Shindig! Issue #177 – Supertramp
With a set of emotionally rich songs painstakingly refined over five long years and dramatically magnified by Ken Scott’s fastidious production, SUPERTRAMP’s Crime Of The Century remains one of the iconic albums of the mid-70s.
MICHAEL BJÖRN traces the slow gestation of Supertramp and their winding path to success with the help of saxophonist John Helliwell and drummer Bob Siebenberg
After Ken had agreed to produce their album, things moved quickly and sessions began in February 1974 at Trident Studios in Wardour Street. “We started all these hours, days, of getting drum sounds. And then putting the backing tracks down – we were taking weeks to do this,” remembers John. “Ken was a master of the equipment. He could use the tools of the studio to create sounds that were individual to you,” explains Bob. But when weeks turned into months, the UK arm of A&M got nervous. “A&M is Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss. Jerry came to the studio to listen to what we’d been doing,” says John. “Ken Scott was freaking out in his head thinking we’ve got very little after all this time. So he played him what we did have,” remembers Bob. “But Jerry heard the music and apparently he really loved it,” continues John. As a result, they got the budget to focus on getting there. “You need a lot of discipline to be able to do it,” concludes John.
Supertramp had the songs, but Ken Scott had the sounds. “In the studio he’s like one of the band now,” Hodgson told Jon Tiven for Circus Raves in September ’75. Ken, in turn, needed the whole band for the mixing. “There were times where all five of us and Ken had to sit over the recording console and move faders,” says John. They recorded backing tracks onto a 16-track tape and used another tape for overdubs. “When you do the mixing, you’ve got to coordinate two tape recorders together to go in sync,” explains John. “Some things can be set up to not be changed, but others have to be changed all the time.” Mixing could also reveal weaknesses. John’s solos were always improvised, as was the case with the long ending solo of the title track. But when mixing, the strings and the solo didn’t fit. “So I sat with Rick and between us we composed a solo that went with the way the strings were going,” explains John. “It’s the only time we’ve ever done that.”
Crime Of The Century was released on 13th September to overwhelmingly positive reviews. On the cover, Bob Siebenberg is credited as Bob C Benberg (get the pun?) due to him not having a work permit. A&M had tried to get one but failed. “An American musician couldn’t put an English musician out of work. There had to be an exchange,” says Bob. “Caleb Quaye, the guitar player, wanted to go to Chicago. But no, it had to be a drummer for a drummer. It put the kibosh on that.” Bob never got a working visa.
The album’s dedication simply reads “To Sam”. Without their millionaire patron, Supertramp couldn’t have formed, but with him, they couldn’t succeed. Although the album’s title was intended to question “What the hell is going on in the world” as Roger put it, the two hands gripping iron bars also depict someone who is caged in. With Crime Of The Century, Supertramp had finally broken out of their gilded cage.
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