Crime of the Century is the third studio album by the British rock band Supertramp, released in October 1974 on A&M Records. Crime of the Century was Supertramp's commercial breakthrough in many countries, most notably in the UK, Canada and Germany where it peaked in the Top 5 while also making the Top 20 in Australia and France. It was the band's first album to chart in the United States, reaching No. 38 on the Billboard 200. The single "Dreamer" reached No. 13 on the UK singles chart, but listeners in the United States preferred its B-side, "Bloody Well Right", which peaked at No. 35 on the Billboard Hot 100. "School" was another popular track, particularly on album rock-oriented radio stations. The album was eventually certified Gold in the US in 1977 after the release of Even in the Quietest Moments.... In Canada, it was eventually certified Diamond (sales of one million copies). The album was Supertramp's first to feature drummer Bob Siebenberg (at the time credited as Bob C. Benberg), saxophone and clarinet player and vocalist John Helliwell, bassist Dougie Thomson, and co-producer Ken Scott. The album has received critical acclaim, including its inclusion in Rolling Stones "50 Greatest Prog Rock Albums of All Time".
Background and recording
After the commercial failure of their first two albums and an equally unsuccessful tour, it looked like the end of Supertramp, but Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson revitalized the band, recruiting drummer Bob C. Benberg, woodwinds player and backing vocalist John Helliwell, and bassist Dougie Thomson. Their record label, A&M, in particular A&R man Dave Margereson (who would become their manager for the next ten years), sent this new line-up to a seventeenth-century farm in west Dorset to rehearse their next album together.
The album was recorded at several studios, including Trident Studios and Ramport Studios (owned by the Who), with co-producer Ken Scott. While recording the album, Davies and Hodgson recorded approximately 42 demo songs, from which only 8 were chosen to appear on the album.
Six tracks were first recorded, for the soundtrack of Tony Klingers 1971 film Extremes "about British youth, lifestyles and drug addiction". Several other tracks appeared on later albums such as (Crisis? What Crisis? and ...Famous Last Words...).
Due to a contractual agreement, all the songs are credited jointly to the two writers, but some of the songs were written individually. Scott commented that Davies and Hodgson "were very, very different personalities. Those differing personalities made the music sound the way it did."
Hodgson remarked of "Hide in Your Shell": "I was 23 when I wrote that song, confused about life and like a lot of people are at that age, trying to hide my insecurities. I’ve always been able to express my innermost feelings more openly in song and 'Hide in Your Shell' came to me at a time when I was feeling very lonely – lonely both in life and within the band – with no one who shared my spiritual quest." Supertramp cut their own recording of the song in imitation of this early demo, though they had difficulty recreating the song, and so put the demo tape on the multitrack machine, and played to the demo. The song would later provide the title track for Michael Ball's 2014 album of the same name.
The album was named after the final song, "Crime of the Century", which the band members felt was the strongest song on the album. Shortly after his departure from Supertramp, Hodgson commented: "I've had more people come up to me and say that that song touched them more deeply than any other. That song really came together when we were living together at Southcombe Farm, Thorncombe, and just eating, sleeping, and breathing the ideas for the album. The song just bounced between Rick and I for so many weeks before it finally took form."
On the In the Studio with Redbeard episode devoted to the album, Hodgson stated that "Rudy" was the character on the album and was seen as somewhat autobiographical of Davies' life at the time. The sound of the train in "Rudy" was recorded at London Paddington station, while the crowd noises in the song were taken from Leicester Square.
Crime of the Century deals loosely with themes of loneliness and mental stability.