SUPERTRAMP

A strong debut, but was completely ignored at the time. Probably their most 'progressive' sounding album, as it seems heavily influenced by the Prog albums of its time, especially Genesis' Trespass. It has a similar pastoral quality, with some quite nice songs and melodies. Overall, a gentle and beautiful album, however, it also never quite soars, with several pleasant but not fully memorable songs. The lengthy more freeform and meandering Try Again drags the album down a bit as it just doesn't justify it's 12 min length. This was before they had developed their dominant keyboard sound (much more guitar featured here) or their dynamic vocal style and interactions between Roger and Rick (and Roger sings in a style most certainly inspired by Peter Gabriel on most of the songs). Nonetheless, an overall quite good, but not yet great album. Best Tracks: It's a Long Road, Aubade, Words Unspoken, Shadow Song. Weak Tracks: Try Again (too long), Nothing to Show. Rating:3.5 stars