SUPERTRAMP Co-Founder ROGER HODGSON Readies Fall Tour As "Crime of the Century" Celebrates 40th Anniversary
HODGSON'S SHOWS GIVE NORTH AMERICAN AUDIENCES OPPORTUNITY TO ONCE AGAIN EXPERIENCE THE MAGIC AND SPIRIT HODGSON CREATED WITH SUPERTRAMP
Roger Hodgson, legendary vocalist and singer-songwriter from Supertramp, is heading back to North America for a series of fall dates. Following extensive tours of Europe and Brazil, Hodgson kicks off his North America tour on November 4 in Wabash, Indiana.
Uniting generations, Hodgson is transporting baby boomers back to their youth while giving younger concertgoers a taste of why his heartfelt songs have endured. In fact, this year marks the 40th Anniversary of "Crime of the Century," released in September 1974 (see press release below). Hodgson's song, "Dreamer," became Supertramp's first international runaway hit, driving the album to the top of the charts. "School," "Hide in Your Shell," and "If Everyone Was Listening" are also fan favorites from the album that Hodgson wrote and composed and often plays in concert.
Roger's shows give North American audiences the opportunity to once again experience the magic and spirit that Hodgson created with Supertramp.
"Whether it's the melodic complexity of his songs, the harmonies he weaves with his band, the lyrics that sweep you away or his ability to still command the incredible upper range of his voice, 'beautiful' was what kept coming to mind over and over again during his performance. 'Breathtaking' might also apply. 'I want more' certainly would." ~ Ted Hansen - Mesa Classic Rock Music Examiner
"All these years I thought I was a Supertramp fan when actually I was and am a Roger Hodgson fan. What a show! WOW is all I can say."~ David Wild, Contributing Editor, Rolling Stone
Check out his latest release, "Classics Live." This spectacular collection of Roger's hit songs from concerts recorded around the world on his 2010 tour is available through his Store and iTunes.
Enjoy this video montage of Hodgson performing some of his timeless classics.
Celebrating the 40th Anniversary since its release in 1974,Crime of the Century features the cream of Rick Davies' and Roger Hodgson's songwriting, and was the first of the many peaks in Supertramp's illustrious career; an album that had everything to prove and tunes that effortlessly straddled the world of pure pop and progressive rock. The significant change that happened with Supertramp on this album was that Hodgson and Davies had each found their strength as songwriters and were writing alone. With the unmistakable blend of the two songwriters – Davies' and Hodgson's work, it married the sweetness of Hodgson's Dreamer -- the band's first big hit single -- with the grit of Davies' similarly beloved Bloody Well Right. In School, Rudy, and the title track, the band – Davies, Hodgson, John Helliwell, Bob Siebenberg, and Dougie Thomson – helped define what would soon be known as Adult Oriented Rock. This was -- and is -- not just an album that showed Supertramp's increased maturity, but a timeless gem marked by the incredible melodies and thoughtful lyrics of Roger Hodgson and Rick Davies.
This 40th Anniversary edition will be released December 9 in the US and contains the classic original album, remastered by Ray Staff at Air Studios, and a second disc features the band’s 1975 Hammersmith Odeon concert, mixed from the original tapes by original on-the-night engineer Ken Scott. It captures the band on the verge of stardom, showcasing all of Crime, and also previewing tracks from the then-as-yet-unreleased follow-up, Crisis? What Crisis? The LP eventually peaked at Number 4 on the UK charts and saw the band on the US Top 40 for the first time.
Dreamer also became the band's first hit single. "I'm fortunate to have written songs that have become hits without ever trying to write one," Hodgson says. "I've never sat down and said 'OK I'm going to write a hit song.' Inspiration comes in many different ways. Usually it comes when I get out of the way losing myself in the sound of the instrument I am playing – it's almost like being in a meditative state. With Dreamer, the inspiration was born out of excitement and just erupted out of me." Hodgson continues, "Looking back, it was quite serendipitous that as a young songwriter with so many dreams I had my first hit with a song named Dreamer. It was certainly a thrill to hear it being played all over the radio. Creating our reality, I've since realised, often starts with our dreams."
If Everyone Was Listening, another of Hodgson's philosophical musings, reaches back to Shakespeare's As You Like It adage ('All the world's a stage, and all the men are merely players') for allegorical inspiration.
"It's all simply a play," says Hodgson, "The world is the stage for all of us, and the song is more about just becoming aware of what is really real in life. And it's a longing for love in a world that is falling apart." Hodgson added, "To this day it has always been my ambition as an artist to try to make the world a better place through my music ever since The Beatles inspired me by how they made such a difference in the world."