{"id":7709,"date":"2026-07-03T21:11:30","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T20:11:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/?p=7709"},"modified":"2026-07-03T21:14:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T20:14:23","slug":"shindig-issue-177-supertramp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/?p=7709","title":{"rendered":"Shindig! Issue #177 \u2013 Supertramp"},"content":{"rendered":"
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With a set of emotionally rich songs painstakingly refined over five long years and dramatically magnified by Ken Scott\u2019s fastidious production, SUPERTRAMP\u2019s Crime Of The Century<\/i> remains one of the iconic albums of the mid-70s.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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MICHAEL BJ\u00d6RN<\/b> traces the slow gestation of Supertramp<\/b> and their winding path to success with the help of saxophonist John Helliwell and drummer Bob Siebenberg<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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After Ken had agreed to produce their album, things moved quickly and sessions began in February 1974 at Trident Studios in Wardour Street. \u201cWe started all these hours, days, of getting drum sounds. And then putting the backing tracks down \u2013 we were taking weeks to do this,\u201d remembers John. \u201cKen was a master of the equipment. He could use the tools of the studio to create sounds that were individual to you,\u201d explains Bob. But when weeks turned into months, the UK arm of A&M got nervous. \u201cA&M is Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss. Jerry came to the studio to listen to what we’d been doing,\u201d says John. \u201cKen 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,\u201d remembers Bob. \u201cBut Jerry heard the music and apparently he really loved it,\u201d continues John. As a result, they got the budget to focus on getting there. \u201cYou need a lot of discipline to be able to do it,\u201d concludes John.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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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<\/i> in September \u201975. Ken, in turn, needed the whole band for the mixing. \u201cThere were times where all five of us and Ken had to sit over the recording console and move faders,\u201d says John. They recorded backing tracks onto a 16-track tape and used another tape for overdubs. \u201cWhen you do the mixing, you’ve got to coordinate two tape recorders together to go in sync,\u201d explains John. \u201cSome things can be set up to not be changed, but others have to be changed all the time.\u201d Mixing could also reveal weaknesses. John\u2019s 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\u2019t fit. \u201cSo I sat with Rick and between us we composed a solo that went with the way the strings were going,\u201d explains John. \u201cIt’s the only time we’ve ever done that.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Crime Of The Century<\/i> 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. \u201cAn American musician couldn’t put an English musician out of work. There had to be an exchange,\u201d says Bob. \u201cCaleb 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.\u201d Bob never got a working visa.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The album\u2019s dedication simply reads \u201cTo Sam\u201d. Without their millionaire patron, Supertramp couldn\u2019t have formed, but with him, they couldn\u2019t succeed. Although the album\u2019s title was intended to question \u201cWhat the hell is going on in the world\u201d as Roger put it, the two hands gripping iron bars also depict someone who is caged in. With Crime Of The Century<\/i>, Supertramp had finally broken out of their gilded cage.<\/p>\n

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