Today in Music (1969): King Crimson released In the Court of the Crimson King

In the Court of the Crimson King King Crimson

Released: October 10, 1969 Peak: 28 US, 5 UK, 27 CN, 7 AU Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, 0.1 UK, 0.93 world (includes US and UK) Genre: progressive rock

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. 21st Century Schizoid Man ( Fripp, McDonald, Lake, Giles, Sinfield) [7:24] (7 CL) I Talk to the Wind (McDonald, Sinfield) [6:05] Epitaph (Fripp, McDonald, Lake, Giles, Sinfield) [8:47] (40 CL) a. March for No Reason b. Tomorrow and Tomorrow Moonchild (Fripp, McDonald, Lake, Giles, Sinfield) [12:13] a. The Dream b. The Illusion The Court of the Crimson King (McDonald, Sinfield) [9:25] (1/31/70, 80 BB, 8 CL) a. The Return of the Fire Witch b. The Dance of the Puppets Total Running Time: 43:54 The Players: Robert Fripp (guitar, production) Ian McDonald (sax, flute, clarinet, vibraphone, harpsichord, et al) Greg Lake (vocals, bass) Michael Giles (drums, percussion, backing vocals) Peter Sinfield (lyrics, production)

Rating: 4.204 out of 5.00 (average of 36 ratings) Quotable: “If progressive rock as a discrete genre can be said to have a starting point, In the Court of the Crimson King is probably it.” – Paul Stump, History of Progressive Rock Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

A Pinnacle of Prog King Crimson’s debut album has been called “the first true progressive rock album.” WK “Although the Moody Blues, Procol Harum, and Jethro Tull predated King Crimson in the use of classical instruments in a rock setting, King Crimson…went beyond the use of classical instruments to generate rock with sophisticated classical ideas.” CS In his History of Progressive Rock, Paul Stump says “if progressive rock as a discrete genre can be said to have a starting point, In the Court of the Crimson King is probably it.” WK Musicologist Edward Macan says it “may be the most influential progressive rock album ever released.” WK PopMatters’ Sean Murphy calls it “The Rosetta Stone, and still the purest and most perfect expression of the progressive rock aesthetic.” WK Classic Rock’s Alexander Milas called it the album which “blew the doors of musical convention and cemented these quintessentially British innovators’ place in rock history for all time.” WK The album had “a significant influence on the heavy metal and progressive rock to come.” CS The Who’s Pete Townshed called the album “an uncanny masterpiece.” WK On the Dave’s Music Database list of top progressive rock albums, it ranks #2, only behind Yes’ Close to the Edge. In 2015, Rolling Stone ranked it as the #2 progressive rock album behind Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. Criticism of Prog Rock In 1969, Rolling Stone’s John Mothland foreshadowed “the criticism that would haunt the entire genre of progressive rock through the 1970s” CSM when he wrote that “King Crimons will probably be condemned by some for pompousness…but that criticism isn’t really valid. They have combined aspects of many musical forms to create a surreal work of force and originality.” CS While the genre certainly has detractors, “that doesn't mean the album itself isn't still a cool, innovative piece of work.” PK The album “effectively decimates the argument that progressive rock of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s was little more than the babbling technical feats of overamped nerds.” TM It offers “greatly nuanced music in a genre where nuance is often in short supply.” TM The Music This is “a stunning debut that functioned as a cohesive unit rather than a mere collection of songs.” CS The music is “stylistically diverse and rhythmically complex.” WK “The band’s adventurous spirit would not only bring a new attention to the incorporation of jazz and classical elements in rock, but would challenge rock’s basic structure as a blues-based art form.” CS PopMatters’ Sean Murphy said it is “ahead of its time as well as…out of time.” WK “King Crimson projected a darker and edgier brand of post-psychedelic rock. Likewise, they were inherently intelligent – a sort of thinking man’s Pink Floyd.” AM “A must-own for fans of Pink Floyd, Yes (who were never this good), and early Genesis.” PK The Players > Over the years, players came and went in King Crimson but “left-field guitar hero Robert Fripp” RD remained a constant. He “immediately join[ed] the ranks of pop music’s genius innovators.” RS His “guitar work fuses “elegant classical, Hendrix-like rock explosions, and jazz noodling.” WK He “orchestrated lush compositions that advanced a moody, postpsychedelic agenda.” CS The band’s debut, though, is “more of a team effort.” PK It was the only one to feature this lineup, but it “remains their best known work.” RD It features “classically-influenced ensemble playing and nice vocals by Greg Lake,” PK who would go on to be a founder of another hugely-celebrated progressive-rock group, Emerson, Lake, & Palmer. Multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald played “a wide variety of instrumental not traditionally found in a rock band (including mellotron, vibes, woodwinds, reeds, and keyboards.” CS His “mellotron is said to be the ‘dominant’ instrument on the album.” WK Like Lake, McDonald would also be the founder of another iconic rock band – Foreigner. The Artwork Barry Gobder, who was a computer programmer friend of Sinfield’s, painted the memorable design for the album cover, using his own face as the model. He was only 24 years old when he died from a heart attack in February 1970, shortly after the album’s release. It was his only painting. Robert Fripp owns the original. WK The Songs Here are thoughts on the individual songs from the album. “21st Century Schizoid Man” On “the heavy, guitar-driven 21st Century Schizoid Man,” PK “Fripp demonstrates his innate aptitude for contrasts and the value of silence within a performance.” AM He offers “improvisation that makes most rock guitar solos sound like nursery rhymes.” TM <[> The song’s “gargantuan main riff, squalling sax, and apocalyptic visions” RD “is nothing short of the aural antecedent to what would become the entire heavy alternative/grunge sound.” AM Indeed, Time Out’s Manish Agarwal called it “perhaps the first alternative anthem.” WK “The rest of the disc is artier, with emphasis on acoustic guitars, keyboards, and the occasional woodwind instrument.” PK “I Talk to the Wind” “Juxtaposed with that electric intensity is the ethereal noir ballad I Talk to the Wind. The delicate vocal harmonies and McDonald’s achingly poignant flute solo and melodic counterpoint remain unmatched on an emotive level. The surreal and opaque lyrics are likewise an insight to Peter Sinfield’s masterful wordplay, which graced their next three releases.” AM The song was originally written for the King Crimson predecessor group Giles, Giles, and Fripp. WK Lyricist Peter Sinfield says it was influenced by Joni Mitchell and is the favorite lyric he ever wrote. WK “Epitaph” Epitaph is “a beautifully resigned ballad that finds Lake’s plaintive voice supported by a rich array of textures” RD and “powerful sonic imagery…The haunting Mellotron wails, and Fripp’s acoustic – as well as electric – guitar counterpoints give the introduction an almost sacred feel, adding measurably to the overall sinister mood. Giles’ percussion work provides a pungent kick during the kettle drum intro and to the aggressive palpitation-inducing rhythm in the chorus.” AM “Moonchild” Agarwal called Moonchild “a spooly pastoral love song.” WK It is “creepy, bordering on uncomfortable. The melody is agile and ageless, while the instrumentation wafts like the wind through bare trees.” AM “An extended improvisation…dissolves into a non-structured section of free jazz” AM “that…explore[s] spacy open vistas.” TM “The Court of the Crimson King” The title track is “another beautifully bombastic song.” AM It “is said to invoke a ‘medieval’ atmosphere and contains what has been characterized as ‘folky arabesques, bombastic drum rolls, and baroque flute.” WK “The foreboding featured in Sinfield’s lyrics is instrumentally matched by the contrasting verbosity in the chorus and the delicate nature of the verses and concluding solos.” AM He and McDonald originally wrote it as more of a country and western song for their earlier group The Creation. WK

Reviews: AM AllMusic.com review by Lindsay Planer RD Robert Dimery (2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Quintet Publishing Limited: New York, NY. Page 185. PK Pop Kulcher/Marc Fagel Greatest Rock & Roll Albums of All Time TM Tom Moon (2008). 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die. Workman Publishing Company, Inc.: New York, NY. Pages 424-5. CS Chris Smith (2009). 101 Albums That Changed Popular Music. Oxford University Press. Pages 71-3. WK Wikipedia Related DMDB Links: First posted 5/17/2011; last updated 6/17/2025.

Today in Music (1967): The Moody Blues Days of Future Passed

Days of Future Passed The Moody Blues

Released: November 11, 1967 Peak: 3 US, 27 UK, 3 CN, 10 AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 0.06 UK, 1.16 world (includes US and UK) Genre: progressive rock

Tracks: Song Title [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) The Day Begins: The Day Begins [4:08] Morning Glory (unlisted) [1:42] Dawn: Dawn Is a Feeling [3:48] The Morning: Another Morning [3:55] Lunch Break: Peak Hour [5:33] The Afternoon: Forever Afternoon (Tuesday?) [5:06] (7/20/1968, #24 BB) (Evening) Time to Get Away [3:17] Evening: The Sunset [3:17] Twilight Time [3:23] The Night: Nights in White Satin [5:58] (11/10/1967, #2 BB, 9 UK, 37 AC, sales: 1 million) Late Lament / Resolvement (unlisted) [1:46] Total Running Time: 41:34 The Players: Justin Hayward (vocals, guitar) John Lodge (bass, vocals) Mike Pinder (Mellotron, vocals, spoken word on “Late Lament”) Ray Thomas (flute, vocals) Graeme Edge (drums)

Rating: 4.344 out of 5.00 (average of 20 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

The Moodies’ Early Years The Moody Blues formed in Birmingham, England, in 1964. They were part of the British beat and R&B scene, finding #1 success in the UK and top-ten success in the U.S. with the song “Go Now,” a cover of an R&B classic by Bessie Banks. Despite that early success, the Moodies struggled to have more hits over the next couple of years. When original members Denny Laine and Clint Warwick left the band, the group found themselves looking for “a new musical direction.” TB They brought in singer/guitarist Justin Hayward and bassist/singer John Lodge. They gave “the band an infusion of new songwriting talent and…material with a ‘cosmic’ edge to it.” CRS At the Forefront of Progressive Rock The new lineup recorded a pair of singles before launching into the “bolder and more ambitious” AM Days of Future Passed. The band had “passed through their fascination with American blues…and sought to emphasize rock’s European roots that had been forgotten by English bands who bowed down to Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson.” CS The band became known as “a sophisticated orchestral rock band, combining lush symphonic instrumentation…with heady lyrics and a whisper of their blues background to create an overwhelming…psychedelic experience for the listener.” CS Days of Future Passed “marked the formal debut of the psychedelic-era Moody Blues” AM and it “became one of the defining documents of the blossoming psychedelic era, and one of the most enduringly popular albums of its era.” AM It is “probably the most successful integration of orchestra and rock band.” CRS “The album flutters back and forth between English psychedelica, buttery smooth vocal harmonies, and symphonic arrangements to propel rock into a whole new territory.” CS It “paved the way for a host of English progressive bands to experiment with sophisticated studio technology and elaborate stage productions, popularizing progressive rock to become one of the hottest genres of the 1970s in the United States, bringing stardom to bands like Yes, Procol Harum, Jethro Tull, the Electric Light Orchestra, and Emerson, Laked & Palmer.” CS Recording the Album Interestingly, the “album was created out of deceit.” CRS Eager to showcase their new stereo sound system, Decca Records approached the band about recording a rock version of Dvorak’s “New World Symphony.” The Moody Blues agreed, but once in the studio they convinced producer Tony Clarke to let them record a “symphonic song cycle” they’d been working on. Conductor/arranger Peter Knight added inventive orchestral arrangements by the London Festival Orchestra, who were actually “a hastily cobble assortment of studio musicians.” CS How to Promote? The record company was at a loss for how to promote the album, “fearing rock fans would not buy it, and classical fans would be incensed by this aberration.” CS However, the album “seemed to satisfy the appetites whetted by the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band…a thickly textured departure from amplified, blues-based rock.” CS The album was “one of the first pieces of heavily orchestrated, album-length psychedelic rock to come out of England.” AM Theme Album In the wake of Sgt. Pepper’s there was much greater interest in conceptual works and the Moody Blues delivered “with the strongest, most cohesive body of songs in their history.” AM Days succeeded because it “was refreshingly original, rather than an attempt to mimic the Beatles.” AM It also benefited from being “one of the earlier theme albums, a loose story told of a man’s journey over the course of a day (a metaphor for the course of a life).” CS The Songs Even the best of themes, however, don’t work without strong songs. Days gave the group the most memorable song of their career with “the wildly romantic” TB “Nights in White Satin.” The song originally missed the Billboard Hot 100, but went all the way to #2 upon a 1972 re-release. It would also become a staple at classic rock radio. The album produced another classic rock staple with “Tuesday Afternoon,” the single version of the awkwardly titled “Forever Afternoon (Tuesday?).” Although it didn’t chart in the UK, it reached the top 25 in the United States, “glorious Mellotron-driven pop for the ‘Summer of Love.’” TB “Much of the orchestration is MOR, with the ‘morning music’ resembling the busy-busy scores once featured on travel documentaries. ‘Dawn Is a Feeling’ is the highlight of the first side.” TB “Sandwiched among the playful lyricism of ‘Another Morning’ and the mysticism of ‘The Sunset,’ songs like ‘Tuesday Afternoon’ and ‘Twilight Time’ (which remained in their concert repertory for three years) were pounding rockers within the British psychedelic milieu, and the harmony singing (another new attribute for the group) made the band’s sound unique.” AM Reissue A 2008 reissue added some alternate tracks (“Tuesday Afternoon,” “Dawn Is a Feeling,” “The Sun Set,” “Twilight Time”) and pre-Days singles (“Fly Me High,” “I Really Haven’t Got the Time,” “Love and Beauty,” “Leave This Man Alone,” and “Cities”), as well as the Moodies rendition of “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” by the Animals.

Reviews: AM AllMusic.com review by Bruce Eder CRS Tim Morse (1998). Classic Rock Stories: The Stories Behind the Greatest Rock Songs of All Time. New York, NY: St. Martin's Griffin. Pages 189-90. CS Chris Smith (2009). 101 Albums That Changed Popular Music. Oxford University Press. Pages 57-59. TB Thunder Bay (2005). Albums: The Stories Behind 50 Years of Great Recordings. Thunder Bay Press; San Diego, CA. Page 102. Related DMDB Links: First posted 11/17/2008; last updated 9/5/2025.

Supertramp Crime of the Century released

Crime of the Century Supertramp

Released: October 25, 1974 Peak: 38 US, 4 UK, 4 CN, 15 AU, 14 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, -- UK, 4.50 world (includes US and UK), 12.45 EAS Genre: classic rock/progressive rock

Tracks: Click on a song titled for more details. School [5:35] Bloody Well Right [4:32] Hide in Your Shell [6:49] Asylum [6:45] Dreamer [3:31] Rudy [7:17] If Everyone Was Listening [4:04] Crime of the Century [5:36] Total Running Time: 44:10 The Players: Rick Davies (vocals, keyboards, harmonica) Roger Hodgson (vocals, guitar, piano) Dougie Thomson (bass) Bob Siebenberg (drums) John Helliwell (saxophone, clarinet, backing vocals)

Rating: 4.202 out of 5.00 (average of 28 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

An Uncertain Future Supertramp formed in London in 1970, releasing a self-titled album that year and Indelibly Stamped a year later. Then it came to a screeching halt. Stanley Miesegaes, a Dutch millionaire, had served as the band’s benefactor on those two albums. However, he abandoned ship, as did all of the band members aside from Roger Hodgson and Rick Davies. The pressure was on. The pair of singer/songwriters not only had to recruit a new lineup (saxophone and clarinet player John Helliwell, bassist Dougie Thomson, and drummer Bob Siebenberg) but would have to “write a masterpiece to save their A&M recording contract.” RD The Make-or-Break Third Album Luckily, Hodgson and Davies struck gold – literally – with their gold-selling third album, Crime of the Century. They retreated to “a seventeenth-century farm in West Dorset” WK where a “mammoth writing session…from November 1973 to February 1974” RD proved fruitful. “The album was recorded at several studios including Trident Studios and Ramport Studios (owned by The Who).” WK Davies and Hodgson recorded around 40 demo songs, of which eight made the album. WK They had shaped themselves as “a progressive rock band with duelling keyboards that played complex melodies.” TC “The tuneful, tightly played songs, pristine clarity of sound (courtesy of Ken Scott, who had worked on Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust), and myriad imaginative sound effects, helped create an album that Sounds magazine likened to ‘Genesis, The Beach Boys…a smattering of [Pink] Floyd.” RD Art Rock and Pop Meet Regarding the latter group, the band definitely “betrayed a a heavy Pink Floyd influence, particularly in its expansive art rock arrangements graced by saxophones, but Supertramp isn’t nearly as spooky as Floyd – they’re snarky collegiate elitists, an art rock variation on Steely Dan or perhaps a less difficult 10cc, filled with cutting jokes and allusions, best heard on Bloody Well Right. This streak would later flourish on Breakfast in America, but it’s present enough to give them their own character.” AM The album “deals loosely with themes of loneliness and mental stability.” WK “Also present is a slight sentimental streak and a heavy fondness for pop,” AM specifically with “Dreamer” and “Bloody Well Right.” “The rest of Crime of the Century is atmospheric like Dark Side of the Moon, but with a lighter feel and a Beatles bent. At times the album floats off into its own world, with an effect more tedious than hypnotic, but it’s still a huge leap forward for the group and their most consistent album outside of that 1979 masterwork, Breakfast in America.” AM “Hodgson and Davies both stated that communication within the group was at a peak during the recording of this album.” WK Siebenberg has also said he thought this album represented the band at its “artistic peak.” WK The Cover “The distinctive cover, designed (but not produced) as a gatefold sleeve, was created by graphic artist Paul Wakefield after exposure to the completed album.” RD He was invited to the studio where the band was recording and Fabio Nicoli, A&M Records’ art director, read him the lyrics. Wakefield was inspired by the line “when they haunt me and taunt me in my cage” from the song “Asylum” and pondering what would be an appropriate sentence for “the crime of the century.” WK Wakefield created an image of “a prison cell window floating in space with a person silently screaming through the bars.” WK Eventually, it became just an image of the hands clutching the bars. WK A friend made the polished aluminum bars and welded them to a stand. The hands, which were whitened with stage make-up, were those of Wakefield’s twin brother. WK “Reminiscent of Traffic’s Shootout at the Fantasy Factory, its ‘prison bars’ have become an iconic image.” RD The Songs Here’s a breakdown of each of the individual songs.

School Supertramp

Writer(s): Rick Davies, Roger Hodgson Lead Vocals: Rick Davies, Roger Hodgson Released: Crime of the Century (10/25/1974), The Very Best of (compilation, 1990), Retrospectacle (compilation, 2005) Peak: 5 CL, 14 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 109.80 streaming About the Song: “School” wasn’t released as a single, but was a “popular track, particularly on album rock-oriented radio stations.” WK Nick DeRiso of Ultimate Classic Rock called the song a “jazz fusion-informed gem” marked by its “free-form creativity,” “plaintive lyrics,” and “stirring musical specificity.” WK Hodgson has said it is basically his song “but admits that Davies wrote both the piano solo and a good deal of the lyrics.” WK Hodgson said the song was based on his experience at boarding school. WK

Bloody Well Right Supertramp

Writer(s): Rick Davies Lead Vocals: Rick Davies Released: B-side of “Dreamer” (11/1/1974), Crime of the Century (10/25/1974), The Autobiography of Supertramp (compilation, 1986), Classics (compilation, 1987), The Very Best of (compilation, 1990), Retrospectacle (compilation, 2005) First Charted: 4/5/1975 Peak: 35 BB, 53 CB, 26 GR, 57 HR, 36 RR, 5 CL, 49 CN, 5 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 62.67 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: “Bloody Well Right” gave Supertramp their first taste of U.S. chart success. The song was released as the B-side of “Dreamer” in November 1974. While “Dreamer” was a top-15 hit in the UK, it failed to chart in the U.S. (that is, until a live version was released in 1980). However, “Bloody Well Right” found success in the United States, reaching the top 40. Author Toby Creswell included it in his book, 1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time, but he wasn’t particularly complementary of the song, saying that Supertramp “reached their nadir with ‘Bloody Well Right’ simply because the hook…was so indelibly, stupid, and charmless.” TC

Hide in Your Shell Supertramp

Writer(s): Roger Hodgson Lead Vocals: Roger Hodgson Released: Crime of the Century (10/25/1974), Classics (compilation, 1987), The Very Best of (compilation, 1990) Peak: 14 CL, 17 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 27.76 streaming About the Song: Hodgson said, “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.” WK

Asylum Supertramp

Writer(s): Rick Davies Lead Vocals: Rick Davies, Roger Hodgson Released: Crime of the Century (10/25/1974) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 8.20 streaming

Dreamer Supertramp

Writer(s): Roger Hodgson Lead Vocals: Roger Hodgson Released: single (11/1/1974), single (live, September 1980), Crime of the Century (10/25/1974), The Autobiography of Supertramp (compilation, 1986), Classics (compilation, 1987), The Very Best of (compilation, 1990), Retrospectacle (compilation, 2005) B-side: “Bloody Well Right” Peak: 15 BB, 15 CB, 13 GR, 19 HR, 12 RR, 6 CL, 13 UK, 12 CN, 39 AU, 2 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 80.82 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: The “intense, keyboard-driven single ‘Dreamer’” RD is “a soaring piece of art pop that became their first big hit.” AM However, the chart peaks shown above are somewhat misleading as most are actually for the 1980 live version of the song that was released as a single in support of the band’s Paris album. Hodgson composed the song “on his Wurlitzer piano at his mother’s house when he was 19 years old. At the time he recorded a demo of the song using vocals…and banging cardboard boxes for percussion.” WK He said, “I was excited – it was the first time I laid hands on a Wurlitzer.” WK

Rudy Supertramp

Writer(s): Rick Davies Lead Vocals: Rick Davies, Roger Hodgson Released: Crime of the Century (10/25/1974), Classics (compilation, 1987), The Very Best of (compilation, 1990), Retrospectacle (compilation, 2005) Peak: 13 CL, 14 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 17.19 streaming About the Song: Hodgson has said “Rudy” “was the character on the album and was seen as somewhat autobiographical of Davies’ life at the time.” WK The sound of the train was recorded at London Paddington station. The crowd noises were taken from Leicester Square. WK

If Everyone Was Listening Supertramp

Writer(s): Roger Hodgson Lead Vocals: Roger Hodgson Released: Crime of the Century (10/25/1974), The Very Best of 2 (compilation, 1992) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 9.04 streaming About the Song: The “philosophical musings” WK of “If Everyone Was Listening” were inspired by the adage, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women are merely players.” WK The song’s message, according to Entertainment Weekly, is that “Not knowing what’s going on in everyone’s mind is just another form of not being in control. The fear comes not from the absence of knowledge of another person’s thought process, but rather from confronting the fact that we have no control over anything.” WK

Crime of the Century Supertramp

Writer(s): Rick Davies, Roger Hodgson Lead Vocals: Rick Davies Released: Crime of the Century (10/25/1974), The Autobiography of Supertramp (compilation, 1986), Classics (compilation, 1987), The Very Best of (compilation, 1990), Retrospectacle (compilation, 2005) Peak: 22 CL, 10 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 28.28 streaming About the Song: The band named the album after this song because they thought it was the strongest on the album. WK It “is a sensationalist trope which has been applied to various notorious crimes in history. Its application to more than one crime per century speaks to its hyperbolic nature.” WK Hodgson said, “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.” WK

Resources/References: AM AllMusic.com review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine TC Toby Creswell (2005). 1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time. Thunder’s Mouth Press: New York, NY. Page 619. RD Robert Dimery (2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Quintet Publishing Limited: New York, NY. Page 325. WK Wikipedia Related DMDB Pages: First posted 3/21/2011; last updated 9/9/2025.

Genesis Selling England by the Pound released

Selling England by the Pound Genesis

Released: October 5, 1973 Peak: 70 US, 3 UK, -- CN, 52 AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, 0.2 UK, 2.5 world (includes US + UK), 7.9 EAS Genre: progressive rock

Tracks: Dance with the Moonlight Knight [8:05] (18 CL) I Know What I Like in Your Wardrobe [4:08] (2/74, 39 CL, 21 UK, 24 DF) Firth of Fifth [9:38] More Fool Me [3:12] The Battle of Epping Forest [11:49] After the Ordeal [4:17] The Cinema Show [11:06] Aisle of Plenty [1:33] Total Running Time: 53:48 The Players: Peter Gabriel (vocals, various instruments) Steve Hackett (guitar) Mike Rutherford (bass, guitar, backing vocals) Tony Banks (keyboards, backing vocals) Phil Collins (drums, percussion, backing vocals)

Rating: 4.548 out of 5.00 (average of 23 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album Selling England by the Pound “featured Gabriel’s strongest vocal performance and transcendent work by the rest of the band, especially Tony Banks’ keyboards, which took on a light yet fiercely lyrical profile.” BE “They were still a cult band in the United States…but thanks to a lot more FM radio play their music was getting heard beyond the ranks of the cultists, and finding new listeners.” BE “Genesis proved that they could rock on Foxtrot but on its follow-up Selling England by the Pound they didn’t follow this route, they returned to the English eccentricity of their first records, which wasn’t so much a retreat as a consolidation of powers.” AM “Most of the album flaunts songs that are stuffed with stop-start riffs, shifty meters, atmospheric interludes and nutty rhymes: meticulously plotted excess.” JP “Even if this eight-track album has no one song that hits as hard as ‘Watcher of the Skies,’ Genesis hasn’t sacrificed the newfound immediacy of Foxtrot; they’ve married it to their eccentricity, finding ways to infuse it into the delicate whimsy that’s been their calling card since the beginning.” AM This “is prog Genesis at its pinnacle, an album of song suites that can barely stop morphing long enough to show off a majestic tune or a spiraling guitar riff. It’s a concept album (but of course) about Britain’s long descent from past glories: from Shakespeare and chivalry to dead-end jobs and supermarket shopping.” JP “Many overt literary allusions – the Tolkeinisms of the title of The Battle of Epping Forest only being the most apparent – gives this album a story book quality. It plays as a collection of short stories, fables and fairy tales.” AM “Genesis has never been as direct as they’ve been on the fanciful yet hook-driven I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) – apart from the fluttering flutes in the fade-out, it could easily be mistaken for a glam single – or as achingly fragile as on More Fool Me.” AM The latter “introduces Collins as the morosely romantic lead singer he would later become full-time.” JP “It’s this delicate balance and how the album showcases the band’s narrative force on a small scale as well as large that makes this their arguable high-water mark.” AM Resources/References: AM AllMusic.com review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine JP Jon Pareles, Blender magazine (10/07). Pages 118-9. Related DMDB Pages: First posted 3/3/2010; last updated 9/14/2025.