The Autobiography of Supertramp

The Autobiography of Supertramp
Greatest hits album by Supertramp
Released	July 1986
Recorded	1974 - 1985
Genre	Progressive rock, Pop rock
Length	47:10
Label	A&M
Producer	Ken Scott, Peter Henderson, David Kershenbaum, Supertramp
Supertramp chronology
Brother Where You Bound (1985) The Autobiography of Supertramp (1986) Free as a Bird (1987)

This article is about the album. For the book, see The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp.

The Autobiography of Supertramp is the first greatest hits album by progressive rock band Supertramp, released in 1986.

As Supertramp's first greatest hits album, The Autobiography of Supertramp contains a compilation of the most popular songs from the albums Crime of the Century, Even in the Quietest Moments, Breakfast in America, ...Famous Last Words..., and Brother Where You Bound. The 2001 remaster also includes a song from Crisis? What Crisis?. The album Paris is completely unrepresented, despite its including the hit live version of "Dreamer".

The cover art shows a suit-wearing, faceless man seated in a train carriage reading a book with his own face on the cover. The view from the train window shows the platform with stylised versions of the cover art from three of Supertramp's albums.

The album was also released in the US as Classics Volume 9, part of A&M's 25th Anniversary series (1987). That version of the album includes the extra tracks listed below as part of the 2001 re-release, with the exception of "School".

The album was re-released as The Very Best of Supertramp in 2001 in the US with digitally remastered sound and a bonus track "School". It also contains the album versions of the songs "Goodbye Stranger" and "Cannonball", whereas the original release uses the edited versions from the singles instead.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic

Allmusic's retrospective review commented that The Very Best of Supertramp is a superior compilation with its choice of tracks.

Track listing

Original issue

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

1. "Goodbye Stranger" (single edit) – 4:25
2. "The Logical Song" (single edit) – 3:45
3. "Bloody Well Right" – 4:16
4. "Breakfast In America" – 2:37
5. "Take The Long Way Home" – 4:03
6. "Crime Of The Century" – 5:20
7. "Dreamer" – 3:19
8. "From Now On" – 6:10
9. "Give A Little Bit" – 4:03
10. "It's Raining Again" – 4:25
11. "Cannonball" (single edit) (Davies) – 4:47

2001 US remaster

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

1. "Goodbye Stranger" – 5:50
2. "The Logical Song" – 4:10
3. "Bloody Well Right" – 4:31
4. "Breakfast In America" – 2:37
5. "Rudy" – 7:19
6. "Take The Long Way Home" – 5:08
7. "Crime Of The Century" – 5:36
8. "Dreamer" – 3:31
9. "Ain't Nobody But Me" – 5:14
10. "Hide In Your Shell" – 6:48
11. "From Now On" – 6:21
12. "Give A Little Bit" – 4:08
13. "It's Raining Again" – 4:25
14. "Cannonball" (Davies) – 7:38

Personnel

• Rick Davies - keyboards, vocals
• John Helliwell - saxophone, vocals, woodwinds
• Dougie Thomson - bass
• Bob Siebenberg - percussion, drums
• Roger Hodgson - guitar, keyboards, vocals

Additional musicians

• Marty Walsh – guitar on "Cannonball"
• Doug Wintz – trombone on "Cannonball"
• Slyde Hyde - trombone on "Breakfast in America"

Production

• Producers: Ken Scott, Peter Henderson, David Kershenbaum and Supertramp.
• Mastering: Bernie Grundman, Norman Hall - Bernie Grundman Mastering, Inc.
• Cover design: Richard Frankel, Norman Moore.
• Photography: Ron Slenzak
• Poster Illustrations: Holly Hollington