HOW DARE YOU!

In my opinion, this is one of the finest crossover prog album ever recorded. Unfortunately, it was the last 10CC album to feature the full original band. Lol Creme and Kevin Godley left after this one, to maket their "Gizmo" invention and record the weird and wonderful "Consequences".

The album begins with the instrumental How Dare You, a cool rhythmic piece, with some of the best guitaring on any 10CC album. Lazy Days takes it down just a bit, with a nice pop tune. Then there's I Wanna Rule The World, a bizarre but exciting little piece, with some theatrical vocals that would put "The Wall" to shame.

I'm Mandy, Fly Me begins with a snippet from Clockwork Creep hinting a bit at the plot. The song is one of those where the guys juxtapose dark lyrics over some very light music, a technique they've used since their early albums (think Rubber Bullets). Iceberg, the jazziest song from the band, begins with the singer lamenting his girlfriend's lack of emotional response to him, and brilliantly unfolds into his madness.

Art For Arts Sake sounds like it could be a companion piece to The Wall Street Shuffle, another tale of greed. And Rock 'N' Roll Lullaby, a fifties styled ballad, attempts to scare children to sleep ("The sandman's gonna get you!)

Head Room is a one joke song with sexual innuendo. And Don't Hang Up is alamost a companion piece to Iceberg. It's a symphonic styled song, with some clever lyrics, with again the protagonist at first sounding just lovelorn, until we discover he's a stalker ("It's me that's been diggin' your shadow. It's me that's been shadowing your dog.")

It's too bad the band went downhill after this.

4.5 stars - rounded up.