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Free as a Bird | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 23 October 1987 [1] | |||
Recorded | 1987 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | Pop, dance-pop, synthpop, pop rock | |||
Length | 44:17 | |||
Label | A&M | |||
Producer | Rick Davies, Tom Lord-Alge, Supertramp | |||
Supertramp chronology | ||||
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Singles from Free as a Bird | ||||
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Free as a Bird is the ninth studio album by the English rock band Supertramp, released in October 1987, and their last album of new music for A&M Records.
The album was a turn of direction of sorts, with most of the songs stepping back from their progressive rock sound, employing synthesised dance beats and rhythms. Chief songwriter Rick Davies later recalled, "Free as a Bird was an experiment to try and be modern and build it up with computers and drum machines and have people come in one by one, which makes you lose the band spirit a little bit." [4] In the liner notes to the 2005 compilation Retrospectacle , Davies said, "Each time we went in, we would try to give it something a bit different. Free as a Bird was a lot more machine-based than anything we'd done before. That was good and bad, but it had some interesting songs on it." [5]
Free as a Bird was the first Supertramp album to feature contributions from guitarist/vocalist Mark Hart. He would later become a full-fledged member of the group, as would trumpet player Lee Thornburg.
Despite the fact that "I'm Beggin' You" was a club chart-topping hit [6] and Free as a Bird's title cut was a minor hit, the album did not do well peaking at No. 101, making it the first Supertramp album since 1971's Indelibly Stamped not to crack Billboard's Top 100 on the album charts.
The band disbanded after the tour in support of the album and would not reconvene until 1997. They did so without bassist Dougie Thomson.
A remastered CD version of the album was released on 30 July 2002 on A&M Records. The remastered CD comes with all of the original album artwork, lyrics and credits.
Originally, the vinyl album featured four color variants – blue (pictured), green, yellow and pink. The bird in the picture was a cut-out.
The cover depicts a photograph of Georges Braque in his studio, painting a stylized bird. The bird silhouette also appeared on the LP and CD label. [7]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [8] |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [9] |
New Musical Express | 2/10 [10] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [11] |
AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine brief retrospective review dismissed Free as a Bird as "a colorless and tuneless collection of prog rock meandering". [8]
All songs written by Rick Davies except where noted.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "It's Alright" | 5:01 | |
2. | "Not the Moment" | 4:37 | |
3. | "It Doesn't Matter" | 4:53 | |
4. | "Where I Stand*" | Davies, Mark Hart | 3:42 |
5. | "Free as a Bird" | 4:25 |
No. | Title | Length |
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6. | "I'm Beggin' You" | 5:30 |
7. | "You Never Can Tell with Friends" | 4:19 |
8. | "Thing for You" | 4:00 |
9. | "An Awful Thing to Waste" | 7:50 |
Total length: | 44:17 |
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.
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
Certifications and sales
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Charts – Billboard (United States) [27]
Year | Single | Chart | Position |
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1987 | "I'm Beggin' You" | Hot Dance Music/Club Play | 1 |
1988 | Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales | 48 | |
Adult Contemporary | 42 |
Official Charts (United Kingdom) [19]
Year | Single | Chart | Position |
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1988 | "Free as a Bird" | UK Singles Chart | 95 |
Supertramp were a British rock band that formed in London in 1970. They experienced their greatest global success in 1979 with their sixth album Breakfast in America. Marked by the individual songwriting of founders Roger Hodgson and Rick Davies, the group were distinguished for blending progressive rock and pop styles as well as for a sound that relied heavily on Wurlitzer electric piano. The group's lineup changed numerous times throughout their career, with Davies being the only constant member throughout its history. The classic lineup, which lasted ten years from 1973 to 1983, comprised Davies, Hodgson, Dougie Thomson (bass), Bob Siebenberg (drums) and John Helliwell (saxophone).
Richard Davies is an English musician, singer and songwriter best known as founder, vocalist and keyboardist of the rock band Supertramp. Davies was its only constant member, and composed some of the band's best-known songs, including "Rudy", "Bloody Well Right", "Crime of the Century", "From Now On", "Ain't Nobody But Me", "Gone Hollywood", "Goodbye Stranger", "Just Another Nervous Wreck", "Cannonball", and "I'm Beggin' You". He is generally noted for his rhythmic blues piano solos and jazz-tinged progressive rock compositions and cynical lyrics.
Breakfast in America is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Supertramp, released by A&M Records on 16 March 1979. 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.
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 at 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".
Crisis? What Crisis? is the fourth album by the English rock band Supertramp, released in 1975. It was recorded in Los Angeles and London – Supertramp's first album to have recording done in the US.
Even in the Quietest Moments... is the fifth album by the English rock band Supertramp, released in April 1977. It was recorded mainly at Caribou Ranch Studios in Colorado with overdubs, vocals, and mixing completed at the Record Plant in Los Angeles. This was Supertramp's first album to use engineer Peter Henderson, who would work with the band for their next three albums as well.
Paris is a live album by the English rock band Supertramp, released in 1980. It was recorded on Supertramp's Breakfast in America tour in Paris, France, with most of the tracks taken from a 29 November 1979 show at the Pavillon de Paris, a venue which was once a slaughterhouse. The album was originally going to be called Roadworks. Paris reached number 8 on the Billboard 200 in late 1980 and went Gold immediately, while the live version of "Dreamer" hit the US Top 20.
...Famous Last Words... 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.
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".
Some Things Never Change is the tenth album by the English rock band Supertramp, released in March 1997.
Slow Motion is the eleventh and final studio album by the English rock band Supertramp, released in April 2002.
Retrospectacle – The Supertramp Anthology is the first comprehensive compilation album by the English rock band Supertramp, released in October 2005.
"The Logical Song" is a song by English rock group Supertramp that was released as the lead single from their album Breakfast in America in March 1979. It was written primarily by the band's Roger Hodgson, who based the lyrics on his experiences being sent away to boarding school for ten years. The song became Supertramp's biggest hit, rising to No. 7 in the United Kingdom and No. 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. In 2001, a cover version by the band Scooter returned the song to the top 10 in several European countries.
In Square Circle is the twentieth studio album by American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder, released in 1985. The album features the hit singles "Part-Time Lover", "Go Home", "Overjoyed", and "Land of La La". The album earned Wonder a Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance at the 1986 Grammy Awards.
It Was the Best of Times is the third live album by the English rock band Supertramp, released in April 1999. The album title makes use of the opening line from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.
Live '88 is the second live album by the English rock band Supertramp released in October 1988 on A&M Records. It was their last album to feature bassist Dougie Thomson in any capacity.
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.
"I'm Beggin' You" is a 1987 single by British progressive rock band Supertramp and one of two entries into the dance charts by Supertramp. "I'm Beggin' You" reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play for one week, early in 1988. Unlike previous entries the single did not enter the Billboard Hot 100.
"Free as a Bird" is the title track from Supertramp's 1987 album of the same name. Released as a single at the end of that year, the song achieved only marginal commercial success.