Supertramp Vinylrip

The Very Best of Supertramp 2 is a best of album by the English rock band Supertramp originally released by A&M Records in November 1992. This compilation features 13 tracks from their five "prime" albums Crime of the Century, Crisis? What Crisis?, Even in the Quietest Moments…, Breakfast in America and …Famous Last Words… as well as the title track from their 1987 album Free as a Bird. The cover depicts the starry backdrop and grate from the cover of Crime of the Century, the hand carrying the glass from the cover of Breakfast in America, and the orange umbrella from Crisis? What Crisis?

Recorded in the wake of the global success of Breakfast in America, Paris is a competent live album from Supertramp…

Supertramp came into their own on their third album, 1974's Crime of the Century, as their lineup gelled but, more importantly, so did their sound. The group still betrayed a heavy Pink Floyd influence, particularly in its expansive art rock arrangements graced by saxophones, but Supertramp isn't nearly as spooky as Floyd – they're snarky collegiate elitists, an art rock variation on Steely Dan or perhaps a less difficult 10cc, filled with cutting jokes and allusions, best heard on "Bloody Well Right."…

…Famous Last Words… was the last album that Roger Hodgson made with Supertramp before seeking a solo career, and he made sure that radio would take kindly to his last hurrah with the band. Sporting an airy and overly bright pop sheen, …Famous Last Words… put two singles on the charts, with the poignant "My Kind of Lady" peaking at number 31 and the effervescent smile of "It's Raining Again" going to number 11. The album itself went Top Ten both in the U.S. and in the U.K., eventually going gold in America. The songs are purposely tailored for Top 40 radio, delicately textured and built around overly bland and urbane choruses. Hodgson's abundance of romantically inclined poetry and love song fluff replaces the lyrical keenness that Supertramp had produced in the past, and the instrumental proficiency that they once mastered has vanished.

The title of Even in the Quietest Moments… isn't much of an exaggeration – this 1977 album finds Supertramp indulging in some of their quietest moments, spending almost the album in a subdued mood…

.With Breakfast in America, Supertramp had a genuine blockbuster hit, topping the charts for four weeks in the U.S. and selling millions of copies worldwide; by the 1990s, the album had sold over 18 million units across the world…

Originally a European compilation, The Very Best of Supertramp is the closest thing to a definitive overview of the '70s pop-prog group. Certainly, there will be hardcore fans who will notice some favorite album cuts missing – after all, despite their considerable success on the pop charts, Supertramp was as much an album rock band as ELP or Genesis – but all the hits are here, from "Bloody Well Right" to "It's Raining Again," as well as a sizable portion of their blockbuster Breakfast in America. That alone will make it worthwhile for all casual fans, but what's really nice about the collection is that it flows very smoothly, even if it isn't in chronological order. There have been other Supertramp compilations, but The Very Best of Supertramp stands head and shoulders above the rest.

After Supertramp split in 1987, fans waited nearly ten years before most members of the best-known lineup reunited for an album (1997's Some Things Never Change) and tour. But while one of the group's two leaders was included in the proceedings (Rick Davies), the other one was not (Roger Hodgson). Regardless, the "new look" Supertramp soldiered on with a stage show that expectedly focused primarily on the classics – as reflected on the 2006 release Live, 1997…