My Amazon Reviews: Supertramp "Crime Of The Century"

Criminally Delightful
5 Out Of 5 Stars

Cross the sonic pallet of Steely Dan with the English cleverness of 10cc (and a dash of Pink Floyd dread for added effect), and you have Supertramp's breakthrough formula for "Crime of The Century." This was the album where their progressive rock instincts of their arty early albums merged with a pop sense, meaning that many of the songs had great hooks and memorable melodies. This meant two things: They scored an American Hit with "Bloody Well Right" and a near miss with "Dreamer," and that this was one of the best sounding albums of 1974.

That didn't mean that Supertramp had turned into The Sweet. They still had it in them to stretch out on a jam like "Rudy" for seven plus minutes, or the orchestral overload of "Asylum." Like Pink Floyd, they took to investigating where the border between sanity and insanity balanced. "Asylum," "Hide In Your Shell" and "If Everyone Was Listening" are cries from a haunted soul (perhaps it belongs to Rudy). "Dark Side of The Moon" may have been a take on full-on madness, "Crime of The Century" wonders how you get there.

That kind of thinking extended into other Supertramp albums (think of "Fool's Overture" on "Even in The Quietest Moments" or even the hit "The Logical Song"). However, it was the interplay of band leaders and chief songwriters Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson that made "Crime of The Century" such a thought provoking album, and it still sounds as sonically gorgeous now as it did when it pulled Supertramp into stardom.

     

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Strength in Birthdays.

strongaxe's birthday is today!

The Rainbow Book Fair

This past Saturday, I overslept. This was not a good thing, as the rainbow Book Fair I've been telling everyone to come to was better than two hours away and I had two and a half hours to get there. I bolted from bed and ate a hasty breakfast, then hit the highway. I was smart enough to have loaded the books into the car trunk the night before. I still made it to the event in time, including picking up my friend and fellow author David Stein. A friend snapped this picture of the two of us.

Despite the minutes to midnight sort of arrival, we were set up well before patrons began arriving. In another break of luck, the table next to ours was a no-show, so I used it to spread more books out. Thanks to the Square device that turns a smartphone into a cash register, I did a brisk business, mostly on my new book. I was pleased. I got to see some old friends, and Thor stopped in for a visit, bearing bagels.

Now if you are wondering why I am wearing those groovy hippie glasses indoors, it was I forgot to change from driving with my sunglasses to my regular spectacles. Which was a mistake, as I left them on the passenger car seat. Which means that David, unwittingly, sat on them. Oh Snap was exactly what it meant in the literal sense. Driving home was a real trial, as I had to balance the frame on half of my head while adjusting the nose piece about every 5 to 10 miles. But I made it home safely, and my new book is already getting some very positive feedback. (Always good for the insecure author's ego.)

In less than two weeks I'll be headed for Cleveland's CLAW event, where I'll be moderating "Dirty Words: The Erotic Author's Forum." Everyone gets to do a reading, which is always fun, and the audience tends to be very responsive during Q&A time. With the new book to lead the vendor table, I am also hoping to do well sales-wise again.

I'm so pleased to have the new book out that I've started working on another. I've finally started the Amish Zombie novel I've been batting around in my head for a few years now. "Mennonite Of The Living Dead" is the working title (groan all you want to, but now you won't forget it, will you?).

My Amazon Reviews: Rachel Sweet "B.A.B.Y.: The Best of Rachel Sweet"

The Sweet Spot
3 Out Of 5 Stars

Stiff Records thought they had a ringer in 15 year old country belter Rachel Sweet. They teamed her up with Svengali Liam Sternberg and used her incredible voice, which crossed Brenda Lee country with new-wave brass, dressed her up as jailbait (to more than a little controversy) and released "Fool Around." Controversy or no, Sweet blew it all to the side with her faithful versions of Carla Thomas' "B.A.B.Y." and Del Shannon's "I Go To Pieces," Sweet proved she was more than a tarted up image. This compilation samples from her two Stiff albums, "Fool Around" and the more straight-forward "Protect The Innocent."

Backed on some of these songs by The Rumour and Will Birch and The Records, Sweet never lacked for decent backup musicians. She could move easily between styles, covering Elvis Presley's "Baby Let's Play House" or Elvis Costello's "Stranger in The House," then busting loose with label-mate Lene Lovich for "Cuckoo Clock." The half of this disc not produced by Sternberg was done by pop maestros Martin Rushent and Alan Winstanley and is taken from the terrific "Protect The Innocent." She went from covering The Damned's punk classic "New Rose" to doing the seductive teen-dream "Tonight Ricky."

While Sweet cut two more albums for Columbia, they aren't represented here. While that's a shame, they were both uneven albums and can be found on the two-fer Then He Kissed Me/Blame It on Love. This best of manages to pull together over an hour from two albums, making "B.A.B.Y - The Best Of Rachel Sweet" a real bargain for old fans of everything Stiff.

     

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