SHEET MUSIC

The second album from this band, and even better than their debut! This is 10cc at their freshest, wittiest, most diverse best! I always loved the cover of this record. Even the title is a play on words; is it Sheet Music? Or is it Sh*t Music? Very clever! The balance between all four musicians is perfect here. Eric Stewart kicks off the album with the brilliant 'Wall Street Shuffle', one of the heavier tracks on the album. As usual, it is full of clever lyrics, and Stewart's guitar is very powerful here, strident power chords mixing with lovely harmonies in the middle section. 'The Worst Band In The World' continues the guitar dominated tracks. Lol Creme takes over vocals and the laid back beat suits the song perfectly. Again all four join in for backing vocals and the song is really too short. The band really take the micky out of themselves with wonderful lines such as: it's one thing to know it but another to admit, we're the worst band in the world but we don't give a...(guess the missing word that rhymes with admit!) or, at the end: 'here we are together on your hi-fi, a little piece of plastic with a hole, and ending with 'fade me...fade me...' it is a superb track. On 'Hotel', Kevin Godley starts the singing off, then Graham Gouldman takes the main vocals. Nice acoustic guitar here, and a steel band effect in the chorus adds to the tropical feel. A good song. 'Old Wild Men' is sung by Eric Stewart and Kevin Godley. A slower, quieter track, with nice organ and subtle guitar, it is quite a poignant track. 'Clockwork Creep' brings back the fun and humour, with all four singing, though it is Lol Creme who really leads the song. Only this band could write a song about a bomb on a plane and make it enjoyable! Nice piano work here, it is not too distant from something their contemporaries Queen would do. Another great line here: 'oh, no you'll never get me up in one of these again, for what goes up must come - down, down, down, down down, etc. What was the start of the old side two begins with 'Silly Love' with more heavy guitars, and another set of brilliant lyrics, sung by Lol Creme. In the middle is another classic line by Eric Stewart: 'oh, you know the art of conversation must be dying, oh, when a romance depends on cliches and toupees and three pays.' Great stuff! 'Somewhere In Hollywood' is probably my favourite track on here. It is an epic! Lovely grand piano to start off with, superb singing from Kevin Godley with a short piece from Lol Creme in the middle. Another great line here as well: 'I've taken Lassie for walkies, when she was the pup that vaudeville threw up, destiny led her hand in paw to somewhere in Hollywood.' And the ending, with multi tracked vocals is very beautiful indeed. 'Baron Samedi' is an Eric Stewart song, and he excels on the old twanging guitar sound here. Again, in the middle, there are some superb harmonies. 'The Sacro-Iliac' is another Graham Gouldman led piece. Very clever, you can imagine him in an evening jacket singing this, pretty much like 'The Film Of My Love' on the following album, The Original Soundtrack. Again, very biting lyrics such as: 'and the lush on the floor isn't me anymore.' Finally, 'Oh Effendi' has great slide guitar from Eric Stewart and strong vocals from Kevin Godley. A song about Arabs, Sheiks and Americans, it is another satirical piece that ends the album wonderfully with the line: 'goodbye friends, there's no more goodies in the pipeline.' A strong reference to oil of course! The first bonus track, '24 Carat Man Of Means' is a solid rocker, with a nice chorus, but nothing spectacular, whilst the other track, 'Gizmo My Way' shows off the abilities of the musicians and the gizmo. A nice, laid back instrumental it is nice to see it added here. A wonderful album that I played to death in the mid seventies, the remaster has incredible sound. A must have for art rock fans and those who wish to avoid lovey dovey lyrics. Four stars, though I would push it to five somedays.