Supertramp - Indelibly Stamped

Incredibly indelibly

Listening to 'The Best of Supertramp' in the car today and they genuinely have a core of memorable, classic songs. It's down to the songwriting, obviously, the musicianship indisputably, and the voice of Roger Hodgson, which one could reasonably ponder on how it would have panned out historically in another musical context because it is unique rather than conventionally distinctive.

I saw them probably in 1975 at the Gaumont in Ipswich on their 'Crisis, What Crisis?' album tour and I say 'probably' because I thought it was earlier but internet research suggests different! Two interesting factors: first, I will have gone on the back of my love for their second and still favourite album 'Indelibly Stamped', the only one I had at that time and which doesn't fuel a 'Best Of' selection now but has on it great rockers like 'Your Poppa Don't Mind' and 'Potter' as well as beautiful plaintive songs like 'Rosie Had Everything Planned'; and second, because I thought Joan Armatrading was a new rock band [come on, 'Armatrading' sounds like something heavy, though 'Joan' is, I confess, a clue...!]. JA was brilliant by the way and I went out and bought her first album, and Supertramp presented a more prog-rock/jazzy set than the 'IS' album had suggested. My vinyl copy, incidentally, still has the hand-written price label at £2.30.