BROTHER WHERE YOU BOUND

A couple of friends of mine argued that this was the last great Supertramp release which made me interested in giving it a chance. Unfortunately, for me, I didn't find the album all that great. The most memorable moments here are the very '80s sounding Cannonball and the 17 minute multi-suite of a title track. Still neither of these moments can make me forget about Roger Hodgson's departure from the lineup, a few years prior. The songwriting just isn't as great as it used to be and the fact that Rick Davies didn't allow any new contributions in either the vocal or songwriting departments shrinks the potential of this album even more.

Having said that I still think that Brother Where You Bound is a mixed-bag of an album that manages to come up just above the fans only-material. The main reason for this has to do with a shift in style which, terrible '80s production aside, does make Supertramp sound almost as progressive as they were back on their debut release. The mere choice of incorporating a 17 minute song on an album released in 1985 was a huge risk on the part of Rick Davies' band, unfortunately they still had to settle for a compromise by adding a bunch off lesser short ballads which didn't really do much for me.

In retrospect, Brother Where You Bound was a minor creative comeback for Supertramp which was of course not what the main stream audience expected at the time. The only commercially passable song here is Cannonball and even though I should be supporting this decision I just can't help looking back at Crime Of The Century and recognizing that Supertramp were once masters at combining commercially feasible tracks with great Art Rock moments.

**** star songs: Cannonball (7:40) Brother Where You Bound (16:34)

*** star songs: Still In Love (4:28) No Inbetween (4:41) Better Days (6:12) Ever Open Door (3:05)