Disco de Supertramp: “Retrospectacle: The Supertramp Anthology [Remaster”

The way Supertramp has been depicted in recent years gives an indication that they were some sort of embarrassment in pop music history. Case in point is Homer Simpson's affection of the group. This compilation proves that though Supertramp did have some art-rock tendencies, they produced some great tunes.

This compilation is very complete; basically anything Supertramp did of any worth, with the possible exception of Hide in Your Shell, is here. Personally I would have preferred the live version of Dreamer that became a hit in the US, but overall, the song selection is perfect. The six tunes from Breakfast in America are for example the obvious choices from that album.

The music is, well, mostly good in mine opinion. There are a few tracks I don't care that much about, especially post It's Raining Again. I did, however, re-discover some ones again. Special mention goes to Take the Long Way Home, with its majestic opening and incredible harmonies. The craft of the production is faultless, these guys and the studio were a match made in heaven. Most music produced today, 30 years later, lacks the great production in most aspects as Supertramp did in their heyday. Despite being studio wizards, the creative aspect of making music enjoyable was yet in place. Listen to Goodbye Stranger, with the organ intro, the drums added and the snapping sound into the second verse. Give a Little Bit on the other hand is pure bright guitars driving the song.

I have another Supertramp collection called Classics - 25th A&M Anniversary. That compilation has some edited tracks which appear here in their full length editions. The sound quality is also vastly better on this new compilation, as if a carpet was put over the speaker whilst listening to the old version. The inner booklet is also fine on this compilation which can't be said about the Classics compilation.

To sum it up, this is a fantastic compilation and although some tracks are not my cup of tea, they all deserve being included on a Supertramp anthology. The sound re-mastering is great with full length tracks. This is the one CD for most Supertramp fans, excluding the most hard core ones, to buy.

"Retrospectacle" is the best sampling of Supertramp for your money that you could hope for. It will completely satisfy 90 percent of you out there that have interest in the beautiful melodic harmonies this band produced from the early 70's to the early 80's.

Anyone who is upset because one of their favorite songs is missing off this two disc collection is welcome to spend a couple of hundred dollars on the complete, entire everything Supertramp ever recorded. Then everyone will be happy.

Finally we have a review of Supertramp from their earliest recordings to their latest. I've been a Supertramp fan since 'Even In The Quietest Moments'. A lot of their early and later stuff I haven't heard until now. Not a bad track on this 32 tune set and what a great price for a double CD. As for the remastering, I rebought 'Even In The Quietest Moments' remastered but except for a little cleaner mid and high range and a little less boomy bass I couldn't justify rebuying their whole collection. A@M records were always on the cutting edge technology so the origionals are great as far as I'm concerned.

Others have already reviewed the track list. I agree that "Hide In Your Shell" should have been on here, but it's an otherwise excellent overview of Supertramp's career.

I want to emphasize the outstanding remastering that Universal has done once again with their Gold/Anthology series. I believe this is the second collection I have from the A&M roster (Styx Anthology being the other) and both sound awesome. You often hear the phrase, "I hear things that I didn't know were there before", and this time it's really true. The pluck of the bass and clarity of the percussion create an excellent soundstage for this music.

Considering that it contains roughly 70% of Crime Of The Century, Crisis, What Crisis?, Even In The Quietest Moments, and Breakfast In America, this collection is a steal. Buy it today!

A great compilation that collects all of Supertramp's big hits and does a decent job of hitting the highlights of their pre-BREAKFAST era. LADY, RUDY, and DREAMER are all good representations of the band, but like many classic-era bands given the anthology treatment, there are some curious omissions such as HIDE IN YOUR SHELL, POOR BOY, and the excellent FOOL'S OVERTURE. Plus, CRAZY was one of the better tracks from ...FAMOUS LAST WORDS... and is missing here. CRIME..., CRISIS..., and EVEN IN THE QUIETEST MOMENTS still remain essential albums for me even though this compilation makes for some good Sunday morning listening