Even in the Quietest Moments

E2 Supertramp Discography

Title:           Even In The Quietest Moments
Released: 1977
Run Time: 43:40 minutes

Track List:

1. Give A Little Bit
2. Lover Boy
3. Even In The Quietest Moments
4. Downstream
5. Babaji
6. From Now On
7. Fool's Overture

Musicians:

• Bob C. Benberg - Drums and Percussion
• Rick Davies - Vocals and Keyboards
• John Anthony Helliwell - Wind Instruments and Vocals
• Roger Hodgson - Vocals, Keyboards and Guitars
• Dougie Thomson - Bass

Even In The Quietest Moments, Supertramp's fifth album, was released in 1977. It certainly had a tough act to follow: the previous album, Crisis? What Crisis, was well received by fans who had then be asked to wait for two years for a new album. As it turned out, it was worth the wait.

Indeed, for many purist fans of this, the 'second incarnation', of the band's line-up, it marks the end of the line: The last 'real' album before Breakfast In America arrived and signalled a change in direction for Supertramp. I am certainly not of that camp. Whilst I like Even In The Quietest Moments, it is defintely an album of contrasts for me. There's some great songs here, but others are rather too saccharine.

The opening track, Give A Little Bit, is a beautifully delivered acoustic song that remains one of the band's 'signature' tunes. It's one of my all-time favourite Supertramp tracks. Other strong tracks on the album include the title track, Even In The Quietest Moments, and the epic Fool's Overture, which opens with an overlay of part of Winston Churchill's famous wartimespeech to the Houses of Parliament in 1940:

"We shall go on to the end
We shall fight on the seas and oceans
We shall defend our island whatever the cost may be
We shall never surrender".

Talk of Fool's Overture leads us nicely to a couple of pieces of trivia related to this album: The front cover features a snow-covered grand piano a winter mountainside: This was a real shot - the album was partly recorded in Colorado and this is where the photo was taken. Also, the sheet music on the piano's music stand purports to be for Fool's Overture, it's actually the music for The Star Spangled Banner.

In summary, Even In The Quietest Moments is a worthy addition to any Supertramp fans collection. Just don't make it the first.