...Famous Last Words...

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...Famous Last Words...
Supertramp - Famous Last Words.jpg
Studio album by
Supertramp
Released29 October 1982 [1]
RecordedNovember 1981 – mid-1982
StudioUnicorn (Nevada City, California)
The Backyard (Encino, Los Angeles)
Rumbo Recorders (Canoga Park, Los Angeles)
Bill Schnee Studios (North Hollywood, Los Angeles)
Genre
Length47:35
Label A&M
Producer Peter Henderson, Russel Pope, Supertramp
Supertramp chronology
Paris
(1980)		...Famous Last Words...
(1982)		 Brother Where You Bound
(1985)
Singles from ...Famous Last Words...
  1. "It's Raining Again"
    Released: October 1982 [3]
  2. "My Kind of Lady"
    Released: January 1983 [4]
  3. "Crazy"
    Released: March 1983
  4. "Don't Leave Me Now"
    Released: May 1983 [5]

...Famous Last Words... (stylised in all lowercase) is the seventh studio album by English rock band Supertramp, released in October 1982. It was the studio follow-up to 1979's Breakfast in America and the last album with vocalist/keyboardist/guitarist Roger Hodgson, who left the group to pursue a solo career. Thus, it was the final album to be released by the classic lineup of the band (Hodgson, Davies, Helliwell, Thomson, and Siebenberg).

Contents

The album reached number 5 on the Billboard Pop Albums Charts in its third week on the chart dated November 27, 1982, [6] and was certified Gold for sales in excess of 500,000 copies there. [7] It also peaked at number 6 in the UK where it was certified Gold for 100,000 copies sold. [8]

A remastered CD version of ...Famous Last Words... was released on 30 July 2002 on A&M Records. The remastered CD comes with all the original artwork and the CD art features a green pair of scissors and a black background.

Background and recording

Though Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson had long been writing their songs separately, they had always conceived the theme and overlying direction for each album together. ...Famous Last Words... became the exception to this rule: having been living in different parts of California in the months leading up to the recording, they each conceived their own vision for the album. Hodgson wanted to do another pop album in the vein of Breakfast in America , while Davies had envisioned a heavy progressive rock album with a 10-minute song called "Brother Where You Bound" as its centerpiece. [9]

According to Bob Siebenberg, "In the end, they both kind of changed their formats and their picture of what they thought this album should be. It became a diluted version of what it started out to be. It was really neither here nor there." [9] In particular, the band decided to leave out "Brother Where You Bound", since it was too "heavy" to fit alongside Hodgson's pop compositions. [9] Supertramp used "Brother Where You Bound" for their next album, Brother Where You Bound (1985), though it had by that point evolved from 10 minutes to 16 and a half through the addition of some new sections.[ citation needed ]

As usual, the songs are all officially credited as being written by Davies/Hodgson. However, the sleeve notes colour-code the songs' lyrics by individual author. The lead vocalist on each song is the same as its writer: "Crazy", "It's Raining Again", "Know Who You Are", "C'est le bon", and "Don't Leave Me Now" were written by Hodgson, and "Put on Your Old Brown Shoes", "Bonnie", "My Kind of Lady", and "Waiting So Long" were written by Davies.[ citation needed ]

The album's working title was Tightrope. [10] The album was mainly recorded and mixed at Hodgson's home, Unicorn Studios in Nevada City, California, as he did not want to leave his wife, his then two-year-old daughter Heidi, and newborn son Andrew behind. Davies wound up recording his vocal and keyboard parts at his home studio, The Backyard Studios, in Encino, California. Other overdubs were at Bill Schnee Recording Studios in Los Angeles.[ citation needed ]

At the time of the album's release, many interpreted the title (which at that point became ...Famous Last Words...) and cover art as thinly-veiled hints that Supertramp was breaking up. [9] In a 2015 interview, Hodgson confirmed that he and Davies decided on the title because "we weren't doing [a record] again". [11] He said that he regrets recording the album, calling it "a last-ditch attempt to try and make things happen" after the life had gone out of the band. [12] Conversely, John Helliwell said in 1986: "We wanted a phrase that bore some relationship with what we were doing but was enigmatic at the same time. We always like to have enigmatic titles like Crime of the Century  ... This last LP we thought was going to be real quick. We thought we were going to rehearse it and record it real quick and it ended up taking longer than any other so we had to eat our words again. For the past three or four LPs we've been saying, 'Let's be well prepared.' So the title sprung out of that as well. I can't remember who first thought of it. The graphic design came directly from the title." [9]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [13]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [14]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [15]
Smash Hits 8/10 [16]

A contemporary review in Creem savaged the album for its nondescript nature, concluding "this stuff is so soddenly bland already that the Muzak folks are going to have their work cut out for them". [17] AllMusic, in a retrospective review, found the album overly tailored towards commercial success, claiming that the group in general and Roger Hodgson in particular were too fixated on producing more hits, and that as a result "romantically inclined poetry and love song fluff replaces the lyrical keenness that Supertramp had produced in the past, and the instrumental proficiency that they once mastered has vanished." [13]

Track listing

All songs credited to Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson. Listed below are the respective writers, also lead singers of their songs.

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Crazy" Roger Hodgson 4:44
2."Put On Your Old Brown Shoes" Rick Davies 4:22
3."It's Raining Again"Hodgson4:24
4."Bonnie"Davies5:37
5."Know Who You Are"Hodgson5:00
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."My Kind of Lady"Davies5:15
7."C'est le bon"Hodgson5:32
8."Waiting So Long"Davies6:35
9."Don't Leave Me Now"Hodgson6:24

Personnel

Supertramp

Additional personnel

Production

2002 A&M reissue:

The 2002 A&M Records reissue was mastered from the original master tapes by Greg Calbi and Jay Messina at Sterling Sound, New York, 2002. The reissue was supervised by Bill Levenson with art direction by Vartan and design by Mike Diehl, with production coordination by Beth Stempel.

The intro to "Bonnie" contains a glitch in the piano part on the 2002 remaster, and has never been fully explained (whether it was a mastering error, or an intentional alteration to the track). [ citation needed ]

Charts

Singles

Billboard (United States) [6]

YearSingleChartPosition
1982"Crazy" Mainstream Rock 10
"Don't Leave Me Now"Mainstream Rock32
"It's Raining Again" Adult Contemporary 5
Mainstream Rock7
Pop Singles 11
"Waiting So Long"Mainstream Rock30
1983"My Kind of Lady"Adult Contemporary16
Pop Singles31

Certifications and sales

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [35] Platinum50,000^
Brazil—200,000 [36]
Canada (Music Canada) [37] Platinum100,000^
France (SNEP) [38] Platinum400,000*
Germany (BVMI) [39] Platinum500,000^
Netherlands (NVPI) [40] Gold50,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ) [41] Platinum15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [42] Gold100,000^
United States (RIAA) [43] Gold500,000^
Yugoslavia—26,565 [44]
Summaries
Europe
1982-1985 sales 		—2,000,000 [45]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Supertramp</span> British rock band

Supertramp were a British rock band formed in London in 1970. Marked by the individual songwriting of founders Roger Hodgson and Rick Davies, the group were distinguished for blending progressive rock and pop styles. The classic lineup, which lasted ten years from 1973 to 1983, comprised Davies, Hodgson, Dougie Thomson (bass), Bob Siebenberg (drums) and John Helliwell (saxophone), after which the group's lineup changed numerous times, with Davies eventually becoming the only constant member throughout its history.

<i>Breakfast in America</i> 1979 studio album by Supertramp

Breakfast in America is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Supertramp, released on 16 March 1979, by A&M Records. It was recorded in 1978 at The Village Recorder in Los Angeles. It spawned three US Billboard hit singles: "The Logical Song", "Goodbye Stranger", and "Take the Long Way Home". In the UK, "The Logical Song" and the title track were both top 10 hits, the only two the group had in their native country.

<i>Crime of the Century</i> (album) 1974 studio album by Supertramp

Crime of the Century is the third studio album by the English rock band Supertramp, released in October 1974 on A&M Records. Crime of the Century was Supertramp's commercial breakthrough in many countries, most notably in the UK, Canada and Germany where it peaked in the Top 5 while also making the Top 20 in Australia and France. It was an improvement over their previous sales in the US, but still only peaked at No. 38, with the US hit being "Bloody Well Right". "School" was another popular track, particularly on album rock-oriented radio stations. The album was eventually certified Gold in the US in 1977 after the release of Even in the Quietest Moments.... In Canada, it was eventually certified Diamond. The album was Supertramp's first to feature drummer Bob Siebenberg, saxophone and clarinet player and vocalist John Helliwell, bassist Dougie Thomson, and co-producer Ken Scott. The album has received critical acclaim, including its inclusion in Rolling Stone's "50 Greatest Prog Rock Albums of All Time".

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<i>Paris</i> (Supertramp album) 1980 live album by Supertramp

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<i>Brother Where You Bound</i> 1985 studio album by Supertramp

Brother Where You Bound is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Supertramp, released in 1985. It was their first album after original member Roger Hodgson left the band, leaving Rick Davies to handle the songwriting and singing on his own. The album features the group's Top 30 hit "Cannonball".

<i>Free as a Bird</i> (album) 1987 studio album by Supertramp

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Hodgson</span> English singer and songwriter (born 1950)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Breakfast in America (song)</span> 1979 single by Supertramp

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Take the Long Way Home (Supertramp song)</span> 1979 single by Supertramp

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dreamer (Supertramp song)</span> 1974 single from Supertramp

"Dreamer" is a hit single from British band Supertramp's 1974 album Crime of the Century. It peaked at number 13 on the UK Singles Chart in February 1975. In 1980, it appeared on the band's live album Paris. This live version was also released as a single and hit number 15 on the US charts, number 36 in the Dutch Top 40, and number one on the Canadian Singles Chart. When "Dreamer" had been released in 1974, its B-side "Bloody Well Right" was more popular in North America leading it to chart instead, at No. 35 in the US and No. 49 in Canada, with "Dreamer" only charting in Canada, that being at No. 75. "Dreamer" also appeared on Roger Hodgson's album, Classics Live, recorded on tour in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goodbye Stranger</span> 1979 single by Supertramp

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Give a Little Bit</span> 1977 single by Supertramp

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">It's Raining Again</span> 1982 single by Supertramp

"It's Raining Again" is a song recorded by the English progressive rock band Supertramp and released as a single from their 1982 album …Famous Last Words… with credits given to Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson, although as indicated on the album sleeve, it is a Hodgson composition. The end of the song incorporates the old nursery rhyme "It's Raining, It's Pouring".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">My Kind of Lady</span> 1983 single by Supertramp

"My Kind of Lady" was the second single from Supertramp's 1982 album …Famous Last Words…. The song is a '50's-style mid-tempo love ballad; it peaked at #16 on the USA Billboard Adult Contemporary and #31 on the USA Billboard pop singles charts. The lead and backing vocals were all sung by Davies, who harmonizes with himself by switching between his natural voice and a falsetto vocal. The echo-treated and natural sounding voice was sung in Davies' baritone. The falsetto passages were double tracked and mixed with a phaser. Despite being released as a single, the track was not performed live.

<i>The Very Best of Supertramp</i> 1990 greatest hits album by Supertramp

The Very Best of Supertramp is a greatest hits album by the English rock band Supertramp, originally released by A&M Records in June 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bloody Well Right</span> 1974 single by Supertramp

"Bloody Well Right" is a song by English rock band Supertramp from their 1974 album Crime of the Century. It appeared as the B-side of the single "Dreamer" in 1974. Listeners in the United States preferred it to the A-side, and "Bloody Well Right" became their breakthrough hit in the country, peaking at number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100.

References

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  4. ↑ "Supertramp singles". Dutchcharts.nl.
  5. ↑ "Supertramp singles". Dutchcharts.nl.
  6. 1 2 3 "allmusic ((( ...Famous Last Words... > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". AllMusic . Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  7. ↑ "RIAA Gold and Platinum". RIAA.com. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  8. ↑ Tsort. "Albums from the Year 1982". tsort.info. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Melhuish, Martin (1986). The Supertramp Book. Toronto, Canada: Omnibus Press. pp. 167–175. ISBN   978-0-9691272-2-2.
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  12. ↑ (2009). 30th Anniversary Breakfast in America Feature, In the Studio . Archived 8 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  13. 1 2 "AllMusic ((( ...Famous Last Words... > Review )))". AllMusic . Retrieved 8 October 2009.
  14. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 7 (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 857. ISBN   0195313739.
  15. ↑ Sheffield, Rob; et al. (2004). Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p.  797. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
  16. ↑ Dellar, Fred. "Albums". Smash Hits . No. 25 November – 8 December 1982. p. 35.
  17. ↑ Riegel, Richard (April 1983). "Supertramp: ...Famous Last Words... (A&M)" . Creem . Retrieved 25 July 2018– via Rock's Backpages.
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  36. ↑ "Brazil - Viva Latino! - Talent Seeks". Billboard . Vol. 97, no. 4. 26 January 1985. p. VL-24. Retrieved 24 September 2021– via World Radio History.
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