Supertramp - Free As A Bird - The Supertramp Remasters


Year of Release: 2002
Label: Universal
Catalog Number: 493355
Format: CD
Total Time: 42:54:00

Keith reviewed four titles - Paris, ? Famous Last Words ?, Brother Where You Bound, Free As A Bird - in one omnibus review; they are listed separately in the database -ed.

The Supertramp Remasters part 2:

Paris - After the huge success of Breakfast In America it seemed like a good time to release a live album. It may have been good timing considering the success of several studio albums; the only problem was that they had the difficult task of duplicating all of the sounds produced in the studio. Unfortunately, they could not reproduce all those wonderful layers of sound in a live setting and the result was that they did not sound like the authoritative progressive rock band that they once were. It was more like a stripped down bare bones rock band missing their pomp and flair. This is a flat performance; although the remastered sound always makes things better, it did not help this recording.

...Famous Last Words... - You would think that Rodger Hodgson would want to go out with a bang before his solo career began but it didn't happen, instead a hit single is what came of this album and that was the extent of this effort. "It's Raining Again" was a sleek pop production with all the hooks. No doubt it is one of the bands most memorable songs, alas this is surely not one their better albums. They abandoned their progressive sound for a straight-ahead, perhaps over produced, pop and rock format. This album has some strengths but very few, hardly anything nearly as consistent as previous studio efforts.

Brother Where You Bound - With Rick Davies left in control of the group and Rodger Hodgson leaving big shoes to fill, the group moved forward, undaunted by that challenge. All Davies needed to do was bring in someone like David Gilmour to play a few licks on guitar and let his own creativity blossom without another strong influence to compete with, and then a fantastic slice of progressive rock reached its fruition.

The title track is a classic rendering of a potent progressive multi-staged song. It runs nearly 17 minutes, making the price of admission for this CD worth every dime. The entire project showed a consistency and cohesion that was missing on the previous two albums. It was a welcome return to form for the band.

Free As A Bird (1987) - This one is a total throwaway. What a disastrous outing for a once great band. A listless and uninspired recording with no substance or meaning was not what typified their work. With nothing left to offer their listeners, it seemed they had reached the end of the road.

Free was first released by A & M; it has been reissued a couple of times, including this reissue

[Keith covers the first four remasters in part 1, beginning with Crime Of The Century - ed.]


Tracklisting:
It's Alright (5:01) / Not The Moment (4:37) / It Doesn't Matter (4:53) / Where I Stand (3:41) / Free As A Bird (4:25) / I'm Beggin' You (5:30) / You Never Can Tell With Friends (4:18) / Thing For You (4:00) / An Awful Thing To Waste (7:49)

Musicians:
Rick Davies - keyboards, vocals, timbales
John Helliwell - saxophone, vocals
Bob Siebenberg - drums
Dougie Thompson - bass
Scott Page - flute, brass
Marty Walsh - guitar and backing vocals
Karyn White - background vocals
Steve Reid - percussion
Evan Rogers - background vocals
Mark Hart - guitar, keyboards, vocals, background vocals
Nick Lane - brass
Lise Miller - background vocals
Lon Price - brass
Lee Thornburg - trumpet, brass
David Woodford - brass
Linda Foot - background vocals

Discography:
Supertramp (1970)
Indelibly Stamped (1971)
Crime Of The Century (1974)
Crisis? What Crisis? (1975)
Even In The Quietest Moments (1977)
Breakfast In America (1979)
Paris (1980/2002)
Famous Last Words (1982/2002)
Brother Where You Bound (1985/2002)
Free As A Bird (1987/2002)
Classics Volume 9 (1987)
Live '88 (1988)
The Very Best of Supertramp I (1990)
Fan Box Set (1991)
The Very Best of Supertramp II (1992)
The Autobiography Of Supertramp (1994)
Some Things Never Change (1997)
It Was The Best Of Times (1999)
Very Best Of Supertramp/Very Best Of Supertramp Vol 2 (1999)
Slow Motion (2002)
Inside Supertramp 1974-1978: An Independent Critical Review (2004)
Retrospectacle: The Supertramp Anthology (2005)
Anthology (2005)
Live, 1997 (2006)
Concert Classics (2007)

Genre: Rock

Origin UK

Added: December 15th 2002
Reviewer: Keith "Muzikman" Hannaleck
Score:
Artist website: www.supertramp.com
Hits: 1713
Language: english

  

[ Back to Reviews Index | Post Comment ]