Indelibly Stamped

Indelibly Stamped
Studio album by Supertramp
Released	25 June 1971
Recorded	April – May 1971 at Olympic Studios, London
Genre	Progressive rock
Length	40:33
Label	A&M
Producer	Supertramp
Supertramp chronology
Supertramp (1970) Indelibly Stamped (1971) Crime of the Century (1974)

Indelibly Stamped is the second album by the English progressive rock band Supertramp, released in 1971. It marked a dramatic change in direction to a more straightforward rock sound, and by admission of the band's own liner notes, "Travelled" is the only song with any resemblance to their debut album. Like their debut, this album was a commercial failure upon release; however, in later decades it went gold in France and Canada. Original editions have a colour gate-fold cover and different text for the band name and album title. The cover photograph features the tattooed torso and arms of a topless woman. This is the first Supertramp album issued in the U.S.; the cover was in colour (in 1971), but A&M pasted two gold stars over the nipples.

Cover art

The cover depicts the tattooed torso and arms of a topless woman. It is commonly believed that the model for the cover was Rusty Skuse, largely due to a tattoo on the left arm which names "Bill" and "Rusty"; however, a comparison between the album cover and photographs of Skuse's tattoos show that this is not the case. According to Paul Sayce, writing in Tattoo News, the model was Marion Hollier, who was extensively tattooed at the Les Skuse Tattoo Studio in the 1960s.^[1] An article published in The People shortly after the album's release also identifies Hollier as the model, noting that she was paid £45 for the job.^[2]

Background

Roger Hodgson later said Indelibly Stamped was "the survival album to put ourselves back in the good books of our manager. There was no theme worked out for the album and we were floundering."^[2] New members Kevin Currie, Frank Farrell, and Dave Winthrop were all recruited shortly before the recording sessions.^[2]

The song "Times Have Changed" evolved out of a song called "Times of Rain", which was written with Richard Palmer-James while he was still a member of the group. Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson wrote new lyrics to the song, renaming it "Times Have Changed".^[3]

Supporting tours for the album began with a series of shows at the P.N. Club in Munich, which had been the site for Supertramp's first public performances. Rick Davies described their stage show at the time as "all Rock and Roll really. We used to get people up on the bloody stage and it was just chaos, hopping away doing about three encores, but there was meat and potatoes behind it. No more or less people would come to the next gig."^[2] This was the last album Roger Hodgson played bass on during his tenure with Supertramp.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[4]

In their brief retrospective review, Allmusic said that the album was an improvement over their debut, but still indulged too much in lengthy instrumental sections.^[4]

Track listing

All songs written by Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson, with lead vocals by Davies unless otherwise stated.

Side one

1. "Your Poppa Don't Mind" – 2:58
2. "Travelled" – 4:15
   • Lead vocals: Roger Hodgson
3. "Rosie Had Everything Planned" (Frank Farrell, Hodgson) – 3:01
   • Lead vocals: Roger Hodgson
4. "Remember" – 4:00
5. "Forever" – 5:05

Side two

6. "Potter" – 2:23
   • Lead vocals: Dave Winthrop
7. "Coming Home to See You" – 4:39
8. "Times Have Changed" – 3:42
9. "Friend in Need" – 2:08
10. "Aries" – 7:25
    • Lead vocals: Roger Hodgson

• "Rosie Had Everything Planned" is the only original song in the entire Supertramp catalog for which Rick Davies receives no writing or co-writing credit.

Personnel

• Kevin Currie – percussion, drums
• Rick Davies – harmonica, keyboards, lead vocals
• Frank Farrell – bass guitar, piano, electric piano, accordion, backing vocals
• Roger Hodgson – acoustic and lead guitar, bass guitar, lead vocals
• Dave Winthrop – flute, saxophone, lead vocals

Production

• Producer: Supertramp
• Engineer: Bob Hall

Charts

Peak positions Chart Position Australian Kent Music Report[5] 53

Certifications and sales Region Certification Canada (Music Canada)[6] Gold France (SNEP)[7] Gold

References

1. Sayce, Paul, Tattoo News, July 2009.
2. Melhuish, Martin (1986). The Supertramp Book. Toronto, Canada: Omnibus Press. pp. 36–38. ISBN 0-9691272-2-7.
3. Fuentes, Abel (January 2011). Interview with Richard Palmer, Supertramp Soap Box Asylum. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
4. Indelibly Stamped at AllMusic
5. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
6. "Canadian album certifications – Supertramp – Indelibly Stamped". Music Canada.
7. "French album certifications – Supertramp – Indelibly Stamped" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 1 June 2012. Select SUPERTRAMP and click OK