TAKE THE LONG WAY HOME - LIVE IN MONTREAL

This is a great, beautifully filmed concert with an amazingly warm connection between the artist and the audience. For lovers of classic SUPERTRAMP songs this is probably the best DVD one can have. Yes, even when this is not a whole band performance. But Hodgson is not only the writer of the majority of the best loved songs, he also makes the songs as alive as one can wish, with only one musician (Aaron McDonald mainly on saxes) beside him. When performed by Rick Davies' Supertramp the Hodgson-songs sound simply fake compared to this.

Surely one may have prejudices such as this being a pathetic plea saying "I was Supertramp!"and a ride with old classics because poor Roger hasn't had equally strong solo career. Well, he happened to be most creative during his Supertramp days; even then he was in practise a solo artist who just happened to have a band to bring his songs to, all fully visualized and arranged. (The credit Hodgson/Davies on all Supertramp songs is a similar lie as Lennon/McCartney.) The spirit of this man is very amiable and honest, and he says he performs these songs now even happier than before. He is notably moved how warmly the Canadian audience welcomes him. And they really LOVE these songs! Anyone with a relationship with classic Supertramp songs is bound to enjoy this concert deeply. Think: over 30 years since Crime of the Century appeared, and his voice hasn't aged a bit. He plays in turns electric keyboards (e.g. Take The Long Way Home, Logical Song, Dreamer), 12-string guitar (e.g. Give a Little Bit, Easy Does It, Two Of Us) and a grand piano.

I was also surprised how good were the songs new to me. 'Lovers in the Wind' (from Eye Of The Storm) is a very beautiful, sad piano ballad; 'Oh Brother' is even stronger piano song that sends shivers down your spine. 'Love Is a Thousand Times' (Stronger Than You) is quite nice too. My personal favourite (since my early days of listening to Supertramp) is the dramatic 'Don't Leave Me Now'. Beautiful camera work, shooting him from the above during that song. The whole concert is visually beautiful: big green plants on the stage, elegant lights... The extras are OK: interviews, fans' impressions, backstage, etc. Thank You, Roger!