Breakfast in America
After a shaky start followed by several critically acclaimed releases, the English group Supertramp hit the commercial jackpot in 1979 withBreakfast in America. The album combined the band's FM radio, AOR-rock style with an almost carnival-like nature.Breakfastgave the band major hits with "The Logical Song," "Goodbye Stranger," and "Take the Long Way Home." The plinking piano and dramatic clarinet runs of "The Logical Song" imparted a comic, yet bittersweet tone to the release as a whole. In another example of the band's devotion to alternative ways to carry their melody lines, "Goodbye Stranger" rings with some of the purest whistling ever recorded. There's also a healthy dose of cynicism running through the 10 tracks with "Just Another Nervous Wreck."--Steve Gdula