Crime of the Century, Supertramp’s first best album, can be hard to pin down. Remembered both for Roger Hodgson’s lilting “Dreamer” and Rick Davies’ more muscular “Bloody Well Right,” the LP balanced pristine pop and progressive rock like none yet from Supertramp – and helped the band make its initial foray into the Billboard Top 40.
Supertramp was finally fulfilling a long-term goal, Hodgson tells us in an exclusive Something Else! Sitdown – even if it meant that some fans (not to mention many a rock critic) struggled in their attempts to create an easy classification for the band.
“I always steered the band in the way I thought it wanted to go, in the direction the songs were suggesting,” Hodgson says. “In that sense, the critics never knew what to do with us. We weren’t a band that had major scandals to write about. We weren’t a band that had major problems to write about. It was really just about the music, and the artistry surrounding that music. Unfortunately, that can sometimes become boring for those in the media.”
Released in September 1974, Crime of the Century is recognized for marking the beginning of a new era, as Davies and Hodgson rebuilt their supporting cast after the disappointments of Supertramp’s initial two album projects. The addition of John Helliwell, Bob Siebenberg and Doug Thomson gave the group new life, with each of them proving to be just as interested in pushing the musical envelope.
The train sound on the key Crime of the Century deep cut “Rudy,” for instance, was actually recorded at London’s Paddington Station. Going forward, they’d try playing the sax in a stairwell in order to get a different atmosphere. Who can forget the sound of a hand-held football game making a subsequent appearance on “The Logical Song”? As with the former, this album’s UK Top 20 hit “Dreamer” found a then-little used Wurlitzer playing a central role.
“I’ve always had a very percussive keyboard style,” Hodgson tells us. “The action on the Wurlitzer really lends itself to being percussive and rhythmical. The Fender Rhodes is the other electric piano, and you can’t do that. So, the Wurlitzer, we were very drawn to it. There was ‘Dreamer’ and ‘The Logical Song’ and, actually, many others on that instrument. It has a wonderful feel to it.”
An expanded 40th anniversary edition of Crime of the Century from 2014 also featured a second disc focusing on a 1975 concert at the Hammersmith Odeon, mixed by original producer Ken Scott, and select material from the follow up Crisis? What Crisis? For those who only know the hits, it was an opportunity to explore further into lesser-known fare (and concert staples) like “Rudy,” the title track and “School.”
In fact, as odd as the jazz fusion-informed “School” may sound on the surface, this song actually distills many of Supertramp’s strengths. There’s the free-form creativity of its construction, the plaintive lyric (part nostalgia, part fitful rebellion), and a musical specificity that simply leaps out of the speakers – from the vivid piano lead, to the growling harmonica, to the thudding bass. “School,” put simply, is an early Supertramp manifesto.
“Traditionally, the pop song is verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, verse, chorus – and ‘School’ was nothing like that,” Hodgson says. “There were a lot of different sections. There’s no rule, really. I think rules don’t work if you are an artist. You have to be free to let the songs go where they want to go.”
That’s the magic, then as now, of Supertramp’s Crime of the Century.
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Among my most-played and for excellent reason- at its essence, outstanding music that’s timeless. My personal fave on this gem is ‘Hide In Your Shell’ because I could relate so well with the song and has actually stayed with me. It was only a few years ago that I “looked up” the songwriters of Supertramp and became informed of Roger Hodgson who wrote Hide in your Shell and a lot of my personal favorites (School, Dreamer, If everyone was Listening, Breakfast in America, Logical song) and last year came full circle to hear Roger perform live ni concert and to this day it was one of the very best shows I have ever attendedin my years.
Can’t wait for the box set of Crime, one of my all time favorite albums. Great Christmas gift to myself! Amazing how the songs sound so fresh today – 40 years later. It’s Roger Hodgson’s songs from the album that are my favorites – Hide in Your Shell, Dreamer, School, and If Everyone Was Listening. All the songs on the LP are amazing but I have always preferred Roger’s over Rick’s. Many people are not aware that although Roger and Rick shared writing credit, they actually wrote and composed separately with each singing their own songs. I guess that explains why I have always skipped to Roger’s all these years.
It doesn’t seem possible that “Crime of the Century” is 40 years old. It is proof that great music is timeless. I love all 8 songs on the album but to me the ones that stand out are the 4 that were written by Roger Hodgson. My personal favorite, which contains a very powerful message that has help get me through some rough times over the years, is “ Hide in your Shell “ . Even though the original Supertramp hasn’t toured in over 30 years I was thrilled to learn that Roger Hodgson is still touring actively. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing him several times over the last 3 years during his tour through the NJ/NY/PA area and I can honestly say that I have never seen a concert as great as one of Roger’s. He is a consummate artist who obviously loves performing for his audience and he, as well as a very good 4 member band, sounds great.