Free as a Bird (Album)

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Free as a bird
Studio album by Supertramp

Publication
(s)

October 1987

admission

1986-1987

Label (s) AT THE

Format (s)

LP , MC and CD

Genre (s)

Progressive rock, pop rock

Title (number)

9

running time

44:16 (CD)

occupation see below

production

Rick Davies and Supertramp,
Tom Lord-Alge (co-producer)

Studio (s)

chronology
Brother Where You Bound
(1985) 		Free as a bird Live '88
(1988)

Free as a Bird is the ninth studio - album of the British Pop - / rock band Supertramp and their first with guitarist and vocalist Mark Hart and the Brass Lee Thornburg . It was released almost 2½ years after the studio album Brother Where You Bound in October 1987 and sold quite well in Switzerland , but also in Germany - otherwise sluggishly.

description

For the recordings for the album Free as a Bird , the band performed as follows: The classic line- up , which, as in 1985 , acted as a quartet , were Rick Davies (keyboards, timbales, vocals), John Helliwell (saxophones, brass instruments), Bob Siebenberg (drums) and Dougie Thomson (bass guitar) still there. There were also several guest musicians: Mark Hart (guitars, keyboards, vocals; member of the band Crowded House since 1993 ), who sang the lead with Davies Where I Stand , acted as the second singer and keyboardist . In addition, the group was supplemented by several brass players , including Scott Page , who supported the band on the previous album and on Supertramp tours, for the first time in the band's history by Lee Thornburg (trumpet, brass instruments), and background singers. Also acted Steve Reid on percussion instruments .

After the successful progressive album Brother Where You Bound , Supertramp released a poppy-jazzy studio album with Free as a Bird , whereby Davies' staccato electric piano playing was at least partially retained as the band's trademark. All of the songs were texted, composed and sung by Davies, except Where I Stand , which Davies and Hart sang. The best-known song is the gospel-like and - like the disco-like I'm Beggin 'You  - theme song Free as a Bird, which is released as a single in its final part . Thing for You, reminiscent of earlier band times, is interestingly staged .

The cover photo of the little album book shows the French painter, graphic artist and sculptor Georges Braque (1882–1963) painting a white bird; according to the album cover, this was "in his studio, 1954".

With the songs from the album Free as a Bird , which sounds edgy and sterile in the typical 1980s sound, and many Supertramp classics in their luggage, the band went on tour, from which the live album Live '88 emerged in 1988 .

Song list

The album Free as a Bird contains nine songs. The specified song lengths of the album, which was then also released as LP (“A&M 395181 1”), refer to the original CD version (“A&M 395181 2”), which is 44:16 minutes long.

  1. It's Alright - 5:01 - (Davies)
  2. Not the Moment - 4:37 - (Davies)
  3. It Doesn't Matter - 4:53 - (Davies)
  4. Where I Stand - 3:41 - (Davies); Main voice: Davies and Hart
  5. Free as a Bird - 4:26 - (Davies)
  6. I'm Beggin 'You - 5:30 - (Davies)
  7. You Never Can Tell With Friends - 4:18 - (Davies)
  8. Thing for You - 4:01 - (Davies)
  9. An Awful Thing to Waste - 7:49 - (Davies)

occupation

The band:

Additional staff

  • Linda Foot - backing vocals
  • Mark Hart - guitars , keyboards , vocals, backing vocals
  • Nick Lane - brass instruments
  • Lise Miller - backing vocals
  • Scott Page - brass instruments
  • Lon Price - brass instruments
  • Steve Reid - percussion
  • Evan Rogers - backing vocals
  • Lee Thornburg - trumpet solo, brass instruments
  • Marty Walsh - guitars, backing vocals
  • Karyn White - backing vocals
  • David Woodford - brass instruments

admission

The album Free as a Bird was recorded and mixed in these recording studios in the USA from 1986 to 1987 : The sound recordings took place in Ocean Way Studios ( Hollywood , Los Angeles ) and The Backyard Studios ( Encino , Los Angeles). Mixed , the plate was at Larrabee Sound ( West Hollywood , CA) and the mastering was in the master disc ( Manhattan , New York City performed).

production

  • Producer : Rick Davies , Supertramp
  • Co-producer: Tom Lord-Alge (on It's Alright )
  • Sound engineer : Norman Hall
  • Sound engineer assistants: Bob Loftus, Jeff Lorenzen
  • Mixing : Tom Lord-Alge
  • Mastering : Bob Ludwig
  • Artistic director: Richard Frankel
  • Cover design: Richard Frankel
  • Photograph of the four band members: Raul Vega
  • Photography Braque In His Studio, 1954 ; Cover photo: Mariette Lachaud
  • Management : Sue Davies

Charts

album

The album Free as a Bird climbed into the top 20 in Switzerland and into the top 30 of the respective album charts in Germany and Sweden . In the US , it was only at number 101 on the Billboard 200 , making it the first Supertramp album since the 1971 album Indelibly Stamped that did not climb the Billboard Hot 100 .

year Title
music label 		Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, music label , placements, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
DE DE AT AT CH CH UK UK US US
1987 Free as a Bird
A&M Records 		DE23 (7 weeks)
DE 		- CH14 (5 weeks)
CH 		UK93 (1 week)
UK 		US101 (11 weeks)
US
Published October 13, 1987
Sales: + 225,000

Singles

The single I'm Beggin 'You , with No Inbetween from the 1985 album as the second song, became a club hit in the USA and the single Free as a Bird (title track of the album of the same name), with Thing for You as the second song , to a small hit.

year Title
album 		Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
DE DE AT AT CH CH UK UK US US
1987 Free as a Bird
Free as a Bird 		- - - UK95 (1 week)
UK 		-
B-side: Thing for You

Released in 2002

On July 30, 2002, the A&M Records label released a revised new edition of the album Free as a Bird , the recording of which was taken from the original tapes. The booklet contains 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

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b chart sources: