Mark Zeger Posted June 21, 2002 Share Posted June 21, 2002 This will make this board's Dougie Thompson Fan Club happy: Supertramp In North America That "70s group Supertramp have announced shows on this side of the pond. They're currently in Europe and will finish up their tour there at the end of July. The band is celebrating the release of their 11th album, Slow Motion. Released in March, the disc marks the band's first new material in five years. Last December saw the re-release of The Very Best Of Supertramp, which debuted in 1990 and features songs taken from the original masters of the group's best-selling albums. The reissued package includes interviews with band members Rick Davies, John Helliwell, Dougie Thomson, Bob Siebenberg and Roger Hodgson, who left the band after their 1983 tour. Like their European friends, North American fans will be treated to a new show that includes material from Slow Motion as well as many familiar Supertramp classics. The mostly Canadian run kicks off August 20 in Newfoundland. Three shows in New York, Washington and California are the only stops south of the border thus far. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy c Posted June 21, 2002 Share Posted June 21, 2002 Does this mean that the vintage market for Wurlitzer electric pianos is going to go crazy? Quote Free download of my cd!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLsound Posted June 21, 2002 Share Posted June 21, 2002 You know, even though I consider myself a hard rocker, I always dug Supertramp. I think they had some great tunes. " some they do, and some they don't, for some its just as well" Quote Jim http://www.artistlaunch.com/artist4.asp?artistid=3633 http://www.myspace.com/jlockmusic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g. Posted June 21, 2002 Share Posted June 21, 2002 What I liked about Supertramp besides above-average pop song structures (ref Steely Dan) was the amount of open space in the lower mids and lows that let the recorded bass tracks sound huge and uncontested. Quote . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcr Posted June 22, 2002 Share Posted June 22, 2002 Even though they were (are?) very successful, I still say Supertramp is electric music's best-kept secret. Esp. in their "main" period ("Crime of the Century" through "Famous Last Words"), these guys were just brilliant. Excellent writing, playing, singing, production, and tighter than tight. (The comparison to Steely Dan is very well taken--I've thought likewise.) Sad to say, the Dougie Thomson fan club (of which I'm a card-carrying member) shouldn't get too excited yet--Thomson is not on this album, and I don't believe he'll be on this tour. His time these days, as far as I can tell, is mainly divided between talent management & sailing; he really doesn't play publicly anymore. Our loss... (Anyone have better info on Thomson?) This is not--NOT--to diss the current lineup. It's hard to imagine Davies, Siebenberg, & Halliwell doing half-@ssed music. But it's sure not the same without Hodgson, & without the Thomson/Siebenberg rhythm section duo. I'm not saying it's worse, but it *is* different. No one in the world sings like Roger Hodgson, & I can't imagine his songs with any other voice. (Don't know if they'll play any of his songs on this tour; they did on one post-Hodgson tour, & I think there were regrets, not to mention hard feelings.) And Thomson...what a player. Too solid. Still, the new lineup & material would *have* to be worth it, right? Maybe Davies will be the last clown to bring the house down... Bottom line: I've always loved this band! (And boy did the other kids think I was a nerd!) Ooh--almost forgot. In addition to the neato compilations that are coming out, there's also a newly released live performance from the "Crisis" tour, which features *all* the songs from "Crime of the Century" (yesss! ) as well as a handful of songs from "Crisis? What Crisis?" (I think it's called "If Everyone Was Listening.") It's definitely on my shopping list!! Anyone heard it yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikestr Posted June 22, 2002 Share Posted June 22, 2002 Yep, They're back. Its nice to see other Supertramp fans on this forum. The new CD is great, well worth the import fee. DCR - Dougie hasnt been with them since I believe their last CD 'Some Things Never Change', the new bass player is Cliff Hugo formerly with Ray Chales. Of course there is no replacement for Dougie but Cliff is doing a great job of keeping it low and solid with Bob. Cliff had some great grooves and spotlights on 'Some Things...', not as many on the new CD. I got a chance to see the last tour when they stopped in L.A. in '97. That was the first time I had ever seen them live and Ive been a fan since '78, great concert and production. By production I mean video running behind them on a screen behind the stage with appropriate video shots for the song. The current Supertramp line-up does not include Roger Hodgson, he hasnt been with 'em since 'Famous Last Words'. Supertramp is still doing Roger songs with a singer named Mark Hart, he's pretty damned good with the Roger stuff, same range. Also Bob's son is doing percussion stuff in the studio and onstage. Roger is going strong, saw him last year with Ringo's All Star Band and he sounded great, did all the Supertramp hits. Well, Ive seen all the original members of Supertramp except for Dougie, damm! Maybe Rick, Roger and Dougie can talk it out and get a reunion tour going...(I can dream, can't I) I hope this current tour is coming to So Cal. "Acting upon information received..." ikestr Quote ...hertz down low.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcr Posted June 22, 2002 Share Posted June 22, 2002 Thanks for the post! Actually, was Thomson even on the last album? I thought he'd not played with them for quite a while. I guess Dougie has dropped in & briefly sat in with Roger on a few of Roger's shows; they're pretty tight. Don't expect to see Rick hanging with either of them any time soon, though... So the new album, you say yes, it's well worth the fee? (I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'll stop now--honest!) Hey, for a really informative interview with Dougie, check out: http://www.unichord.com/Pages/interviewdougie.htm Bob Siebenberg has a cool website (do the Google), & there are about a thousand Roger Hodgson fan sites (some of these folks are scary). Hey, no bass content, but how 'bout that John Helliwell? Is he fab or what?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kraig99 Posted June 22, 2002 Share Posted June 22, 2002 Does anyone know the other Canadian dates? Are they coming to Halifax? Quote Craigster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikestr Posted June 22, 2002 Share Posted June 22, 2002 Craigstr, Yes they will be in Halifax August 22nd. Go to www.supertramp.com and look at tour dates. It looks like they will be in L.A. on Sept 20th...YESSSS! Im one happy camper. ikestr Quote ...hertz down low.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlembicKoa Posted June 22, 2002 Share Posted June 22, 2002 I sure knew Ikestr's love for Dougie was gonna shine bright in this thread!!! Quote Regards... Steve https://sites.google.com/site/sjs54music/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcr Posted June 22, 2002 Share Posted June 22, 2002 And rightly so, ikestr! Like Supertramp itself, Dougie Thomson is a MAJOR talent who's just not appreciated enough, despite his success. I've been revisiting "Breakfast in America" lately, and the more I listen the more blown away I am by his playing. It is incredibly tasteful, always interesting, grooving, and WAY deep in the pocket; I dare say it's perfect. And I think he was a cutting edge player--he was playing stuff in 1979 that sounds as "modern" as anything you'd hear now, both in line construction & playing style. He's definitely the only prog bassist I can think of of his kind--the only one in that genre whose sound would've been just as at home with Steely Dan, say. Simply a brilliant bassist. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g. Posted June 22, 2002 Share Posted June 22, 2002 Like I said earlier, I was oh-so-impressed by the massive recorded sound of the bass for Supertramp in the same way that Jack Cassady's work in Jefferson Airlplane and the first Starship album used to blow me away -- that huge wall of sound with harmonics arising out of the controlled feedback, the double stops that sounded so low for the times... Not to derail the thread completely, i'm a-gonna have to get me some of that remastered Supetramp stuff; I'm thinking CRIME OF THE CENTURY and BREAKFAST IN AMERICA. The whole band had it going on. 1 Quote . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flash Bazbo Posted June 22, 2002 Share Posted June 22, 2002 I'll be in line right behind you, greenboy. I've been digging around for my old Supertramp LPs and cassettes . . . surely my wife didn't sell them?! Arrrrrgh! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcr Posted June 22, 2002 Share Posted June 22, 2002 Yeah, I gotta get em back, too. All my stuff was vinyl, & during the "bottleneck" transition from LP to CD I was into different things, so... A really underrated album, imo, is "Crisis? What Crisis?" And there are many moments on "Even in the Quietest Moments" that are just pure magic. And you've GOT to have "Paris," and... Aw, heck, I'm gonna have to get em ALL! PS I sorta stopped listening somewhere around "Famous Last Words"; is that album, or any of the Davies-only stuff, of comparable quality to the stuff of their main period? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikestr Posted June 23, 2002 Share Posted June 23, 2002 Dougie was with Supertramp from '75 - '85, he did not play on the first two albums 'Indelebly Stamped' and the self titled album. My personal all-time favorite Supertramp album is 'Crime of the Century', with my fav tracks being School and Rudy. There is some good damned intricate bass playing on those songs. If you want to really get a feeling of Dougie's cool stuff, transpose The Logical Song sometime, more specifically the first 5 bars of the 1st verse. Or transpose the bass line of the piano solo in School....Yikes! I could talk Supertramp forever.... ikestr Quote ...hertz down low.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcr Posted June 23, 2002 Share Posted June 23, 2002 Ikester--good on ya! Funny that I've never really transposed any Supertramp (although I did chart "Child of Vision" recently & have worked on it a bit). But I simply *must*. A couple of questions you might be able to answer: * Is there anywhere to get good Supertramp charts? There's virtually nothing that I can find on the web. * Do you know what sort of basses Dougie played with Supertramp? All I know is that on the "Paris" liners he's pictured with a StingRay (that was the "Breakfast" tour); I've seen pictures from more recent times with a Fender Jazz (on stage with Hodgson) & a Yamaha of some sort (one of the Davies tours). What were his basses in the 70s, if you know? He always had an incredible sound. This is great! My whole life I've loved this band; I didn't know there were many others out there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikestr Posted June 23, 2002 Share Posted June 23, 2002 dcr, I've never really looked around for Supertramp transcriptions I've always transcribed them myself. I dont know exactaly what kind of bass Dougie used although Ive heard that he used Stingrays. I haven't seen any video of him with Supertramp or with Hodgson. I will sat that as for his sound on the albums I believe it partly had to do with the recording/mixing on the albums. Supertamp was very ahead of their time when it came to that aspect of their songs, kinda like Pink Floyd, Yes and Genesis at that time. Rick and Roger were superb musicians and really had an ear for the big picture when it came to recording. Theres a great interview with Rick on the Supertramp website where he talks quite a bit about the recording process of their latest CD. I would also suggest listening to the last Supertramp CD 'Some Things Never Change' there are some outstanding bass lines/licks/grooves on that CD. The first track 'Its A Hard World' starts with a fretless bass intro that is soooo tastey...YUM YUM YUM!! Sorry I couldnt be more of a help with the transcriptions or Dougie's basses. ikestr Quote ...hertz down low.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikestr Posted June 23, 2002 Share Posted June 23, 2002 Oops, I stand corrected on one of my previous posts: Dougie was with Supertramp unti the '87 recording of 'Free As A Bird', I don't know if he was with them during the recording of 'Live '88' but I would think so. Their next new recording didnt happen until '97, Im omitting the 'Best Of's' from the timeline for ovbious reasons. ikestr Quote ...hertz down low.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan May Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 It is sad that Supertramp doesn't tour anymore. Rick Davies had a very rare but treatable form of cancer a few years ago that prevented him from touring. I wish I had been old enough to see Supertramp in concert (but I have several of their albums, which doesn't hurt too bad). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RABid Posted February 26, 2022 Share Posted February 26, 2022 Breakfast in America is one of my favorite albums, yet, it also puts me to sleep. For me, that's a good thing. I always wanted to run into Supertramp in an IHOP so I could say... 1 1 Quote This post edited for speling. My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanjay Pasari Posted November 15, 2022 Share Posted November 15, 2022 Thank you. Excellent information. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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