Indelibly Stamped

Indelibly Stamped is the second album by the English rock band Supertramp, released in 1971. It marked a dramatic change in direction to a more straightforward rock sound, and by admission of the band's own liner notes, "Travelled" is the only song with any resemblance to their debut album. Like their debut, this album was a commercial failure upon release, but in later decades it went gold in France and Canada. Original editions have a colour gate-fold cover and different text for the band name and album title. The cover photograph features the tattooed torso and arms of a topless woman. This is the first Supertramp album issued in the U.S. The album was banned from a number of record stores in Australia, while others sold each copy inside a brown paper sleeve.

Indelibly Stamped
Studio album by Supertramp
Released	25 June 1971
Recorded	April–May 1971
Studio	Olympic Studios, London
Genre	Art rock[1]
Length	40:33
Label	A&M
Producer	Supertramp
Supertramp chronology
Supertramp (1970) Indelibly Stamped (1971) Crime of the Century (1974)

Cover art

The cover depicts the tattooed torso and arms of a topless woman. According to Paul Sayce, writing in Tattoo News, the model was Marion Hollier, who was extensively tattooed at the Les Skuse Tattoo Studio in the 1960s.^[2][3] An article published in The People shortly after the album's release also identifies Hollier as the model, noting that she was paid £45 for the job (equivalent to £800 in 2023).^[4][5]

Background

Roger Hodgson later said Indelibly Stamped was "the survival album to put ourselves back in the good books of our manager. There was no theme worked out for the album and we were floundering."^[5] New members Kevin Currie, Frank Farrell, and Dave Winthrop were all recruited shortly before the recording sessions.^[5]

The song "Times Have Changed" evolved out of a song called "Times of Rain", which was written with Richard Palmer-James while he was still a member of the group. Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson wrote new lyrics to the song, renaming it "Times Have Changed".^[6]

Supporting tours for the album began with a series of shows at the P.N. Club in Munich, which had been the site for Supertramp's first public performances. Rick Davies described their stage show at the time as "all Rock and Roll really. We used to get people up on the bloody stage and it was just chaos, hopping away doing about three encores, but there was meat and potatoes behind it. No more or less people would come to the next gig."^[5] This was the last album Roger Hodgson played bass during his tenure with Supertramp.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[7]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[9]

In his brief retrospective review, AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine said that the album was an improvement over their debut, but still indulged too much in lengthy instrumental sections.^[7]

Track listing

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

All lead vocals by Rick Davies, except where noted.

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Lead vocals	Length
1.	"Your Poppa Don't Mind"			2:58
2.	"Travelled"		Hodgson	4:15
3.	"Rosie Had Everything Planned"	Hodgson, Frank Farrell	Hodgson	2:58
4.	"Remember"			4:00
5.	"Forever"			5:05

Side two

No.	Title	Lead vocals	Length
6.	"Potter"	Dave Winthrop	2:23
7.	"Coming Home to See You"		4:39
8.	"Times Have Changed"		3:42
9.	"Friend in Need"		2:08
10.	"Aries"	Hodgson	7:25
Total length:			40:33

• "Rosie Had Everything Planned" is the only original song in the entire Supertramp catalog for which Rick Davies receives no writing or co-writing credit.

Personnel

Supertramp

• Rick Davies – acoustic and Wurlitzer pianos, Hammond organ, lead vocals, harmonica
• Roger Hodgson – acoustic and electric guitars, bass guitar (track 3), lead (tracks 2, 3, 10) and backing vocals
• Dave Winthrop – flute, saxophones, lead vocals (track 6)
• Frank Farrell – bass guitar (all tracks except track 3), piano and accordion (track 3), backing vocals
• Kevin Currie – percussion, drums

Production

• Producer: Supertramp
• Engineer: Bob Hall

Charts

Weekly charts Chart Position Australian Kent Music Report[10] 53

Certifications and sales Region Certification Certified units/sales Canada (Music Canada)[11] Gold 50,000^ France (SNEP)[12] Gold 100,000* * Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Plochinski, Gary (1998). "Supertramp". In Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds.). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Detroit: Visible Ink Press. pp. 1110–1111.
2. Sayce, Paul, "Tattooed Lady Marion Hollier". Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2016., July 2009.
3. Feibusch, Lucy (11 February 2014). "The Power of Ink". Retrieved 27 October 2020.
4. UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
5. Melhuish, Martin (1986). The Supertramp Book. Toronto, Canada: Omnibus Press. pp. 36–38. ISBN 0-9691272-2-7.
6. Fuentes, Abel (January 2011). Interview with Richard Palmer, Supertramp Soap Box Asylum. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
7. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Indelibly Stamped at AllMusic. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
8. Larkin, Colin (2006). Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 7 (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 857. ISBN 0195313739.
9. Sheffield, Rob; et al. (2004). Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 797. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
10. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
11. "Canadian album certifications – Supertramp – Indelibly Stamped". Music Canada. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
12. "French album certifications – Supertramp – Indelibly Stamped" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 14 July 2022. Select SUPERTRAMP and click OK.