Paris - Live

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Recorded in the wake of the global success of Breakfast in America, Paris is a competent but ultimately unnecessary live album that fails to live up to the standards of Supertramp's studio material.

By Terrence J. Reardon "Classic rock and old sch...
Supertramp's seventh album entitled Paris was released in October of 1980.
The album was recorded in November of 1979 in Paris, France at the Pavillion on the final night of the band's Breakfast in America European tour. Paris is a wonderful live set, capturing the band at the peak of their popularity when co-leader/guitarist/singer/keyboard player/songwriter Roger Hodgson was still with the group. When you consider that the possibility of Hodgson returning to Supertramp these days very doubtful, Paris becomes an extremely important live document of the classic lineup of the band, indeed.
Many great Supertramp classics are included in this live two disc set, such as most of 1974's grand breakthrough Crime of the Century (the spirited opener "School", a slightly extended "Bloody Well Right", an excellent "Hide in Your Shell", a superb "Asylum', the Top 20 hit "Dreamer", a uperb "Rudy" and the closing "Crime of the Century" which closes this live album), two songs from 1975's highly underrated followup Crisis? What Crisis? ("Ain't Nobody But Me' and "A Soapbox Opera" both superior to studio versions), two from 1977's Gold selling US breakthrough Even in the Quietest Moments ("From Now On" and the best version of "Fool's Overture" ever), and three from the #1 Multi-Platinum selling Breakfast in America (the monster hit "The Logical Song", the title cut and the Top 20 smash "Take The Long Way Home") plus one exclusive song called You Started Laughing which was not found anywhere else save the B-side to a song called Lady from Crisis?.
Hodgson and co-leader/keyboardist/singer/songwriter Rick Davies sing their hearts out and play their respective keyboards with great passion, and Hodgson also serves up some incredible fretwork on the guitar. Co-horts John Helliwell on saxophones/clarinets/occasional keyboards and additional backing vocals, drummer Bob C. Benberg and bass player Dougie Thomson have terrific interplay with Hodgson and Davies, helping to bring the band's great melodic music to life in tremendous fashion. Just like on their studio albums, the band totally cook live in concert, too. The songs on here rival their studio counterparts, especially on Rudy which is sped at faster speed than the studio version on the Roger/Rick vocal duel section.
Commercially, Paris did well peaking at #8 on the album charts and is one of my Top 10 favorite live rock albums ever, especially with the remastering on this album.
Highly recommended!