"... famous last words ..."
| "... famous last words ..." | ||||
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| Studio album by Supertramp | ||||
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Publication |
October 1982 |
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admission |
November 1981 - summer 1982 |
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| Label (s) | A&M Records | |||
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Format (s) |
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Title (number) |
9 |
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running time |
48:04 (CD) |
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| occupation | see below | |||
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Supertramp, Peter Henderson, |
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Studio (s) |
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"... famous last words ..." is the seventh studio - album of the British Pop - / rock band Supertramp . As with the previous live album Paris (1980), the group acted in their classic line- up when the record was recorded - for the fifth and last time in the band's history. In keeping with the title, it is the last album with founding member Roger Hodgson . The record was released in October 1982 and was very successful.
description
During the recordings for the album “… famous last words…”, the last studio album to date that the band recorded in their classic line-up - Rick Davies , John Helliwell , Roger Hodgson , Bob Siebenberg and Dougie Thomson - Supertramp was supported by guest musicians for the first time: Claire Diament contributed the backing vocals to Hodgson's song Don't Leave Me Now, while sisters Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson from the American rock band Heart sang on Put on Your Old Brown Shoes and C'est le Bon . In addition, a children's group sang the English-language nursery rhyme It's Raining, It's Pouring in the final part of It's Raining Again .
All songs were written by Davies and Hodgson, who each sang their own works. The best-known songs on the album are It's Raining Again, which reached top ten status as a single release in many countries , as well as the second single My Kind of Lady, which reached number 31 in the US charts. Other singles were the songs Crazy, Don't Leave Me Now and Waiting So Long.
“… Famous last words…” was recorded under adverse circumstances: After a self-imposed break of more than two years, the band came together again. During the 16-month recording phase, singers and songwriters Davies and Hodgson realized that they had diverged musically. A point of contention for both was the musical direction and thus the choice of songs that the album should contain. Hodgson had written over 70 songs in the meantime. Many of his more pop-oriented songs failed because of Davies' veto. This aimed at a less commercial production. Davies' 16½-minute song epic Brother Where You Bound, a work about communist hatred in California created at the time, met Hodgson's opposition, so it was only released on the follow-up album Brother Where You Bound (1985), which was released after Hodgson's departure and without whose contribution has been published.
Roger Hodgson found the recording time as "traumatic" and the result as "lowest common denominator" and "not very satisfactory", as he said in 1983 to Musikexpress / Sounds . The division of the once creatively complementary songwriter duo was also evident in the way the album was recorded. Large parts of it were recorded and mixed in Hodgson's Unicorn Studios in Nevada City , California . Davies vocal parts, however, were recorded separately in his own The Backyard Studios in Encino , California .
The album's success culminated in an extensive world tour (July – September 1983), on which Supertramp filled many stadiums. The concert in Munich broadcast by ZDF in September 1983 , at which Roger Hodgson announced his farewell to Supertramp, is legendary . The tour did not produce a live album, but a large part of the DVD The Story So Far consists of concert recordings from 1983, recorded in Toronto and Munich.
About two and a half years after “… famous last words…” the album Brother Where You Bound was released - recorded without Hodgson .
Song list
The album “… famous last words…” (Original: LP A&M 393 732-1) contains nine songs. The specified lengths refer to a CD version (A&M 393 732-2) of the album, which is a total of 48:04 minutes. On the original vinyl record (LP), songs 1 through 5 are on the A side and 6 through 9 are on the B side.
- Crazy - 4:45 (Hodgson)
- Put On Your Old Brown Shoes - 4:21 (Davies)
- It's Raining Again - 4:26 (Hodgson)
- Bonnie - 5:39 (Davies)
- Know Who You Are - 5:02 (Hodgson)
- My Kind of Lady - 5:17 (Davies)
- C'est le Bon - 5:34 (Hodgson)
- Waiting So Long - 6:36 (Davies)
- Don't Leave Me Now - 6:24 (Hodgson)
occupation
The band:
- Rick Davies - keyboard , melodica solo (in the middle of "It's Raining Again"), vocals
- John Helliwell - saxophones , vocals
- Roger Hodgson - guitars , keyboards, vocals
- Bob Siebenberg - drums
- Dougie Thomson - bass guitar
Guest musicians:
- Claire Diament - backing vocals (in Don't Leave Me Now )
- Richard Hewson - string section leader (in Know Who You Are )
- Ann Wilson ( Heart ) - backing vocals (in Put On Your Old Brown Shoes and C'est le Bon )
- Nancy Wilson (Heart) - backing vocals (in Put On Your Old Brown Shoes and C'est le Bon )
- Children's group - sings the English-language nursery rhyme It's Raining, It's Pouring (in the final part of It's Raining Again )
admission
The album “… famous last words…” was recorded and mixed from November 1981 to summer 1982 in California , United States, mainly in the Unicorn recording studio in Nevada City . Other recordings took place in these studios: The Backyard Studios ( Encino ), Rumbo Recorders ( Canoga Park , Los Angeles ) and Bill Schnee Studio ( North Hollywood , Los Angeles). The mastering took place at Mastering Lab ( Hollywood , Los Angeles).
production
- Producers: Supertramp, Peter Henderson
- Co-producer: Russel Pope
- Sound engineer : Peter Henderson
- Assistant sound engineer: Norman Hall
- Technician Assistant: Ian "Biggles" Lloyd-Bisley, Bud Wyatt
- Concert sound engineer : Russel Pope
- Mastering : Mike Reese, Doug Sax
- Cover concept: Mike Doud
- Artistic direction and design: Mike Doud, Norman Moore
- Cover photographs : Jules Bates, Tom Gibson
- Exterior Cover Photography: Tom Gibson
- Management : Dave Margereson
Chart placements
Album:
Although the album “… famous last words…” was judged negatively by music critics, it sold very successfully worldwide. It was placed in the top 10 of the German, Austrian, British and US ( Billboard ) album charts.
| Charts | Top ranking | Weeks |
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| Chart placements | ||
 Germany (GfK)
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1 (48 weeks) | 48 |
 Austria (Ö3)
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4th (22 weeks) | 22nd |
 United Kingdom (OCC)
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6th (16 weeks) | 16 |
 United States (Billboard)
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5 (28 weeks) | 28 |
Singles:
It's Raining Again with Bonnie was selected as a single , which is in the US singles charts (Billboard) in the top 30, in the UK charts in the top 20 and in the German, Austrian and Swiss charts -10 placed.
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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DE
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AT
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 CH
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UK
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US
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| 1982 |
It's Raining Again ... famous last words ... |
DE3 (20 weeks) DE |
AT7 (10 weeks) AT |
CH2 (11 weeks) CH |
UK26 (12 weeks) UK |
US11 (13 weeks) US |
B-side: Bonnie
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| My Kind of Lady ... famous last words ... |
DE74 (2 weeks) DE |
- | - | - |
US31 (12 weeks) US |
featuring Rick Davies
B-Side: Know Who You Are |
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CD re-release
In 2002 the A&M Records label released a revised new edition of the album “… famous last words…”, the recording of which was taken from the original tapes. The little book is based on the album design (with lyrics) of the original CD.
Recording and production:
- Remastering - Sterling Sound ( Manhattan , New York City , New York ) - Greg Calbi and Jay Messina
- Remastering oversight - Bill Levenson
- Artistic direction - Vartan
- Cover design - Mike Diehl
- Production coordination - Beth stamp
Web links
- “… Famous last words…” at Discogs (English)