SUPERTRAMP

A sadly overlooked and obscure debut that Supertramp released during the early days of prog back in 1970, progheads should definitely fall in love with this one of they like their music with some psychedelic, jazz and sometimes even avant-gardistic elements topped with fairly solid musicianship and good confidense by a very young and fresh band. One bothering this is the somewhat lacking production. The album could have been even better if it featured such production like on their later albums such as Crime of The Century. Of course, this is a typical case for debut albums released at that time, and the album doesn't sound bad at all, but it would be improved if it had been produced better. The overall album mood is fairly dark and the music is quite different from later works by the band. It doesn't sound like Gentle Giant or Genesis, but more like Yes' "The Yes Album" mixed with psych and some Beatles-ish material. A couple of less good (but not bad) tracks are also present but the stronger material here definitely makes up for those and is almost as good as later Supertramp stuff. The best tracks are "It's a Long Road", "Words Unspoken", "Maybe Im a Beggar", "Shadow Song" and "Try Again". The latter being one of the bands longest songs and one of their most experimental at the same time, quite far out even for the rest of the album's standards but once you get into it, it's one of the best experiences here.

Overall, a very interesting and cool debut by Supertramp. Jarringly different from the songs that we know and love'em for, but has great potential for a debut. Sadly overlooked though, but get it eitheir if you are an open-minded fan, or if you didn't like their later albums. Excellent stuff! 4.25/5