4 out of 5 Stars!

Like many fans of Supertramp, learning of Roger Hodgson’s departure from the band to begin a solo career in 1983 came as a shock. I sensed the group would never be quite the same without the stylistic “give and take” between Hodgson and Rick Davies, each with their own unique musical approach, songwriting skills, and ears for melody, and I was right…the band just wasn’t the same afterward. And to be perfectly truthful, I had always preferred Roger Hodgson’s quirkier and more Prog-oriented vocal style over Rick Davies’s grittier and less-precise delivery, therefore subsequent Supertramp albums just didn’t have the same “magical balance.”

Anyway, when Hodgson released his 1984 solo debut In the Eye of the Storm that included the instant Progressive-Pop hit “Had a Dream (Sleeping With the Enemy),” I immediately snatched it up, and frankly, with other equally impressive songs such as “In Jeopardy,” “Only Because of You,” “Hooked on a Problem,” “I’m Not Afraid,” and “Give Me Love, Give Me Life” also on tap, the seven-track collection sounded more like a Supertramp album than the band’s own Brother Where You Bound platter that dropped a year later.

With Hodgson performing all the instruments himself—a true “solo” effort—and also producing the entire shebang, it clearly showed just how much he had previously contributed to the classic Supertramp sound, making me appreciate his talents even more.

Unfortunately, after this album, Hodgson released only one more album before disappearing for more than a decade and finally issuing his last studio platter in 2000, just a few years before his former band also fell apart (at least when it came to creating new studio material).

Regardless, fans of Supertramp’s music from the “glory period” (Crime of the Century through Breakfast in America) who don’t already own this album should definitely consider adding it to their collections.

Get The Album Now!