Roger Hodgson - In the Eye Of The Storm
- FaceOff - עימות חזיתי
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
Written By: Moti Kupfer
Release date - 7.12.84 (CD) / 1.10.84 (LP)
In the book “Sefer HaChinuch” ("Book of Mitzvos") it was written: “After the actions, the hearts are drawn.” The idea behind this phrase is that the purpose of many commandments is to bring the heart closer to the right path through rituals and actions, because through words alone it will not happen.
After the huge success of "Supertramp" with "Breakfast in America", Roger Hodgson, the vocalist and one of the band’s two primary songwriters, felt that he could manage by his own.
Hodgson, who in 1980 won the Ivor Novello Award from the British Academy of Songwriters and Composers for "The Logical Song", decided to leave Los Angeles and move to the mountains of northern California, where he built himself a home studio and began recording solo material.
The geographical distance created tension between Hodgson and the other band members, and in 1983 he officially resigned from "Supertramp" and began working on his first solo album "In The Eye Of The Storm", released on October 1, 1984 on vinyl and on December 7, 1984 on CD.
His debut is a direct continuation of the last album he worked on with "Supertramp", "...Famous Last Words", and several of its songs were originally written and intended for that record.
Hodgson wrote, sang, arranged, and produced the entire album, and aside from the drum parts and fretless bass on two tracks, he played almost every instrument himself.
Hodgson continued the early-80s “Supertramp-style” direction, blending pop with progressive rock, resulting in an album built mostly from extended tracks of six minutes or more (five out of seven songs).
The album opens with the eight-minute piece "Had a Dream (Sleeping with the Enemy)", which begins like the introduction to a dramatic film before shifting into quicker rhythms and bouncing piano.
The following track, "In Jeopardy", combines piano and percussion with synthesizers. Conceptually, "In Jeopardy" continues the dark thread of uncertainty introduced in the opening track.
Later, on the fifth track, Hodgson almost pleads "Give Me Love Give Me Life", and immediately after declares "I'm Not Afraid", before the album closes with "Only Because of You" - another long, eight-and-a-half-minute composition written during his "Supertramp" days.
So Hodgson does everything on this album, but that does not mean he has no fears, and he expresses them throughout the songs.
"In the Eye of the Storm" is a powerful and inspiring opening chapter in Hodgson’s solo journey. Its sweeping arrangements, daring song structures, and especially the fact that Roger Hodgson played nearly every instrument himself, revealed an artist redefining his identity outside the shadow of his former band "Supertramp". It stands as a moving reminder of what his solo career could have become, as he would go on to release only two more albums.
For Listening: Spotify, Apple Music