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The story behind the record cover - Crime of the Century (1974) - SUPERTRAMP

"If it wasn't for rich Dutch businessman Sam Miesegaes seeing the potential within the music of Supertramp, the LP "Crime of the Century" would not have existed. Miesegaes financed the first two Supertramp albums. They were not a great success, to put it mildly. Nevertheless, the British band's third album, "Crime of the Century", was released eventually. And things really got off to a flying start. School, Dreamer, titletrack Crime of the Century... all mega hits. And Supertramp became world famous. I have mixed feelings when it comes to Supertramp. Every time I organize my record collection I struggle with categorizing their albums: 'Progrock' or 'Popclassics' (next to Dire Straits, for example). For my neighbor this is not a question. To him, Supertramp is much more than just pop music. "Just listen to those lyrics. There is real depth in there. Crime of the Century is about Rudy, a young man who wanders through life aimlessly and disillusioned," he told me. "And can you please find out why those dots in the lyrics of Asylum bend down? I had never noticed this before. This detail does not appear to apply to all publications. This has been omitted in later reissues. Just like the color difference in the lyrics. (White for singer Roger Hodgson and yellow for singer Richard Davies) I went on a quest. The cover was created by illustrator Paul Wakefield. "Where do I know this name from?" I dug deep into my record collection. Sure enough, he also appears to have made the artwork for keyboardist Rick Wakeman's "Journey to the Center of the Earth" and the beautiful cover of Vangelis' "Heaven and Hell". Also depicting hands that appear to come from heaven. However, I couldn't find anything about the dots. Paul Wakefield came up with the idea for this cover because of a sentence from the Asylum lyrics: "When they haunt me and they taunt me in my cage" He went to work with his twin brother. They made an aluminum cage with bars. Photoshop did not exist back then. They painted his twin brother's hands white. He had to bend over backwards to make sure that only his hands were visible when shooting. The starry sky is just a piece of black painted cardboard with holes in it, behind which a lamp was placed. The back cover features all band members in their underwear, holding dress suits and top hats. There is no deeper meaning, according to Wakefield in an interview. Just plain English humor. And Rudy, what happened to him? Rudy is on a train to nowhere. He needs time to find himself. He is neither sophisticated nor educated. The rulers plan the crime of the century. As an individual you have to stay in line. But Rudy does not want to participate, it drives him mad and makes him angry while he slides down into the depths of his soul, afraid of the loony bin. Hence those dots in the lyrics of Asylum? Could be, I don't know. But I do know this: all Supertramp albums are now moving back to the 'Progrock' category." By Gerrit-Jan Vrielink Translation: Alex Driessen Thanks to Kees Machielse

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