1001 Albums Summary

Breakfast in America is still the quintessential Supertramp album. While listening to this, I finally looked it up and realized the band had two vocalists. I honestly thought there was one guy with an incredibly diverse voice. There were some weird noises in the last 17 seconds of 'Hide In Your Shell' and I thought something was wrong with my car. Best parts of the album were the ending of 'Asylum' and parts of 'Rudy'. Some solid instrumental bits, some other instrumental bits that went on way too long. Worst track was 'Dreamer'. It's a distinct mix of soft rock and prog. It all blends well, but almost too well that some of it sounds the same. Again, Breakfast in America just has such a solid run of tracks that were huge singles (and rightfully so) that it makes this one look weaker in comparison.

Going into this, the only track I knew off the top of my head is 'Once In A Lifetime'. Listened to tracks 1-4 on the way to work and each one absolutely slaps. The constantly repeating instrumentals were absolutely a precursor to the repetitive hip hop beats of the 2010s. I get hyped every time I hear a guitar solo start because of the unpredictability of it. Track 1 also has a wild synth solo. The harmonies and backing vocals are incredible. After listening to the whole thing, I like just about every track minus 'Seen and Not Seen' and 'The Overload'. The first half of the record is incredible, and 'Houses in Motion' is a solid anchor to the second half. I will revisit this one often.

The highs on this record are very high. The lows are filler at best. It goes on for a little too long, but ends on a high note with 'Train In Vain'.