Supertramps third album, as well as their mainstream breakthrough, Crime of the Century is a loose song-cycle centered around the inner struggles of a depressed man.

The album was borne out of the frustrations of dual frontmen Roger Hodgson and Rick Davies. From 1969-1972, they had helmed an earlier incarnation of Supertramp which released two critically beloved but commercially unsuccessful albums. When the rest of the band quit, Hodgson and Davies found themselves back at square one, with little funds or direction, and on a deeper level, they felt existentially lost, being in their mid-20s without much of a career. With the support of their record label A&M, they spent a year recruiting new members, after which they made an all-in attempt at success.

Crime of the Century follows the young adulthood of a man named Rudy as he wanders through life aimless and disillusioned as a result of a deep depression. The start of the album