HOTLEGS: THINKS - SCHOOL STINKS

Prior to the formation of 10CC there existed a band called Hotlegs, who had a hit single called "Neanderthal man". The song was considered to be a novelty hit at the time, consisting of one sentence being repeated ad infinitum. Little did we know then however that Hotlegs would metamorphose with essentially the same line up into the phenomenally successful 10CC. The only member of the subsequent quartet missing is Graham Gouldman, but even he was around., I'll come back to that later.

The tracks are pretty much all founded in the acoustic guitars of Crème and Stewart, with occasional additional instrumentation being added as required. The songs are all written by Godley, and Crème, with Eric Stewart also receiving credit on the majority. In some ways, this is the album many of us wished 10CC would make. It is largely devoid of the too clever for their own good lyrics and structures, the songs being simple, well crafted pop rock numbers.

We open with the single "Neanderthal Man", an irritatingly catchy song which may not have much to do with 10CC, but it is undeniably fun. "How Many Times" is a simple acoustic number with Crosby Stills and Nash like harmonies. Baz Barker adds some effective strings to the latter part of the song. "Desperate Dan" is a short piano based barroom romp. Good fun, but instantly forgettable.

"Take Me Back" is another delicate acoustic piece which offers a further glimpse of the music of 10CC, the vocals once again being particularly notable. The structure of the song is interesting, as it shows a willingness to draw a number of styles into a relatively short piece. "Um Wah, Um Who" is a rather unfortunate title for what is actually a pretty good pop song. It may not have the class of 10CC, but it also lacks some of the pretentious indulgences too.

"Suite F.A." is a three part, 13 minute suite written by Godley and Crème. It is similar in structure to the "One night in Paris" trilogy which appeared on "The original soundtrack" but with a greater emphasis on acoustic and orchestral sounds. There is no great complexity to individual parts, but mood does change frequently offering at least a hint of prog.

"Fly away" is an achingly beautiful acoustic number in the "Yesterday" vein with a fine vocal performance and a simple melody. "Run baby run" is a basic blues rock song of the type Canned Heat did so well. "All God's Children" which closes the album, is a lullaby like song with a sympathetic arrangement and some dreamy, Simon and Garfunkel like harmonies.

The version I have of this album is a compilation called "You didn't like it because you didn't think of it". The album has all the tracks from "Thinks school stinks" plus a number of other songs recorded by Hotlegs which did not appear on their sole album. The tracks are arranged in a different order, with the additional tracks mixed in with the original album songs, and "Suite FA" as the closing song. The sleeve is a rather good self portrait of the group by Godley and Crème.

One of the extra tracks, "Today" features all four members of 10CC, Graham Gouldman guesting on the track playing bass. The song shows that the transition to 10CC was complete, and actually ranks on a par with pretty much anything the quartet recorded under that name. The wonderful arrangement includes orchestration and a great synthesiser ending. For fans of 10CC this is a real lost gem. The track "You didn't like it because you didn't think of it", is for the first part an early precursor to the title track of "How dare you", before it changes completely into a pop blues. "The loser" once again has the sound of an early 10CC song, the upbeat rock melody being basic but functional. "Lady Sadie" is a poor mid-paced funky number which would have been best left undisturbed.

In all, an album which should be part of the collection of any 10CC fan. There is a wealth of indicators here of how the sound of that band came about, not to mention some fine songs in their own right too. Personally, I rate this album higher than the majority of the 10CC albums which followed.

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