CD Review: Richard Palmer-James' Takeaway (2016)

This wonderful little album flew under the radar for most of us, 2016 a horrible year where the enthusiastic appreciation of the year’s good music was dampened greatly by the parade of rock ‘n’ roll obituaries that horrified us all. Somewhere in between the bad news and the worse news, Richard Palmer-James' lovely Takeaway album flitted by, ignored by both the mainstream music press and many music blogs that claim to revel in such indie-rock fare.

For the unknowing, Richard Palmer-James should be a huge name in rock music rather than the sorely overlooked footnote he seems to have become. A friend and early bandmate of prog-rock legend John Wetton, as “Richard Palmer” he was a founding member of the British art-rock outfit Supertramp, contributing to the band’s 1970 self-titled album as a singer, guitarist, and songwriter. A gifted wordsmith in a band with two other strong songwriters – Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson – Palmer left Supertramp shortly after the release of the band’s debut.

Palmer-James resurfaced when his old pal Wetton took a gig with Robert Fripp in the restructured, mid-1970s version of King Crimson. The band’s original lyricist, Pete Sinfield, had been ousted by Fripp and Crimson was looking for a new word-wrangler. Enter Palmer- James, who contributed lyrics to what are widely considered to be three of the band’s best, and most influential albums – 1973’s Larks’ Tongues in Aspic (1973) and 1974’s Starless and Bible Black and Red – after which Fripp broke up the band until the ‘80s. Palmer-James would later perform with former Crimson members Wetton and David Cross, releasing a 1979 album as Jack Knife with Wetton. 

Richard Palmer-James’ Takeaway

Palmer-James has never forged much of a solo career as a recording artist, seemingly preferring his status as a lyricist. If he’d done nothing more than help launch Supertramp and bolster King Crimson during a tumultuous time, he’s earned his place in rock ‘n’ roll history. So it’s no surprise that Takeaway, Palmer-James’ solo debut, coming so late in the artist’s career, should be overlooked in today’s mad, mad world. ‘Tis a shame, too, ‘cause Takeway is a powerful showcase for a talented scribe and composer with a unique, timeless sound that would certainly appeal to today’s hordes of indie-rock fans. Palmer-James’ vocals remind a lot of the late Leonard Cohen’s, a sonorous half-spoken/half-song voice that draws equally from rock, blues, and folk traditions and place a songs’ emphasis on the literary lyrics.

Takeaway kicks off with Palmer-James’ charming “Aerodrome,” a wistful look at lost youth by an aging protagonist that is swirling with odd, imaginative instrumentation. “A Very Bad Girl” is a more traditional rock song, with some fine rockabilly-tinged guitar and a walking bass line underscoring the singer’s clever, humorous verses. The poetic “Chances Passing” offers Palmer-James’ typically obtuse lyrics punctuated by some elegant fretwork and minimalist percussion while “Dance For Me” is a bluesy, up-tempo, lusty tune with wiry guitar licks and engaging rhythms.

With a world seemingly in ruins, “Honest Jim” looks for a hero among the chaos with cheeky lyrics, filigree guitar-strum, and syncopated percussion. The languid “Guano Blues” is based on a bluesy piano run reminiscent of Pinetop Perkins while Palmer-James’ spry vocals dance lively above the shuffling rhythm. The lush “Saving You From Drowning” is a hauntingly beautiful, seemingly auto-biographical ballad that features Palmer-James’ wan vocals supported by a deceptively mesmerizing soundtrack with a mournful romantic undercurrent created by sparse use of accordion to provide accents. The album’s title track is a similar construct, its familiar melancholy melody and lovely instrumentation perfectly underlining Palmer-James’ yearning vocals.         

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

Richard Palmer-James’ Takeaway works as an album on a lot of different levels – Americana aficionados would appreciate his cross-genre hybrid sound and indie-rock fans could embrace his singer/songwriter prowess – while the rest of us can simply enjoy the album’s throwback sound that contemporizes 1970s-era folk-rock for a modern era. A wonderfully-gifted songwriter, evocative vocalist, and underrated guitarist, Richard Palmer-James has taken decades to do so, but he’s delivered an impressive, engaging debut album with Takeaway.

‘Tis all the more the shame that today’s media landscape offers little room for such a charming, personal album to thrive commercially. That shouldn’t stop you from checking out Takeaway, however, Richard Palmer-James a talent worth your time to discover! Grade: B+ (Primary Purpose Records, released October 14, 2016)

Buy the CD from Amazon.com: Richard Palmer-Jones' Takeaway

CD Review: Supertramp's Crime of the Century (deluxe edition)

Supertramp’s third album, Crime of the Century, was essentially the work of a brand new band. Formed in 1969 by keyboardist and singer Rick Davies, Supertramp originally enjoyed financial support from a Dutch millionaire and, after scoring a deal with A&M Records, the band recorded a pair of art-rock albums for the label that were released in 1970 and ‘71. Mixing progressive rock virtuosity with British pop sensibilities, the two records served more as a showcase for the individual band member’s instrumental skills than as a true creative statement. Neither album sold particularly well so when their benefactor withdrew his patronage, Supertramp essentially broke up.

Davies and fellow founding member Roger Hodgson (vocals, guitar) worked to put together a new Supertramp, recruiting American drummer Bob C. Benberg from pub-rockers Bees Make Honey, and making Dougie Thomson, who had already been substituting on bass, a full-time member. Thomson brought in his former Alan Bown Set bandmate John Helliwell (saxophone) and what is today known as the classic Supertramp line-up was formed. This was the band that would record Crime of the Century with producer/engineer Ken Scott, who had worked previously with the Beatles, David Bowie, and Pink Floyd. Whereas previously Davies and Hodgson had written songs together, the widening gap in their interests and lives spurred them to begin writing individually, resulting in a glut of material.

Supertramp’s Crime of the Century

The band entered the studio with a surplus of great songs, many of which would end up on subsequent albums. Crime of the Century tempered the band’s previous overt progressive tendencies with more of a pop-rock sheen. Although the new players were every bit as talented as the earlier members (if not more so), the complex songs were less a display of instrumental virtuosity than they were careful constructs of sound melody. Producer Scott pushed the band to think outside of the box and utilize the studio as an instrument in itself, and to incorporate non-traditional sounds into their songs. Not that Supertramp entirely abandoned their prog-rock proclivities – the album’s opening track, “School,” is somewhat the best of both worlds, featuring lush instrumentation and extended musical passages alongside its pop melody.

The album’s second single, “Bloody Well Right,” was indicative of the band’s new direction, showcasing a more muscular, hard rock sound with proggy overtones that depended on Hodgson’s imaginative fretwork and the song’s distinctive chorus. The addition of Helliwell’s soulful sax playing fleshed out the song’s minimal lyrics and helped catch the ears of U.S. audiences, which sent the song into the Top 40. By contrast, the album’s other single release – Hodgson’s “Dreamer” – didn’t chart at all stateside but rose to #13 in the band’s U.K. homeland. It’s a whimsical performance, Hodgson’s lofty vocals assisted by Davies’ busy, insistent keyboard line. The vocal harmonies weren’t dissimilar to what Queen was doing at the time, but the song’s syncopated rhythms and ethereal vocals help create a mesmerizing listening experience.

If Everyone Was Listening

If Crime of the Century is remembering today entirely on the basis of “Bloody Well Right” and “Dreamer,” that would be legacy enough, but there are plenty of other strong songs on the album that many band members consider Supertramp’s creative pinnacle. Davies’ subtle piano flourishes on “Hide In Your Shell” mimic melodic themes he uses throughout the album, tying all the songs together as a single related composition. The song’s instrumentation is somewhat proggy and artful, often working at odd angles to the vocals, resulting in a breathtaking performance. Ostensibly the protagonist behind the album’s loosely-conceptual lyrical themes of loneliness and alienation, “Rudy” provides a showcase for Davies’ fluid keyboards, the song’s jazzy undercurrent and Hodgson’s biting guitar solos providing a counterpoint to the frequently minimalist instrumentation, at times placing an emphasis on the lyrics and at other times serving to create a moody ambience.

Hodgson’s “If Everyone Was Listening” is the album’s most orchestral track, its swelling instrumentation and busy arrangement sounding not unlike Dark Side of the Moon era Pink Floyd. Davies was a far different piano player than Rick Wright, however, his flailing ivories adding a much more atonal, almost improvisational-jazz styled vibe to the song, an idea that is only bolstered by Helliwell’s flashes of mournful sax. Benberg’s drumming is superb here, not so much keeping time as in providing instrumental support to the often fey effects of the accompanying strings and melancholy piano. The album’s title track is a minor classic in itself, its construction also in a Pink Floyd vein, orchestral passages creating a stark ambience with the occasional jolts of piano, sax, or guitar, while its raucous shouted vocals pre-date Roger Waters’ The Wall by several years.

     

Live At The Hammersmith Odeon 1975

The “deluxe” 2014 reissue of Crime of the Century includes a bonus disc that documents a March 1975 performance by the band at the Hammersmith Odeon. Just as Supertramp had collaborated with producer Ken Scott to create a new sonic paradigm in the studio, the band’s management worked with electronics experts to create an innovative sound system to properly reproduce the band’s complex music in a live setting. The results speak for themselves, as the Hammersmith Odeon performance sounds every bit as crystalline and aurally engaging as the original album itself. The live set begins with the first four songs from the album, expanded a bit, perhaps, from the LP versions with a little more instrumentation, but nothing too ostentatious, the band pretty much recreating the album tracks with the addition of small, interesting instrumental flourishes.

Supertramp veer off course by the fifth song, however, the band drawing upon the material they had stockpiled to deliver a taste of their upcoming album, Crisis? What Crisis? Featuring four songs from that album, which would be released in late 1975, the new songs don’t stray that far from the sound the band had crafted for Crime of the Century. “Sister Moonshine” offers up some nice vocal interplay, the arrangement highlighted by Davies’ gentle keyboard runs while “Lady,” the lead-off single from the 1975 album, is a nifty pop triumph with lively vocals and keyboards. The odd man here is “A – You’re Adorable,” a 1940s-era pop song that was a hit for Perry Como and Jo Stafford, spoken/sung here by saxman Helliwell, who provides muted, slightly-crooning vocals above Davies’ discordant piano. The band closes out the live set with the four remaining songs from Crime of the Century, highlighted by the title track, which is provided a stunning instrumental performance.
      

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

Crime of the Century was considered Supertramp’s commercial breakthrough, the album yielding a pair of minor hit singles in what was an increasingly album-oriented rock ‘n’ roll world. The album rose as high as #38 on the U.S. charts on its way to Gold™ Record status (for 500,000+ copies sold) while it hit a lofty #4 on the charts in the U.K. It was also somewhat of a worldwide success, charting Top 10 in Canada and Germany and Top 20 in Australia and France while also developing a following in the Netherlands. More importantly, Crime of the Century provided the band with a musical blueprint that, although it would take two more modestly-successful albums to perfect, would emerge at the end of the decade with Supertramp’s 1979 smash hit LP Breakfast In America.

The creative tensions and lifestyle differences that had pushed Davies and Hodgson to become individual songwriters also provided Supertramp with a fascinating complexity and dichotomy of sound that transcended the band’s prog-rock roots to bring something uniquely exquisite in its stead. Although Supertramp is often denied the respect and admiration provided contemporaries like Yes, Pink Floyd, or Genesis, their influence can be heard today in like-minded prog-pop outfits like Spock’s Beard and the Flower Kings. From humble beginnings, Crime of the Century pushed Supertramp onto a world stage and cemented the band’s considerable musical legacy. Although this 40th anniversary reissue of the album lacks any studio outtakes, the addition of a live disc and an illustrated booklet with well-written (and extensive) new liner notes should prompt fans to upgrade their old CDs. Grade: A- (A&M Records, released September 1974, reissued December 2014)

Buy the CD from Amazon.com: Supertramp's Crime of the Century (40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)

Supertramp’s Crime of the Century Deluxe 40th Anniversary Reissue

Ah, Supertramp…after an absence of probably 30 years, the British art-rock jokers have inched their way back onto my stereo with their lighthearted blend of melodic pop, overblown pomp, and progressive rock instrumentation. I’m not sure why they were AWOL all those years; they probably fell out of favor when the Reverend went through his death metal phase, or maybe it was the siren call of the punk-rock ‘90s, but Supertramp went begging until they were just recently rediscovered.

Unlike 1970s-era proggers like Yes or ELP, Supertramp was designed from the ground up to be a commercial vehicle, and their progressive/art-rock proclivities were more a feature of the talents of band members like singer, songwriter, and pianist Rick Davies; singer and guitarist Roger Hodgson; and multi-instrumentalist and horn player John Helliwell than a deliberate attempt at virtuosity. After a couple of solid early 1970s album releases and a like number of roster changes, Supertramp grabbed the ever elusive brass ring with the 1974 release of their third album, Crime of the Century.

By the time of Crime of the Century, Davies and Hodgson had developed a real chemistry as a songwriting team, and the assembled musicians backing the frontmen were talented contributors to the band’s unique sound. The album was the band’s first to chart Top 40 in the U.S. while peaking at number four in the UK, mostly on the strength of the singles “Bloody Well Right” and “Dreamer,” both of which would become favored FM radio tracks. On December 9th, 2014 Universal Music will release a 40th anniversary version of Crime of the Century as a deluxe two-disc set.

This anniversary edition of Crime of the Century will include the classic original album, re-mastered by Ray Staff at Air Studios, on the first disc and a previously unreleased 1975 concert from the Hammersmith Odeon in London on disc two. The live set was mixed from the original tapes by engineer Ken Scott, who recorded them in 1975, and feature the performance of Crime of the Century in its entirety as well as tracks from the band’s as-yet-unreleased fourth album, Crisis? What Crisis?

The reissue also includes a 24 page booklet with rare photos and a new essay penned by Mojo magazine Editor-In-Chief Phil Alexander which includes new interviews with band members Hodgson, Helliwell, bassist Dougie Thomson, drummer Bob Siebenberg, and the album’s producer, Ken Scott. Crime of the Century will also be reissued in digital format and as a three-album vinyl LP set.

After Crime of the Century, Supertramp would take a few more years to cement its arena-rock superstar status. The band’s 1975 album, Crisis? What Crisis?, while receiving critical acclaim in some quarters (Rolling Stone hated it, tho’), backslid on the charts when compared to its predecessor, although it did help promote the band in far-flung markets like Norway and New Zealand. Supertramp’s fifth album, Even in the Quietest Moments..., made up the lost ground, hitting Top 20 in both the U.S. and U.K.

It was the band’s Breakfast In America album, released in early 1979, that would propel them to the commercial heights. Scoring three Top 20 singles, including “The Logical Song” and “Take The Long Way Home,” Breakfast In America would earn Supertramp a pair of Grammy® Awards on its way to selling better than four million copies. The band would ride this wave until it crashed ashore almost a decade later, but for Supertramp, their claim to fame begun with Crime of the Century.