| Supertramp | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Supertramp | ||||
| Released | 14 July 1970 | |||
| Recorded | June 1970 at Morgan Sound Studios, Willesden, North London, England | |||
| Genre | Progressive rock | |||
| Length | 47:31 | |||
| Label | A&M | |||
| Producer | Supertramp | |||
| Supertramp chronology | ||||
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Supertramp is the self-titled debut album by progressive rock band Supertramp, released in July 1970 (see 1970 in music). It has sometimes been published under the title Now and Then. The album explored a more conventional style of progressive rock than their later works, and was their only album recorded without a saxophonist.
It was not released in the United States until late 1977, but it was available in the US through importers and was usually carried in record stores that specialize in British imports. The 1977 issue reached #158 on the U.S. Billboard 200.[1]
Contents |
All the album's lyrics were written by Richard Palmer, since none of the other members of Supertramp were willing to write any. Palmer himself later said that he considered writing lyrics "like having to do school work" at the time.[2]
The album was recorded entirely in night sessions running from 12 a.m. to 6 a.m., due to a superstition on the part of the band members (fueled by their having heard that Traffic and Spooky Tooth recorded at late hours) that there was some "magic" to recording at night.[3] Roger Hodgson later recalled "Invariably our engineer, Robin Black, would fall asleep on us in the middle of the sessions, which were pretty intense as it was, because we fought a lot with Richard Palmer."[3] He was fond of the resulting album, however, and commented over a decade later that "It was very naive, but it has a good mood to it."[3]
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [4] |
The critical response to the album was generally positive, with a review by Judith Simons in Daily Express commenting "This debut record album by a group of promising musician-poets is rather more melodic than most discs which pass under the label 'progressive pop.'"[3] Despite this, the album was a commercial flop.[3]
In their retrospective review, Allmusic said the album was "inundated with pretentious instrumental meandering, with greater emphasis and attention granted to the keyboards and guitars than to the writing and to the overall effluence of the music." However, they admitted that the album's "mixture of ardor and subtlety" is appealing.[4]
All music written by Rick Davies, Roger Hodgson, and Richard Palmer. All lyrics written by Richard Palmer.[2]
Except where noted, all lead vocals are by Roger Hodgson.
Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Pop Albums | 158[1] |
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