The Autobiography of Supertramp

The Autobiography of Supertramp
Greatest hits album by Supertramp
Released	July 1986
Recorded	1974-1985
Genre	Progressive rock, pop rock, art rock
Length	47:10
Label	A&M
Producer	Ken Scott, Peter Henderson, David Kershenbaum, Supertramp
Supertramp chronology
Brother Where You Bound (1985) The Autobiography of Supertramp (1986) Free as a Bird (1987)

The Autobiography of Supertramp is the first greatest hits album by the English rock band Supertramp, released in 1986.

As Supertramp's first greatest hits album, The Autobiography of Supertramp contains a compilation of the most popular songs from the albums Crime of the Century, Even in the Quietest Moments, Breakfast in America, ...Famous Last Words..., and Brother Where You Bound. The CD version and the 2001 remaster also include a song from Crisis? What Crisis?. The album Paris is completely unrepresented, despite its including the hit live version of "Dreamer".

The cover art shows a suit-wearing, faceless man seated in a train carriage reading a book with his own face on the cover. The view from the train window shows the platform with stylised versions of the cover art from three of Supertramp's albums.

The album was also released in the US as Classics Volume 9, part of A&M's 25th Anniversary series (1987). That version of the album includes the extra tracks listed below as part of the 2001 re-release, with the exception of "School" and no single edits.

The album was re-released as The Very Best of Supertramp in 1990 in the US with digitally remastered sound and a bonus track "School" as the first track instead of "Goodbye Stranger" which follows afterwards. It also contains the album versions of the songs "Goodbye Stranger" and "Cannonball", whereas the original release uses the edited versions from the singles instead.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Allmusic's retrospective review commented that The Very Best of Supertramp is a superior compilation with its choice of tracks.^[1]

Track listing

All songs written by Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson, except where noted.

Original release

LP album

1. "Goodbye Stranger" (Single edit, from Breakfast in America, 1979) – 4:25
2. "The Logical Song" (Single edit, from Breakfast in America) – 3:45
3. "Bloody Well Right" (Single edit, from Crime of the Century, 1974) – 4:16
4. "Breakfast in America" (from Breakfast in America) – 2:37
5. "Take the Long Way Home" (Single edit, from Breakfast in America) – 4:03
6. "Crime of the Century" (Early fade-out, from Crime of the Century)– 5:20
7. "Dreamer" (from Crime of the Century) – 3:19
8. "From Now On" (from Even in the Quietest Moments..., 1977) – 6:10
9. "Give a Little Bit" (from Even in the Quietest Moments...) – 4:03
10. "It's Raining Again" (from ...Famous Last Words..., 1982) – 4:25
11. "Cannonball" (Single edit, from Brother Where You Bound, 1985) (Davies) – 4:47

CD / Classics, Vol 9. release

1. "Goodbye Stranger" (Single edit) – 4:29
2. "The Logical Song" (Single edit) – 3:48
3. "Bloody Well Right" (Single edit) – 4:17
4. "Breakfast in America" – 2:39
5. "Rudy" (from Crime of the Century) – 7:19
6. "Take the Long Way Home" (Single edit) – 4:06
7. "Crime of the Century" – 5:33
8. "Dreamer" – 3:33 / 3:19
9. "Ain't Nobody But Me" (from Crisis? What Crisis?, 1975) – 5:07
10. "Hide in Your Shell" (from Crime of the Century) – 6:48
11. "From Now On" – 6:11
12. "Give a Little Bit" – 4:08
13. "It's Raining Again" – 4:23
14. "Cannonball" (Single edit) (Davies) – 4:51

2001 US remaster

1. "School" – 5:35
2. "Goodbye Stranger" – 5:50
3. "The Logical Song" – 4:10
4. "Bloody Well Right" – 4:31
5. "Breakfast in America" – 2:37
6. "Rudy" – 7:19
7. "Take the Long Way Home" – 5:08
8. "Crime of the Century" – 5:36
9. "Dreamer" – 3:31
10. "Ain't Nobody But Me" – 5:14
11. "Hide in Your Shell" – 6:48
12. "From Now On" – 6:21
13. "Give a Little Bit" – 4:08
14. "It's Raining Again" – 4:25
15. "Cannonball" (Davies) – 7:38

Personnel

Supertramp

• Rick Davies - keyboards, vocals
• John Helliwell - saxophone, vocals, woodwinds
• Roger Hodgson (except on "Cannonball") - guitar, keyboards, vocals
• Bob Siebenberg - percussion, drums
• Dougie Thomson - bass

Additional musicians

• Slyde Hyde - trombone on "Breakfast in America"
• Marty Walsh – guitar on "Cannonball"
• Doug Wintz – trombone on "Cannonball"

Production

• Producers: Ken Scott, Peter Henderson, David Kershenbaum and Supertramp
• Mastering: Bernie Grundman, Norman Hall - Bernie Grundman Mastering, Inc.
• Cover design: Richard Frankel, Norman Moore
• Photography: Ron Slenzak
• Poster illustrations: Holly Hollington

References

Supertramp
Rick Davies Bob Siebenberg John Helliwell Carl Verheyen Cliff Hugo Lee Thornburg Mark Hart Gabe Dixon Jesse Siebenberg Cassie Miller-Thornburg Roger Hodgson Richard Palmer-James Keith Baker Frank Farrell Dougie Thomson Robert Millar Dave Winthrop Kevin Currie Tom Walsh
Albums	Supertramp Indelibly Stamped Crime of the Century Crisis? What Crisis? Even in the Quietest Moments… Breakfast in America …Famous Last Words… Brother Where You Bound Free as a Bird Some Things Never Change Slow Motion
Live albums	Concert Classics Paris Live '88 The Story So Far... It Was the Best of Times Is Everybody Listening? 70-10 Tour
Compilations	The Autobiography of Supertramp The Very Best of Supertramp The Very Best of Supertramp 2 Retrospectacle – The Supertramp Anthology
Singles	"Forever" "Land Ho" "Dreamer" "Bloody Well Right" "Lady" "Ain't Nobody But Me" "Give a Little Bit" "Babaji" "From Now On" "The Logical Song" "Breakfast in America" "Goodbye Stranger" "Take the Long Way Home" "Dreamer (live)" "Breakfast in America (live)" "It's Raining Again" "Don't Leave Me Now" "Crazy" "My Kind of Lady" "Still in Love" "Cannonball" "Better Days" "I'm Beggin' You" "Free As a Bird" "Give a Little Bit (New Version)" "You Win, I Lose" "Listen to Me, Please" "Slow Motion"
Selected songs	"Brother Where You Bound" "Fool's Overture"
Related articles	Discography Band members List of Roger Hodgson concert tours
Supertramp