50 years ago: Crime of the Century

Sean Trane wrote: richardh wrote: It's certainly the perfect 'art rock' album but not at all 'progressive rock' it was a million miles away from ELP, Yes and Genesis and no one would have positioned them with those bands. This was the era of bombast and Supertramp were not that BUT it was changing. Dark Side Of The Moon a year earlier had shown that the bombastic approach was not necessary to win over fans and perhaps a band that concentrated on the 'song' was more welcome. To each his own, but back then, in Central Canada (and North Am in general) COTC was certainly lumped in with all of those albums you mention. Us kids/teens didn't feel the need to see what was pegged as "art rock" ("prog rock" was not really in our language back in those years) or not.

Fantastic album, and one which I play regularly. 

Passsed me by completely but then at the time I was into maybe Queen, The Who and Wings and not a lot else. Supertramp only made an impression on me when they released the wonderful Logical Song but I still didn't go back and listen to Crime for many years. It's certainly the perfect 'art rock' album but not at all 'progressive rock' it was a million miles away from ELP, Yes and Genesis and no one would have positioned them with those bands. This was the era of bombast and Supertramp were not that BUT it was changing. Dark Side Of The Moon a year earlier had shown that the bombastic approach was not necessary to win over fans and perhaps a band that concentrated on the 'song' was more welcome. As Mr Bob Dillon would have it 'The Times They Are A Changing'. Good songs and the one of the best produced albums of all time is how I would sum it up. Kind of an interloper that doesn't belong but then that is part of its appeal. That feeling of not really 'belonging' is one that the band were really good at putting out and there were plenty of takers!

Masterpiece indeed, and one of my first albums as well. Got into Supertramp in general through 'The Very Best Of' collection when i was a kid, and 'Crime' really stuck with me later on. I think it's one of their best albums, probably THE best.. 

50 years ago this week, Supertramp's Crime of the Century album was released to a very unsuspecting public. Their previous 2 albums did have their advocates, and yet they were far from big sellers. The band was almost at "the end of their tether" when Crime was recorded in the obligatory "house in the country" during the spring and summer of 1974. Upon the album's release and hitting the road to promote it, they found they had struck a chord with listeners, first in Europe, and later in the USA. Suddenly they were in demand, and this almost in spite of utter contempt from most of the rock press.