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An amazing performance out of Montréal!

“Dreamer,” “Take The Long Way Home,” “Give A Little Bit” and “The Logical Song” are just a few of the major hits made popular in the ‘70s & ‘80s by the British band known as Supertramp. Originally backed by a Dutch investor, the band was more of a prog rock band for their first two albums. When the investor pulled out, the band changed their sound ever-so-slightly, keeping the elements of great songwriting and musicianship, but making the songs a little more radio friendly. Musically, they had a somewhat distinctive sound, but lyrically and vocally, Supertramp stood out – in a good way!

Vocalist, Roger Hodgson, co-founded the band, wrote or co-wrote the songs with Rick Davies. Hodgson had a unique voice with a wide range and a high register. The man has obviously kept in practice as he performs on the DVD Take The Long Way Home – Live in Montréal. The concert is primarily a solo performance of Hodgson singing as he takes turns playing piano, synthesizer or twelve string acoustic guitar. On a few songs, Hodgson is accompanied by saxophonist, Aaron MacDonald. Beyond that, it’s simply a very nicely lit stage with a few trees to add a very serene ambience as he returned in 2006 to Montréal for the first time in some while.

Hodgson performs some of the hits previously mentioned as well as “Breakfast in America” and the one song I recall them actually making a video for MTV back in it’s early stages, “It’s Raining Again.” Hodgson even performs some songs that fans are a bit familiar with even if they have never been recorded, such as “Oh Brother.” Together, there are 16 songs during the performance if you count the repeat of “Give A Little Bit” as an audience participation piece for the encore.

In addition to the concert, there are a few songs in the bonus material section and excerpts from a couple of other songs. There is an interesting performance film of “Fool’s Overture” and Hodgson playing along with an orchestra.

The bonus section also includes behind-the-scenes, his repertoire, a couple of interviews with him, sound check, interaction with the fans and a photo gallery. The DVD comes out to being nearly two-and-a-half hours long and is a really nice piece of work, with an excellent performance and the extraordinary voice of a man who has been performing professionally for nearly 40 years.

The DVD is widescreen and has subtitles in English or Spanish for some of the bonus material. The audio can be listened to in DTS Digital Surround, Dolby 5.1 or Dolby Stereo.

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