DECEPTIVE BENDS

This was the first album released by the band after the departure of Kevin Godley and Lol Creme. Many wondered at the time if the remaining half, Gouldman/Stewart, could pull off a decent album or would it be a let down. When it came out I rushed out to buy it, hoping it would be pretty good. Well, it was more than pretty good! It's one of their best. Augmented by Paul Burgess on drums, who had already worked live with the band, Graham and Eric managed to make it sound as if Kevin and Lol had never left! 'Good Morning Judge' was a hit in the charts, and is typical 10cc. Clever lyrics are again present and nice guitar from Eric Stewart. Because the original four had quite similar voices at times, it wasn't too hard to replicate the classic sound here. Graham Gouldman can sound quite like Kevin Godley when he sings deeply, and Eric Stewart can do a falsetto almost as well as Lol Creme. The second track, 'The Things We Do For Love' was a decent chart hit, and already heard and known before the album came out. Listening to it, you would swear it was the original four on the record. In fact, before I got the album, I wondered if the track had had the benefit of all four singing on it, because the songs for this album were being written and recorded whilst Godley and Creme were commencing work on their debut opus, 'Consequences'. I thought maybe they had sung on this before they had left the band. However, they hadn't. 'Marriage Bureau Rendezvous' is sung by Graham. A nice, quite romantic song really, with a good melody and gentle satire in its lyrics, it is instantly hummable.The story, about a man going to a marriage bureau to meet his Mrs Right, only to end up with the girl trying to fix him up with a date, is quite moving, without being mawdling. 'People In Love' is a nice ballad, the type this band were expert at writing when the mood took them. Eric sings this one and it's a straightforward song with minimal satire. 'Modern Man Blues' is sung by both Eric and Graham, and has a superb twist when it comes to the chorus. The verse seems to bemoan the fact that the hero of the song has had his wife walk out on him, but the chorus sees him celebrating, now that he is free and able to do what he likes! Classic 10cc. 'Honeymoon With B Troop' is quite short and very funny, with classic lines abounding, such as: 'So, don't touch her...' and then the backing vocals sing: 'bum, bum, bum, bum,bum,bum,bum,bum,' before the next line: Oh, it's so fine, and you know what's mine is mine.' One of my favourites on the album. 'I Bought A Flat Guitar Tutor' is even shorter, and very, very clever. The lyrics contain various references to guitar chords, such as: C what I'm going through, A to B with you, in A flat, by the C. Again, a fave of mine. And the tune is catchy too, with nice guitar work from Eric, reminding us how well the man can play. 'You've Got A Cold' is probably my least favourite here, but it's still good. It's a song about, yes, you've guessed it, someone with a cold. Plenty of vocal interplay on this one. Solid stuff. Finally comes the magnum opus, a three part epic called 'Feel The Benefit'. I played this track again and again when I first heard it. Eric takes the main lead here, though Graham contributes too. Lyrically, it's quite poignant. The first part is slow paced, the middle part has an infectious rhythm, and the third part reprises the first, ending with a superb guitar solo from Eric. Brilliant stuff! This was the last what I would call 'classic' albums from the band, although the next, Bloody Tourists, has its merits too. This deserves four stars, easily.

Man this was such a disappointment after ' The Original Soundtrack" and " How Dare You". I had to relisten to it on numerous occassions to find something worth convincing me that it was an OK album. If there was ever the concept that the previous album was so good that anything else a band tried to do would not cut it, then 10CC achived that with the dismal ' Deceptive Bends". I remember Queen and Kansas being especially alive with their current releases at the time and hoped ' Deceptive Bends' would cut the mustard. Apart from the commercial ' The Things We do For Love' which fades far too early mid song I find little else on thsi album worth chirping about so have to give it a solid one star. This album truly did die with the onset of punk and all the other anti establishment new wave around at the time and unfortunately it could not rise to the bait!

This aptly-titled album was the first major test for the band, as it was the first where they were only two of the four original members. Could the band manage their usual tricks with only half the personnel? Enlisting previous collab Paul Burgess in the fold, the remaining duo pulled in a very decent effort, stretching out their songwriting talents to the max.

After a very usual comedy-like opening track (a bit like a poppier Robbery, Assault And Battery or Harold The Barrel), comes one typical huge hit (even if hardly their best), Things We Do For Love. The next People In Love has interesting arrangements, but the album side glides on smoothly but rather uneventful until the closing Modern Man Blues which adds a bit of much-needed pimento in their music, as if to compensate for their old KB-man Creme's departure, Gouldman did not dare putting too much guitars in. Easily the first side's highlight with the opener.

However, the second side quickly drops to lower-than-usual 10 CC standards until the three part-suite, 11-min+, Feel The Benefit. While the track starts out rather slowly and is almost choked by much too present orchestral arrangements, around the middle of the "epic" clearly the trio pulls its stuff together and starts rocking (almost proging) and pulls in maybe their best five minutes ever. The instrumental end of this track is really superb (with a sizzling g guitar solo) and can only remind us just how close this band was to being progressive.

Overall though, this album is rather deceiving (hence my original comment at the top of this review), but it has many excuses as if there had been a full line-up as for their previous efforts, this albums better ideas indicate that they would've reached their apex on this release. Sadly, with only 5 CC left, there was no miracle, although the remaining duo managed to live up to their name. Well done under the circumstances.

I always try to compare 10CC with Roxy Music, since both lead to controversy when it is time to decide if they can be classified as progressive rock, or at least as prog related music. Well, 10CC here produce a more than ordinary, pretty sophisticated, inoffensive and happy rock music influenced by the Beatles and having some of the poppy parts of Alan Parson's Project. I think they are quite prog related, and I find the album much better than Roxy Music's Siren, mainly because the tracks here more retain the attention. Despite the very good singer, the decent bassist, the honest drummer, the competent guitarist and the OK keyboardist, I find the compositions musically not very challenging, although they are pretty well made and have rather catchy & structured arrangements. The music is maybe too accessible & not catchy enough to fully captivate me, despite the musicians play their instruments very well and the record is pretty well recorded (the sound). The side 2 is better, especially the last song "Feel the Benefit", an epic song with orchestral arrangements, lasting more than 11 minutes.

Rating: 3.5 stars

"You've got a cold", altogether now, "you've got a cold"

With Lol Crème and Kevin Godley having departed to play with their Gizmo, Graham Gouldman and Eric Stewart retained custody of the 10CC name, continuing as a duet. Instead of attempting to replace G&C, drummer Paul Burges was brought in on what was clearly a supporting role basis, his picture not even appearing on the sleeve. With the name came certain expectations in terms of standard and type of product. The question was, could the duo deliver?

"Deceptive bends" was the public's first chance to judge the new 10CC for themselves, the album facing the challenge of following up the highly rated "How dare you". Gouldman and Stewart decided to try to recreate the pop successes the band had enjoyed, and to some extent they succeeded on that front. The opening two tracks, "Good morning judge" and "The things we do for love" were both successful chart wise, and contained sufficient elements of witty lyrics and hummable melodies to suggest that the 10CC name would at least continue.

After that though, we are into a succession of pleasantly diverting, but generally forgettable pop rock songs. While the song writing credits are democratically shared throughout, it is usually easy to segregate the Stewart songs from the Gouldman ones, especially since they tend to take lead on their own songs. Stewart's "People in love" is one of his endearing ballads, nicely orchestrated by Del Newman. The chauvinistic lyrics of "Modern man blues" were not politically correct in 1977, and would go down even less well now. The song itself is a bluesy shuffle of little note.

"Honeymoon with 'B' troop" is lyrically similar to "When you're in love with a beautiful woman" but delivered as an up-tempo funky song. It is one of a trio of throwaway songs which open side two of the album. The brief "I bought a flat guitar studio" disappears up its own proverbial in over clever but pointless lyricism. "You've got a cold" is even less enjoyable than actually having one, the song describing the symptoms while being completely devoid of a discernible melody. The chorus repeats ad- infinitum "You've got a c-o-o-o-old"!.

The saving grace for the album is the 11½ minute, three part "Feel the benefit". The song is a rather over arranged "One night in Paris" like venture, which sounds very Beatles like at times. To their credit, the duo do at least try to do something a little more imaginative here, and the guitar work, while all to brief, adds some fine colours. The final part includes the some of the corniest lyrics the band have written (and they have come up with some classics!), including "If all the people in the world could sing together. We'd all feel the benefit".

In all, this may be more than half as good as previous 10CC albums, but it does have the feel of a duo who are not entirely sure of themselves. In some ways, the album parallels "A momentary lapse of reason", in that it is a decent facsimile of 10CC's halcyon days.

For the ones who are not really aware of 10CC, the departure of Godley and Creame would surely mean a total collapse.

For the more familiar fan, it is of course a MAJOR shock but the other great duet from this incredible band is strongly taking over. At the end of the day, the pair Stuart-Gouldman wrote "Art For Art's Sake", the most known of any 10CC song ever written "I'm Not In Love" and "The Wall Street Shuffle".

Stewart sharing "Live Is A Minestrone" and "Oh Effendi" with either Godley or Creme and Gouldman participating in lots of tracks with either one of the fantastic quatuor ("Rubber Bullets". "Johnny, Don't Do It!", ""The Worst Band in the World" and "The Second Sitting for the Last Supper"to name a few.

These four guys were so creative and original that the band will survive after this earthquake. Even if, needless to say, Stuart and Gouldman are great composers, they will miss the other fantastic duet.

Vocals harmonies are still extremely polished, melodies are powerful but a part of the magic has gone (physically and in terms of song writing). The Fab Four orientation is still very much present in "People In Love", the popish and grandiose style still striking hard with "The Things We Do For Love" and the complexity of the band is featured in "Good Morning Judge".

Some limitations are shown with "Modern Man Blues". But I have never been into blues (and probably never will). The incredible 10CC-ish style is fully displayed during "Honeymoon With B Troop". Another inventive piece of music and fully rock-opera oriented. As rich as lots of prior 10CC songs.

I guess that it was almost impossible for the band to release a better album due to the circumstances. It is not as good as "Sheet Music" or "The Original Soundtrack" but on par with "How Dare You".

A closing such as "Feel The Benefit" with its "ELO" flavour and its Beatles-esque melody only confirms the feeling that Stuart- Goldman had strong shoulders to carry on the 10CC flag. But who had any doubts about that ? This is THE highlight of this album.

Their marketing agent or their management (or anyone who chose the title for this album) should be hung by the balls. To call an album with a word such as "deceptive" in the title after this major split is unconscious. I would have called it "Positive Trends".

Three stars.

More art for art's sake

Like earlier 10cc albums, Deceptive Bends contains well made Pop tunes with only the slightest progressive tendencies. Since they had lost some members, changes could be expected but the band sounds basically the same. However, Deceptive Bends is slightly less typically 10cc. This album is in some ways analogous to Caravan's Cunning Stunts album. Both of these albums represented a slight divergence from the sound of the earlier albums of the band in question. As Cunning Stunts was less typically Caravan, the hard core fans of either band didn't like it that much, simply because what they like most about their favourite band is that band's most typical aspects. For people like me, on the other hand, who don't think that highly of the earlier albums of 10cc, and don't particularly like the most typical aspects of 10cc, this album is actually one of their best.

Another similarity between this and Cunning Stunts is that both albums end with a long track. Feel The Benefit is one of 10cc's better songs ever. But it is not essential by any means.

Like all other 10cc albums that I've heard, this is worthy of two stars.

"Deceptive Bends" is the 5th full-length studio album by UK art pop/rock act 10cc. The album was released through Mercury Records in May 1977. There´s been a major lineup change since "How Dare You (1976)" as Lol Creme and Kevin Godley have jumped ship to pursue other interests (one of them was the invention of the Gizmo guitar device. Another was the Godley & Creme project). The remaining members Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman opted to continue with the band and recruited studio musicians to fill out the roles they couldn´t do themselves (most notably the drums). So this is a defining moment in the band´s history with now only half of the original lineup left.

The music on the album is unmistakably the sound of 10cc though. Lineup changes or not. High quality art pop/rock with lots of clever musical twists and great tongue in cheek humour. To my ears very little has changed and the two remaining members easily fill the roles of the two that left. The vocals are skillfully performed as always (with great harmonies and choirs) and the sound production is nothing short of fantastic. "Deceptive Bends" is an organic, detailed, and overall very well sounding album.

As mentioned above the material are generally of high quality and tracks like the opening "Good Morning Judge", the funny "Marriage Bureau Rendezvous", the even more amusing "Honeymoon With B Troop", the slightly progressive 11:31 minutes long "Feel the Benefit, Pt. 1-3" (where part 1 and 3 remind me very much of Barclay James Harvest) and of course the pop hit tunes "The Things We Do for Love" and "People in Love", are among the highlights on the album. The two latter mentioned are obviously written to have mainstream appeal but as always 10cc manage to arrange and perform tracks in that vein in such a clever and professional manner, that people listening to music a bit more closely than the all consuming mainstream radio listener, should also be able to find intriguing details here.

10cc have overall produced another high quality release with "Deceptive Bends". One of their greatest assets in addition to their high level musicianship and production skills, is their clever and sometimes rather naughty tongue in cheek humour (which is at times comparable to the Frank Zappa ditto), and that side of their style works really well on this album. Put into a commercial pop/rock formula it´s extremely charming. While "Deceptive Bends" is probably their last really great album, it often isn´t as lauded as their four preceeding releases, which is a real shame, because to my ears it´s as high class as anything released before it. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

10CC's first album after the split from Lol Creme & Kevin Godley is the only album where Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman managed to retain the spirit and quirkiness of the earlier album, although I must admit it took me quite a while to appreciate some of it. The sound is there, from the distictive overcompressed guitar tone to the odd humor.

There are straight out humorous songs, like Good Morning Judge which features a main character pleading to be sent back to prison (the one in Rubber Bullets?), You've Got A Cold, and the great Modern Man Blues, which begins with the protagonist left alone by his lover, but ends with him rejoicing his freedom.

There is more subtle humor, as in the The Things We Do For Love ("Ooh, you make me love you. Ooh, you've got a way. Ooh, you've had me crawling up the wall.) And of course, Honeymoon With B Troop, where if you listen closely, it appears the singer is having a rather sexual relationship with a pinup poster.

There is also the eleven minute Feel The Benefit, which has a feel of some of the Supertramp epics. It's only marred by some maudlin string arrangements.

But the real gem of the album is I Bought A Flat Guitar Tutor, an amazing little tune, where the chords are written into the lyrics. Incredibly clever. 3.5 stars, rounded up.

I'll come clean up front and humbly confess that I know next to nothing about 10cc. Other than their unusual moniker and a few of their popular singles they remained outside my scope of awareness. (I'll readily admit the haunting, uniquely-constructed aura of their 'I'm Not in Love' is darn near irresistible and it's a genuine landmark of studio technology.) Just in case I'd been missing out on some incredible music all these years due to my ignorance of their art I picked this record at random to hear what they're all about. In my brief investigation of the group's history I've learned that, after putting out four reasonably successful albums, a sizeable rift that had been developing for some time finally ruptured in 1976 and rent the band asunder. The guys left behind, Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman, decided to carry on the legacy. They enlisted the help of their tour-support drummer, Paul Burgess, and set out to prove that they really didn't need the other two dudes, anyway. 'Deceptive Bends' is the result. While I'm not familiar with the work of the two that made a run for it (Kevin Godley and Lol Creme), my understanding is that they've earned quite a reputation for themselves in the progressive rock universe since the split and I hope someday to sample their handiwork. Having sat through multiple plays of this particular LP, though, I feel somewhat comfortable in saying that when Kevin and Lol left the fold they must've taken most of the institution's prog inclinations with them. I can comprehend to an extent why 10cc qualifies as being prog related but in my estimation, based on this batch of tunes at least, their connection to the genre is tissue-ply thin.

They begin with the upbeat 'Good Morning Judge.' It's semi-funky in an Alan Parsons Project way and what I mean by that is it's far too squeaky clean and pasteurized to be deemed anything close to authentic R&B fare. I'm a fan of crisp production, however, so I don't find the song to be bereft of all appreciable merit. The guitar work is performed expertly, for example. Keep in mind I do have a soft spot in my head for high-quality pop rock (which this tune is) so its minor shortcomings don't offend me too much. 'The Things We Do for Love' is next and, to be honest, I can't treat it fairly because I'm sick and tired of hearing it on the classic rock radio airwaves. It's a meticulously- designed but overly-formulaic ditty that has never done much for me because it's just too dad gum fluffy. I'm sure they were tickled that it became such a monster worldwide hit for them (it rose to #5 in the US) but to me it's an unremarkable bore. 'Marriage Bureau Rendezvous' follows and with it things improve considerably. I especially admire any ensemble that manages to toss in some melancholy humor to keep things leaning toward the bright side of life. I found this number interesting due to their taking a few detours along the way (Not unlike what Paul McCartney would often do with Wings just for grins). Unfortunately, they take a dive to the bottom on the next cut, 'People in Love.' The syrupy orchestral score only makes this buttery ballad even less substantial and interminably more wearying. This song is DOA. Nothing to see here, folks. Move along now. I suspect that Eric and Graham had been digging on Steely Dan's 'Pretzel Logic' because the Fagin/Becker influence runs throughout 'Modern Man Blues,' most noticeably in the verse structure. The chorus does deliver an abrupt change of direction, though, and all in all it's an odd little composition that's at least unpredictable.

'Honeymoon with B Troop' is one of the more enjoyable tunes on this record. I must acknowledge that they had an eclectic attitude that kept them from being corralled with the run-of-the-mill commercial acts of that era and I find their bold employment of studio tricks entertaining. In some aspects they're a slicker-sounding Electric Light Orchestra, yet not as adventurous as Jeff Lynne and his pals were. 'I Bought a Flat Guitar Tutor' is an unexpected, drastic departure from the norm. Here they plunge straight into the brand of nostalgia that Queen was fond of taking on without warning. I'll say it's short and sweet and leave it at that. 'You've Got a Cold' is a bouncy little number about, obviously, being under the weather and contagious, but it fails to charm because of the dearth of imagination involved. A big dose of satire would've helped tremendously but, as a novelty song, it falls flat. The closer, 'Feel the Benefit (Parts 1, 2 & 3),' is an eleven and a half minute musical excursion where an engaging mix of light guitar and tactful symphonic strings open the proceedings. Then the vocals enter to create some intriguing aural scenery that allows the listener to follow along effortlessly. It's without a doubt the proggiest track on the record. They eventually return to the original theme and motif but the second time around it's much more forceful and dynamic. Alas, it loses some of its momentum as it winds down to the 'swaying Bic lighters in the arena' finale but that miscalculation doesn't completely spoil the piece altogether.

Released in June of '77, this LP didn't disappoint their label one iota. I recall seeing its distinctive cover standing out from the madding crowd in the record bins and I assume its sales figures were boosted greatly by the Top Ten single it spawned. But when it comes to British Art Rock my preference would be the more consistent Supertramp, the aforementioned ELO or even the delightfully wacky Gentle Giant. This album ultimately left me unsatisfied and hungry for something with a bit more meat on the bone to chew on. 'Deceptive Bends' is clever in places but too often I feel that Stewart and Gouldman were trying too hard to be cute, adorable and marketable rather than daring to be exploratory and radical in their approach. I don't mean to be too hard on the boys but I have to call 'em as I see 'em and this disc ends up on the weak side of average. 2.4 stars.

In 1976, tensions and personality clashes were starting to get the best of the members of 10cc, however, they started working on their fifth album "Deceptive Bends" anyway. Once the first track, "People in Love", was finished, they considered it awful, and this was the straw that divided the classic band. Kevin Godley and Lol Crème went off to do their own album leaving Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman to try to pull together the album on their own.

Those that had been following the band would notice a difference. This album was much more pop-oriented and less artsy as before. The songs were straightforward leaving behind a lot of the imagination and original feel of previous albums. Yet, Stewart and Gouldman were encouraged because this would become their biggest selling album with their most popular hit "The Things We Do For Love" carrying the album. There is a good chance you know this song, so you can pretty much tell from that song where the band was going with only half of the songwriting part of the band missing.

The first half of the album is the most accessible with the most famous songs on it. The upbeat and driving beat of "Good Morning Judge" will almost make you thing the band hasn't suffered much from the division. This song was the 2nd single from the album and it continued the band's string of top 10 songs in the UK. There is a bit of wry humor there, but the song is pretty straightforward. This is followed by the extremely popular "The Things We Do for Love", the song that almost everyone knows by the band, reaching the top 10 in at least 6 countries including the US. But, as most people know, it's straightforward pop. It's interesting that on this album the most radio friendly songs are by Stewart. "Marriage Bureau Rendezvous" is the first song on the album by Gouldman. This one is a mid-tempo track and has no real hooks or anything that makes it memorable. "People in Love" is the 3rd single from the album, and is a nice ballad that for some reason didn't do well on the charts, barely making a dent in the top 100 anywhere even if it somewhat mirrors "I'm Not in Love", an earlier mega hit from the band. It's also quite straightforward, but I find it more interesting than "The Things We Do?." with a nice, somewhat orchestral instrumental break. The first side ends with "Modern Man Blues" tries for a bluesy style, but seems a bit washed out even with some attempt at raspy vocals. At least we get a few shifts in tempo where it speeds up a bit to a boogie riff for short sections. Unfortunately, it's too overproduced to be taken seriously.

Side 2 goes for a more art-pop sound, but the slickness of it all tends to drain any spirit out of the record. "Honeymoon with B Troop" goes for a tricky Beatlesque style and takes another stab at lightheartedness, but the humor just doesn't work. "I Bought a Flat Guitar Tutor" tries to recall some progressive sound by chords being worked into the lyrics while the music shifts as the chords are mentioned. It's a short song, a novel idea, but goes over most people's head and doesn't save the album. "You've Got a Cold" also tries to be funny trying to bring back the banal humor of the band, but it just comes across as silly with the music being as mundane as the lyrics. This used to be a strength of the band, putting the mundane to great instrumentation and melody, but this time they forgot to make the music interesting. The album ends with the 11 minute suite "Feel the Benefit" divided up into 3 sections. Again, this is inspired by The Beatles sound. "Reminisce and Speculate" begins with a chord progression similar to "Dear Prudence", then brings in an orchestra before vocals begin. This one is definitely more complex, however, once again, there is nothing there that really hooks the listener into the song, at least through the first part. After a guitar solo, the 2nd section, "A Latin Break" finally introduces a bass-induced riff and a reggae beat, making it a bit more poppy sounding. After some more vocals, the guitar riff fades into the 3rd section "Fell the Benefit", which brings back a lot of the themes from the first section, more vocals, and finally a guitar solo that ends suddenly. Yes it sound interesting, but I challenge anyone to try to recall anything about it once it's done.

So, the main problems here are 1) half of the band is missing, apparently the most imaginative half, 2) the other half that remains tries way to hard to cover for the missing half and it is painfully obvious, and 3) the production is way to slick and overdone, so everything just sounds "plastic" to me. On top of this, most of the music isn't that interesting and the humor is painfully missing. When it's all said and done, the only things you remember is that there are 2 songs that are somewhat familiar and 1 that was overly played. The rest of the album is just too mediocre and a great example of what happens when a band tries way too hard to cover the fact that they are just not all there anymore. Sure, it's not as embarrassingly poppy like Ambrosia's "One-Eighty" album, but it's just not really that great either. In the long run, it only brought in new fans for the short haul as most pop fans just didn't get it. They ended up losing their appreciative fans who decided that the band had gone too commercial, and they never really had any follow up success after this album.