THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,704) Supertramp — “Words Unspoken”
Long before Supertramp conquered the airwaves, it gave us “simply a beautiful song” (Cesar Inca, https://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=1249) with “quite a beautiful melody” (TCat, https://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=1249), an “attractive . . . mixture of ardor and subtlety”. (Mike DeGagne, https://www.allmusic.com/album/supertramp-mw0000191983)
“[O]ne of [Supertramp’s first] album’s apex is th[is] fantastic [song] . . . where [Roger] Hodgson’s (see #1,393, 1,619) superb bass line and gentle high-pitched voice are superbly underlined by [Rick] Davies’ gentle Hammond line”. (Sean Trane, https://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=1249)
Mike DeGagne writes about the LP:
Progressive in texture for the most part, Supertramp’s debut album became increasingly disregarded as they blossomed commercially through the ’70s. . . . Quite a bit different than their radio and AOR material, Supertramp is inundated with pretentious instrumental meandering, with greater emphasis and attention granted to the keyboards and guitars than to the writing and to the overall effluence of the music. There are some attractive moments . . . . Hodgson’s use of cello, flageolet, and acoustic guitar is endearing in spots, and while both he and Davies had just recently formed their alliance, it was evident that their songwriting was going to be one of the band’s strengths. Ultimately dissatisfied with the results of the album, they retorted with Indelibly Stamped, which disappointingly followed suit. It wasn’t until 1974’s Crime of the Century that things began to improve for Supertramp . . . .
Mark Deming gives us some history:
Supertramp was formed in 1969 by pianist and vocalist Rick Davies. Davies had been a member of a group called the Joint, who had found a financial backer in Dutch millionaire Stanley August Miesegaes [who] had grown disenchanted with the Joint, but saw promise in Davies, and he offered to bankroll a new band if Davies wanted to launch a fresh project. Davies placed an ad in the British music weekly Melody Maker, and recruited guitarist Richard Palmer, percussionist Robert Millar, and vocalist/bassist Roger Hodgson. Davies initially dubbed the new band Daddy, but to avoid comparison with a number of other paternally named acts, he changed their billing to Supertramp, taking the name from a book by Welsh author William Henry Davies. In 1970, Supertramp signed a deal with A&M Records, and their debut album was released later the same year. Dominated by extended prog-based compositions, the album didn’t win a large audience, and Supertramp’s lineup shifted, as Richard Palmer and Robert Millar left the group, Hodgson moved from bass to guitar, and bassist Frank Farrell, percussionist Kevin Currie, and Dave Winthrop on flute and sax joined the act. The new edition of Supertramp released the album Indelibly Stamped in 1971, but it fared little better in the marketplace than the debut, and Miesegaes cut off his funding of the group. Left to their own devices, Supertramp came close to collapse as most of the group’s members moved on, but Davies and Hodgson put together a new version of the group . . . .
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/supertramp-mn0000033666#biography
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