CLASSICS, VOL. 9

The "A&M Classics" album series were released in 1987 by A&M Records (then still a big independent label) to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the start of the label. The label released compilations of the most famous bands or soloists who recorded albums for the label, which was founded by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. This Supertramp compilation was also released in several countries with the "The Autobiography of Supertramp" title (which was the case in my country, with the album released in the L.P. and Cassette formats). This is a compilation which has several hit singles released by the band, some of them, edited for singles ("Goodbye Stranger" and "Cannonball", for example). It is a good compilation which includes songs from their 1974 to 1985 albums, with most songs (except for "Cannonball") played by their most successful line-up: Rick Davies, Roger Hodgson, John Helliwell, Dougie Thomson and Bob Siebenberg. "Cannonball" is a song from their first album recorded without Hodgson, titled "Brother Where You Bound" from 1985. I think that the "Retrospectacle" anthology released in 2005 from this band is better than this album, because it includes more songs and songs from other albums which were released in 1970-71 and 1987-2002. So, I think that this album is only of interest for the most dedicated fans of the band who want to have all the albums of the band. I didn`t like very much the edited versions of "Goodbye Stranger" and "Cannonball" which were included in this "Classics" compilation.