The Very Best of Supertramp

The Very Best of Supertramp is a greatest hits album by the English rock band Supertramp, originally released by A&M Records in June 1990.

The Very Best of Supertramp
Greatest hits album by Supertramp
Released	June 1990
Recorded	1974–1985
Genre	Pop, progressive rock[1]
Length	78:57
Label	A&M
Producer	Peter Henderson, Ken Scott, Supertramp, David Kershenbaum
Supertramp chronology
Live '88 (1988) The Very Best of Supertramp (1990) The Very Best of Supertramp 2 (1992)

Overview

The compilation is basically a new version of the Autobiography/Classics Vol. 9 CD with the additional song "School" inserted as track 1. Furthermore, all songs are featured in their full-length album versions. The cover depicts the grate from the cover of Crime of the Century, the hand carrying the glass from the cover of Breakfast in America and the orange umbrella from Crisis? What Crisis?. Tracks from their self-titled album Supertramp and Indelibly Stamped were not included.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[2]

In their retrospective review, AllMusic noted that effectively compiling Supertramp's work is impossible since the group is so album-oriented. However, they offered a relative recommendation for The Very Best of Supertramp, saying that "it flows very smoothly" and is "the closest thing to a definitive overview of the '70s pop-prog group."^[1]

Alternative version

A Dutch release, also titled The Very Best of Supertramp, was issued in late 1989, featuring the same tracks but in a different order and a different sleeve. It was compiled by Dutch compilation label Arcade, although it was later re-issued on the A&M label. The album was a major success in the Dutch chart, spending nine weeks at number one and 70 weeks in total. Given its success, A&M did not officially release the alternative The Very Best of Supertramp in the Netherlands, although it has now replaced the Arcade version.

Track listing

No.	Title	Original album	Length
1.	"School" (Lead vocals: Roger Hodgson & Rick Davies. Producer: Ken Scott & Supertramp)	Crime of the Century, (1974)	5:36
2.	"Goodbye Stranger" (Lead vocals: Rick Davies & Rodger Hodgson. Producer: Supertramp & Peter Henderson)	Breakfast in America, (1979)	5:48
3.	"The Logical Song" (Lead vocals: Roger Hodgson. Producer: Supertramp & Peter Henderson)	Breakfast in America	4:10
4.	"Bloody Well Right" (Lead vocals: Rick Davies. Producer: Ken Scott & Supertramp)	Crime of the Century	4:33
5.	"Breakfast in America" (Lead vocals: Roger Hodgson. Producer: Supertramp & Peter Henderson)	Breakfast in America	2:40
6.	"Rudy" (Lead vocals: Rick Davies & Roger Hodgson. Producer: Ken Scott & Supertramp)	Crime of the Century	7:19
7.	"Take the Long Way Home" (Lead vocals: Roger Hodgson. Producer: Supertramp & Peter Henderson)	Breakfast in America	5:08
8.	"Crime of the Century" (Lead vocals: Rick Davies. Producer: Ken Scott & Supertramp)	Crime of the Century	5:32
9.	"Dreamer" (Lead vocals: Roger Hodgson & Rick Davies. Producer: Ken Scott & Supertramp)	Crime of the Century	3:31
10.	"Ain't Nobody But Me" (Lead vocals: Rick Davies. Producer: Ken Scott & Supertramp)	Crisis? What Crisis?, (1975)	5:10
11.	"Hide in Your Shell" (Lead vocals: Roger Hodgson. Producer: Ken Scott & Supertramp)	Crime of the Century	6:50
12.	"From Now On" (Lead vocals: Rick Davies. Producer: Supertramp)	Even in the Quietest Moments..., (1977)	6:19
13.	"Give a Little Bit" (Lead vocals: Roger Hodgson. Producer: Supertramp)	Even in the Quietest Moments...	4:09
14.	"It's Raining Again" (Lead vocals: Roger Hodgson. Producer: Supertramp, Russel Pope & Peter Henderson)	...Famous Last Words..., (1982)	4:27
15.	"Cannonball" (Lead vocals: Rick Davies. Producer: David Kershenbaum & Supertramp. Written by Rick Davies.)	Brother Where You Bound, (1985)	7:38

All tracks are written by Roger Hodgson & Rick Davies, except where noted

The cassette version also included "Even in the Quietest Moments", "Sister Moonshine" and "Free as a Bird".

Personnel

Supertramp

• Rick Davies – vocals, keyboard, harmonica, melodica
• Roger Hodgson – vocals, keyboard, guitar (except on "Cannonball")
• Dougie Thomson – bass guitar
• John Anthony Helliwell – saxophone, clarinets, vocals
• Bob Siebenberg – drums, percussion

Other performers

• Christine Helliwell – backing vocals on "Hide in Your Shell"
• Vicky Siebenberg – backing vocals on "Hide in Your Shell"
• Scott Gorham – backing vocals on "Hide in Your Shell"
• Jake Beddoe – saw on "Hide in Your Shell"
• Ken Scott – water gong on "Crime of the Century"
• Slyde Hyde – trombone, tuba on "Breakfast in America"
• Marty Walsh – guitar on "Cannonball"
• Doug Wintz – trombone on "Cannonball"

Production

Original release:

• Producers: Ken Scott and Supertramp
• Engineers: Ken Scott, John Jansen, Peter Henderson, Russel Pope, Norman Hall
• String arrangements: Richard Hewson
• Cover Illustration: Greg Wray
• Art direction and design: Norman Moore

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for The Very Best of Supertramp Chart (1990–2017) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[3] 37 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[4] 27 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[5] 34 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[6] 59 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[7] 6 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[8] 1 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[9] 5 Portuguese Albums (AFP)[10] 1 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[11] 5 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[12] 7 UK Albums (OCC)[13] 8

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for The Very Best of Supertramp Chart Position European Albums (Music & Media) 1990[14] 97 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) 1992[15] 33

Certifications and sales

Certifications and sales for The Very Best of Supertramp

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Argentina (CAPIF)[16]	Platinum	60,000^
Australia (ARIA)[17]	Gold	35,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[18]	Gold	25,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[19]	2× Platinum	200,000^
France (SNEP)[20]	2× Platinum	600,000*
Germany (BVMI)[21]	Gold	250,000^
Italy	—	150,000[22]
New Zealand (RMNZ)[23]	Platinum	15,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[24]	Platinum	100,000^
Sweden (GLF)[25]	Gold	50,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[26]	2× Platinum	100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[27]	Platinum	300,000*
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. The Very Best of Supertramp at AllMusic
2. 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.
3. "Australiancharts.com – Supertramp – The Very Best of Supertramp". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
4. "Austriancharts.at – Supertramp – The Very Best of Supertramp" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
5. "Ultratop.be – Supertramp – The Very Best of Supertramp" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
6. "Supertramp Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
7. "Offiziellecharts.de – Supertramp – The Very Best of Supertramp" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
8. "Charts.nz – Supertramp – The Very Best of Supertramp". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
9. "Norwegiancharts.com – Supertramp – The Very Best of Supertramp". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
10. Music & Media, vol. 8, issue 19; May 11, 1991
11. "Swedishcharts.com – Supertramp – The Very Best of Supertramp". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
12. "Swisscharts.com – Supertramp – The Very Best of Supertramp". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
13. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
14. Bakker, Machgiel (22 December 1990). "1990 REVIEW: Music & Media Year -End Awards . European Top 100 Albums 1990" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 7, no. 51. pp. 29, 38. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
15. "Top Selling Albums of 1992". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
16. "Gold & Platinum Certifications". CAPIF (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
17. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1994 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
18. "Austrian album certifications – Supertramp – Very Best of Vol. 1" (in German). IFPI Austria.
19. "Canadian album certifications – Supertramp – The Very Best of Supertramp". Music Canada.
20. "French album certifications – Supertramp – Very Best Of" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 14 July 2022. Select SUPERTRAMP and click OK. 
21. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Supertramp; 'The Very Best of Supertramp')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
22. Stansfield, David (22 December 1990). "Polydor Honours Contribution Of Radios" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 7, no. 51. p. 16. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
23. "New Zealand album certifications – Supertramp – Very Best of Vol. 1". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
24. Salaverrie, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (PDF) (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. p. 931. ISBN 84-8048-639-2. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
25. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1999" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
26. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('The Very Best of Supertramp')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
27. "British album certifications – Supertramp – The Very Best of Supertramp". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 5 July 2022.