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Roger Hodgson: Open the Door

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Epic Records
Released: 2000.05.29
Time:
 52:02
Category: Pop/Rock
Producer(s): See Artists ...
Rating: ********.. (8/10)
Media type: CD
Web address: www.rogerhodgson.com
Appears with: Supertramp
Purchase date: 2000.07.20
Price in €: 15,99



 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Along Came Mary (Roger Hodgson) - 6:25
[2] The More I Look (Roger Hodgson) - 4:56
[3] Showdown (Roger Hodgson) - 5:20
[4] Hungry (Roger Hodgson) - 4:27
[5] The Garden (Roger Hodgson) - 2:15
[6] Death And A Zoo (Roger Hodgson) - 7:32
[7] Love Is A Thousand Times (Roger Hodgson) - 3:30
[8] Say Goodbye (Roger Hodgson) - 3:57
[9] Open The Door (Roger Hodgson) - 8:54
[10] For Every Man (Roger Hodgson) - 4:44

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Roger Hodgson - Vocals, 12-string Guitar, Guitar, Pipe Organ, Harpischord, Bass, Keyboards

Trevor Rabin - Guitar
Oliver Rousseau - Piano
Alan Simons - Whistle
Loic Ponthieu - Drums
Laurent Verneret - Bass
Denis Benarrosh - Percussion
Gerry Convay - Percussion
Christophe Negre - Saxophone
Bruno Le Rouzic - Bagpipe
Pascal Martin - Uillean Pipe
Arnaud Dunoyer - Hammond Organ
Jean Louis Roques - Accordeon
Jean Pierre Meneghin - Scottish Drums
Didier Lockwood - Violin
Jean Jaques Milteau - Harmonica
Claude Samard - Banjo, Dobro Slide Guitar, Bouzouki, Oud
Marco Canepa - Morse Code
Dominique Regef - Rebec, Vielle de Roue
Alan Thompson - Bass
Jeff Philips - Drums
Zdenek Rys - Oboe
Pavel Belohavlek - Cello
Michel Gaucher - Flute
Manuel Delgado - Spanish Guitar
Dan Ar Braz - Apregg. Guitar

Queen Elisabeth II - Speech (1940)
Rev. Jesse Jackson - Text
Ronald Reagan - Text

Bulgarian Ghoir "Philippolis" (Cond.: Hristo Arbadjiev)
Parg City Symphonic Orchestra (Cond.: Mario Klemens)

Eric Chauviere - Engineer
Ken Alrlardyce - Engineer
Tony Shepherd - Assistant Engineer
Juraj Durovic - Strig Part Recodings
Marco Canepa - Mixing
Alberto Prodi - Pro-Tools Engineer
Raphael Jonin - Mastering
Alan Simon - Executive Producer
Daniela Bogdanovic - Project Co-ordinator
HUMAN DO design - Cover
Mark Chaubaron - Inner sleeve art
Marc Ribes - Photography

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


Lang ist's her, dass Roger Hodgson zusammen mit Supertramp weltweit die Charts beherrschte. Der inzwischen 50-Jährige hat nach Jahren persönlicher Probleme nun offenbar zurück ins Business gefunden, Open The Door zeigt ihn in überraschend guter Verfassung. Schon der Opener, das vom berühmten Trademark-Sound seiner zwölfsaitigen getragene "Along Comes Mary", glänzt mit alten Supertramp-Tugenden: Ohrwurm-Melodie, softlanweiche Produktion plus kleine Gimmicks im Arrangement (z.B. die schottische High Whistle). Die eingespielte Passage einer 1940 von der blutjungen Queen Elizabeth gehaltenen Rede sorgt zudem für eine Extra-Portion Charme. Und auf diesem Niveau geht's weiter: hymnische Refrains ("The More I Look") wechseln mit augenzwinkernden Reminiszenzen an alte Zeiten wie etwa der "School"-Harp in "Showdown" oder dem Sopran-Saxofon, das "Hungry" einleitet und das wir von diversen Supertramp-Oldies kennen. Solider Cinemascope-Pop von einem, der sein Handwerk versteht.

Kati Hofacker - Amazon.de



This is clearly RH's best album since leaving Supertramp, and in some ways exceeds it. From start to finish, this is incredible. RH's voice and harmonies are as strong and distinct as ever, the soulful themes are inviting, and the sound echos back not only to the old Supertramp days, but forward in a broader and fresh way. If you've followed RH's story, you must have this album to celebrate what will hopefully be a great return.

Probably the best album since Breakfeast in America (Supertramp). If You like 'Crisis What Crisis' or' Even in the quitest moments' you will love this.A brilliant album.

It's just amazing. Roger got the feel again. I invite everyone to get this door and open it.



Interview with Roger Hodgson, May 9, 2000
by Steve Majewski

Q: How did it feel to turn 50 in March?

Roger : It felt good, especially with all the beautiful postings on the guestbook. I truly believe age is mostly a state of mind. I felt older at 40 than I do now. It also seems to me that as we get older we become a combination of all the ages we've ever been. The part of me that is a little boy is still very alive in me. And I can still feel the teenage part of me. Thinking of myself as an adult is the only one I'm having a problem with because being an adult seems to equate to being serious and being all work - no play. As one posting suggested: I am now 18 with 32 years experience. I can relate to that.

Q: How does it feel to have completed your first studio album in 13 years?

Roger : At last!!! It's been a long time coming.

Q: Do you hope Open the Door will put your name in the public's mind as an artist in your own right so you can shake off the "Roger Hodgson, formerly of Supertramp" tag?

Roger : It would be nice to not have to use the Supertramp name all the time to explain who I am, but I will always be associated with Supertramp and I don't have a problem with that.

Q: Why have you been away from the music scene for so long?

Roger : It took me a long time to find my feet again after leaving Supertramp. Even though I released two solo albums, I never toured so I gradually got more and more away from playing live and got stuck in my studio. My family also became a major focus of my life. I was living in the mountains of Northern California by that time well away from the music scene and when I broke my arms in 1987 it brought everything to a halt and soon I felt totally disconnected from the music industry. It's been a long road back and now that I am back I've found that I've changed a lot during that time and I'm much stronger now. So I feel that everything that has happened was what I needed to renew myself and find my bearings.

Q: Was it not easy for you to become a solo artist?

Roger : It's a very different psychology using your own name compared to a band name and I did not leave the band because of a strong desire to be a solo artist. I've definitely had to make friends with the idea that it is my personal name that is being put out there. I had invested 14 years of my life into the name Supertramp and everyone knew my songs as Supertramp songs. In a way I had relinquished my own identity to a band one. So the adjustment to accepting myself as a solo artist took time.

Q: Did you try to form another band?

Roger : For many years I tried many things to fill the hole that losing Supertramp created. I went to see what Steve Winwood was doing, tried collaborating with Trevor Rabin, formed a band briefly with Trevor, Chris Squire, and Alan White, and eventually went back to Rick Davies to see if Supertramp could work again. Even though some good things came out of these ventures, they all ended up by me realizing that it was a solo road that I had to walk. But it was only recently with the Rites of Passage project and the solo tour that followed it that I truly understood that the partner I had been searching for - the hole that I had been trying to fill - was myself. Now that I feel stronger and more complete in myself, the support is coming to help me come back out and play.

Q: Your wife Karuna produced your last CD, Rites of Passage. Why did you decide to use Alan Simon to produce Open the Door?

Roger : Karuna championed and produced Rites of Passage as a way to put me back on stage and make an album at the same time. She was the only one who understood the desperate condition I was in a few years ago. That project and the solo tour that followed it were a major re-connecting for me. Having done what she intended, she was able to let go of that role. After Alan and I met and worked together on Excalibur, we became good friends and I felt he would be a good person to collaborate with on a new studio album. He offered to put all the pieces together that were needed to make the album. I do not have a manager so he's been wearing many hats through this project. And I'm very grateful to him.

Q: Do you plan to collaborate with Alan in the future?

Roger : It's been a wonderful experience working with Alan. It's entirely possible that we'll do things together in the future.

Q: Open the Door contains 10 tracks. You probably have a backlog of 90 or 100 songs. How did you select the songs and did you consider including more?

Roger : I was definitely influenced by being in France and working with Alan. The French have a strong love for melody. There were some songs that were definitely more American in style that felt out of place once I moved to France. There were a few others that we tried but did not work out. "Teach Me to Love Again" and "Keep the Pigeons Warm" were two of them. For me, the running order on an album is critical. We originally had 12 songs but when we listened to them all strung together we were exhausted by the end. That is when we decided to leave a couple off. It was a hard decision but it's nice to have something in reserve for once.

Q: How did you select the backup musicians for Open the Door?

Roger : Most of the album was recorded in France where I got to meet many gifted French musicians. An old friend of mine, Jeff Phillips, played drums on "Death and a Zoo" with me in America before I relocated to France.

Q: A few of the songs on Open the Door have a tight pop sound similar to the songs of Hai Hai, while others have a more progressive rock sound. Do you agree? If so, were you conscious of the eclectic nature of OTD during the recording process?

Roger : The album is a collection of songs written over many years. "The Garden" is the oldest and was written when I was 18 years old, for example. "Open the Door" was started around the time of Hai Hai. "Hungry" has been around for ten years. So that is why you can hear some similarities with songs and styles I've done in the past. "Death and a Zoo" is the newest composition on the album and is probably the most unique in structure. I'll probably always include a few songs from the large backlog of material that I have. I'm not an artist who can say, "To hell with my old stuff - I'm only interested in the new." These are songs I want to get out.

Q: You recorded and released Rites of Passage independently. What made you sign with Sony Music France?

Roger : With Rites of Passage we came to realize how difficult - and expensive - it was to try and promote a CD around the world. I am very happy to have the support of a major label again. It's fashionable to be critical of record companies nowadays and I certainly have some strong opinions on the corporate nature of the business. But within the business are many people who are doing it because they love to be around music. So it's good if I can give them something to work on that they believe in.

Q: Why do you think you are more popular in Europe than the United States?

Roger : I don't have the answer to that one. I do know that Supertramp became more legendary in Europe. It could be that Europeans like pop melodies more. "It's Raining Again," for example, was the biggest hit that we had in Europe whereas it was too pop for American tastes at that time and damaged the band's status.

Q: How important is commercial success for Open the Door to your future recording career?

Roger : Commercial success for me means more creative freedom - to be able to tour with a larger production and to be able to experiment more in the studio. It is hard for artists to survive nowadays without commercial success. Record companies lose interest very quickly when there is no success. You need the support of the record company to tour effectively.

Q: Does the recent success of an artist like Santana inspire or motivate you?

Roger : I'm very happy for Carlos. I see so many of my peers lose their creative spark as they get older for one reason or another. I firmly believe that like many painters we should be creating our best work late in life if we can keep it together and avoid getting caught in many of the traps that life sends our way.

Q: How important is the Internet to the music industry and specifically your career? Some artists have used the web to build and enhance their careers. Have you developed an Internet strategy or plan?

Roger : The Internet is changing everything, especially the music industry. It may ultimately be the demise of record companies and also may make it harder for artists to make a living from selling their music, especially if it can be downloaded for free from many sites. The future will be very interesting. It has been very difficult keeping up with the content on my site. I would like to keep building on what we've started and ultimately have a site that is very interactive, beautiful, and fun to visit. When I have time I want to put up more music - old demos, alternative mixes, video footage. The trick is finding a way to fund it because as anyone who has created a website knows, good websites are very time-consuming and expensive to create and maintain. Finding the time to put all this together is the challenge.

Q: Box sets containing rare, unreleased songs have been used as a promotional tool for artists. Are there any plans for a box set involving your music?

Roger : There was talk of a box set for Supertramp a while back but there are no unreleased songs in the archives to add to the existing material. That makes it difficult.

Q: You've been in the music industry for over thirty years. How many more years will you continue to record and perform?

Roger : As long as I can. It's my life.

Q: Your contract calls for two more CDs (one live and one studio). Do you have a timetable for them?

Roger : There's no fixed timetable at the moment.

Q: Open the Door was released in Europe in early May. Do you know about release dates for other parts of the world?

Roger : Again my biggest problem has been doing everything without management. It is thanks to Alan that Europe came together. After I finish the promotion tour of Europe, I'll be returning to the U.S. to look for distribution for Canada, the U.S., and South America.

Q: Do you plan a full tour in the fall? If so, where and with what musicians? When will the dates and locations be announced?

Roger : It's too early to give answers to these questions. I need to wait to see how the album does to know what kind of tour I can do and when.

Q: Do you plan to tour the U.K.? Many of your British fans are frustrated because you've toured Europe.

Roger : It has been very frustrating for me that the only country in Europe that it's been hard to find support is my native country. I would obviously have loved to have played in Britain before now but was unable to find a promoter. Without a record deal it's always difficult. I have just heard today that Sony's special projects division in England is taking on my album which hopefully means things will be changing soon.

Q: Your son Andrew performed with you on Rites of Passage. What is he up to now?

Roger : Andrew is now 19. His band is playing a lot and getting a following in Northern California. He's also continuing to write very interesting music by himself on his set-up at home.
 

 L y r i c s


ALONG CAME MARY

Was alone then along came Mary
Hair of gold and lips like cherries
Was amazed when she stole my thunder
Filled my world with the ways of wonder

Come away come away with me
Far away where the eyes can't see
Come away to another time
Pardon if you lose your mind

Who are you now?
Who makes the rules?
Follow your heart and get back....
Won't you get back....
Oh get back

Was alone then along came Mary
Hair of gold and lips like cherries
Was amazed when she stole my thunder
Filled my world with the ways of wonder

Come away come away with me
Far away where the eyes can't see
Come away to another time
Pardon if you lose your mind
Pardon if you lose your mind
Pardon if you lose your mind-if you lose your mind


THE MORE I LOOK

The more I look, more I see
The more that life asks of me
The more it hurts, the more I feel
The more it takes time to heal

For easy times they come and they go
Come and they go so quickly
And peace of mind is so hard to know
It's something to keep me striving

The more I learn the less I know
So little time, so far to go
When your heart's getting burned
As you weep, so you learn

For easy times they come and they go
Come and they go so swiftly
And peace of mind is so hard to know
It's something to keep me striving

The more it hurts, the more you feel
The more it takes the time to heal
The more you look, the more you see
The more these things were meant to be

For easy times they come and they go
Come and they go so quickly
And peace of mind is so hard to know
It's something that keeps me smiling
   
The more I look, the more I see
The more that life gives to me.


SHOWDOWN

Well there's crying in the kitchen
And there's fighting on the street
And there's cocaine in the schoolyard
Yet my heart don't miss a beat
I can't let go, oh I can't let go

And the preacher's on the telly
And he's handing me the phone
Got an ulcer in his belly
And a torment in his soul
He can't let go, no he can't let go

Everybody wants a contri-bution
Telling me they've got the t so-lution
No-one wants the carrousel to slowdown
Seems to me we're heading for a showdown

And there's poison in the water
And there's holes up in the sky
And the children keep on asking
Is the planet going to die?
We must let go - we must let go

Got to get fired - it's going to get hot
We've got to take it higher
Give it everything we got
Oh Oh   you never know
Way to go

Everybody's talking revolution
Politicians offer no solution
No-one seems to want to face the lowdown
Seems to me we're heading for a showdown


HUNGRY

This morning when I woke up
I fixed myself a drink
I was feeling kind of broke up
My mind was on the blink 

I couldn't see a future
Can't seem to hold a job
I feel I'm just a loser
Oh when's it gonna stop

I said By, say you'll always get to hold me
Say we'll never go hungry
Never run out of money
You say we'll  just have to hold on
Maybe life is just a put on
Won't you come and just hold me
Say I'll never get lonely

Some mornings when I wake up
I just don't know who I am
If I look behind the make-up
I see a troubled man

I wander in the darkness
Just talking to the walls
Seems life has turned against me
Who'll catch me if I fall

I said By, say you'll always want to hold me
Say we'll never go hungry
Never run out of money
Give me something to hold on
Tell me life is just a put on
Won't you come and just hold me
Say I'll never get lonely

I said By, say you'll always want to hold me
Say we'll never go hungry
Never run out of money
Give me something to hold on
Tell me life is just a put on
Won't you come and just hold me
Say I'll never get lonely


THE GARDEN

Walk around the garden
Choking at the weeds
Won't you come and help me
Try and sow some seeds

All the trees are weeping,
Branches hanging low
Seems as if they know that
They haven't long to go

All the world's a funfair
Hide behind your mask
Say that you're enjoying it
If anybody ask

Don't believe in sinners,
Don't believe in sin
Love is all the answers
So why don't we begin

Taking up the story that Jesus told
It's older than the years   
All the seeds he planted have blossomed
Into concrete walls of fear

Lying in the gutter,
Gazing at the stars
Like to send a letter
To the men on Mars

Asking if they'd help us,
Help us if they cold
Come and weed this garden
Or do you think they should? 06. Death and a zoo
Hey what would you do
Caught between Death, Death and a zoo?
What if your world was stuck in cage-
Would you feel rage boy?
Caught in a crossfire
Stung by the cold wire
Would it feel lonely?

Hey what would you give
So that your heart in freedom could live?
What if your love was stuck in a cage
Hey don't you feel rage boy?
Caught in a landslide
Where does the child hide?
Oh does he feel lonely?

So cold on the inside
Where does the Sun hide?
Oh don't it feel lonely? lonely

Caught in a man's dream
Silent the heart scream
Don't it feel lonely?


LOVE IS A THOSAND TIMES

Love, love is a thousand times
Stronger than me, stronger than you
Well if you want to be a soldier
o marching off to war
You think you're going to be a hero
But we've heard it all before, boy

Love, love is a thousand times
Dearer than me, dearer than you
Well if you want to be a leader,
Then go and lead the way
You're never going to give us freedom
-no matter what you say, boy
-I said it'd better come soon...

La-La-La

'Cause love-love is the way
If only we all could hear,
It just seems so clear
I just can't believe
-watching the world what am I seeing?
But I know there's a way
-oh there must be a way
Oh there must come day
come a time when I can be free...

'Cause I want to hear her voice
Softer than me, softer than you
Whatever will it take me
To bring her smile my way
'Cause everytime I try to please her,
She loves to go in hiding

-I said she'd better come soon...


SAY GOODBYE

Say goodbye to the old way
Say hello to a new day
Well if you want to linger, a trail a finger
It'll only leave you wondering
Want the future might have been

Say goodbye to the old scene
Say hello to a new dream
You say you want your freedom, but is it freedom
When you leave it all behind you
But your mind just can't let go? oh no

When the news is known and you hear those cries
Then waves of sadness will fill your eyes
You're alone as an island
Alone as a man can be

Say goodbye to the old days
Say hello to a new ways
Well if you want to linger, trail a finger
Just remember what was told you
out the way it's going to be, you'll see..

You're alone as an island
Alone as a man must be

Say goodbye to the old way
Say hello to a new day
Well if you want your freedom
Oh where's your freedom?
On the road that lies before you
That is all you need to know, let go...


OPEN THE DOOR

Who's to say, who's to know
Where the ship is going to blow
Taking time beneath the trees
State of mind, state of ease
 
Easy come, easy go
What a life, what a show,
Caught in old familiar ways
Has our love gone astray?...
Gone away?...gone away?...
 
Open the door ... Open the door
Open the door, I want to be with you
Open the door, I want to play with you
 
Do what you want to, be who you want to be
'Cause I don't care what you say
or what you do to me
I'm having trouble going a whole day without you
Don't want to live if it's a lifetime without you
Come on give me some sing I can see
Come on give me now, show me something
 
Open the door, I want to be with you
Open the door, I want to play with you
Open the door, I want to dream with you
Open the door, I want to stay with you now...

Right, right on, easy come, easy come
-easy go-easy come
And I know, yes I know
that I'm wanting the world to be one
But we take as we please and we can't see the wood for the trees
But I know, yes I know when I open the door I'll Be home
I want to go home, I want to go home...
 
Right, right on, easy come,
Easy come-easy go-easy come
And I know, yes I know
That I'm wanting theworld to be one
But we take as we please
And we can't see
The wood for the trees
But I know, yes I know
When I open the door I'll be free
I want to go free, I want to go home...
 
Open the door, I want to be with you
Open the door, I want to play with you
Open the door, I want to dream with you
Open the door, I want to stay with you now...
 
Do what you want to, be who you want to be
Cause I don't care what you say or what you do to me
I'm having trouble going a whole day without you
Don't want to live if it's a lifetime without you
Come on give me some sing I can see
Come on give me now, show me something

Who's to say, who's to now...

 M P 3   S a m p l e s


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