BROTHER WHERE YOU BOUND

Brother Where You Bound proved a few things to me a quarter century ago when I first heard it. The first was that Rick Davies was the heart and soul of Supertramp for me, not Roger Hodgson. If you've any doubt about it listen to this album, then simply recall in your mind the track "It's Raining Again." Case closed. Second, the album proved that Supertramp were capable of quality progressive rock in 1985, something Genesis, Yes (in '83), and Floyd (in '87) were not able to do. Brother is a restless, unnerving album with a sound that in my speculation feels remarkably influenced by Dire Straits and Pink Floyd's "The Wall" album. I hear songs with a similar DNA make-up to "Love Over Gold" mixed with a Roger Waters' lyrical heaviness.

At a relatively low point in prog's timeline Davies delivered an album that left little doubt who was Mr. Tramp. A classy and high quality piece of prog rock with jazz and blues overtones delivered via cool conceptual themes, social commentary, political intrigue, and impending doom. I always thought some of these messages were meant for Hodgson while appearing to discuss other matters. The only dud on this album is the overly slick and repetitive opener "Cannonball" which is unlistenable to me....a skip every time. But after that it gets good and stays good. Davies has never been more on his game than here, vocally and at the keys. The keys alternate between a crisp piano sound and a more floating atmospheric sound, contrasting a certain spaciness with the direct production values. His singing is also superb, never more poignant than on "No Inbetween" with its longing sadness and introspection. The meat of the album lies in the darkness of "Better Days" and "Brother Where You Bound", the latter which features the lead guitar of David Gilmour. The two tracks combine into one epic track and I recall there being some ambitious video of these tracks released. The music is ominous and the lyrics Orwellian in nature with huge dramatic build-up on the 16-minute title track. Here the band actually attempts some less-than-predictable development which bands just weren't doing much of at this time. While it's not exactly "Relayer" it sure as hell beats "90125." After this chunk of material dealing with the darker side of humanity the album closes nicely with a bit of sunlight in "Ever Open Door," about a man looking forward with hope---although I'm guessing the "open door" he speaks of here is not meant for Mr. Hodgson.

Brother does suffer a bit from aspects of "that darn 80s sound" but not enough to outweigh the great performances and interesting songwriting. If you thought Supertramp died with Breakfast in America or when Roger left, if you've never bothered to try this one, you will be pleasantly surprised. Between 3 and 4 stars but closer to 4. One of my favorite 80s releases from a '70s giant.

Share this SUPERTRAMP review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to Finnforest
• Report this review (#257352)
• Buy SUPERTRAMP music online with PA partners
• Show all SUPERTRAMP MP3/Stream
• Go to SUPERTRAMP page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Brother Where You Bound page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for SUPERTRAMP related discussions