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Brother Where You Bound

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Brother Where You Bound
Studio album by
Supertramp
Released13 May 1985[1]
Recorded1984–1985
Studio
Genre
Length42:44
LabelA&M
ProducerDavid Kershenbaum, Supertramp
Supertramp chronology
…Famous Last Words…
(1982) 		Brother Where You Bound
(1985) 		The Autobiography of Supertramp
(1986)
Singles from Brother Where You Bound
  1. "Cannonball"
    Released: 29 April 1985[2]
  2. "Still in Love"
    Released: 19 July 1985[3]
  3. "Better Days"
    Released: September 1985 (US)[4]

Brother Where You Bound is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Supertramp, released in 1985. It was their first album after original member Roger Hodgson left the band, leaving Rick Davies to handle the songwriting and singing on his own. The album features the group's Top 30 hit "Cannonball".

Brother Where You Bound reached number 20 on the UK Albums Chart[5] and number 21 on The Billboard 200 in 1985,[6] and went Gold according to the band's then label A&M Records in 1985, although the RIAA hasn't certified it yet.

A remastered CD version of the album was released on 30 July 2002 on A&M Records.

Songs

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The track "Better Days" features an extended fade-out with voice-overs by the four key players in the 1984 Presidential Campaign: quotes spoken by Geraldine Ferraro and Walter Mondale sounding from the left audio channel and those of George H. W. Bush and Ronald Reagan on the right, mixed with John Helliwell's extended saxophone solo. Cash Box called that song "a solidly driving rocker" and praised the production values and melody.[7]

The album's sixteen-and-a-half-minute title track featured Thin Lizzy's Scott Gorham on rhythm guitar, Pink Floyd's David Gilmour on the guitar solos, and readings from George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. A demo for the song was recorded prior to Roger Hodgson's departure from the band, for potential inclusion on …Famous Last Words…, but the band ultimately felt it was too densely progressive rock to be appropriate, and decided against recording it for the album.[8] At the time of the demo, the song was only ten minutes long.[8]

Release

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To build interest in the release, the album was premiered to dozens of members of the press traveling aboard a specially chartered trip on the Orient Express from Paris to Venice, where reporters were shown the full video for "Brother Where You Bound". The normally low-profile group also did extensive radio and TV appearances, including a high-profile appearance on radio's Rockline after a simulcast of the "Brother Where You Bound" video on MTV and Global Satellite Network.[9]

Reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[11]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[12]

AllMusic's retrospective review is resoundingly positive, noting that the album's thematic exploration of Cold War tensions "is dated and hasn't aged very well… but the music is a pleasure." They particularly praised the "crystalline sound", the strong performances of the guest musicians, and the complexity of the compositions. They also praised the band for being "gutsy" enough to "re-embrace its progressive-rock roots" while improving their pop songcraft at the same time.[10]

In a review special, Prog Sphere writes "Brother Where You Bound is a prime example of 'crossover' prog at its very best, and as such highly recommended to anyone but those prog fans who think that 'pop' is inevitably a bad word."[13]

Track listing

[edit]

All songs written by Rick Davies.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Cannonball"7:38
2."Still in Love"4:36
3."No Inbetween"4:36
4."Better Days"6:15
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Brother Where You Bound"16:30
2."Ever Open Door"3:06

Personnel

[edit]
Supertramp

Additional personnel

Production

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  • Producers: David Kershenbaum, Supertramp
  • Engineer: Norman Hall
  • Assistant engineer: Steve Crimmel
  • Mixing: Mark Ettel
  • Mixing assistant: Steve McMillan
  • Mastering: Bob Ludwig
  • Remastering: Greg Calbi, Jay Messina
  • Track engineer: Allen Sides
  • Programming: Gary Chang
  • Synclavier programming: Brian Banks, Anthony Marinelli
  • Art direction: Norman Moore
  • Design: Norman Moore
  • Tray photo: Tom Gibson

2002 A&M reissue:
The 2002 A&M Records reissue was mastered from the original master tapes by Greg Calbi and Jay Messina at Sterling Sound, New York, 2002. The reissue was supervised by Bill Levenson with art direction by Vartan and design by Mike Diehl, with production coordination by Beth Stempel.

Singles

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Charts – Billboard (United States)[14]

Year Single Chart Position
1985 "Cannonball" Hot Dance Music/Club Play 9
Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales 25
Mainstream Rock Tracks 4
Billboard Hot 100 28

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[33] Platinum 100,000^
France (SNEP)[34] Gold 100,000*
Germany (BVMI)[35] Gold 250,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[36] Gold 50,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ "Supertramp discography".
  2. ^ Strong, Martin Charles (1995). Great Rock discography. p. 804. ISBN 9780862415419.
  3. ^ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 16.
  4. ^ Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. p. 804. ISBN 9780862415419.
  5. ^ Supertramp in the UK Charts Archived 17 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine, The Official Charts. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
  6. ^ Brother Where You Bound chart history, Billboard.com. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  7. ^ "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. 10 August 1985. p. 9. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  8. ^ a b Melhuish, Martin (1986). The Supertramp Book. Toronto, Canada: Omnibus Press. pp. 167–175. ISBN 0-9691272-2-7.
  9. ^ "Billboard". 11 May 1985.
  10. ^ a b Brother Where You Bound at AllMusic
  11. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 7 (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 857. ISBN 0195313739.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ "Supertramp – Brother Where You Bound". 6 June 2012.
  14. ^ "Cannonball" chart history, Billboard.com. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  15. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  16. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Supertramp – Brother Where You Bound" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  17. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0550". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  18. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Supertramp – Brother Where You Bound" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  19. ^ "Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artiste – S". Infodisc.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2012. Select Supertramp from the menu, then press OK.
  20. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Supertramp – Brother Where You Bound" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  21. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 5 January 2025. Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Titolo" field, search "Supertramp".
  22. ^ "Charts.nz – Supertramp – Brother Where You Bound". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  23. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Supertramp – Brother Where You Bound". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  24. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  25. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Supertramp – Brother Where You Bound". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  26. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Supertramp – Brother Where You Bound". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  27. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  28. ^ "Supertramp Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  29. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0618". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  30. ^ "Les Albums (CD) de 1985 par InfoDisc" (in French). infodisc.fr. Archived from the original (PHP) on 27 October 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  31. ^ Cite error: The named reference itayearend was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  32. ^ "Hitparade.ch - Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1985". Swiss Music Charts. Hung Medien. Archived from the original (ASP) on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  33. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Supertramp – Brother Where You Bound". Music Canada. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  34. ^ "French album certifications – Supertramp – Brother Where You Bound" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 1 June 2012. Select SUPERTRAMP and click OK. 
  35. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Supertramp; 'Brother Where You Bound')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  36. ^ "Solo Exitos 1959–2002 Ano A Ano: Certificados 1979–1990". Solo Exitos 1959–2002 Ano A Ano.
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