Music of the Day, 15 March 2024

what you see is just illusion

It’s an unusually cool and cloudy day for us; we even had some rain overnight. It feels really good… nice thinking weather. I decided to make some bread, and to listen to the only album I currently own from a prog powerhouse whose work I didn’t fully appreciate back in their heyday.

Even thought I’ve listened to it many times before, today I got hung up on the third track. It connected with an impulse I’ve been trying to resist for several days now. The fact that I’m writing this shows that—at least for now—I’m succeeding in my resistance.

“Hide in Your Shell” is off Supertramp’s third release, 1974’s Crime of the Century. I chose to feature the performance on The Midnight Special because Roger Hodgson’s vocals are more prominent in the mix; they get lost in the keyboards in the studio version on the album.

While many might interpret “Hide in Your Shell” as a love song, I see it differently. Hodgson wrote the song, and he strikes me as being quite cerebral and personal. To me, it’s a humanist song, in the psychological sense of the word. A person can have various senses of oneself, including the self who’s trying to make it through the maddening mundanity of daily life and the self who’s striving for something higher and better, both within and without. The daily self often wants to hide away from the challenges and struggles and pain, while the ideal self knows those elements must be acknowledged and addressed for growth to happen.

This dichotomy is captured well in both the lyrics and the vocals. The background vocalists shine here, as their voices vary between deep and powerful, and piercing falsetto.¹ The instruments are a lovely backdrop, including Bob Siebenberg’s artful percussion. I thought I heard a theremin in the mix, but Wikipedia reveals that it’s a saw played by an “anonymous street musician.”

Another interpretation is that the song’s focus is simply compassion. That again can be directed inward as well as outward. For me today, both of these perspectives ring true. Listening to Crime of the Century has reminded me that getting other Supertramp albums needs to be a priority. Their combination of insightful lyrics and excellent music resonates with me, and I’m eager to discover more great deep cuts.

1. I’m not sure if it’s keyboardist Rick Davies or saxophonist/keyboardist John Helliwell behind the falsetto … perhaps it’s both. Wikipedia includes backing vocal credits on the track for Christine Helliwell and Vicky Siebenberg, so perhaps the secret is a touch of female energy/sound