BREAKFAST IN AMERICA

Rudy's long gone, the (prog) train is passing from our view. That's how this album hit me in 1979 when hit after hit assaulted me from the AM radio airwaves--when the album charted at #1 for a quarter of the year. Good songs. Catchy melodies. Definitely the Supertramp sound. And there are a few remnants of the progressive rock orientation the band showed more of previous to this album. Of course, the album's closer, "Child of Vision" (7:31) (10/10), is a true remnant of the proggier Supertramp of old. But even elements of "Take the Long Way Home" (5:08) (9/10) as well as the solo going out in "Goodbye Stranger" have progginess to them. And "Oh, Darling" (4:02) (7/10) could have come straight off of Criss? What Crisis? And "Casual Conversations" (2:58) (7/10), as smooth and polished as it is, could have come from their first or second album. And I loved the lyrical hooks in the title song (5:49) (9/10) as well as those of the big hit, "The Logical Song" (4:09) (8/10).

A good album of massive popular appeal with some still proggy parts, but illustrative of the trend to steer more toward pop music conformism.