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Take the Long Way Home (Supertramp song)

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"Take the Long Way Home"
Take the Long Way Home (Supertramp song).jpg
Cover of the 1980 UK live single
Single by Supertramp
from the album Breakfast in America
B-side"From Now On"
ReleasedOctober 1979 (US)
  • 3 October 1980 (live version) [1]
Recorded1978
StudioThe Village Recorder/Studio B, Los Angeles, California
GenrePop[2]
Length
  • 5:08
  • 4:06 (DJ single version)
LabelA&M
Songwriter(s)Roger Hodgson
Producer(s)Supertramp, Peter Henderson
Supertramp singles chronology
"Goodbye Stranger"
(1979) 		"Take the Long Way Home"
(1979) 		"Dreamer (live)"
(1980)
Official audio
"Take the Long Way Home" on YouTube

"Take the Long Way Home" is the third US single and sixth track of English rock band Supertramp's 1979 album Breakfast in America. It was the last song written for the album, being penned during the nine-month recording cycle.[3] In 1980, the live version from Paris became a minor hit in various European countries.

Background

According to its composer Roger Hodgson, the song deals with how the desire to go home can go both ways:

I'm talking about not wanting to go home to the wife, take the long way home to the wife because she treats you like part of the furniture, but there's a deeper level to the song, too. I really believe we all want to find our home, find that place in us where we feel at home, and to me, home is in the heart and that is really, when we are in touch with our heart and we're living our life from our heart, then we do feel like we found our home."[4]

Hodgson also said:

Take the long way home is a metaphor for the universal journey of self-discovery. The song is a vehicle for reflection in which the sometimes disappointing realities in our grown up lives can reflect in a not so positive way on the hopeful idealism of our youth...A lot of my songs have multi-levels and the deeper meaning to this song is about taking the long way home to our true home, that place of real connection inside our heart.[5]

This was the last song composed for Breakfast in America.[6]

Reception

Billboard magazine contributor David Farrell praised the "convincing melody with a crafty hook", although he felt the music contrasted with the "pessimistic lyric about man's loss of identity in an increasingly complex world."[7] Cash Box called it "a bouncy, uptempo number, laden with pop-symphonic instrumentals, highpitched vocals and harmonies and a jaunty harmonic figure"[8] Record World said that "brisk keyboards slice through the bouncy rhythm and trademark vocals."[9]

Ultimate Classic Rock critic Nick DeRiso rated it as Supertramp's 8th best song.[6] Gary Graff of Billboard rated "Take the Long Way Home" as Supertramp's 7th best song, noting its "bouncy melody awash with keyboards" and the "rich sax-and-harmonica exchange between [John] Helliwell and [Rick] Davies."[10]

Hodgson rated it as one of the top 10 songs he ever wrote.[5]

The single reached number 10 on the U.S. charts[11] and number 4 in the Canadian charts.

Discover more about Reception related topics

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music industry. Its music charts include the Hot 100, the 200, and the Global 200, tracking the most popular albums and songs in different genres of music. It also hosts events, owns a publishing firm, and operates several TV shows.

Record World

Record World

Record World magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with Billboard and Cashbox. It was founded in 1946 under the name Music Vendor, but in 1964 it was changed to Record World, under the ownership of Sid Parnes and Bob Austin. It ceased publication on April 10, 1982. Many music industry personalities, writers, and critics began their careers there in the early 1970s to 1980s.

Saxophone

Saxophone

The saxophone is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to produce a sound wave inside the instrument's body. The pitch is controlled by opening and closing holes in the body to change the effective length of the tube. The holes are closed by leather pads attached to keys operated by the player. Saxophones are made in various sizes and are almost always treated as transposing instruments. Saxophone players are called saxophonists.

Harmonica

Harmonica

The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica include diatonic, chromatic, tremolo, octave, orchestral, and bass versions. A harmonica is played by using the mouth to direct air into or out of one holes along a mouthpiece. Behind each hole is a chamber containing at least one reed. The most common is the diatonic Richter-tuned with ten air passages and twenty reeds, often called the blues harp. A harmonica reed is a flat, elongated spring typically made of brass, stainless steel, or bronze, which is secured at one end over a slot that serves as an airway. When the free end is made to vibrate by the player's air, it alternately blocks and unblocks the airway to produce sound.

John Helliwell

John Helliwell

John Anthony Helliwell is an English musician, best known as the saxophonist, secondary keyboardist, backing vocalist, and occasional songwriter for the rock band Supertramp. He also served as an MC during the band's concerts, talking and making jokes to the audience between songs.

Rick Davies

Rick Davies

Richard Davies is an English musician, singer and songwriter best known as founder, vocalist and keyboardist of the rock band Supertramp. Davies was its only constant member, and composed some of the band's best known songs, including "Rudy", "Bloody Well Right", "Crime of the Century", "From Now On", "Ain't Nobody But Me", "Gone Hollywood", "Goodbye Stranger", "Just Another Nervous Wreck", "Cannonball", and "I'm Beggin' You". He is generally noted for his rhythmic blues piano solos and jazz-tinged progressive rock compositions and cynical lyrics.

Billboard charts

Billboard charts

The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in Billboard magazine. Billboard biz, the online extension of the Billboard charts, provides additional weekly charts, as well as year-end charts. The two most important charts are the Billboard Hot 100 for songs and Billboard 200 for albums, and other charts may be dedicated to a specific genre such as R&B, country, or rock, or they may cover all genres. The charts can be ranked according to sales, streams, or airplay, and for main song charts such as the Hot 100 song chart, all three data are used to compile the charts. For the Billboard 200 album chart, streams and track sales are included in addition to album sales.

RPM (magazine)

RPM (magazine)

RPM was a Canadian music-industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.

Charts

Chart (1979–80) Peak
position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[12] 4
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[13] 32
Germany (Official German Charts)[14] 53
US Billboard Hot 100[15] 10
Year-end chart (1980) Rank
US Top Pop Singles (Billboard)[16] 86

Discover more about Charts related topics

RPM (magazine)

RPM (magazine)

RPM was a Canadian music-industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.

Dutch Single Top 100

Dutch Single Top 100

The Dutch Single Top 100 or Single Top 100 is a Dutch chart, based on official physical single sales, legal downloads and since July 2013 streaming and composed by Dutch Charts. It is one of the three official charts, the other two being the Dutch Top 40 and the Mega Top 30. The difference is that these charts also include airplay data. The list is especially intended for the music industry and those who take an interest in charts. In Dutch TV programmes the Single Top 100 is often cited, although it has not been broadcast since December 2006.

GfK Entertainment charts

GfK Entertainment charts

The GfK Entertainment charts are the official music charts in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment, a subsidiary of GfK, on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie. GfK Entertainment is the provider of weekly Top 100 single and album charts, as well as various other chart formats for genres like compilations, jazz, classical music, schlager, hip hop, dance, comedy, and music videos. Following a lawsuit in March 2014 by Media Control AG, Media Control® GfK International had to change its name.

Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales, radio play, and online streaming in the United States.

Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1980

Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1980

This is a list of Billboard magazine's Top Hot 100 songs of 1980.

Personnel

Discover more about Personnel related topics

Roger Hodgson

Roger Hodgson

Charles Roger Pomfret Hodgson is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the former co-frontman and founding member of the progressive rock band Supertramp. Hodgson composed and sang the majority of the band’s hits, including "Dreamer", "Give a Little Bit", "Take the Long Way Home", "The Logical Song", "It's Raining Again", and "Breakfast in America."

Rick Davies

Rick Davies

Richard Davies is an English musician, singer and songwriter best known as founder, vocalist and keyboardist of the rock band Supertramp. Davies was its only constant member, and composed some of the band's best known songs, including "Rudy", "Bloody Well Right", "Crime of the Century", "From Now On", "Ain't Nobody But Me", "Gone Hollywood", "Goodbye Stranger", "Just Another Nervous Wreck", "Cannonball", and "I'm Beggin' You". He is generally noted for his rhythmic blues piano solos and jazz-tinged progressive rock compositions and cynical lyrics.

Hammond organ

Hammond organ

The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated sound by creating an electric current from rotating a metal tonewheel near an electromagnetic pickup, and then strengthening the signal with an amplifier to drive a speaker cabinet. The organ is commonly used with the Leslie speaker.

Dougie Thomson

Dougie Thomson

Douglas 'Dougie' Campbell Thomson is a Scottish musician, born in Glasgow and raised in the Rutherglen area of the city. He was the bass guitarist of progressive rock band Supertramp during much of the seventies and eighties.

Bob Siebenberg

Bob Siebenberg

Robert Layne Siebenberg also known as Bob C. Benberg, is an American musician, best known as a member of British progressive rock band Supertramp, playing drums and percussion. He was the sole American in Supertramp's lineup, joining the band in 1973. His son, Jesse, joined Supertramp at the time of the release of the live album It Was the Best of Times.

John Helliwell

John Helliwell

John Anthony Helliwell is an English musician, best known as the saxophonist, secondary keyboardist, backing vocalist, and occasional songwriter for the rock band Supertramp. He also served as an MC during the band's concerts, talking and making jokes to the audience between songs.

Other versions

Discover more about Other versions related topics

Trixter

Trixter

Trixter is an American glam metal band from Paramus, New Jersey. The band achieved major success in the early 1990s with their top hit, "Give It To Me Good" reaching sixty-five on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1990. The band disbanded for several years as glam metal lost mainstream popularity.

Undercovers (Trixter album)

Undercovers (Trixter album)

Undercovers is an album of cover songs released by melodic rock band Trixter.

Lazlo Bane

Lazlo Bane

Lazlo Bane is an alternative rock band from Santa Monica, California, United States. They are well known for collaborating with former Men at Work member Colin Hay, and providing the song "Superman" as the theme for the television show Scrubs.

Guilty Pleasures (Lazlo Bane album)

Guilty Pleasures (Lazlo Bane album)

Guilty Pleasures is a 2007 album by the band Lazlo Bane, consisting entirely of cover versions of various hits from the 1970s. Unlike the band's previous album, Back Sides, which was released only digitally through online music stores, Guilty Pleasures was released both on CD and digital download formats. It is also the only Lazlo Bane album where every member of the band sings lead vocals on at least one song.

Source: "Take the Long Way Home (Supertramp song)", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, March 23rd), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Take_the_Long_Way_Home_(Supertramp_song).

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Further Reading

Supertramp

Breakfast in America

Crime of the Century (album)

Crisis? What Crisis?

Even in the Quietest Moments...

Paris (Supertramp album)

...Famous Last Words...

Roger Hodgson

The Autobiography of Supertramp

The Logical Song

Breakfast in America (song)

Dreamer (Supertramp song)

Goodbye Stranger

Give a Little Bit

It's Raining Again

My Kind of Lady

It Was the Best of Times

Bloody Well Right
References
  1. ^ "Supertramp singles".
  2. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Supertramp Breakfast in America Review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  3. ^ Buskin, Richard (July 2005). CLASSIC TRACKS: Supertramp's 'Logical Song', Sound on Sound.
  4. ^ "Acoustic Storm :: Artists". 28 February 2020. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  5. ^ a b Hodgson, Roger (20 March 2023). "Supertramp's Roger Hodgson: the 10 best songs I've written". Prog. Louder Sound. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  6. ^ a b DeRiso, Nick. "Top 10 Supertramp Songs". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  7. ^ "Closeup" (PDF). Billboard. 31 March 1979. p. 166. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  8. ^ "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 13 October 1979. p. 22. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  9. ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. 20 October 1979. p. 1. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  10. ^ Graff, Gary (10 October 2017). "Supertramp's 10 Best Songs: Critic's Picks". Billboard. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  11. ^ "Take the Long Way Home" chart history, Billboard.com. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
  12. ^ "RPM100: Hit Tracks & Where to Find Them". RPM. Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada. 32 (13). 22 December 1979. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  13. ^ "Supertramp – Take the Long Way Home (Live Version)" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  14. ^ "Supertramp – Take the Long Way Home (Live Version)" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  15. ^ "Supertramp Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  16. ^ "1980 Talent in Action – Year End Charts : Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 92, no. 51. 20 December 1980. p. TIA-10.
  17. ^ "Undercovers - Trixter | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  18. ^ "Lazlo Bane's Guilty Pleasures". Cdbaby.com. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
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