Crime of the Century (album)
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| Crime of the Century | |||||
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| Studio album by Supertramp | |||||
| Released | September 1974 | ||||
| Recorded | February-June 1974 | ||||
| Genre | Progressive rock | ||||
| Length | 44:10 | ||||
| Label | A&M | ||||
| Producer | Ken Scott and Supertramp | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
| Supertramp chronology | |||||
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Crime of the Century is the third album by the progressive rock band Supertramp, released in 1974. The album was Supertramp's first to feature its classic lineup and co-producer Ken Scott (who previously worked with David Bowie and The Beatles).
The album was recorded at a number of studios including Ramport Studios (owned by The Who) and Trident Studios.
Many of the songs on the album are still staples of the band's shows ("School", "Bloody Well Right", "Rudy", and the title cut). Almost all of the album appears on the band's 1980 live album Paris although the tracks which featured orchestrations on the original Crime of the Century album ("Asylum", "Rudy", and "Crime of the Century") were replaced by string synthesizers or Oberheim synthesizers which were played mainly by John Helliwell with some help from Roger Hodgson.
The album was Supertramp's first U.S. Top 40 album and was eventually certified Gold in the U.S. in 1977 after the release of Even in the Quietest Moments.
The album was first re-released as a remaster on Gold CD from MFSL. Then another remastered CD version of the album was released on June 11, 2002 on A&M Records. The A&M remaster features all of the album art restored plus credits and full lyrics.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
All songs written by Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson.
- "School" – 5:34
- Lead vocals: Roger Hodgson and Rick Davies
- "Bloody Well Right" – 4:31
- Lead vocals: Rick Davies
- "Hide In Your Shell" – 6:48
- Lead vocals: Roger Hodgson
- "Asylum" – 6:43
- Lead vocals: Rick Davies
- "Dreamer" – 3:31
- Lead vocals: Roger Hodgson
- "Rudy" – 7:19
- Lead vocals: Rick Davies
- "If Everyone Was Listening" – 4:04
- Lead vocals: Roger Hodgson
- "Crime of the Century" – 5:36
- Lead vocals: Rick Davies
[edit] Recording
While recording the album, Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson recorded approximately 42 demo songs, from which only 8 were chosen to appear on the album. Several other tracks appeared on future albums (Crisis? What Crisis?, ...Famous Last Words....)
Hodgson and Davies both stated that communication within the group was at a peak during the recording of this album.
[edit] Lyrics
On the original lyrics sheet insert of the LP, the lyrics and song details were printed with specific attention to the singer of each lyric. Roger Hodgson's vocals were colored in white and Rick Davies' were yellow. When one sung lyrics in the other's song, his color was used accordingly. An example of this would be the song "Asylum," where the conversation between the two is represented on the lyric sheet as alternating between white and yellow respectively for each vocalist.
This exchange of vocals also re-inforces the back and forth between Hodgson's more emotional songs: "School," "Hide In Your Shell," "Dreamer," and "If Everyone Was Listening," juxtaposed against the more cerebral Davies songs "Bloody Well Right," "Asylum," "Rudy," and "Crime Of The Century," creating an exchange between the heart and mind of the characters throughout the songs as well as throughout the tracklisting.
[edit] Personnel
[edit] Supertramp
- Bob C. Benberg - Drums, Percussion
- Roger Hodgson - Vocals, Guitar, Pianos
- John Anthony Helliwell - Saxophones, Clarinets, Vocals
- Dougie Thomson - Bass
- Richard Davies - Vocals, Keyboards, Harmonica
[edit] Other performers
- Christine Helliwell - Backup vocals on "Hide in Your Shell"
- Vicky Siebenberg - Backup vocals on "Hide in Your Shell"
- Scott Gorham - Backup vocals on "Hide in Your Shell"
- (Uncredited, unknown street musician) - Saw on "Hide in Your Shell"
- Ken Scott - Water gong on "Crime of the Century"
[edit] Production
[edit] Original Release
- Producers: Ken Scott and Supertramp
- Engineers: Ken Scott, John Jansen
- String arrangements: Richard Hewson
- Cover design and photography: Paul Wakefield
- Art direction: Fabio Nicoli
[edit] 2002 A&M Reissue
The 2002 A&M Records reissue was mastered from the original master tapes by Greg Calbi and Jay Messina at Sterling Sound, New York, 2002. The reissue was supervised by Bill Levenson with art direction by Vartan and design by Mike Diehl, with production coordination by Beth Stempel.
[edit] Charts
[edit] Album
Album - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Pop Albums | 38 |
[edit] Singles
Singles - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
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| 1975 | "Bloody Well Right" | Pop Singles | 35 |
[edit] External links
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