With our 12th round pick, #242 overall, team AliceLoveGarden is proud to select in the UK category, Supertramp!
Supertramp is a
British progressive rock band that had a series of top-selling albums in the 1970s and early 1980s.
Their early music included ambitious
concept albums, but they are best known for their later hits including "
Dreamer", "
Goodbye Stranger", "
Give a Little Bit" and "
The Logical Song". Supertramp attained superstardom in the
United States,
Canada, and most of Europe. However, they were not quite as popular in the UK (where most of the band members are actually from). Nonetheless, the album
Breakfast in America was still a big hit, reaching number three on the UK charts and featuring two top 10 singles.
Supertramp is, without a doubt, one of my very favorite bands. They had some radio success and most people are familiar with those hits. I love them, but the work of this band goes beyond those radio hits, as is the case with any great artist.
I consider Breakfast in America to be one of the greatest rock albums ever made. It is strong from start to finish. There isn't one weak track. Supertramp's sound is so clean, it's almost like they were meant to be listened to on CD. They used an incredible range of instruments and were not limited to the standard 4 piece rock ensemble in any way.
Here's a sampling of some of my favorite Supertramp tunes...
School (from
Crime of the Century) The opening is eerily similar to Morricone's
Man with a Harmonica from Once Upon a Time in the West!
Child of Vision (closes
Breakfast in America)
Asylum (from
Crime of the Century)
Take The Long Way Home (from
Breakfast in America)
Fool's Overture (Closes
Even In the Quietest Moments)
Crime of the Century