Nestled between the accomplished Crime of the Century album and 1977's Even in the Quietest Moments, Crisis? What Crisis? may not have given the band any chart success, but it did help them capture a fan base that had no concern for Supertramp's commercial sound. With Rick Davies showing off his talent on the keyboards, and Roger Hodgson's vocals soaring on almost every track, they managed to win back their earlier progressive audience while gaining new fans at the same time. Crisis received extensive air play on FM stations, especially in Britain, and the album made it into the Top 20 there and fell just outside the Top 40 in the U.S. "Ain't Nobody But Me," "Easy Does It," and the beautiful "Sister Moonshine" highlight Supertramp's buoyant and brisk instrumental and vocal alliance, while John Helliwell's saxophone gives the album even greater width. The songwriting is sharp, attentive, and passionate, and the lyrics showcase Supertramp's ease at invoking emotion into their music, which would be taken to even greater heights in albums to come. Even simple tracks like "Lady" and "Just a Normal Day" blend in nicely with the album's warm personality and charmingly subtle mood. Although the tracks aren't overly contagious or hook laden, there's still a work-in-process type of appeal spread through the cuts, which do grow on you over time.
By Bud
Ex-`Tramp Roger Hodgson calls "Crisis? What Crisis?" the Supertramp album he listens to most often, because of it's "rawness," at Hodgson puts it. The album was indeed devised while the band was under pressure to put forth another album and tour in the wake of their breakthrough third album "Crime of the Century," which may be why the ex-vocalist finds the finished product more raw when compared to other Supertramp albums. But for an album that was planned and recorded while the band was under stress to keep the momentum going, "Crisis? What Crisis?" is an elaborate suite of songs, making it a crushing shame that the album will almost never appear on any big-time 100 Greatest Albums of Rock & Roll lists.
The dignified pop of Supertramp always sounded clinical and studio-polished, but not because of any Steely Dan-like studio isolation. That's just the way it was (ironically it translated well onto stage, as captured on the 1980 live album "Paris"). This album isn't exactly "raw" but it is certainly a bit more freewheeling and often less tightly wound as Supertramp's other albums. The album also allows a bit more space for Hodgson's guitars, which he often replaced with keyboards. Even though the quintet was under pressure to release another album, many spots on the album suggest that the band was having some fun, shown in the positive opener `Easy Does It,' `Lady,' and `Another Man's Woman.' There is however at least one genuinely raw song, the heavy schizophrenic `Ain't Nobody But Me.' But there are also plenty of tracks to confirm Supertramp's ability to create pure, flawless, and sophisticated pop songs like `Sister Moonshine' and `A Soapbox Opera.'. The world-weary `Just A Normal Day' is balanced by the more optimistic and catchy `The Meaning.' The innocent `Poor Boy' is a delight, and speaking of innocent, the closing `Two Of Us' is as elegant a three-and-a-half-minutes as any `Tramp fan could ask for.
"Crisis? What Crisis?" connected perfectly with "Crime of the Century," and though its chart peak in the US was just a few spots below its predecessor, many of its songs were becoming staples of FM radio, establishing Supertramp as a serious, dignified attraction. And there was more where this came from; maybe it wasn't such a "Crisis" after all.
By Bud
Ex-`Tramp Roger Hodgson calls "Crisis? What Crisis?" the Supertramp album he listens to most often, because of it's "rawness," at Hodgson puts it. The album was indeed devised while the band was under pressure to put forth another album and tour in the wake of their breakthrough third album "Crime of the Century," which may be why the ex-vocalist finds the finished product more raw when compared to other Supertramp albums. But for an album that was planned and recorded while the band was under stress to keep the momentum going, "Crisis? What Crisis?" is an elaborate suite of songs, making it a crushing shame that the album will almost never appear on any big-time 100 Greatest Albums of Rock & Roll lists.
The dignified pop of Supertramp always sounded clinical and studio-polished, but not because of any Steely Dan-like studio isolation. That's just the way it was (ironically it translated well onto stage, as captured on the 1980 live album "Paris"). This album isn't exactly "raw" but it is certainly a bit more freewheeling and often less tightly wound as Supertramp's other albums. The album also allows a bit more space for Hodgson's guitars, which he often replaced with keyboards. Even though the quintet was under pressure to release another album, many spots on the album suggest that the band was having some fun, shown in the positive opener `Easy Does It,' `Lady,' and `Another Man's Woman.' There is however at least one genuinely raw song, the heavy schizophrenic `Ain't Nobody But Me.' But there are also plenty of tracks to confirm Supertramp's ability to create pure, flawless, and sophisticated pop songs like `Sister Moonshine' and `A Soapbox Opera.'. The world-weary `Just A Normal Day' is balanced by the more optimistic and catchy `The Meaning.' The innocent `Poor Boy' is a delight, and speaking of innocent, the closing `Two Of Us' is as elegant a three-and-a-half-minutes as any `Tramp fan could ask for.
"Crisis? What Crisis?" connected perfectly with "Crime of the Century," and though its chart peak in the US was just a few spots below its predecessor, many of its songs were becoming staples of FM radio, establishing Supertramp as a serious, dignified attraction. And there was more where this came from; maybe it wasn't such a "Crisis" after all.
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