HAD A DREAM

SUPERTRAMP was among my favourite bands in my late teens, and it was definitely Roger Hodgson's part of the creative partnership that I preferred over Rick Davies's. Hodgson (b. 1950) decided to leave the band while they were on tour for Famous Last Words (1982), mainly because he felt increasingly constrained in the group context, but also the geographical distance affected to the diminishing group harmony, as he had moved from Los Angeles to Northern California. I bought his solo debut In the Eye of the Storm (1984) probably around 1989 very cheaply from a supermarket but didn't keep it to myself very long. I remember partly enjoying it but as a whole I felt disappointed at it. It's worth mentioning that Hodgson plays most of the instruments himself.

On the album the opening song 'Had a Dream (Sleeping With the Enemy)' starts promisingly in the similar ambitious and dramatic approach, loaded with sound effects, as for example 'Fool's Overture' in the Supetramp output, but despite the near 9-minute length it turns out to be rather an uninspiring straight-forward rock song extended in a pretentious way; I never felt it carries its length very succesfully. The single version is much shorter (4:24) as both the intro and the soloing at the end have been edited. That makes the song tighter and more radio-friendly for sure, and it did peak at 48 on the billboard Hot 100, but the editing doesn't make the essence of the composition any better. Nope, this song is nowhere near Hodgson's best achievements as a songwriter.

The album's highlight is the equally long closing piece 'Only Because of You'. It's beautifully melancholic and feels also symphonic the same way as Hodgson's most impressive and most emotional Supertramp songs, in particular 'Don't Leave Me Now' on Famous Last Words, with which it also shares the use of additional wordless vocals of Claire Diament. Sadly I didn't find the Special Version (4:40) featured as the B side of this single, but I presume it works just fine, although the full version is undoubtedly more rewarding especially for a prog oriented listener. Anyway, I was now gladly impressed listening to this song for the first time in probably two decades. Had this song been the main dish of the single, I might even consider giving a better rating.

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