Crime of the Century

Crime of the Century Artist: Supertramp
Label: A&M
Category: Music


Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1


UPC: 075021364721
EAN: 0075021364721
ASIN: B000002GEV


Release Date: 1990-10-25

Crime of the Century


Related Categories:

General General
Categories | Pop | Styles | Music
Pop Rock Pop Rock
Categories | Pop | Styles | Music
General General
Categories | Rock | Styles | Music
Progressive Rock Progressive Rock
Categories | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music
Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) Album-Oriented Rock (AOR)
Categories | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Tracks:

  1. School
  2. Bloody Well Right
  3. Hide In Your Shell
  4. Asylum
  5. Dreamer
  6. Rudy
  7. If Everyone Was Listening
  8. Crime of the Century

Similar Items:

  1. Breakfast in America
  2. Even in the Quietest Moments...
  3. Crisis? What Crisis?
  4. The Dark Side of the Moon
  5. Some Things Never Change

Amazon.com

After releasing two albums to less than positive critique, <I>Crime of the Century</I>, with the classic track "Dreamer," set Supertramp truly on the map. It also marked the beginning of a long and illustrious career for a band that originally came together through the "Musicians Wanted" section of a British paper. Combining the best of a myriad of musical styles, Supertramp, with its heavily keyboard-powered and sax-colored progressive pop sound, forged a sound that few have ever come close to emulating. --Paul Clark

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars 4.4 actually.........2007-03-03

I have been a 'closet' Supertramp fan for over 20 years and i must say I severely disagree with the last Reviewer.. Not about the review, but saying this was their only great cd... BS. The follow up 'Crisis?..', 'Even in the quietest..' and the live cd 'Paris' were awesome as well. not to mention the classic 'Breakfast' cd that everyone calls a sell-out, was very good as well... Supertramp were never taken seriously and that is a rotten shame. The 70's and early '80's would not have been the same without them... Davies/Hodgeson were a duo up there with Lennon/Mccartney in my humble opinion.. There, i said it!

5 out of 5 stars Superior - Stands the Test of Time.......2007-01-28

I first saw Supertramp in 1973 as the rhythm section for Chuck Berry at London's Rainbow theater. A few years later Crime of the Century showed up, courtesy of an older brother. We played the grooves out of several copies. IMO it's a really great album (their only great album) that has held up over the years. 30+ years later and on another continent and I still love listening to it!

5 out of 5 stars Supertramp Is Progressive.......2007-01-01

Before the blockbuster pop album "Breakfast in America" Supertramp was considered to be a progressive rock group. The group's first two albums were very progressive and given the general lack of salability of progressive rock in any era neither album was very successful. The group retooled their sound and tried again with "Crime of the Century," which many people consider one of Supertramp's best albums. The music was still progressive, but with a distinctive pop flavor that would become increasingly evident in their next several albums. Fans of Supertramp and early progressive rock will need this album for their collection.

Richard Davies introduces the song "School" with a haunting harmonica solo. This melancholy song has progressive elements as it ponders the conflict between tradition and conformity and the reality of life.

In a pop style with a hard edge is "Bloody Well Right." The lyrics are relatively simple and ironic, more so because of the placement after "School." The song appears to be about the accuracy of complaints, but then you realize that the singer is agreeing without agreeing. In one portion of the song the singer says that he agrees that you can complain about school and you must be right, but there is right from one person's point of view and then there is a more universal accuracy. I sense this song makes fun of complainers.

The song "Hide in Your Shell" is an excellent mix of progressive and pop. This song contains complex lyrics and wonderfully constructed music. At nearly seven minutes in length this song is the second longest on this CD, and is one of the most artistic songs in Supertramp's repertoire. Almost as long, "Asylum" follows and is another complex and artistic song, though it is also more progressive than "Hide in Your Shell." There are sufficient vocal elements to complement the theme of insanity and the final part of the lyrics in the accompanying booklet trail off with the end of the lyrics; quite a nice touch. This song also acquires harder elements as the song progresses, with wailing guitars, yells, and layered instruments.

"Dreamer" moves back into progressive pop territory. However, the theme stays in the range of "Asylum" by implying that there is a borderline area between dreaming and insanity. Even the vocals have an edge that implies a bit of craziness.

"Rudy" is the longest song on this CD. This progressive song is sad. Rudy leads a humdrum life looking for something and not finding it. This song reminds me of Supertramp's early music rather than the pop direction they were heading. The music is complex and follows the story of the lyrics, which are neither catchy nor easy to remember. However, progressive fans may prefer this kind of music over the songs with pop features.

The song "If Everyone Is Listening" retains a few progressive elements, but there are pop features as well. This song has a very catchy hook and the lyrics are quite listenable. I think this song could have been a single. This song continues the theme of the previous song in that the previous song is about how a life can be mundane and meaningless, while this song implies that we are actors in our own play, and things happen that can be changed if only people were listening. The lyrics are good and the music is very good.

Staying progressive and with social consciousness is "Crime of the Century." The song asks not-so-subtly who is responsible for the problems we see in the world today. Rip off the mask and you see you and me; sobering for anyone who still pays attention to the ills in the world in this supposedly enlightened era.

I prefer progressive rock over most forms of music. It goes without saying that good progressive rock is preferred. Because of my preference I enjoy Supertramp's progressive and progressive pop music more than their pop music. Conversely, others like the pop and dislike the progressive, sometimes calling it noise. "Crime of the Century" contains both styles, and may be a difficult purchase for some listeners. However, some believe that "Crime of the Century" was an artistic peak for Supertramp, including at least one member of Supertramp, though their commercial peak was yet to come. As usual, it comes down to taste. I have a preference for this music because it is different and requires you to pay attention to the lyrics and the music to enjoy the more challenging works. If music is something you hum along to you may want to move on to something a bit lighter than this album.

Note that there is at least one later, remastered version of this album. You may wish to see which of the various versions of this album best meets your needs before you buy.

Enjoy!

5 out of 5 stars crime of the century (mfsl 24k gold).......2005-11-29

I have owned "crime of the century" for at least 20 years. First on LP ,then on CD. This has been one of my favourite CD's and I never get tired of it. School, Rudy and Dreamer are all classics
As an audiophle, I recently purchased and unopenned MFSL 24k Gold version of crime of the century. Of course, I had to open and play it(even though it is a collectors item now).
This Gold CD is far superior to the standard if your musical system is up to the task. if it is for your car stereo or ghetto blaster , don't waste your money. If you have a system worthy of hearing the detail that is on this disk, spend the money ,you won't be disappointed. I have other gold cd's ,but not of the quality of "crime of the century".

5 out of 5 stars Don't make'm like this anymore..........2004-03-31

This is one of the classic "must have" albums in anyone's collection. I have yet to slip the CD in my player and not listen to the entire disc. I'm 45 years old and never tire of listening to it, 30 years later.

I'm not going to get into the pop/not pop discussion, don't really care what you call it--I just simply call it GREAT! It's flawless, emotional music.

Any band that has any catalog at all have one album they can call their masterpiece, this is Supertramp's tour de force.

Music Album:

  1. Rufus Wainwright (+Bonus Tracks) ~ Rufus Wainwright
  2. In Deep/Nexus ~ Argent
  3. Doomsday: Back and Forth, Vol. 5: Live ~ Skinny Puppy
  4. Blues Helping ~ Love Sculpture
  5. M.O.M. II: Music For Our Mother Ocean ~ Various Artists
  6. More Songs About Buildings and Cows ~ The Meat Purveyors
  7. Two Cents Plus Tax ~ Versus
  8. Barbed Wire Sandwich ~ The Black Cat Bones
  9. Good Morning Starshine ~ Strawberry Alarm Clock
  10. Pickin' on John Mayer ~ Various Artists

Music Album

Music Album

Music CD

Preludes & Rhapsodies ~ Deodato

Mr. Clean ~ Mitchel Forman Quintet

Best of the Big Bands ~ Paul Whiteman

Music CD 19

Chorale ~ Simone Guiducci, Gramelot Ensemble

Miles Blend ~ Kazuko Hashimoto

1934 Les Cingles Du Music Hall

With Ron Carter ~ Takeshi Yamaguchi

Chorinhos ~ Orquestra Tabajara

Kimi Wo Tsureteiku ~ Asami Abe