Slickness, sarcasm and one-night stands: Supertramp's 10 best recordings

"Crime of the Century, their third album, is where things started to change for the group and School provides the bridge between their art-rock beginnings and the clever pop polish that brought them fame. One of the rare full collaborations between Rick Davies and his singer/songwriter partner Roger Hodgson, School takes flight once Davies' jazz-inflected piano pushes Hodgson's sarcastic swipes at educational bureaucracy toward an open-ended space, the sweeping solos suggesting worlds far away from dreary institutions."

"It wasn't merely that the two musicians complemented each other's strengths, with Hodgson's pop inclinations sweetening the jazzier proclivities of Davies. The duo shared similar vocal timbres, to the point where it could be difficult for casual listeners to separate their two voices. This is brought to a head on Dreamer, an ebullient single from Crime of the Century, where Davies and Hodgson's voices and keyboards intertwine as if they were one."

"Dreamer gave Supertramp its first hit in the UK, while its flipside Bloody Well Right provided their ticket into the US charts. At first glance, Bloody Well Right wouldn't seem appealing to American pop audiences: its title derives from a British colloquialism and the stop-start structure keeps the rhythm off-kilter, allowing the band to punctuate jazzy interludes with crunching hard rock hooks. Rick Davies weaves these separate segments together with a melody that flows logically from its snarling verses to its cynical choruses."

Supertramp spent early years exploring soft-focus introspection and muscular adventure without consistent melodic hooks. Crime of the Century marks a turning point, with School bridging art-rock roots and emerging pop polish. Davies' jazz-inflected piano interacts with Hodgson's sarcastic critiques of educational bureaucracy, while sweeping solos create expansive atmospheres. Dreamer fuses Davies and Hodgson's similar vocal timbres and interlocking keyboards, producing the band's first UK hit. Bloody Well Right served as the US breakthrough, juxtaposing stop-start rhythms, jazzy interludes, and hard rock hooks. Rick Davies' songwriting combines disparate segments into cohesive melodies that move from snarling verses to cynical choruses.

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