The Autobiography of Supertramp

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 the English rock band Supertramp, released in 1986.

The Autobiography of Supertramp
Greatest hits album by Supertramp
Released	July 1986
Recorded	1974–1985
Genre	Progressive rock, pop rock, art 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)
Classics, Volume 9
US cover

The compilation features 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 CD version adds three tracks, including 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).

The album was re-released as The Very Best of Supertramp in 1990 with the bonus track "School" as the first track instead of "Goodbye Stranger" which follows afterwards.

Reception

Professional ratings

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

AllMusic's retrospective review commented that The Very Best of Supertramp is a superior compilation with its choice of tracks.^[1]

Track listing

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

Original release

LP album

1. "Goodbye Stranger" (Single edit, from Breakfast in America, 1979) – 4:25
2. "The Logical Song" (Single edit, from Breakfast in America) – 3:45
3. "Bloody Well Right" (Single edit, from Crime of the Century, 1974) – 4:16
4. "Breakfast in America" (from Breakfast in America) – 2:37
5. "Take the Long Way Home" (Single edit, from Breakfast in America) – 4:03
6. "Crime of the Century" (Early fade-out, from Crime of the Century)– 5:20
7. "Dreamer" (from Crime of the Century) – 3:19
8. "From Now On" (from Even in the Quietest Moments..., 1977) – 6:10
9. "Give a Little Bit" (from Even in the Quietest Moments...) – 4:03
10. "It's Raining Again" (from ...Famous Last Words..., 1982) – 4:25
11. "Cannonball" (Single edit, from Brother Where You Bound, 1985) (Davies) – 4:47

Compact disc (Issued as A&M Classics, Volume 9 in the U.S. and Canada)

1. "Goodbye Stranger" (Single edit) – 4:29
2. "The Logical Song" (Single edit) – 3:47
3. "Bloody Well Right" (Single edit) – 4:17
4. "Breakfast in America" – 2:38
5. "Rudy" (from Crime of the Century) – 7:17
6. "Take the Long Way Home" (Single edit) – 4:06
7. "Crime of the Century" – 5:32
8. "Dreamer" – 3:31
9. "Ain't Nobody But Me" (from Crisis? What Crisis?, 1975) – 5:07
10. "Hide in Your Shell" (from Crime of the Century) – 6:47
11. "From Now On" – 6:10
12. "Give a Little Bit" – 4:08
13. "It's Raining Again" – 4:23
14. "Cannonball" (Single edit) (Davies) – 4:51
15. "Sister Moonshine" - 5:30
16. "Potter" - 2:23
17. "Easy Does It" - 2:19
18. "Casual Conversations" - 2:57
19. "Thing for You" - 4:02
20. "Just a Normal Day" - 4:04

Personnel

Supertramp

• Rick Davies - keyboard, harmonica, vocals
• Roger Hodgson (except on "Cannonball") - guitar, keyboards, vocals
• Dougie Thomson - bass
• John Helliwell - saxophone, woodwinds, keyboards, glockenspiel
• Bob Siebenberg - drums, percussion

Additional musicians

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

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

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1986–87) Peak position Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)^[3] 12 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[4] 61 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[5] 45 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[6] 7 UK Albums (OCC)^[7] 9

Year-end charts Chart (1987) Position New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[8] 49

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Brazil	—	250,000^[9]
New Zealand (RMNZ)^[10]	Platinum	15,000^^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)^[11]	Gold	25,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)^[12]	Platinum	300,000^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. The Autobiography 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. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 1703". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
4. "Dutchcharts.nl – Supertramp – The Autobiography of Supertramp" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
5. "Offiziellecharts.de – Supertramp – The Autobiography of Supertramp" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
6. "Charts.nz – Supertramp – The Autobiography of Supertramp". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
7. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
8. "Top Selling Albums of 1987 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
9. Souza, Tarik de (6 January 1988). "Um bom ano para o disco". Jornal do Brasil. p. 36. Retrieved 20 November 2020 – via National Library of Brazil.
10. "New Zealand album certifications – Supertramp – The Autobiography of Supertramp". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
11. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Autobiography of')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
12. "British album certifications – Supertramp – The Autobiography of". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 28 November 2019.