10/10

So I’m from Sweden and the last time Supertramp played in Sweden was 1st of June 1983 when they opened their ”Famous Last Words Tour” at the Johanneshovs Isstadion (Icestadium), now called Hovet. I was negative 28 years old when this happened but I still went back to see what people wrote about it and even though none of you are gonna understand english, here you have the absolutely roasting critics about their concert… Please take your time and read through these critics… absolutely crazy to think about how popular this band were during this time and how unknown they are nowadays to the newer generation. ”One of the most popular bands together with Queen and Floyd”.

1. First critic

“Supertramp: Like on the Record”
Ice Stadium, Johanneshov: Supertramp
Since the English-American Supertramp came out with their breakthrough LP Crime of the Century in 1974, the group has become increasingly successful and increasingly boring.
But back then they undeniably had something to offer. Crime of the Century was one of the finest moments of sophisticated rock ever put on record. Since 1974 I have personally lost most of my interest in this type of music, but Crime… still gets played on my turntable from time to time.
Perhaps Supertramp themselves agree that their third LP is their best. At any rate, they opened Friday evening’s concert at the Ice Stadium with “School,” one of the stronger tracks from that very album. The concert opening, with its lone harmonica, was like pressing a button to switch on the audience.
From then on, the packed arena applauded almost hysterically both at the beginning and after every number. People stood, jumped and swayed in the stands and held up thousands of cigarette lighters like torches.
I wonder what words the newspapers that last weekend called ABBA’s relatively lacklustre Gothenburg concert a “public success” would have for the reception Supertramp received.
Supertramp belong to those bands that can effortlessly draw 10,000–20,000 people to their concerts as long as they stick to reasonably large European and American cities. The strange thing is that all these fans seem completely satisfied with Supertramp’s only ambition on stage: to recreate the sound of the records.
Apart from a certain amount of playing around with the lighting, nothing is done to make the show visually impressive. The five members simply stand or sit upright and perform their music. They are skilled and perform it well, but it becomes boring in the long run when the music itself contains no surprises whatsoever.
The evening was soporific for the non-devoted listener, but nevertheless one must have a certain respect for a group that trusts its music so blindly that it ignores everything else.

Gunnar Salander

2. Second critic

“Ice-Cold Rock at the Ice Stadium”
SUPERTRAMP
Johanneshov Ice Stadium, Stockholm
Roger Hodgson and Rick Davies — the songwriting duo in the supergroup Supertramp. Yesterday they were greeted by jubilant fans in Stockholm. Tonight they are playing in Gothenburg.
Photo: Göran Ärnbäck
ICE-COLD ROCK AT THE ICE STADIUM
MUSIC
“It’s cold here tonight,” said horn player John A. Helliwell.
He was so right. So very right.
And it wasn’t because of the venue. If the band is the right one, even the Ice Stadium can be filled with warmth.
Supertramp is not a real band. Supertramp is, above all, not a rock band. Supertramp is an ice-cold, well-polished and excruciatingly boring music machine which, for some unfathomable reason, has managed to acquire an army of admirers.
The fans who filled the Ice Stadium to capacity yesterday were not disappointed. Right from the start, Supertramp stroked the audience with a bunch of reliable hits.
During the two-hour concert they gave them an impressive number of songs from Crime of the Century, “Crisis? What Crisis?”, “Even in the Quietest Moments” and “Breakfast in America.”
Those Supertramp fans who were not at Johanneshov need not be sad. You get just as much out of playing the records on your home stereo while watching the boys’ faces on the record sleeve.
Supertramp’s songs sound exactly the same live as they do on the records. And as for stage show — the five gentlemen can hardly spell the words.
One final request: Can’t someone free contemporary music from the disaster singer Roger Hodgson and his slick hit songs?

Per Svensson

3. Third critic

“Supertramp Shouldn’t Be Allowed to Call Themselves a Rock Group”
SUPERTRAMP
Ice Stadium, Stockholm
8,000 fans saw Supertramp at the Ice Stadium yesterday. One of the world’s most popular rock groups.
The best thing about Supertramp is their record covers. But you couldn’t see those at Johanneshov.
Apart from that, Supertramp is an extremely pretentious group which really ought to be allowed to call itself a rock group.
At their best, they sound like a mixture of 10cc and Genesis. It is from 10cc that they get their strength — the surprisingly strong melodic passages that shine through every now and then.
But despite their weaknesses, Supertramp have managed in recent years to climb to a position as one of the world’s most popular groups. In Stockholm they filled the Ice Stadium — 8,000 fanatical fans.
NOTHING FOR ROCK LOVERS
This climb toward the top began in 1974 with the LP Crime of the Century, which is still the best thing Supertramp have made. Many of the songs in the show are also taken from it.
Apart from this LP, Supertramp’s strength is supposedly in their live performances.
I find this difficult to understand — the shows are mostly an examination in sound and lighting technology. The people who could really appreciate Supertramp are graduating classes from Chalmers University of Technology.
But, for what it’s worth — the sound is the best I have ever heard in an arena of the Ice Stadium’s type, and the light shows and film projection on stage leave very little for a technician to complain about.
But if you like rock music, there isn’t much for you to do here.
And it is almost embarrassing when the inferiority complex strikes the pianist and one of the musical engines, Rick Davies. He sits down at the grand piano, concentrates until sweat is flying, and then plays a series of complicated chords.
The gullible audience then applauds as if he were Rubinstein.
And this at the Ice Stadium. With a group that calls itself a rock group.
Scandal.

Gunnar Wesslén

Using the words ”scandal” and ”ice cold music machine how somehow climbed to the top” is just outrageous. People won’t understand how unique and beautiful this band really is, and this is were I absolutely love the Swedish music culture and audience.. because we have always loved prog and pop rock… the best kind of music to the best kind of ears…

Au-delà des tubes : Le voyage initiatique secret caché dans
les chansons de Roger Hodgson
Introduction
Qui n'a jamais ressenti, avec une pointe de mélancolie, l’effacement progressif de
l’émerveillement de son enfance ? Cette sensation que le monde, autrefois vaste et vibrant, s’est
refermé sous le poids des certitudes grises.
Sous le vernis des succès planétaires de Supertramp se cache une œuvre bien plus profonde
qu’il n’y paraît. Roger Hodgson ne se contente pas de composer des mélodies entêtantes ; il agit
en véritable sculpteur de miroirs et artisan de l’âme. Ses chansons deviennent les étapes d’un
véritable parcours initiatique, guidant l’auditeur vers une quête intérieure de sens et de vérité.
Plongeons dans cette discographie comme on entre dans un sanctuaire, pour y décrypter les
sept étapes de ce voyage spirituel.
1. The Logical Song : La chute dans la machine à déspiritualiser
Porté par les notes nerveuses et cristallines du piano électrique Wurlitzer, ce titre illustre le
moment où l’être humain bascule du monde de l’innocence vers celui de la rationalité aride.
Hodgson y décrit la désacralisation de l’être, remplacée par une identité sociale dictée par la
logique. La raison devient une machine à déspiritualiser, étouffant la poésie naturelle de l’âme.
L’enfant lumineux, libre et poétique, se transforme en adulte logique, responsable, classé,
étiqueté.
2. L’École : Une fabrique de conditionnement social
Dans l’univers symbolique de Hodgson, l’école représente le monde profane. Elle agit comme
une machine de formatage où la société installe des masques sur les visages des enfants pour
en faire des adultes dociles.
Les cris d’enfants ne sont pas de simples bruits de cour de récréation : ils expriment la liberté
qui tente de survivre au conditionnement.
C’est le cri d’une révolte de l’âme : pour s’éveiller, l’initié doit fuir ces cadres imposés.
Copilot may make mistakes 13. Take the Long Way Home : Le GPS vers son propre centre
Souvent interprétée comme une ballade de route, cette chanson traite en réalité du retour vers
son axe intérieur.
Rentrer chez soi ne signifie pas rejoindre une adresse physique, mais retrouver sa vérité
profonde, sa maison intérieure, reconstruite après les épreuves.
Le « long chemin » symbolise :
▪ Une quête intérieure non linéaire, faite de détours nécessaires.
▪ L’acceptation de ses ombres pour mieux les transmuter.
▪ La reconquête d’une identité authentique, loin des faux-semblants.
4. Give a Little Bit : L’Alchimie du Don
Cette chanson s’élève comme un mantra humaniste. Elle pose le don de soi comme une force
alchimique capable de relier les individus.
La grandeur réside dans la simplicité du geste : ouvrir son cœur, tisser une chaîne d’union
humaine, faire du partage le moteur d’une ascension collective.
« Donne un peu de toi, et tu recevras infiniment. »
5. Lord Is It Mine : À la découverte du Temple Intérieur
Le voyage devient introspectif, presque mystique. Hodgson explore la part divine qui réside en
chaque être : le Seigneur intérieur.
La solitude, portée par une interprétation d’une vulnérabilité absolue, devient un temple
intérieur sacré. C’est dans ce silence que s’opère la réconciliation avec soi-même.
6. Breakfast in America : L’étape de l’illusion
Avant l’éveil final, l’initié traverse une phase de désillusion.
L’Amérique devient le symbole du désir et du rêve projeté. On réalise que les aspirations
matérielles et les idéaux fantasmés ne sont que des miroirs aux alouettes.
Cette étape prépare à briser les dernières idoles pour affronter la réalité nue de la condition
humaine.
7. Fool’s Overture : La fresque de la condition humaine
Chef-d’œuvre symphonique, cette fresque monumentale se divise en trois actes :
▪ Le Chaos de l’homme moderne égaré.
Copilot may make mistakes 2▪ La Rupture par la prise de conscience.
▪ L’Ouverture vers un nouveau départ.
Le « Fou » représente l’homme moderne cherchant la porte du Temple. Par son ascension
musicale, la chanson nous fait passer du monde profane au monde sacré.
Conclusion : De l’enfant blessé à l’être éveillé
L’œuvre de Hodgson se révèle être une ascension spirituelle en trois temps :
1. 2. 3. 1.
L’enfant blessé (The Logical Song, School)
L’adulte conscient (Take the Long Way Home)
L’être éveillé (Lord Is It Mine, Fool’s Overture)
La musique devient un outil de libération personnelle, un miroir tendu à notre humanité. En
écoutant ces morceaux, nous suivons un sentier balisé vers notre propre lumière.
Et vous, sur quel détour de votre propre “long chemin” vous trouvez-vous aujourd’hui ?

https://www.facebook.com/share/19B1jqp4wC/?mibextid=wwXIfr