourite Supertramp's albums. It's perfectly at the same level of the Supertramp's albums, "Crisis? What Crisis?", "Breakfast In America" and "Famous Last Words". Who read my review of "Famous Last Words" knows I love that album. Sincerely, I think "In The Eye Of The Storm" was only supplanted by "Crime Of The Century" and "Even In The Quietest Moments?". If it wasn't because of "Hooked On A Problem", I probably would have given to this album 5 stars too.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

Roger HODSON for his 1st personal album, the one that will put the prog sympho into perf, the one that will force the other members of SUPERTRAMP to release the fabulous 'Brother' a year later, with a certain Gilmour on a solo; in short this day we attack, we revise with the album:

1. 'Had a Dream ("Sleeping with the Enemy")' for the intro you say to yourself, we are not far from a Supertramp, yes I had to do it; the piano carries well, Roger with his voice shows that the group is well finished; I often think of this album as FISH's, better than the original; lively western piano break; by the way, I no longer remembered that he had given himself so much (watch the wild man clip!); in any case it's simple but it passes quickly 2. 'In Jeopardy' for the synth typed at the start, a title whose musical imprint you will keep; the voice with belched choirs, the rising organ and the bewitching air, echoing; very good recording which marked me almost 40 years ago, yes it hurts, I have the impression that it was before yesterday; a fagot of solo synths and a long finale that rocks you 3. 'Lovers in the Wind' for the ballad with these notes where the shadow of SUPERTRAMP still bathes, yes it seems... or... in short, a melancholy melodic title of great beauty or how 4 minutes flow like a note piano 4. 'Hooked on a Problem' good the surprise effect of the 1st title passed, we are of course Sup... on HODGSON here; how I'm doing, the voice, the intonation of the keyboard, yours while typing on my computer I have the impression that it was me who composed this title... a mixture of before and now ( if I had written in 84!); Scott's sax gives a layer of it; it explodes like on 'Breakfast in America', but the fact of knowing that even a split SUPERTRAMP imprint continued was enough to make me happy; over time it becomes a bit repetitive and redundant, at the time it was 'open bar' the party since the prog or what was left of it exploded everywhere, merged for a time elsewhere before going boom again 5. 'Give Me Love, Give Me Life' piano, languorous keyboard, Roger behind his vocal cords, a touching ballad nursery rhyme and you can feel it going up, on the second title in fact; it rises, rests, rises again; you have to wait for the 'live' mini break to tell yourself that you're in prog and that's when the rise comes to light, making you sweat in front of this cascade of notes, a little YES, in short always pleasantly surprised. 6. 'I'm Not Afraid' yes a bit of Phil COLLINS you thought about it too, like what! shouted voice, harmonica, gripping riff, a progressive title in the oddly constructed length; the final drift can surprise since we were programmed to hear a repetitive title, that nay here a synth and choirs in wave are enough to transcend the piece until the final ecstasy until the second chained centerpiece that is 7.' Only Because of You' where you'll sit and watch the clip, just for beauty, yes the one with the symphony orchestra; just to realize this progressive monument, like the ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA had done in their time, like the BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST; a rise as we dare not imagine, Claire assures the voice, we melt; good the sound of the 'Fool's Overture' is also there for something not to forget; good the solo which arrives, hard, is in itself worth the trip it combines magnificently with the whispered voice; here are some memories to better enjoy today's prog sound!

The OMNI album to have, to possess for the emotions it always provides despite the passage of time; the album which made it possible to buffer between the end of the dinos of the 70s, including them, and the neo revival.