Supertramp’s 10 Greatest Songs and Greatest Discs (Representative Songs and Hidden Masterpieces)

This time, I created a ranking of Super Trump.

However, I selected the songs under the following conditions.

・No progressive songs
・Only pop songs or beautiful songs
・Only songs with Roger Hodgson’s vocals.

The reason why I put these conditions is because this band has so many facets to it.

The two lead vocalists have very different voices.

So I decided to focus on Roger.

This blog is an automatic translation of a Japanese blog into English.

Please understand that it may be difficult to read.
 

No.1「Goodbye Stranger」(Album:Breakfast in America)

■Song Title：Goodbye Stranger
■Album Name：Breakfast in America
■Video link：「Goodbye Stranger」

However, that doesn’t mean that I don’t appreciate Rick Davies’ talent.

Roger left the band after “Famous Last Words…”. Roger left the band after “Famous Last Words…”, but Rick supported the band from “Brother Where You Bound”.

This song was also written by Rick.

This song starts with Rick’s vocals, but Roger sings in the chorus.

Although they have different qualities, they make an ideal combination here.

By the way, I would like to mention just two of Rick’s vocal songs that I like.

「Downstream」
Album：「Even In The Quietest Moments」

「It’s Alright」
Album：「Free As A Bird」

Let’s start with the next song, focusing on Roger.

No.2「The Logical Song」(Album:Breakfast in America)

■Song Title：The Logical Song
■Album Name：Breakfast in America
■Video link：「The Logical Song」

This song is the first single from their hit album.

Along with the song at No. 1, it is one of their most popular songs.

In the past, they were not really a single hit band.

However, when this song made it to the top ten for the first time, it began to be played on the radio frequently.

Fans from the early days of the band must have been very surprised.

However, reading the lyrics of this song, it seems that the content has not changed.

My childhood was wonderful and full of miracles, but now that I’m grown up, I don’t know who I am anymore.

I want someone to tell me who I am.

I think it is typical of Roger to title such a song “The Logical Song”.

No.3「Hide in Your Shell」(Album:Crime Of The Century)

■Song Title：Hide in Your Shell
■Album Name：Crime Of The Century
■Video link：「Hide in Your Shell」

The most popular songs on this album are “School” and “Crime of the Century,” the title track of the album.

In fact, both songs are wonderful, and I think the album itself is a masterpiece.

However, this time I have chosen songs for beginners.

For this reason, I have tried to focus on songs that are easy to understand, rather than songs for people who know more.

From that point of view, I think this song is appropriate for this album.

This song may have the most attractive chorus among all the songs introduced here.

The chorus starts at 1:38.

It has a theremin-like sound in it, which creates an interesting effect.

No.4「Don’t Leave Me Now」(Album:Famous Last Words…)

■Song Title：Don’t Leave Me Now
■Album Name：Famous Last Words…
■Video link：「Don’t Leave Me Now」

This song appeals to people not to leave me in this lonely and crazy world.

This may be the part of the world that I think of as Rogerian.

Rick sometimes writes lyrics like this, but I think Roger’s songs tend to have this kind of world view.

Incidentally, Roger left the band after this album and started his solo career.

He left the band after this album and started his solo career. It seems that he wanted to leave the touring life and lead a calm life with his family.

Currently, Roger is also writing, but it seems to be mostly spiritual and philosophical content.

There seems to be a lot of pessimistic content in his songs at this time, but this kind of spirituality may have given this song some depth.

Roger’s guitar and John Helliwell’s saxophone are also very active in this song, making it a great listen from a performance standpoint.

No.5「Sister Moonshine」(Album:Crisis? What’s Crisis?)

■Song Title：Sister Moonshine
■Album Name：Crisis? What’s Crisis?
■Video link：「Sister Moonshine」

This band kind of started with “Crime Of The Century”.

On the first two albums, “Supertramp” and “Indelibly Stamped”, we didn’t really know what we wanted to do.

On the other hand, with “Crime Of The Century”, what we wanted to do became clearer.

However, even though “Crime Of The Century” sold well, I decided to go in a different direction with this album.

At first glance, “Crisis? What’s Crisis?” is a pop song, but it is full of overly elaborate songs.

But that’s one of the good things about it.

This may be the only song that is straightforward.

No.6「Lord Is It Mine」(Album:Breakfast in America)

■Song Title：Lord Is It Mine
■Album Name：Breakfast in America
■Video link：「Lord Is It Mine」

This album also features the hit singles “Take the Long Way Home” and “Child of Vision”, which are not to be missed.

I think the reason for the success of this album was Rick’s decision.

Rick wrote 6 of the 10 songs on this album.

Don’t forget that Rick wrote more than a majority of the songs on this album, which is full of great songs.

When recording this album, Rick seemed to be trying to work with Roger, with whom he had a disagreement.

Rick withdrew his proposed album title, “Hello Stranger,” and handed over the lead vocals of the song he had written to Roger.

Perhaps he gave it to Roger because he was thinking about the band as a whole.

Perhaps because of this, the album sold very well, with over 18 million copies sold worldwide.

No.7「Dreamer」(Album:Paris)

■Song Title：Dreamer
■Album Name：Paris
■Video link：「Dreamer」

With the record-breaking success of their last album, “Breakfast in America,” they have become one of the biggest stars in the world.

Then the record companies think they have to do something for the next album.

The usual way to do this is to do a best-of album or a live album that includes past songs.

This album was released in the form of a best of live album that included past songs.

This song was a single cut from that album.

This song was the best-selling single before they became popular, so the record company may have decided that it would be a good bridge to their next album.

The album jacket is great, too.

No.8「Breakfast in America」(Album:Breakfast in America)

■Song Title：Breakfast in America
■Album Name：Breakfast in America
■Video link：「Breakfast in America」

The lyrics of this song are as follows.

I’m a lousy guy and all I got is a lousy girlfriend.

But the girls in California are attractive, and I’m sure America is full of millionaires.

I’d like to go to America, but I doubt I’ll ever get the chance.

They did gain some popularity, but not as much in the US as in other countries.

However, this album was the first to reach number one on the US album charts.

Perhaps one of the reasons for this success is the album cover.

With a pile of dishes that looks like Manhattan in the background, a plump waitress poses as the Statue of Liberty, looking at us and smiling.

The model is Kate Murtagh, an American actress.

She may have been like the Statue of Liberty to them.

No.9「It’s Raining Again」(Album:Famous Last Words…)

■Song Title：It’s Raining Again
■Album Name：Famous Last Words…
■Video link：「It’s Raining Again」

This song does not seem to be well received by the traditional fans.

It was Roger who wrote this song.

He wrote dark lyrics like “Crazy” and “Don’t Leave Me Now”, and then he wrote this bright pop song.

The content of the lyrics is also quite unique among Roger’s songs.

My love life is over. I lost a friend. It’s raining.

But let’s get up again.

It makes you wonder if that Roger is for real.

I prefer beautiful songs that are created by Roger’s dark side, and songs that are snarky.

From that point of view, this song is not my favorite.

But if you are new to this band, I highly recommend this song.

No.10「A Soapbox Opera」(Youtube Only)

■Song Title：A Soapbox Opera
■Video link：「A Soapbox Opera」

At first I was going to show you the studio version.

So when I was looking for a video, I found this live version, which seems to be better.

Roger plays with an orchestra on this song, and the second half is very moving.

Now, “Famous Last Words…” Roger left the band after “Famous Last Words…” and released several solo albums.

In particular, “In the Eye of the Storm” is a good one, and if you like the darker songs in this ranking, it’s worth listening to.

At one point, he suffered from an accident in which he broke both of his hands, and his musical life was in jeopardy.

However, this live performance shows that he is back on track.

On the other hand, the remaining band continued to exist with Rick at the center, but they repeatedly broke up and reunited.

Every time the band reunited, people wondered if Roger would join, but so far it has not happened.