by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
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. Although their previous records had some popular success, they never even hinted at the massive sales of Breakfast in America. Then again, Supertramp's earlier records weren't as pop-oriented as Breakfast. The majority of the album consisted of tightly written, catchy, well-constructed pop songs, like the hits "The Logical Song," "Take the Long Way Home," and "Goodbye Stranger." Supertramp still had a tendency to indulge themselves occasionally, but Breakfast in America had very few weak moments. It was clearly their high-water mark.
By Alan Caylow
Supertramp practically *owned* 1979 with their mega-smash album from that year, "Breakfast In America." The British band had been making creative, irresistible pop/jazz/rock for nine years & five albums by this time, but "Breakfast," the sixth album, was The Big One for the group, a #1 smash on the album charts all over the world. Though certainly not a "concept" album, the theme for "Breakfast In America" came from bandleaders Roger Hodgson & Rick Davies, who, for this album, wanted to write songs about what it was like to be a British person living in the USA, which is what the whole band were doing by this time. Credit Hodgson & Davies for writing such wonderful songs, such as the hits "The Logical Song," "Goodbye Stranger," and "Take The Long Way Home." But even the non-hits are shimmering beauties, such as "Gone Hollywood," "Oh Darling" (not to be confused with the Beatles tune), "Lord Is It Mine," and the exuberant finale, "Child Of Vision," all played to perfection by Hodgson, Davies (who both do great vocal work as well), sax player John Halliwell, bassist Dougie Thomson, and drummer Bob Siebenberg. This new remastered edition of "Breakfast In America" sounds sensational, with greater boom & clarity than any CD version of "Breakfast" that I'd ever heard before (including the now-defunct gold disc version from Mobile Fidelity). Now you can enjoy Supertramp's all-time classic the way it was meant to be heard. Pick it up, and enjoy this delicious breakfast as only Supertramp can serve it. :-)
By Alan Caylow
Supertramp practically *owned* 1979 with their mega-smash album from that year, "Breakfast In America." The British band had been making creative, irresistible pop/jazz/rock for nine years & five albums by this time, but "Breakfast," the sixth album, was The Big One for the group, a #1 smash on the album charts all over the world. Though certainly not a "concept" album, the theme for "Breakfast In America" came from bandleaders Roger Hodgson & Rick Davies, who, for this album, wanted to write songs about what it was like to be a British person living in the USA, which is what the whole band were doing by this time. Credit Hodgson & Davies for writing such wonderful songs, such as the hits "The Logical Song," "Goodbye Stranger," and "Take The Long Way Home." But even the non-hits are shimmering beauties, such as "Gone Hollywood," "Oh Darling" (not to be confused with the Beatles tune), "Lord Is It Mine," and the exuberant finale, "Child Of Vision," all played to perfection by Hodgson, Davies (who both do great vocal work as well), sax player John Halliwell, bassist Dougie Thomson, and drummer Bob Siebenberg. This new remastered edition of "Breakfast In America" sounds sensational, with greater boom & clarity than any CD version of "Breakfast" that I'd ever heard before (including the now-defunct gold disc version from Mobile Fidelity). Now you can enjoy Supertramp's all-time classic the way it was meant to be heard. Pick it up, and enjoy this delicious breakfast as only Supertramp can serve it. :-)
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