by Aaron Badgley
Supertramp struggled after the departure of Roger Hodgson to be seen as a viable, creative band and prove that it could exist without Hodgson. Although the albums released after Hodgson's departure were interesting, they never managed to capture the glory days of that classic lineup, nor did they reach commercial popularity. That is not to say the releases were bad -- far from it -- but they tended to lack the variety and strong song structures that Hodgson brought to the band. For this studio album, Supertramp's lineup was almost identical to that of 1997's Some Things Never Change, with the exception of the addition of Jesse Siebenberg and the departure of Tom Walsh. The change in lineup meant little, as the music was very similar to the band's last studio release (there was a double live CD released between the studio CDs). Here, Rick Davies took control of production, and it proves the album's downfall. The songs were very good, but the production was muddy and cluttered. The mix did not do justice to the music. The songs themselves had shades of classic Supertramp songs, but there were hints of world music and prog rock, which kept things interesting. The songs were basic pop/rock songs with ever-familiar alienation themes. The two longer tracks ("Tenth Avenue Breakdown" and "Dead Man's Blues") crossed over into the realm of prog rock and harked back to the Crime of the Century album, but each was about three minutes too long, and could have used some editing.
By WTDK "If at first the idea is not absurd, the...
(Let's stop comparing Supertramp Mark 2 to Mark 3. This edition of Supertramp has recorded a fine collection of music that has a bluesy edge that was only hinted at on previous recordings. The shift to a bluesier sound actually works. Sure, there's the trademark Supertramp sound but that's missing the point. Every Supertramp album sounded a little bit different from the one before. The template that Davies (and Roger Hodgson for that matter) always used for Supertramp was the Beatles. None of The Beatles albums sounded quite the same.
Is Slow Motion a success? Partially, yes particularly on the numbers that don't look to the past. The closing track Dead Man's Blues manages to recall the extended prog rock closers by the band in both its length and the solos. Beyond that, though, this track (which is stunning and the best piece on the album)along with most of the record really doesn't have much to do with the band that recorded Breakfast in America. Slow Motion is an elaboration on the style and sound of Crime of the Century.
I have to give Rick Davies and his band mates credit for trying something daring and new. Yes, there are times it does recall previous attempts to go down the same road (Some Things Never Change, Famous Last Words or parts of Free As A Bird), but Slow Motion is at its most successful when it abandons the very things that made Supertramp successful in the past.
Is Slow Motion a success? Partially, yes particularly on the numbers that don't look to the past. The closing track Dead Man's Blues manages to recall the extended prog rock closers by the band in both its length and the solos. Beyond that, though, this track (which is stunning and the best piece on the album)along with most of the record really doesn't have much to do with the band that recorded Breakfast in America. Slow Motion is an elaboration on the style and sound of Crime of the Century.
I have to give Rick Davies and his band mates credit for trying something daring and new. Yes, there are times it does recall previous attempts to go down the same road (Some Things Never Change, Famous Last Words or parts of Free As A Bird), but Slow Motion is at its most successful when it abandons the very things that made Supertramp successful in the past.
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