breakfast in america

Supertramp turned the tables on questions that run too deep and found their paradise in this rarefied pop regalement.   The group had found some success with their albums 'Crime of the Century' and 'Even in the Quietest Moments...' 
and decided to move to the United States to record their next album.  They produced the album with Peter Henderson at the Village Recorder in Los Angeles.  The sessions featured Rick Davies on keyboards, vocals, and harmonica;  John Helliwell on saxophones, vocals, and woodwinds;  Roger Hodgson on guitars, keyboards, and vocals;  Bob Siebenberg on drums;  Dougie Thomson on bass;  and Slyde Hyde on trombone and tuba.  

The album took eight months to record, which Davies considers “a ridiculous amount of time, really...There’s no real powerhouse musician in the band.  Because of that, I think that we need to be fussy in the production...If I ever did a solo album, I’d just get the best producer I could think of and leave it to him. I skived a lot when we did 'Breakfast In America'. It just gets boring, beyond being any fun at all. You’ll walk in and they’re playing a certain section and five hours later, they’re still on it… but I’m certainly grateful for the results. I would just add to the confusion if I hung about...That title almost allows for pop songs. The actual song, Breakfast In America, doesn’t mean much. Neither do Oh Darling or Goodbye Stranger, so I saw a shape and it fitted...The pop side has always been a part of the group’s character. Maybe it’s been swamped a bit by the Genesis comparison, but it’s always been there. In a way, it’s easier to write minor-key opuses than a really good catchy pop song. That’s not easy at all. Roger has a stack of them a mile high, you know.”

Hodgson opines:     “It’s just a collection of songs. We chose the title because it was a fun title. It suited the fun feeling of the album...We have a reputation now for high quality, so we can’t release bad sound-quality. It’s worthwhile, but if you left me to my own devices, I’d go home with my eight-track stereo recorder and probably put an album out on that...That [sic] albums that I like aren’t of very high recording quality. If you listen to all the Beatles’ stuff, it’s terrible. It was recorded abominably but, because the vibe in it is so nice, you don’t even think about it. We’re doing that slowly. There’s more of a band vibe on 'Breakfast In America' than ever before. In a way that’s what took us so long. We almost lost that, and we spent three months finding it again...I always knew it was going to be a huge album. I knew our time had come and if it hadn’t happened, the big man in the sky was playing a trick on us. I felt that it had to happen, the mere fact that we had to struggle so long for it...The songs on this album were chosen because we really wanted to get a feeling of fun and warmth across. I think we felt that we had done three pretty serious albums...and it was about time we showed the lighter side of ourselves."

'Breakfast in America' became a blockbuster success, going to number three in Italy and the UK; two in Japan and Sweden; and number one in Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, and the US.  The iconic album cover was designed by Mike Doud and Mick Haggerty and won the 1980 Grammy Award for Best Recording Package.  The album also won Best Engineered Album and was nominated for Album of the Year.   'Breakfast in America' has sold more than twenty million copies worldwide.  

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"The Logical Song" 


When I was young,
It seemed that life was so wonderful,
A miracle, it was beautiful, magical
And all the birds in the trees,
Well they'd be singing so happily,
Joyfully, playfully, watching me
But then they send me away
To teach me how to be sensible,
Logical, responsible, practical
And they showed me a world
Where I could be so dependable,
Clinical, intellectual, cynical
There are times when all the world's asleep
The questions run too deep for such a simple man
Won't you please, please tell me what we've learned
I know it sounds absurd but please tell me who I am
I said now, watch what you say,
Now we're calling you a radical,
A liberal, fanatical, criminal
Won't you sign up your name,
We'd like to feel you're acceptable,
Respectable, presentable, a vegetable
But at night, when all the world's asleep
The questions run so deep for such a simple man
Won't you please (Won't you tell me),
(You can tell me what) please tell me what we've learned
(Can you hear me?) I know it sounds absurd,
(Won't you help me) please tell me who I am, who I am, who I am, who I am
But I'm thinking so logical
Did you call, one two three four
It's getting unbelievable

"Goodbye Stranger"  


It was an early morning yesterday
I was up before the dawn
And I really have enjoyed my stay
But I must be moving on
Like a king without a castle
Like a queen without a throne
I'm an early morning lover
And I must be moving on, yeah, yeah
Now I believe in what you say
Is the undisputed truth
But I have to have things my own way
To keep me in my youth
Like a ship without an anchor
Like a slave without a chain
Just the thought of those sweet ladies
Sends a shiver through my veins
And I will go on shining
Shining like brand new
I'll never look behind me
My troubles will be few
Goodbye, stranger, it's been nice
Hope you find your paradise
Tried to see your point of view
Hope your dreams will all come true
Goodbye, Mary, goodbye, Jane
Will we ever meet again?
Feel no sorrow, feel no shame
Come tomorrow, feel no pain
Sweet devotion (Goodbye, Mary)
It's not for me (Goodbye, Jane)
Just give me motion (Will we ever)
To set me free (Meet again?)
In the land and the ocean (Feel no sorrow)
Far away (Feel no shame)
It's the life I've chosen (Come tomorrow)
Every day (Feel no pain)
So goodbye, Mary (Goodbye, Mary)
Goodbye, Jane (Goodbye, Jane)
Will we ever (Will we ever)
Meet again? (Meet again?)
Now some they do and some they don't
And some you just can't tell
And some they will and some they won't
With some it's just as well
You can laugh at my behaviour
And that'll never bother me
Say the devil is my saviour
But I don't pay no heed
And I will go on shining
Shining like brand new
I'll never look behind me
My troubles will be few
Goodbye, stranger, it's been nice
Hope you find your paradise
Tried to see your point of view
Hope your dreams will all come true
Goodbye, Mary, goodbye, Jane
Will we ever meet again?
Feel no sorrow, feel no shame
Come tomorrow, feel no pain
Sweet devotion (Goodbye, Mary)
It's not for me (Goodbye, Jane)
Just give me motion (Will we ever)
To set me free (Meet again?)
In the land and the ocean (Feel no sorrow)
Far away (Feel no shame)
It's the life I've chosen (Come tomorrow)
Every day (Feel no pain)
So now I'm leaving (Goodbye, Mary)
Got to go (Goodbye, Jane)
Hit the road (Will we ever)
I'll say it once again (Meet again?)
Oh, yes, I'm leaving (Feel so sorrow)
Got to go (Feel no shame)
Got to go (Come tomorrow)
I'm sorry, I must dash (Feel no pain)
So goodbye, Mary (Goodbye, Mary)
Goodbye, Jane (Goodbye, Jane)
Will we ever (Will we ever)
Meet again? (Meet again?)
Oh, I'm leaving
I've got to go



Breakfast in Americafull album:

https://myspace.com/supertrampofficial/music/album/breakfast-in-america-11588

http://www.last.fm/music/Supertramp/Breakfast+In+America






Side one

1. "Gone Hollywood" Rick Davies Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson 5:19
2. "The Logical Song" Roger Hodgson Hodgson 4:07
3. "Goodbye Stranger" Davies Davies 5:46
4. "Breakfast in America" Hodgson Hodgson 2:37
5. "Oh Darling" Davies Davies 3:43
Side two
6. "Take the Long Way Home" Hodgson Hodgson 5:08
7. "Lord Is It Mine" Hodgson Hodgson 4:08
8. "Just Another Nervous Wreck" Davies Davies 4:22
9. "Casual Conversations" Davies Davies 2:56
10. "Child of Vision" Hodgson Hodgson, Davies and John Helliwell 7:24


deluxe edition
Disc 2
1. "The Logical Song (Live at Pavillon de Paris)" Roger Hodgson Hodgson 4:06
2. "Goodbye Stranger (Live at Pavillon de Paris)" Davies Davies 6:11
3. "Breakfast in America (Live at Wembley)" Hodgson Hodgson 3:05
4. "Oh Darling (Live in Miami)" Davies Davies 4:21
5. "Take the Long Way Home (Live at Wembley)" Hodgson Hodgson 4:48
6. "Another Man's Woman (Live at Pavillon de Paris)" Davies Davies 7:32
7. "Even in the Quietest Moments (Live at Pavillon de Paris)" Hodgson Hodgson 5:36
8. "Rudy (Live at Wembley)" Davies Davies and Hodgson 7:29
9. "Downstream (Live at Pavillon de Paris)" Davies Davies 3:28
10. "Give a Little Bit (Live at Pavillon de Paris)" Hodgson Hodgson 4:03
11. "From Now On (Live at Wembley)" Davies Davies 6:53

12. "Child of Vision (Live at Pavillon de Paris)" Hodgson Hodgson, Davies and Helliwell 7:32