I began to put these albums on and off again on the record player, locked in the living room during the nap hours of others and discovered a new sound world. I can say that Roger Hodgson has formed an essential part of the soundtrack of my childhood.

Tuesday's performance was the second time I saw Hodgson live, although in the first time (July 2010) he was accompanied only by his faithful squire, Canadian multi instrumentalist Aaron MacDonald (his current band is composed of Canadians and Americans) There are still large pots with huge plants, the only decorative element on the stage, aside from the curtain with his name, as a symbolic sign of Hodgson's concern in matters of environmental; He himself was a vegetarian for several years.

Hodgson and his band started the show with "Take the Long Way Home", with this mysterious intro and harmonica melody and Wurlitzer electric piano that opened the B-side of the album "Breakfast ...". Since being a child I put it as the first one on the record player, they were the notes that introduced me to the Supertramp universe (curious how the mind keeps memories seemingly so trivial ... or are not they so?). After that, Hodgson asked us to leave our problems out the venue and praise the warmth and effusiveness of the Spanish audience: "Let's go back in time, to the times of the school", He told an audience that in overwhelming majority was made up of men in their forties. It was then when he played "School" with Hodgson on guitar and MacDonald doing a curious solo with the Irish flute.

Then he sat down at the grand piano and told us that as one grows older, one discovers that the most important thing in the world is love, a value on which one has to cling with all the strength. It was a nice introduction to the lovely ballad "Lovers in the Wind". Back to the piano Wurlitzer for Hodgson to tell us how he as a teenager dreamed of going to California to meet the famous girls there: "That was before meeting the Spanish girls because, if not, this song might have been called "Breakfast in Spain " "; With this recognition to the feminine Spanish beauty, started "Breakfast in America".

After "Hide in Your Shell", Hodgson dedicated "Love is a Thousand Times" to a certain Myriam who was in the audience and who celebrated her birthday that night, to be followed without further introduction by the classic of the classics, The Logical Song ".

Time to low the tones with an unrecorded song (according to Hodgson, he has dozens of unreleased tracks) and this is called "Teach Me to Love Again", a soft ballad somewhat syrupy for my taste that would not unravel in a Kenny G's album or as the soundtrack of a romantic comedy. The low tones continued with another ballad, "Lord Is It Mine," which according to Hodgson is his attempt to understand the concept of a mysterious God: "Music has been my refuge from the outside world since I was 12 but I feel lucky that my personal thoughts have resonated with the public through music. It has been an extraordinary journey. "

Subsequently, Hodgson pulled out his cell phone. In it, he had the phonetic transcription in Spanish, and he read more or less aloud, of the following text: “This song raises an interesting question: If you were a wild animal and you were captured, what would you prefer: death or living in a zoo?”. And so he introduced his song "Death and a Zoo". Another unrecorded song that sounded that night was "The Awakening," which speaks about forgiveness: "The most difficult thing is to forgive oneself, but once done, freedom is achieved", Hodgson said.

The moment came for perhaps the best composition, in my opinion, of his solo career: "Only Because of You", very Pink Floyd, that you have to listen with your eyes closed or looking at a starry sky accompanied ... or not. The magic of the moment could not be spoiled even by the little bit drunken couple, who made their way to the front row somewhat abruptly when it started to sound... to hear better?

Time to raise the tones with "I had a dream (Sleeping with the enemy)" and "Child of the Vision" (those chords of the piano Wurlitzer so remarkable trademark). It turns out that MacDonald, apart to be an exalted musician, also controls some Spanish, so Hodgson asked him to speak to the audience. After a momentary hesitation ("You've let them down," Hodgson rag on him), MacDonald told us: "Seeing so many pretty faces (sic), I feel lucky."

It was the time for playing the biggest drippy hit in my opinion of Supertramp (by the way, the name of the band was never mentioned throughout the concert) "Dreamer" But never fails to encourage the audience. I personally prefer songs like the one that followed: "Fool's Overture", that epic 10-minute ode to ... Because I believed that the references to English culture (from the speech of Winston Churchill to the chimes of Big Ben) is a tribute to his English roots (Hodgson has been living in the United States for 40 years). However, it turns out that it is not about anything in particular, but this does not take away the epic / symphonic atmosphere it has; It took him 5 years to compose it, according to him.

For the encore, Hodgson saved two indubitable pop-songs: "Give a Little Bit" and "It's Raining Again"; Songs that he asked us to sing with all our strength (Because the strength of his voice already began to burst, as he said to us) before saying goodbye definitively after giving to the audience what he had come to look for: A handful of sophisticated pop / rock classics.

Text: Yorgos Goumas
Photo: Charlie Rock’n’Roll

Click here for the original article: Review Roger Hodgson (ex Supertramp): Breakfast In Spain