r/vinyl • u/Obi_Juan85 • May 10 '26
Prog-Rock Supertramp deserves way more respect
Spinning Crime of the Century today and I genuinely think Supertramp is one of the most underrated bands from the classic rock era. Not obscure at all, obviously, but somehow they rarely get mentioned in the same breath as Floyd, Zeppelin, The Who, etc., and this album honestly deserves to be in that conversation.
The thing that gets me is how complete this record feels. The songwriting is incredible, but the production and arrangements elevate everything even more. It has prog elements, but never disappears into endless technical flexing. Every song actually feels emotional and purposeful.
“School” is one of the best album openers ever made. “Hide in Your Shell” hits harder every time I hear it. “Rudy” feels cinematic. And the title track is just unreal from beginning to end.
Also, this might be one of the best sounding classic rock records I’ve ever heard on vinyl. The dynamics, the separation, the atmosphere… there’s so much space in the mix without losing warmth. You can tell how much care went into every detail.
Albums like this remind me that Supertramp was way more than just “The Logical Song” and “Breakfast in America.”
3
u/TrailHawk79 May 11 '26
Supertramp is amazing, I personally love Breakfast In America cuz of The Logic Song :) I don't think they're up there with Floyd or Zep but they're still great. I love listening to them and Styx on vinyl, I took most of my parents collection and I've got Crime, Breakfast, and Paris. My dad had stuff from April Wine, Nazareth, Sabbath, Triumph, Zep, Floyd to the Beatles, Stones, Styx and Supertramp.
2
3
u/yukonnut May 11 '26
I remember the first time I heard crime of the century. It was just so different from everything else. Got three copies of it on vinyl.
1
u/Obi_Juan85 May 11 '26
Why 3? and is there a noticeable difference in each pressing?
3
u/yukonnut May 11 '26
Wife had a collection, I had a collection, garage sale bulk buy. We have multiple copies of a lot of things, just starting to cull , too much stuff.
1
u/Obi_Juan85 May 11 '26
Oh, got it, thought you wanted to try different pressings or something! Still never too many though.
3
u/Btewks-Mamyia-220 May 10 '26
One of the greatest “stereo and speaker 🔈 demo albums “. I had the privilege once to be in Macintosh Labs listening/testing room. This was the album played for its recording quality.
2
u/Obi_Juan85 May 11 '26
Great to know that! I love how it sounds, also is very heavy on bass I had to run to the SW to turn it down a bit as all of my glasses starting vibrating lol
3
u/Dramatic_Cut_7320 May 11 '26
I just listened to that album last week. I saw them do crime of the century in concert at the Paramount in Seattle way back when. Great album.
1
u/Obi_Juan85 May 11 '26
Wow I've only listened to the Paris live album, how were they playing live?
2
u/Dramatic_Cut_7320 May 11 '26
They were excellent. They had a huge light show behind the band. During Crime of the Century, the jail bars image from the album cover appeared like it was floating and tumbling in space, slowly getting larger as the song went on. Great show.
2
2
2
2
2
u/KT_from_VT May 11 '26
Supertramp is amazing, does NOT get enough recognition. Crisis What Crisis is slept on here - Easy Does It, Ain’t Nobody but Me, Poor Boy - it’s an incredible album
2
18
5
u/Open_Afternoon_8217 May 10 '26
Roger was saying something very important with the closing and title track of this album.
5
u/DrPoopyPantsJr May 11 '26
I scored the MoFi copy recently for a solid price and it sounds excellent.
2
u/hollywoodextras2000 May 10 '26
First got to know Supertramp through the Magnolia soundtrack. But really got to enjoy them more when I got into vinyl and grabbed their records. Also got this new pressing - sounds great.
2
2
2
u/jmo079 May 11 '26
Was literally talking about how they are a criminally underrated band with a co worker just last night.
2
2
u/Gumbercules81 May 11 '26
Who's saying they aren't great? I think they get Hella respect from any real classic rock enthusiast
2
2
u/8thTimeLucky May 11 '26
Bloody Well Right live in Paris is probably my favourite piece of record music of all time.
2
2
u/lotiscobra May 11 '26
Listened to this album front to back a few weeks back it’s great, every song was great.
2
2
-2
u/lth199 May 10 '26
Nein.
0
u/Legitimate_Cricket84 May 10 '26
This one being an “audiophile favorite” is one of the things I point to when mentioning how many of those folks listen to their system more than they listen to music itself.
0
0
0
15
u/Grindcore999 May 10 '26
Love me some Supertramp. I’ve only really listened to this one and Breakfast, though. I’m not educated enough on the meta to know if they got their due, but they seem pretty renowned in the classic rock conversation. I wouldn’t put them in the same tier as Zep or Floyd, more like ELO and the Eagles, personally.