THE VERY BEST OF SUPERTRAMP

"The Very Best Of Supertramp" is the third compilation album of Supertramp and was released in 1990. This is a compilation that has some of the most popular songs made by the band from their six best and most representative albums, "Crime Of The Century" from 1974, "Crisis? What Crisis?" from 1975, "Even In The Quietest Moments?" from 1977, "Breakfast In America" from 1979, "Famous Last Words" from 1982 and "Brother Where You Bound" from 1985.

"The Very Best Of Supertramp" appears after the debut compilation of the band, "The Autobiography Of Supertramp", which was the first greatest hits album released by the group and that contains some of the most popular songs made by Supertramp, and after their second compilation "Classics, Vol. 9", which is nothing more than the version for the US market, and that it was part of A&M's 25th Anniversary series. In reality, "The Very Best Of Supertramp" is really nothing more than a new version of the two previous compilations plus an additional track. It has the same fourteen tracks presented in the same order. The difference is that "The Very Best Of Supertramp" opens with the new track, "School".

The front cover art of "The Very Best Of Supertramp" depicts the band's name in colours with the gate from the front cover of "Crime Of The Century", with the hand carrying the glass from the front cover of "Breakfast In America" and the orange umbrella from the front cover of "Crisis? What Crisis?", all put in a white background. It's beautiful, really.

"The Very Best Of Supertramp" has fifteen tracks from the following albums: "School", "Bloody Well Right", "Rudy", "Crime Of The Century", "Dreamer" and "Hide In Your Shell" are from "Crime Of The Century". "Ain't Nobody But Me" is from "Crisis? What Crisis?". "From Now On" and "Give A Little Bit" are from "Even In The Quietest Moments?". "Goodbye Stranger", "The Logical Song", "Breakfast In America" and "Take The Long Way Home" are from "Breakfast In America". "It's Raining Again" is from "Famous Last Words". "Cannonball" is from "Brother Where You Bound". "School" is an amazing and fantastic song with good lyrics and a very good piano solo. It's one of the best songs composed by this fantastic duo of composers. This is one of my Supertramp's favourite songs, of all time, undoubtedly. "Goodbye Stranger" is a song with great melody and with a good rhythm section and where the interplay between Rick Davies' and Roger Hodgson's vocals is perfect. "The Logical Song" is a typical classic Supertramp's song with wonderful harmony, great vocals and good keyboards, and with a nice final touch of the saxophone of John Helliwell. "Bloody Well Right" is a good song that, for the type of music of Supertramp, we may say this track is almost a hard rock song with a little funky rhythm. "Breakfast In America" is a classic melodic short song and was a big hit on the radio stations. Personally, I've no problems with it. I really like this song. "Rudy" is one of their best, most progressive, sophisticated and elaborated songs, with many rhythm changes and some instrumental breaks. "Take The Long Way Home" was also a big hit, another top ten single. This is a great musical moment with the saxophone and the piano in evidence. "Crime Of The Century" is a magnum opus, a wonderful song with an orchestration completely divine. This is another highlight and one of my favourite songs by them. "Dreamer" is an irresistible melodic song, a big hit, reaching the top of the charts. Its impact was so huge that we can say that "Dreamer" was one of the most popular singles made by any prog band. "Ain't Nobody But Me" is a very good composition combined with piano and vocals. It's a prog song with rock and jazz influences. "Hide In Your Shell" is a masterpiece of the melodic prog rock with a supreme melodic structure. It's one of the best prog melodic songs ever made. "From Now On" is a nice and mellow ballad with some complexity and it's full of great keyboard and saxophone works. This is a great Rick Davies' song. "Give A Little Bit" is a simple and catchy song. It's a song commanded by acoustic guitar with a good and impressive saxophone work by John Helliwell. "It's Raining Again" is a typical pop song made to be released as a single. It's a perfect example how to make a good pop commercial song with good quality. "Cannonball" is a nice and enjoyable song to hear. It's a kind of a jazz song with a disco-funk style. It has a nice atmospheric ambient but it's a bit too lengthy and repetitive for my taste.

Conclusion: As I wrote above, "The Very Best Of Supertramp" is really nothing more than a new version of the two previous compilations of the band with the same fourteen tracks presented in the same order plus an additional track. So, mostly what I wrote before when I reviewed those compilations applies to "The Very Best Of Supertramp". Thus, we are in presence of a good compilation of Supertramp that includes some of their best tracks taken from some of their best studio albums. About the selection of tracks, I miss the songs "Try Again" from "Supertramp" and "Even In The Quietest Moment" and "Fool's Overture" from "Even In The Quietest Moments?", some of their most progressive songs. Despite the addition of "School", which was great, I'm still thinking that it isn't enough representative of their music. To be more representative, you must have also their compilation "The Very Best Of Supertramp ? Volume 2".

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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