Rudi and the Crime of the Century

 Something a little different this week that goes back to what inspires this blog childhood and also ties in little to mention else where to 1974 and Now Yearbook' 74 cos that was when this record came out.

I originally had this on a UK A&M 8 Track tape which did sound very good in the way back then cassettes didn't always and records were no use in our car.

Supertramp's second album, examines many things but one area that comes up is school where Rudi, the central character becomes increasingly isolated in class, the playground which has real playground "play" recorded and used to transport you to his world as he moves into the grown up world which he feels ill at ease, unable to understand.

It was one the first things I experienced that matched my feelings not everything was okay in our school world - Roger Walters lyrics in "The Wall" was another some five years later  - and I saw them perform much of this album in a BBC "Sight & Sound in Concert special.

This Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs record version came out 1979, pressed very late 1978 actually, as one of those "audiophile" issues where a regular album is cut and pressed without some of limitations that make playing on cheaper systems okay but can rob the music of the dynamics and extended bass and treble by the late Stan Ricker.

On this the music cames to life magically and moves you even more.