Crisis? What Crisis?: Supertramp

(A & M Records L-35725)

Supertramp's Crime of the Century was one of the best new group albums of 1975. This, their second album, has most of the elements of the first, the same five guys playing the same instruments (except Richard Davies who appears to have given up the harmonica which was so striking in 'Schoo'). The Stacatlo keyboards and urgent voices of 'Dreamer' return in 'Lady', the nice downturn of melody line of 'Asylum' is back hand the catchy clarinet playing from the last section of 'If Everyone was Listening' can be found in 'Poor Boy'

However, no singly instrument is played remarkably, and there is not the rich abundance of diverse sounds that made the earlier album 'great' rather than just 'nice'. For example, there's no equivalent of the amazing convergence of rhythms and individual instrumental lines on the last part of the 'Crime of the Century' track And not such imaginative other-instrument effects produced on the synthesiser.

Lyrics? The John Cleese-like character on the cover; reclining on deckchair beneath sun umbrella, surrounded by rain, smog, factories and general industrial murk is saying 'you needn't let this get you down', i.e Crisis? What Crises? You can insulate yourself. That message takes the trite 'everything is Ok so long as I've got you' form on 'Two of Us' and 'Poor Boy':

The Meaning' is more original helpful: the urgent voices cry out against those who cover up their loneliness by building up their own little houses:

'Well I just don't know the reason Just don't know what to say Just seems like a normal day'

The lyrics, the slow pace, faint wailing in the background, and use of two voices one after the other as in conversation, make this a valuable expression of alienation. But again the message is "What Crisis?"

In other words, theres no crisis - you've just got to fix your own head and life and you too can bathe in that little patch of sunshine on the front cover.

Overall, this is a 'nice' album. It will probably grow in you if you liked the stuff in Crime of the Century.

But it's altogether a thinner effort - like an economy version, there's not so much music in it.

— John McBride