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People are curious about the Supertramp song used in Apple’s Vision Pro unveiling video

The biggest news in gadget tech this year is the unveiling (finally!) of Apple’s AR/VR headset spatial computer. You may have seen this short trailer soundtracked by Supertramp’s “Dreamer” from their 1973 masterpiece, Crime of the Century. Here it is–but listen carefully. Something’s different and people have questions.

Totally familiar, but it’s also…I don’t know.

The answer was provided by a writer to Bob Lefsetz which appeared in a “mailbag” edition of his newsletter.

According to Lina Tyler of Harmonic Management, this isn’t Supertramp–or at least all of them. Apple used two different recordings from singer Roger Hodgson (the writer of the song), combining an orchestra recording and one Hodgson recorded with his band. Here’s the source material.

Mystery solved. It’ll be interesting to see if Hodgson gets a spike in listening now that the commercial is out.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

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2 thoughts on “People are curious about the Supertramp song used in Apple’s Vision Pro unveiling video

  • Great titbit Alan re the origin of this energizing version of a timeless classic! Found this online in an interview with Mr. Hodgson… ” Dreamer was my first #1 hit song. It’s a song I wrote when I was alone at my mother’s house.  Dreamer just flew out of me one day. It was the first time I got to play the new Wurlitzer electric piano and I just started playing and made a demo right there.  The two-track tape recording was so magical that when I tried to record the song five years later with the band, we couldn’t match the magic on this demo at all. So, we ended up putting the demo on two tracks of the multi-track and literally duplicating everything that I had created on this demo but in a much higher quality, obviously, and I think that’s maybe why there was no click track. So I think that’s part of the reason why it does have a wonderful feeling. I love playing this song in concert because it just brings out the dreamer in everyone. I mean there is a dreamer in everyone and so often we let go of that side of ourselves and it kind of reminds the audience and reminds me when I’m singing it, too, to keep that place in us alive.”
     

    Reply
  • Indeed Alan, This composition by Roger Hodgson that was released when he was in Supertramp, is a timeless great hit, as is his magnificent repertoire full of many songs that are still playing today and represents for many people around the world the soundtrack of their lives. It is not surprising, that Apple has used it to offer a new product that can change the digital future in a short time. Greetings

    For more information :

    https://open.spotify.com/track/0gHDyTISdHGoycw1glA9Zu

    https://music.apple.com/us/album/classics-live/502038005

    Reply

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