CRIME OF THE CENTURY

Hodgson and Davies were like a Lennon and McCartney, each writing seperately and sharing in writers credit. Hodgson sings the songs he wrote, and Davies sings the songs he wrote. On this release they sing lead on 4 songs each. This album has been compared to "Dark Side Of The Moon" because of the subject matter, songs about everyday life and mental illness. I was in highschool in 1979 when I first got this record. I was listening to this at the same time "Breakfast In America" was out and I remember getting into an argument with a friend because I wanted to listen to "Crime Of The Century" and he insisted on listening to "Breakfast In America". The thing was, I never argued being a mellow person, but I was passionate about this (We listened to "Breakfast In America"). After all these years I still feel this album is far superior to "Breakfast..." as a matter of fact this album still sounds so fresh and current.

Things get started with "School" and it opens with a mournful harmonica solo before Hodgson's vocals come in.The beautiful piano melody is the centerpiece of this song. Nice. "Bloody Well Right" opens with piano as the guitar comes in from Hodgson with an edge to it, quite aggressive at times. These guys had such a sense of humour as witnessed by this song (and look at the back cover of the album). There is a beautiful sax melody to end the song. "Hide In Your Shell" just touches my heart for some reason. This is such a gorgeous song. Hodgson's emotional vocals are outstanding.

"Asylum" opens with some beautiful piano and is a theatrical song with some string arrangments.The song ends as it began with some nice piano. "Dreamer" is an uptempo song with good vocals from Hodgson and some good harmonies as well. "Rudy" has a jazz feel to it at times. I love the way Davies and Hodgson trade vocal lines. "If Everyone Was Listening" is a reflective song that looks at life as a play. There is an uplifting melody and some clarinet as well. "Crime Of The Century" is a classic ! With Davies on vocals this song has some good guitar, sax, piano and strings.

This is an absolute masterpiece ! It's impossible to put into words how this album makes me feel.