Supertramp's 6th album is the one of consecration. There is always an album that marks a turning point in a band's career.
Since their beginnings, the Supertramp have always positioned themselves a little on the margins of other British groups. Far from light pop, they are more directed towards conceptual albums.
Rick Davis and Roger Hodgson share the vocals and compose separately but sign the songs together.
Recorded live in the Village Recorder studio in Los Angles in 1978, it was released on March 29, 1979 on the label A-M Records. The one-week recording session was a series of tries to find a perfect match and minimize mixing. Penalty lost, the team of sound engineers spent two months to refine the result (and stopped for lack of time ...).
The pieces present almost all have a theme in common, lack of communication and absence. Several titles followed each other before its release, including a "Hello Stranger" which was dismissed shortly before in favor of "Breakfast in America" under the influence of Hodgson.
In keeping with the previous discography, this album is a demonstration of what the band can do in terms of "fun" music, one of the reasons why the title was chosen, in order to stick with the songs.
The album cover, directed by Mike Doud and Mick Haggerty, depicts Manhattan seen from the window of a plane. It shows actress Kate Murtagh, dressed as a Diner waitress, mimicking the Statue of Liberty. Since September 11, 2001, it has caused a lot of ink to flow, for reasons that I let you discover for yourself.
The reviews were unanimous, a real change and an album worthy of the standards of the time. Compared to those of Genesis and sometimes seen as a perfect post-Beatles, it receives phenomenal success. Several platinum, diamond, ..., ranked in all the charts, it has been sold more than 22 million so far!!
And hold on tight, there are nearly 300 different editions, all media combined!!