This is VERDY CHANNEL. Today I react to supertramp - crime of the century - for the first time. If you want early access and to support me PATREON (link) : / verdy_channel Thanks for watching Like, comment and subscribe VERDY channel.
Crisis What Crisis was their leftovers from Crime of the Century. It's a great album of incredibly melodic songs , but Crisis What Crisis is really more of a collection of songs whereas Crime of the Century is far greater than the sum of the individual pieces. I know Roger in recent years has said Crisis is his favorite album, but at the time all band members felt Crisis was a disappointment. IMHO Crisis is only their 4th best album after Crime , Qiuetest Moments and BIA. @@grahamharley4895
Yes I always say Fools Overture etc along with dark side of the moon are my first "highs" as a kid. My dad's giant 70s headphones and my dark bedroom. So freaking great! Kids today are missing out
RUDY IS MY FAVORITE ON THIS LP. BUT I LOVE THEM ALL. OUTSTANDING WORK, ROGER & RICK ON PIANO. This LP is a Story. Rudy is so sad, he's let out into society after being in a psychiatric hospital for a mental breakdown.
@@NamathCB When Roger got done playing the piano, I saw him walk across the stage and start playing a different keyboard just after Winston Churchill. At first, I had no idea what was going on. He also does this in the live in Munich DVD. I have always shied away from headphones because we used to have so many parties with blasting music. I only use headphones on the computer. Otherwise it's loudspeakers when I want to hear all of the details of a song. Yes, it is a shame. Kids today are going through the loudness war and not much to choose from.
@@caroleann_2142 Rudy is one of my favorites too. Asylum is very close though. Your are right though. Every song is great to listen to. I listen to most of the songs from Crime of the Century on my Live in Paris Blu-ray. They are excellent during that performance. For some reason I would rather listen to live performances than studio recordings.
My favorite Supertramp songs are the ones where both Roger and Rick trade verses. 'Rudy' is a great example of this, but so is 'Just a Normal Day', where it's like two halves of a brain talking to each other, but neither one can make sense of it.
At last a reviewer who can listen to a song and appreciate what's going on and the skills involved, and with Super tramp there's so much to enjoy from this criminally underrated band, bravo young lady.
Sorry. 61yr old black man from America who have been listening to them from my teenage years. A keyboard driven band. There’s a concert from 76 I believe u can watch that shows how talented they are. Live in Paris. As I tried to say before enjoy your reactions, truly genuine!!
All the masterpieces you read about from Yes, Genesis, Supertramp, Pink Floyd, Queen etc. all came out in a 2 year span around this time... I was a kid at the time... you couldn't keep up with album purchases or time to listen... was extraordinary... don't think it has been done before or since. It was a peak of creative licence and recording technology converging.
All of this. Everything at that time was just extraordinary and we kind of took it for granted. Not just the supergroups, but Carole Kings Tapestry and (UK secret!!) 10CC with Sheet Music (I beg anyone whose never heard of it to look it up). Neil Young, The Eagles, even that of the moment superstar Kate Bush. There was no end to it. Well, yes there was. Punk. Music never recovered.
@@LonesomeTwin You mentioned one of my favourite albums there, 10cc's Sheet Music, that one and their debut album were the bands best albums l think. I think with The Original Soundtrack onwards they almost tried too hard, producing great albums still, but they had lost a certain something which the first two albums had. Having said that, Blackmail from Original Soundtrack is my favourite 10cc song.
@@keithjones7390 Got to say that One Night in Paris is one of my favourite tracks of all time and still makes me smile even now. But yes, Sheet Music is the standout overall album I think.
Supertramp has been my favorite band since the late 1970s. I cannot tell you how much joy it gave me to watch you react to it and enjoy it, too. Thank you so much for sharing with us. "Crime of the Century" never gets old. From Champaign, Illinois, USA.
the last section of Rudy when you hear the voice talking is a train station...you can slowly feel the music speed up as the train accelerates . The opening line of the song is Rudy's on a train to nowhere"
This is my personal dilemma……..I “love “Pink Floyd”, they are incredible. Supertramp is equally as musically talented….but then they play a much larger number of instruments and rhythms. That’s why my heart goes back and forth as to who is my most favourite. I really can’t decide.
Two masterpieces from that era were Dark Side of the Moon and Crime of the Century. DSOTM has been my favourite album for years, with Money being my favourite song ever, but Crime comes a close second.
I have the same problem with Pink Floyd. The guys in Supertramp move from one instrument to another while they are playing a song. John Helliwell is all over the place going from one instrument to another during a song. It's funny to watch. During the song Asylum, Roger is playing guitar at his mic. When it's time to make the bell ring, Roger moves next to the synth because they are hanging down from his mic. John takes his hands and shakes them, then blows on them and rings the bell as he is being dramatic. He then extends his arms out and the crowd cheers and then he quickly moves to the synth to play it while Roger has to move to make room for him. John is always messing with Roger trying to make him laugh. Roger has a big smile and shakes his head and is still smiling as he begins to sing. It's the antics that are going on while on the stage that impresses me so much and it doesn't mess with the music. Supertramp is like Pink Floyd in a way. Their music brings you in and the lyrics make you think.
It was Roger Hodgson who played the keyboards, as well as the lead vocal. Actually, without Hodgson, Supertramp would not have existed at all. But it's only my humble opinion.
True. You could say that about so many of my favorite albums from back then. Was just thinking that same thing just a couple of weeks ago about Close to the Edge by Yes. Would never have a chance today. Nobody cares anymore about melody, musicianship, a song that tells a story or makes you feel, let alone really interesting music ……..
little info about the album is, if Crime of the Century hadn't sold, it would have been the end of Supertramp's career, thank God it turned out differently! Certainly one of the best albums of all time after Dark Side of the Moon.... Greetings from Germany
Hi Verdy, Excellent reaction. Supertramp does have a theatrical sound. Their music is like listening to a movie. I saw them in concert three times in the 1970s. They had a projector that showed a train going faster and faster during the song Rudy. It begins in the middle of the song when they go to the piano and build up from there. During the song Crime of the Century there is a small dot on a black screen that comes closer as Rick sings. When he is done singing you see earth and before the instrumental begins it blows up with a huge explosion. It was startling. That's why I remember it so well. During the instrumental for the rest of the song the parts of earth fly out until you see the album cover with the bars and hands at the end. All of the white dots are the remaining pieces of earth. This band is one of my all time favorites and I still listen to them on a regular basis after 48 years. The transitions and how they build up their songs is what I love the most. When I want to hear their hit songs I like to watch them in concert, mostly the Live in Paris performance. Rick, Roger and especially John Helliwell move around the stage during songs to play different instruments. During the song School, Rick starts out with the harmonica, then he plays the Wurlitzer electric piano and moves to the piano. Dougie Thompson, the bass player, starts out playing an organ and then gets up to play his bass. When I want to hear all of their songs I play their albums. No headphones. Loudspeakers like old time because I like to physically feel the music. Their next album, Crisis? What Crisis? would be a good choice if you choose to listen to another one. I heard them play songs from that album before it was released. I was about 15 feet away from Rick Davies and it was great to watch him sing. His real voice and how he sings is much better than studio albums.
Cool breakdown Jes, I also saw them back in the mid 70s and although I forgot about the projected images your description of Rudy brought that back quite vividly. What I remember most is how immaculate the sound was, you’d think that with all the layering and studio tricks the live version would be not as lush but the songs sounded just as rich live as they do on studio versions.
@@dongange I can't agree more. Supertramp is an elite band on Stage. It's funny, I got that from Chod on Wilburn Reactions. I got to see and hear Rick Davies bring the the beginning and end of Poor Boy to life from at least 15 feet away. It could have been further away I don't know. All I know is that I was close. I swore the chorus of Child of Vision was taped when I heard it, but there was a slight difference to know Roger sitting at the Wurlitzer organ with the spotlight on him to know it was real. The lighting made a difference to bring out the sounds they were making too. A lot of people think the studio recordings are better, but I've seen and heard what they can do on stage and would rather hear them on stage. I know what is done in a recording studio like you do first hand. They play their instruments to near perfection and can hit their notes while singing. Rick Davies real voice is even better. It's sad that this band was lost from that time until now. All of these young people on RU-vid are hearing what we heard for the first time and liking it.
the 70's was full of seamless transitions, i guess we were just spoiled to have so many phenomenal musicians on the scene. keep exploring i'm sure it won't disappoint.
I want to complement you on playing the entire side of this album because that is how we enjoyed rock in this era. I saw Supertramp in Greensboro NC in 79 and Rudy live was incredible. The keyboard knocked you over and the orchestration was phenomenal. Then in Rudy they showed a black and white video of a London train picking you up and stopping at the station along with the song. Rock video was in its infancy and this was on a giant screen like in a old classic Chicago theater where there is only one screen and it's huge.t
Young people today are probably not used to tempo and volume changes as today's computer-driven music tends to use repeating loops. When Hodgson and Davies auditioned their drummer, they wanted DYNAMICS, not just: boom tsh, boom tsh. Diehard listeners of progressive rock like Pink Floyd, Alan Parsons Project, and Supertramp, are used to this kind of precision sound rarely heard in today's music.
1970-1975 was the ABSOLUTE best music period ever, Genesis, Yes and Led Zeppelin in another level, another galaxy... plus the rest, Pink Floyd ELP Supertramp etc etc etc
When you asked who was playing the piano in Rudy it was Rick Davies. One of the ways to tell who is playing keyboards is if you hear a guitar. If you hear a guitar, Rick is playing a keyboard and Roger Hodgson is playing the guitar. If there isn't a guitar then both Rick and Roger are playing keyboards. In the song, Dreamer, Roger is playing the Wurlitzer electric piano, the one you talk about, and Rick is playing an organ too. Each keyboard sound quite different from one another. They have a Wurlitzer electric piano, piano, another organ with I think three different keyboards and a V shaped synthesizer when they are on a stage. John Helliwell, Roger and Rick play that one at different times.. Sometimes Roger will stop playing his guitar and play the synth. The violin sounds come from the V shaped synthesizer when they are on the stage.
The 2 main song composers for Supertramp - Roger Hodgson and Rick Davies, are both keyboard players first and foremost so yes you will be hearing 2 layers of keyboards in many of their songs.
It is incredible what music was made in 70's and 80's up until the 90's. I'm glad my dad was so into music back then and still is, he has alot of vinyls! Supertramp, Pink Floyd, Genesis, Marillion, Fish, Peter Gabriel, David Bowie, Kate Bush etc just to name a few. I'm glad he made us listen to all these great songs. For his birthday this year we went to a concert of Porcupine Tree in the Ziggo Dome Amsterdam, it was the best night ever, by far the best concert i have ever been to, you should definitely check them out!
When they were playing in Edmonton ,twenty thousand of us were all sitting there just transfixed and when Rudy came on they had a video of a train traveling through England but greatly speeded up and the crowd just erupted .Roger said " I guess you liked the fast train" The crowd erupted again and after that the concert got a lot more noisy and engaging. Great Musicians ,all of them.
It's so good to see that this album still has the same effect on a first time listener all these decades later. Now you know how we all felt way back in the 70's. You asked why you had never heard it before? I think you should severely admonish your parents for not forcing you to listen to it in your teenage years. Just kidding. I sincerely hope you check out some of the live performances available on RU-vid. Then you will see who is playing all the various instruments, & who does which vocals. Beautiful reaction as always. Bless you.
Exactly. We forced our children to listen to classic rock from the 70s, and now they are rebels. Parenting done right. (The forced part is a joke. The rest isn't.)
I remember the first time I heard this album in 1975 at 15 yrs old. I had the same reaction..Just WOW! Started it again as soon as it was done about 10 times in a row.
I bought this album in the end of 1974, for me still the best Supertramp album they released, my favourite track is Rudy...musical...melanchonic...goosebumps...
Glad you liked this and are discovering that there is more to Supertramp than Breakfast in America. Please check out where they went next with ‘Crisis, what crisis’
Supertramp is my all time favorite, this album in particular is so well done that you would never guess it was from 1974. The album Crisis. What Crisis? Is as well a good listen. You might want to check it out.
In these days of impending environmental collapse, how prescient was "If Everyone Was Listening"? Which leads nicely into "Crime Of The Century" ... "there's you and there's me". Get it?
I could be wrong but the swoosh sound in Dreamer and Rudy could be recording a cymbal the right way and then reversing it. On Yes' Roundabout intro I think Wakeman's piano is reverse recorded into Howe's harmonics. It gives a sonic build up to a sharp refrain.
Of course the vocals and keys are so incredible on this album, the fantastic bass and drums help drive it and hold it together and the production is top-notch, but the real unsung hero is John Helliwel on all the woodwinds and sax. If you get a chance, watch a video for "Rudy" - during their concerts they would drop a screen down and show some video that REALLY compliments the song!
Sometime in 1977 or '78...my roommate bought their album....'Even In The Quietest Moments' ....I really wish you'd give THAT one a listen. I think at about the same, I was listening to my first ELO album. BOTH bands... I find they each have their own unique sound. And you can look up footage of Supertramp 'live' in concert.
@@keithjones7390 yes i agree with you there. Breakfast in America gets all the plaudits because of the catchy nature of the songs but is not as technically good as crime of the century, Crisis what Crisis, or Even in the Quietest Moments albums.
When I was in college, every week there was an album released by Supertramp, Pink Floyd, Aerosmith, Boston, The Doobie Brothers, Chicago, Led Zeppelin, Yes, ELO, ELP, Rolling Stones, Eagles, Queen, Steely Dan, The Who... And on, and on, and on. Spoiled as we were, this was always one of my favorites. Especially the instrumental break in "School," and the harmonies in "Dreamer." It was a great time to be alive. 😊
A phenomenal era for great music, l was like a kid in a sweetshop, all those fantastic albums on offer. I'd just like to add a few more to your great list, Elton John, Cat Stevens, Genesis, Little Feat, Be Bop Deluxe, Barclay James Harvest, Thin Lizzy, Roxy Music and 10cc, oops, l got a bit carried away there!
Every single song from this one is real piece of musical art. No song was just a filler, every song has his special meaning and atmosphere, every single note is just put in the right place, nothing was in any way too far out, just a very perfect kind of an album (and one of my first ever records I bought as a young kid)
In the old days, I made a cassette tape with this album on one side and "Breakfast in America" on the other. No matter what side played, it was great music for long drives. I still have the tape although I am down to one piece of equipment that can play it and it isn't in my car!
It’s nice to see a young person who is so open to older music. I was a little younger than you when this album came out and I had the same reaction. Love your channel sweetheart. Keep up the good work. 2:57
everytime I saw them live and they performed the song Crime of the Century it would go dark and there would be a big screen full of stars with a bright tiny star that kept getting closer and would eventually grow to be that hands holding the bars picture on the front of the album and of course it was rotating...spectacular!!
I'm so glad you've not only enjoyed this album, Verdy, but that you've FELT it as well. Supertramp were so good at using the music to create emotional responses and build ups that heightened the tension of the song. I've always felt that Breakfast In America was very good, and the band's commercial breakthrough, it pales in comparison to the musical masterpieces that are Crime Of The Century and Even In The Quietest Moments.
I'm glad you're listening to entire albums. Reviewers who only listen to one song a t a time are missing out on the artistry that went into creating these albums and of song placement within the album. And Crime of the Century was an absolute great album to review. I can never get enough of this album. What was the song on the first side that you said wasn't your favorite? That's okay. There are so many good songs on this album. "With the song "Everyone is Listening," I took that as yes, a theatrical performance, but the role he was playing was his own life. Again, I don't know for sure, but that's how I interpreted it.
Nice that you picked-up on the 'chase sequence' in Dreamer, another classic for playing about with the stereo is Autobahn by Kraftwerk. - Some albums are just collections of songs with nothing linking them, whilst other albums take you on a journey and something is lost attempting to analyse the songs individually, 'Crime of the Century' definitely falls in the latter category. - If you haven't already,, just sit down and listen to the album as a whole and let Supertramp take you on a journey.
I absolutely LOVE to watch you dissect music...you do it in such a cool way. Even better, I love the fact that though you are still young, you actually appreciate music that is 30, 40, 50 years old. I honestly appreciate your reactions/reviews. Thank you!
This is an album of my teenage years, and yet I never listened to it before. I knew the bigger songs, but the songs that didn't get the airplay are new to me. I really appreciate that you went through the whole album, it felt like I was listening to it with a friend. PS I did see them back then, probably '76 or '77
The amazing thing is that this sort of music was very common back in the 70s. I mean, you talk about how they transition from soft to hard-hitting sounds and feels natural. You have that in many other bands. I'd highly recommend listening to some Uriah Heep, one of their earlier albums--maybe "Salisbury". And if you want another awesome album closer, try Marillion's "Fugazi" ;)
Hi VERDY I’ve been following your reactions for sometime now, your reaction to this immaculate piece of musical genius has transported me back more than forty years, your passion is the same me and many others felt back then never lose it, music really does have no barriers it’s speaks to us all
Crime of the Century is absolutely incredible and musically brilliant ! The instrumental buildup is fantastic and it's great that you appreciated it Verdy! I especially love the way the keyboard staccato subtly develops throughout the buildup until it's almost a continuous melodic backbone without pauses. Superb.
This album was my first introduction to Supertramp back around 1977. It’s so interesting that you are reacting to it, as I’ve always felt that many of their songs have a distinctly French feel to them, because of their heavy use of saxophone and clarinet. I imagine “Rudy” on his train through some rainy Paris evening. Great reaction and you have a new subscriber. Keep up the good work!
They were just as good in concert, better. Watching them going to different instruments. All the members in the band played multiple instruments. The way that they cold switch instruments without interrupting the timing and flow of the songs was amazing and a joy to watch. Awesome concerts. Musical emotional journeys of creativity of great lyrics and musicianship. Went with and was able to share the experience with good friends. Good times.
This is one of my favourite albums in my collection, performed by such a talented group of musicians. You really need to review The Yes Album when you can.
COTC is a great album. In my top 20, for sure. For another example of theatrical prog rock from that era, try listening to the band 10cc, particularly their 1975 release "The Original Soundtrack."
Roger Hodgson (the singer) if he comes back on tour, used to do full orchestra shows all over. I am in the USA and I traveled to Canada to see one with the orchestra. You need to see him live! Rick Davies (the other singer -Bloody Well Right, only perform in the EU under the Supertramp name.
Wow it was so moving to see your reaction to crime of the century because I know wot you were feeling I've heard this album so many times and it still sends shivers down my spine and watching how much you enjoyed it was amazing to be honest it brought a tear to my eye
I'm 43, my parents had this album and Breakfast in America on vinyl also. These albums were a huge part of my life growing up and still are to this day. Thanks for reacting to them and appreciating them for the masterpieces they are.
So wonderful to experience yer heartfelt reactions to song after song, beginnin' to end o' this most amazin' masterpiece. I hold this album dear...one o' the best o' all time. Thank you Ken Scott for the superb production which captured all the magic perfectly.
A profound album in my life. The instrumental after the lyrics in the final track works like the music responding emotionally to the lyrics. Evoking, anger and frustration over the impact of Roger’s final line before he leaves the stage. And I hope, an impetus to the listener.
My #1 Supertramp album...no question!! Top notch tracks, front to back. Seeing them live gave me an even greater appreciation for Rudy and especially the title track (which was the final encore) - the piano/bass/drum buildup to the sax section was almost ethereal. The concert venue (outdoor, late summer, breeze off of Lake Ontario), dark, laser lights & the visuals certainly added to it (and maybe a bit of weed too!)
