SUPERTRAMP

Supertramp's first album, released in 1970, has a very different feel from the rest of their catalog. On this album, where a casual fan may only recognize Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson, they play mostly late sixties style psychedelic rock. In fact, when listening to many of the tracks, I can picture them playing in front of a camera that repeatedly zooms in and out, with the band layered over paisley or tie-dyed patterns.

The only hints of prog to me come near the end, when on Try Again they lapse into some non- cohesive noodling (a bad imitation of King Crimson's Moonchild), and the reprise of Surely, which sounds like early Canterbury prog (Hodgson even sounds a bit like Robert Wyatt on some of the vocals).

The production, which was pristine on the best selling albums by Supertramp, is a mess here. Most of the vocals sound like they were recorded in a shower, or sometimes a gymnasium (both techniques were occasionally used to create reverb before better ways were found), and either end up mixed too far down, or just sounding hollow.

Nevertheless, as psychedelic rock, the album is not bad. The jams by Davies, Hodgson, Richard Palmer (the same guy who later wrote lyrics for King Crimson) and Bob Miller are very listenable. Just don't expect the classic Supertramp sound.