Slow Motion

by Aaron BadgleySupertramp has struggled since the departure of Roger Hodgson to be seen as a viable, creative band and to prove that it can exist without Hodgson. Although the albums released since Hodgson's departure have been interesting, they have not managed to capture the glory days of that classic lineup, nor have they reached anywhere near the commercial success. That is not to say the releases are bad -- far from it -- but they tend to lack the variety and strong song structures that Hodgson brought to the band. For this studio album, Supertramp's lineup is almost identical to that of 1997's Some Things Never Change, with the exception of the addition of Jesse Siebenberg and the departure of Tom Walsh. This change in lineup means little, as the music is very similar to the band's last studio release (there was a double live CD released between the studio CDs). For this album, Rick Davies takes control of production, and this is the album's downfall. The songs are very good, but the production is muddy and cluttered. The mix does not do justice to the music. The songs themselves have shades of classic Supertramp songs, but there are hints of world music and prog rock, which keeps things interesting. The songs are basic pop/rock songs with ever-familiar alienation themes. The two longer tracks ("Tenth Avenue Breakdown" and "Dead Man's Blues") cross over into the realm of prog rock and hark back to the Crime of the Century album, but each is about three minutes too long, and could have used some editing. This album is not earth-shattering and it won't earn the band new fans, but it is enjoyable and die-hard fans will enjoy it.