The Supertramp split

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Say It Right, Jan 24, 2017.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Say It Right

    Say It Right Not for the Hearing Impaired Thread Starter

    Location:
    Niagara Falls
    Finally obtained Roger Hodgon - In the Eye of the Storm after all this time. It'd never been on the "to get" list, but a used copy was staring up at me in the favorite local independent shop. This album is as good as reports have been. Some posts here have suggested that combining the best element from this with Brother Where You Bound would've made for an excellent rebound after the relative disappoint of ...Famous Last Words.

    This rift was (apparently) not quite as contentious as Pink Floyd/Roger Waters, but there was never any type of reconciliation.

    The known factors:

    Musically, there were some differences with Hodgson being more pop-oriented and Davies showing some jazzy leanings, but both appeared to graze in some of the prog-lite territory of 10cc and Alan Parson Project. Like Pink Floyd they paid close attention to recording quality and album covers were an important part of the overall package. So, it's debateble if the distinctions between the two were irreparable from this perspective.

    Probably a bigger issue looming has been that Davies's wife has been Supertramp manager. Money usually trumps "musical differences." The fact that the Paris Blu Ray/DVD was promoted by the non-writing/non-singing alumni should give at least a partial indication.

    So....the purpose of this thread is NOT to "hope" for a reunion. It's long past the point of mattering anymore and please do not post "I wish they had one more album in them!" This is to discuss within the context of what occurred post-Breakfast in America through mid-80's.
     
  2. PretzelLogic

    PretzelLogic Feeling duped by MoFi? You probably deserve it.

    Location:
    London, England
    The Janine Factor is strong in this one.
     
  3. Say It Right

    Say It Right Not for the Hearing Impaired Thread Starter

    Location:
    Niagara Falls
  4. Chemguy

    Chemguy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Western Canada
    Eye of the Storm...good. Brother Where You Bound...good. (The 45rpm single, great)

    I'm just not excited about anything after these.

    Sad, really.
     
    Jrr likes this.
  5. dkmonroe

    dkmonroe A completely self-taught idiot

    Location:
    Atlanta
    I think they just blew up after they hit it big. A lot of bands struggle after reaching the peak of their game - Pink Floyd had a similar problem after DSOTM but their personal issues didn't become as serious until much later. But most bands are ready and willing to hang in there until they hit that one blockbuster album, and then unity isn't first priority anymore.

    But with Supertramp it must have been personal stuff - Roger and Rick struck a great balance musically and at their best, they were one of best examples of that kind of progressive pop that you would care to hear.
     
  6. bcaulf

    bcaulf Forum Resident

    I might have to check these out. I have the Supertramp albums from Crime to Famous Last Words (which was not a favorite at all...found it to be quite a boring album but it's been years since I listened to it). For whatever reason I shied away from Brother Where You Bound. I have never even heard of Eye Of The Storm
     
    Jrr likes this.
  7. videoman

    videoman Senior Member

    Location:
    Lake Tahoe, NV
    I think it might be as simple as that, by all accounts, the two guys never liked each other much. And once they both had all the money/fame they wanted and the band had probably peaked? What was the point of staying together.

    Not every band starts out the best of the friends.

    I remember hearing stories of fist fights between the two backstage back when they were still together.

    I also remember hearing that Hodgson was a bit of a pothead while the others weren't so much. Those sorts of differences don't help either. If true.
     
  8. bRETT

    bRETT Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston MA
    That's pretty much it-- It wasn't anything musical. The last album could have been a classic with "Brother WHere You Bound" and "Sleeping WIth the Enemy," but those songs would have taken more work than the ones on Famous Last Words.
     
    Last edited: Jan 25, 2017
    videoman likes this.
  9. Sadcafe

    Sadcafe In the kingdom of the deaf, one eared man is King

    Crime is in my top 3 of all time. Brother is the only other 'album' I like. A smattering of tracks from other albums. Never listened to Hodgesons solo stuff (his voice does grate after a while) but will give this a try....
     
  10. Drew769

    Drew769 Buyer of s*** I never knew I lacked

    Location:
    NJ
    Roger mentions the split at least once during every live concert. Amicable, it was not! I believe there were issues with the splitting of intellectual property.

    When you hear Roger live, though, and he alternates between six string, 12 string, and keyboards, you all of a sudden realize how much talent this man possesses. His greatest songs are some of the ones you may never have heard if you were a casual fan. "Two of Us" live is unreal.
     
  11. videoman

    videoman Senior Member

    Location:
    Lake Tahoe, NV
    I always liked them both and love Supertramp, but I agree that Roger's voice can get annoying over an entire album and Rick's can get boring.

    But switching back and forth as they usually did, it worked much better. IMO
     
    Siegmund, Dodoz, gregorya and 3 others like this.
  12. videoman

    videoman Senior Member

    Location:
    Lake Tahoe, NV
    I doubt it helped much, in their case, to put both their names on all the songwriting credits. One of those ideas that probably sounded good at first...
     
  13. swampwader

    swampwader Forum Resident

    Location:
    Reading, Michigan
    I'm probably one of the few tramp fans that loves Davies' "My Kind Of Lady" off '..famous last words' :winkgrin: Now there's a song to break up a band by..
     
  14. Moonchild

    Moonchild Forum Resident

    Location:
    Coruña. Spain
    A clash of egos
     
  15. maui jim

    maui jim Forum Resident

    Location:
    West of LA
    Hitting thei commercial peak after Breakfast. Same with Don and Glenn. One lp after HC and it's over.
     
  16. dkmonroe

    dkmonroe A completely self-taught idiot

    Location:
    Atlanta
    Yeah. At the time it seemed the weirdest thing. When BIA came out I thought, well, we'll never hear the last of them. Then they just flamed out.
     
    duggan likes this.
  17. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    From what I heard Hodgson say (because Davies doesn't really talk about it), there were a few factors. Mainly that Davies' wanted his wife to manage the band which Hodgson was directly opposed to. By that time, instead of collaborating on songs, they'd most just write separately. One engineer even remarked it would be normal for them to greet each other but otherwise go a whole day without saying a word to one another. Then, Hodgson became a father and wanted to spend more time with his family.

    As for reconciliation, that'll never happen. The gentleman's agreement came with a clause that while Davies can use the Supertramp name, that none of Hodgson's songs would ever be performed by the band. Through word of mouth and verifying himself, he saw they were playing songs of his with a soundalike on vocals.

    There would never be reconciliation but to make it near impossible, Davies has been hit with major health issues lately. My guess is he's heading towards the end. His voice is shot anyway.
     
  18. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    Uh, no. That'd be Casual Conversation. No amount of Old Spice could ever make that turd smell lovely.
     
  19. Chris C

    Chris C Music was my first love and it will be my last!

    Location:
    Ohio
    For all of the years that I've had to live with Rick and Roger NOT getting along, it has almost taken the fun out of my being a fan of the band, to be honest!

    I've come to discover that while their songs will never be the same without BOTH of them, the one thing that I believe that I miss the most, might just be Bob behind the drums!

     
    sound chaser, Carlox, Octowen and 3 others like this.
  20. ScramMan2

    ScramMan2 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland OR
    In my 5 seasons of working @Ravinia the Roger Hodgson show is one of my best memories. I worked the show and my wife got a free Pavilion ticket from our Guest Services manager. Great night.

    I do have his solo album In the Eye of the Storm and I have most of the Supertramp catalog.
     
  21. Rojo

    Rojo Forum Resident

    Very well said. None of them made up for a great lead singer but the two of them made a nice mix.

    I remember watching a video of a Supertramp concert in Germany in the fairwell tour (of the original lineup). Davies and Hodgson were virtually ignoring each other throughout the concert.
     
    Jrr likes this.
  22. Say It Right

    Say It Right Not for the Hearing Impaired Thread Starter

    Location:
    Niagara Falls
    Looking at group photos, Davies isn't exactly a barrel of laughs. Hodgson seems like the one carrying on the original grievance, but Supertramp performing his songs raised a major red flag. After 35 years, that's a long time to carry a grudge though. Still, it was Hodgson who wanted to fire the rest of the band. Kind of makes you wonder when the sax player was the "face" of the group and was the one chatting with the audiences.
     
  23. Vaughan

    Vaughan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Essex, UK
    I joined the Supertramp party during the 70's, when Dreamer hit the charts, b/w Bloody Well Right. Bought Crimes, and loved that. In fact, I followed them avidly until Breakfast. Breakfast broke them huge, but I've never really loved it. I think it was at that point that basically sold out. It's all very much Supertramp doing what Supertramp does. It's over-produced, too slick. The songs aren't bad, but I'd love to hear them done stripped down.

    Do people not like Famous Last Words? Always liked that one, it has some real screamers on there - great songs to have a drunken night too. Put on Your Old Brown Shoes, Bonnie, C'est Le Bon, DOn't Leave Me Now, are all classics in their discography, imo. There are no tracks on it I don't like.

    I also think Brother Where You Bound is excellent. The sound is less tangled, but alive with energy. Free As a Bird is where the wheels fell off. Although to be fair, it's been some time since I revisited it. It just didn't work for me at all. Where there was justifiable excitement from what they did on Brother, it all came to nought. Don't know anything about what happened to them beyond that. Never bothered with Hodgson's releases.

    Another strange thing, I never felt compelled to work backwards from Crime. Which is odd. Probably should correct that at some point. Revisiting them now I'd say Crime and Crisis are probably their best moments. To be honest once Breakfast released they closed the door on doing anything different until Brother. I prefer Famous... to Breakfast.....
     
    sound chaser and cageyc like this.
  24. Robert Parker

    Robert Parker Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bronson, FL
    I actually like that song, as well as "Bonnie" and "Put on Your Old Brown Shoes." Hodgson's "C'est Le Bon" and "Know Who You Are" are also good. The rest of the album I can take or leave, except for "It's Raining Again," which I got sick of in '82 and still can't stand.

    One thing about ... famous last words, though: it has, in my opinion, a sort of bleak aura throughout, as if you can hear the disintegration of the band (or at least the Davies/Hodgson partnership) before your very ears.
     
  25. bRETT

    bRETT Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston MA
    Though why Hodgson wrote a song about the singer of Duran Duran will forever remain a mystery....
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine