Supertramp-Free As A Bird (1987)

Following the groundbreaking "Brother Where You Bound", Supertramp returned to recording with the controversial "Free As A Bird", an album that, despite being a far cry from their work of the 70s and the last two released in the 80s, still contains some stellar moments. While the group's usual progressive rock/pop style is almost entirely gone, the music here remains highly addictive and accessible, leaning towards sophisticated pop and jazz, with sparkling bluesy elements. Rick Davies's work, as usual, is impeccable, and his distinctive vocal style remains intact. Meanwhile, the agile and catchy rhythms of bassist Dougie Thompson, and the stellar appearances of John Helliwell's saxophone, along with Bob Siebenberg's powerful rhythm section, are the essence of classic Supertramp. Songs like "Free as a Bird", "It's Alright", "Not the Moment", "An Awful Thing to Waste" or "I'm Beggin' You" could almost belong to any of their great albums because of their tremendous accessibility due to their addictive and refined melodies.

Supertramp-Breakfast in America (1979)

A criticism that has always been attributed to this record of being overly commercial and away from the line-progressive symphonic works Great as Crime of the Century (74) or Crisis, What Crisis? (75).
Sometimes when a band does nothing but create masterpieces as rosquilletas, some critics, intolerant of any attempt at renewal, wait lurking to curb the continued good form.
Breakfast in America was a good excuse: some catchy songs (in a good way) and more digestible rhythms could be a perfect target for it. Nevertheless, if we analyze the job would not hurt to ask whether it is usual to make a studio album that can be drawn, at least six singles (sixty percent, in this case).
With bombs caliber "The Logical Song" (clever use of proparoxytone) and the eponymous "Breakfast in America" ​​(great trombone) warns that this is a work that has much to offer. But if we continue to discover great tunes and "Goodbye Stranger", beautiful ballads as "Lord is it mine" (Hodgson) and "Casual Conversations" (Davies).
One of the best songs of Supertramp, in my opinion, is the stunning "Take the long way home", with a moving harmonic inlet and a hypnotic rhythm of the keyboard. A true genius of Roger Hodgson.
But that's not all, if we examine the four remaining songs (which could be defined as less "seductive" before a first hearing), we find the sweetness of 'Oh Darling ", the desperation of" Just another nervous wreck. " Then, too, the emotional expressiveness of his preface "Gone Hollywood" and its fantastic epilogue "Child of vision," make it clear where his progressive side is fully intact because of the improvisation and the extension of the piece.
Beautiful melodies, sounding keyboards and vocal harmonies and lyrical. Commercial and sweetened to some. Others, to enjoy.

Supertramp-Slow Motion (2002)

In 2002, Supertramp released their eleventh album, "Slow Motion", in which their style shifted towards a smoother, more jazzy rhythm, and to some extent, they also recovered their characteristic sound after the commercial success of "Free As A Bird" and the commendable "Some Things Never Change". Rick Davies once again enlisted singer Mark Hart in an attempt to achieve greater musical variety in their style, along with guitarist Carl Verheyen. The rest of the band included original members John Helliwell and Bob Siebenberg, plus bassist Cliff Hugo, who had replaced Dougie Thompson a few years prior. Switching to a more relaxed and mellow sound was a substantial improvement, and that's precisely what happened with "Slow Motion". The title track opens the album with an addictive and catchy rhythm, while "Over You" showcases the band's experimental side with a doo-wop-like sound and a strong, infectious rhythm not unlike that of "My Kind of Lady" from the album "Famous Last Words". The lively "Tenth Avenue Breakdown" is the most progressive moment, with its spirited rhythm reminiscent of the superb "Child of Vision" from "Breakfast in America", featuring a final instrumental interlude where Verheyen's guitar takes center stage with a spectacular solo. Meanwhile, the haunting harmonica and horns return in the bluesy "A Sting in the Tail". The jazzy "Bee In Your Bonnet", along with the darker and more complex "Dead Man's Blues", are among the highlights of this album, which, interestingly, includes a track originally composed for their third album, "Crime of the Century", in 1974, but never officially released on any other album, titled "Goldrush". This would ultimately be Supertramp's last studio album, and although the band has reunited several times since its release with Davies at the helm, it has always been for sporadic tours around the world.

Supertramp-Supertramp (1970)

Despite their immense commercial success in the late 1970s, Supertramp were always rejected by a segment of the progressive rock community for being considered too pop, and by more conventional sectors for being too progressive. Even so, in their early days, this multi-million-selling band offered an interesting brand of progressive rock with psychedelic undertones, which nevertheless resulted in a tremendous commercial failure. Today, their first two albums, "Supertramp" (1970) and "Indelibly Stamped" (1971), are considered contemporary classics, primarily due to the stark contrast with the sound that would make them world-famous years later. However, their debut album contains more than enough evidence to consider them a true progressive rock band. Originally a quartet, the band consisted of Rick Davis on keyboards and vocals, Roger Hodgson on bass, acoustic guitars, cello, flageolet, and vocals, Robert Miller on drums and percussion, and Richard Palmer on electric guitar and vocals. On this debut album, they showcased their eclectic progressive sound with standout tracks such as the epic "Maybe I'm a Beggar" and "Try Again", the progressive blues "It's a Long Road", the mellow and ethereal "Aubade and I Am Not Like the Other Birds of Prey" and "Words Unspoken", and the powerful progressive rock anthem "Nothing to Show". Despite its commercial setback, this debut is an excellent example of progressive rock that holds its own against many other albums released around the same time that achieved far greater media and commercial success.

Supertramp-Crisis? What Crisis? (1975)

Crime of the century set the bar very high in the career of this great group symphonic in the 70's was his decade-but the only-more demanding. Yet the pressure that they could have taken its toll because of the success and quality of his previous work, not the least affection. The band led by Davies & Hodgson made a continuation with a handful of superb songs. 
Conceived in the midst of global crisis due to sharp increases in oil Supertramp would make a great work he undertook his journey to the peaceful entry "Easy does it" which links to the guitar dynamics "Sister Moonshine", two songs with an evocative sound. The rock-blues "Is not nobody but me" is a big issue that touches the hard instrument, "A Soapbox Opera", a beautiful symphony that displays the compositional qualities of Roger Hodgson, leaves the listener in a sort of hypnotic state. In Ecuador we find disc masterpiece "Another woman's man" with a totally inspired Rick in his piano playing and a great instrumental part and highlight the issue. "Lady" and "Poor Boy", based on rates of coronary keyboard and credited its characteristic stamp. One of my favorites is "Just a normal day", especially the sensitivity that follows the melody and vocal play between the tandem of composers. "The meaning", its more risky song, has great quality with hints of jazz (the always persistent Helliwell fundamental contribution of the wind instruments). The legendary "Two of us", which closes every concert is an admirable epilogue to this recommended album. 
By the end, witty and poignant highlight your home where we can see her resting peacefully saxophonist in a deckchair, umbrella and cocktail included, along with a totally desolate landscape (never a staging will be as everlasting as this one).

Elvis Presley-Elvis Presley (1956)

It was the first great album of Elvis, and the first work for RCA, he never edit lps with Sun Records, although five of the songs included here belong to the Memphis label, the disc is essential to place the rock'n'roll as a future basis of the so-called music of the twentieth century, besides himself confirmed as a legend Elvis world, that white sang like a black.
The album is a perfect balance of music between the two styles, the technique of whites and blacks in the spirit of the Blue Suede shoes rockabilly, rock-gospel of Tutti Frutti, rhythm blues I got a woman or ballads I'm counting on country as you make him unquestionably the king of rock in the following decades.

Blood Sweat and Tears-Blood Sweat and Tears (1969)

If Child is father was the man to his first album a work of genius, that before us was the confirmation of the band, their sound closer to jazz-rock to other styles, will find this album a commercial formula that puts you in weeks as number one in the charts and even voted best album of the year for this album and did not have Al Kooper, but had recruited the mighty David Clayton-Thomas, and other members including Steve Katz and Jim detacan Felder had made ​​an album with legendary subjects and others such as You've made ​​me so very happy (a Motown classic version), Spinning Wheel, and When I Die ... the truth is that the experienced rock fused with blues and arrangements jazz supergroup made ​​of this key in the seventies with sales topping 35 million albums in total.