Even more so than Rush, Supretramp is the prog band that doesn't sound like prog. Crime of the Century (1974) is probably the most accessible album on the Rolling Stone list.

Two Sides of Prog

There are two approaches to prog that I can see. There are the bands who take the progressive impulses as the point in and of themselves. These are bands like King Crimson, Yes, or the Mars Volta who produce music that takes a lot of effort to understand and appreciate. The purpose is to do something new, experimental, challenging, and, well, progressive.

And then there's a band like Supertramp for whom progressive features are taken simply as a way to enhance pop songs. I see Supertramp as more akin to Billy Joel and Elton John than to the prog bands of the day. While others built on a foundation of jazz, hard rock, and classical music, Supertramp looks to other genres. Like John and Joel, the piano lead recalls old school rock and roll, and like those piano men, Supertramp incorporates some R & B and soul influences. There's even a bit of funk in the breakdown on "Rudy" and the liberal use of brass throughout the album. There's also a loungey tone throughout that triggers a strange nostalgia in me. The album reminds me of family road trips, only my parents never listened to Supertramp, so I don’t know what the connection is.

I had the opportunity to listen to the entirety of Crime of the Century while driving recently, so I was able to really pay attention to the structures of each song and consider my thoughts. It was only when I got to the end of the closing track, the title track, that I noticed something very peculiar about what Supertramp is doing with their music, on this album at least. Progressive ideas may not be the point of Supertramp, but the band uses those available options to turn half-finished song ideas into amazing compositions.

Let’s Reopen the Case

"Crime of the Century" starts with this slow pair of verses with a nice layer of synths and some tinkling keys. Struggling to rise just above that is a shuffling, halfhearted drum beat and some occasional guitar drones that fall off before they begin. When the vocals finish, we get what sounds like it should be a pre-chorus: the drums and guitar finding their footing and taking over the song toward a dramatic build. And then everything stops. A second of silence. Then, a plaintive staccato piano line that carries the song right to its end. While that's going, other instruments slowly build up again: a more urgent drum beat, some atmospheric guitar, a doom and gloom bass line, epic string swells, and then the return of that glorious saxophone that makes appearances throughout the record. And never a chorus in sight.

This made me realize that "School" also has no chorus; most of these songs have no chorus.

School has two verses and a long instrumental, then a bridge and another verse. That piano solo is one of the great piano solos (and the subtle melodica part is great too). It's twinkly and upbeat and makes you wanna dance. Which is crazy when the verses are in a minor key and are a depressing study of stifled individuality. Supertramp pulls off this same magic trick on every song. The unexpected shifts in tone become expected, but how and when is up in the air. It's in the jazz-pop intro to "Bloody Well Right" that morphs into a stomping rocker, and then to the sing-songy chorus. It's the concert piano opening to "Rudy" that gives way to a pseudo-Latin beat, soul strings, and noodling guitar. And the way it turns into something out of a film score after the near-silent piano solo.

After registering the endless variations of what should be a grating keyboard rhythm on "Dreamer," the showtune quality of "If Everyone Were Listening," and the dramatic mood swings of "Asylum," you realize just how incredible it was for the band to put so much music, so many styles, and so much emotion into 45 minutes.

And the lyrics are just as impactful.

In the verses of "Crime of the Century," the song promises to expose social evils, those "who ... rape the universe / How they've gone from bad to worse / Who are these men of lust, greed, and glory? / Rip off the masks and let see." But we never see. Instead, all we have after the verses is 4 minutes of wordless, mournful beauty. The nature of these pervasive evils is far too complicated and profound and difficult to be put into words that will expose and solve them.

The album builds an interesting argument about the individual's struggle in a heartless world, with only occasional moments of hope (“Dreamer” and “Bloody Well Right” notably). The iconic "School" is a lament for educational conformity's demoralizing effect on a child. That child could have grown into either the theatrically defiant subject of "Bloody Well Right" or the world-weary subject of "Hide in Your Shell," or both. It's the speakers of "Asylum" pleading for freedom and understanding, the titular "Dreamer," and the monologist of "If Everyone Was Listening" imagining if their exposure of the "Crime of the Century" would even matter. Maybe every song is connected to "Rudy":

He ain't sophisticated, nor well-educated
After all the hours he wasted, still he needs time He needs time He needs time for livin' He needs time

Rudy can be anyone.

I had never considered the cohesion of the lyrical themes on this album before. I had not really thought of Supertramp as a prog band before. I hadn't even noticed how peculiar the song structures are. And I've been listening to this disc fairly often over the last 15 years. That's how sharp the composition is. Everything is engaging and pretty and powerful. But it's also strange and complex. Crime of the Century is a wonderful introductory prog album for someone new to the genre.

It's damn near perfect.

Rolling Stone Rankings

1. Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon

2. King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King

3. Rush - Moving Pictures

4. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here

5. Yes – Close to the Edge

6. Genesis - Selling England by the Pound

7. Jethro Tull - Thick as a Brick

8. Can - Future Days

9. Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway

10. Yes - Fragile

11. Rush - Hemispheres

12. ELP - Brain Salad Surgery

13. Pink Floyd - Animals

14. Genesis - Foxtrot

15. King Crimson - Red

16. Gentle Giant - Octopus

17. Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells

18. Frank Zappa - One Size Fits All

19. Premiata Forneria Marconi - Per Un Amico

20. King Crimson - Larks’ Tongue in Aspic

21. Camel - Mirage

22. Rush - 2112

23. Tangerine Dream - Phaedra

24. Magma - Mëkanïk Dëstruktïẁ Kömmandöh

25. The Mars Volta - Deloused in the Comatorium

26. Van Der Graaf Generator - Pawn Hearts

27. Supertramp - Crime of the Century

ASK Rankings

1. Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway

2. Supertramp - Crime of the Century

3. Genesis - Foxtrot

4. Camel - Mirage

5. Yes – Close to the Edge

6. King Crimson - Red

7. Gentle Giant - Octopus

8. Genesis - Selling England by the Pound

9. Rush - 2112

10. Jethro Tull - Thick as a Brick

11. ELP - Brain Salad Surgery

12. Rush - Moving Pictures

13. King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King

14. The Mars Volta - Deloused in the Comatorium

15. Premiata Forneria Marconi - Per Un Amico

16. King Crimson - Larks’ Tongue in Aspic

17. Pink Floyd - Animals

18. Frank Zappa - One Size Fits All

19. Yes - Fragile

20. Rush - Hemispheres

21. Tangerine Dream - Phaedra

22. Magma - Mëkanïk Dëstruktïẁ Kömmandöh

23. Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon

24. Can - Future Days

25. Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells

26. Van Der Graaf Generator - Pawn Hearts

27. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here