10CC

10cc set the stage with the opener "Une Nuit a Paris", an 8 minute multi-part track, sophisticated musically yet silly in it's ultimate delivery, taking inspiration from the cabaret/cafe sounds of it's title's city. And so it goes for aptly titled The Original Soundtrack, much of its contents on one hand riveting, on the other hand disposable, sort of the musical equivalent of a brilliantly filmed comedy. No doubt this is a release that will reveal more with each listen, 10cc showing themselves as intelligent musicians with a tongue in cheek agenda. Other highlights for me so far have to be the danceable "Blackmail", rockish "The Second Sitting for the Last Supper", and of course the hit soft-rock ballad "I'm Not In Love" - with it's synthesized vocals and disembodied middle section, a gloomy departure from the rest of the album.

3.78 rounded to 4 its iconic

A collection of eccentric pop rock tunes sandwiched between a mediocre yet seemingly popular opener and, to a lesser extent, closer. Every track from A2 to B4 is this odd Beach Boys/Frank Zappa crossover where you can't quite tell how seriously the band is taking it, but in that aspect it rivals Sparks (my favorite band) in its eclectic take on pop music, not to the levels of parody where 10cc feel like they're better than the music on the radio, but rather, are so appreciatory of the music that they were built upon, that the jabs feel more in good fun. Those Beach Boys harmonies and manic bridges are not laughing at, but with, the 60s, and I think that's not only intriguing, but 10cc does it very well here. Clockwork Creep keeps me moving, and Somewhere in Hollywood should be one of the great progressive pop songs. Alas, it is not, and that's a shame, because it and many other songs here are amazing. Sure, it is sort of the same shtick as The Mothers of Invention, but the 70s sensibilities add a lot to the sound, and give it that extra kick to be something grand. Add in a hint of glam, and you have something that really is a hit with me. I find that opening track too "hard rock" to get the feeling I desire, so it is a shame that's considered the hit here, and there are certainly some lyrics that haven't aged the best (Hotel, in particular, has some eyebrow raises in it) but it tends to be so fun I can't help but enjoy it all. Just a great record, I love their voices. Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme are all fantastic vocalists.

10cc's debut album is a much forgotten art pop gem from the early 70's, now considered faintly uncool a listen to this album is a timely reminder of the bands obvious genius with melody and witty wordplay, this LP is pop at it's best, up there with the very best, for critics who dubbed them too clever their debut is for the most part incredibly lean and focused and eschews the overtly artsy leanings of later efforts, "The Dean And I", Johnny Don't Do It", "Sand In My Face", "Donna" and of course "Rubber Bullets" are pop perfection whilst the band show a fine understanding of the rock/blues genre on both "Ships Don't Dissapear" and "Headline Hustler", the influences are for the main part American and in particular The Beach Boys yet it still sounds resolutely English (mostly thanks to the lyrics which owe more than a passing debt to the dry wit of Noel Coward amongst others), Recorded in 1972 this album sounds as fresh now as it did then, a joy from start to finish, all lovers of great pop music should check this little gem out, its an art rock classic.

3.99

Godley and Creme left 10cc at the beginning of the sessions and Eric Stewart, Greg Gouldman and Paul Burgess would give us Deceptive Bends. Obviously, they gave the world a great gift by doing so. I am quite sure that the annoying musical trickery that ruined Sheet Music (excluding "The Wall Street Shuffle") and most of The Original Soundtrack (definitely excluding "I'm Not in Love") was a Godley & Creme thing. Instead, Graham Gouldman and Eric Stewart were excellent songwriters who, at this point, needed to lose the shadow of the trickery to stick with the real thing. The result, Deceptive Bends, features the good sides and has lost the bad sides of the 'old' 10cc. This brings it closer to Supertramp, Wings, or ELO with a witty sense of humour.

The opening track "Good Morning Judge" is not very special, but the following three ? "The Things We Do for Love" (the wonderful hit single, a classic), "Marriage Bureau Rendezvous" and "People in Love" ? are all pure gold. "Modern Man Blues" is very different, more rocking, less harmonious, but its rhythmic changes stay within the limits of good taste. The lyrics of "Honeymoon With B Troop" turn annoying now and then but the music is very good. It is followed by a hilarious piece called "I Bought a Flat Guitar Tutor", a more ordinary (but still good) number titled "You've Got a Cold", and finally the magnum opus of the album, "Feel the Benefit" which sure is overlengthy, but sounds good enough to carry the listener through all the way.

Despite not having heard each of those so far, I am very sure that Deceptive Bends is one of he best 10cc albums in my opinion. The quality of the music on this album is very high. Recommended for everyone who likes Breakfast in America, A New World Record, or Band on the Run. It also helps if you like "I'm Not in Love." Stay away if you are looking for a '70s British Mothers of Invention album. At this point that band no longer existed. If you play this you will feel the benefits. 5.0

One of the coolest things about reviewing albums is listening to full length recordings of bands I knew about(when I was young) from the hits on the radio, but that's all I knew about them. 10CC might be the biggest surprise for me as far as not sounding anything like I thought they would based on what I had heard. Those vocal arrangements, vocal tones and expressions really brought ZAPPA and QUEEN to mind. And the humour, in the ZAPPA mode. Not my thing but it was hard not to be impressed with this band despite feeling that both "Sheet Music" and "The Original Soundtrack" were pretty hit and miss.

"How Dare You!" is next in line as I just have these three records from the band. I did not expect this to be a step up from those two but I feel it is. Look at the endless things each musician plays, and then hear the vocals and lyrics, well the songs really, which I feel are much more consistent than the previous two records were. Godley and Creme would both leave after this album to form, well, GODLEY & CREME. I don't know but I feel this is the one 10CC record where those two were just hitting their stride, most of what they were coming up with worked, even for the adventerous Prog fan like myself.

The entertainment value here is high and the lyrics remind me of what maybe Zappa , Fagen and Becker(STEELY DAN) would have come up with if they were in a band together. Hmmm... ZAPPA, STEELY DAN and 10CC on a triple bill back in the day? Get in line for that one. "Lazy Ways" seems like such a simple little pop tune but check out those lyrics which seem silly, but how is this so uplifting to me? Repetitive but it works. "I Wanna Rule The World" is hilarious and ZAPPA sounding with the vocals and arrangements. There's even a short disco section. Yikes! "I'm Mandy Fly With Me" actually brought Canterbury to mind simply for the whimsical vocals and easy sounding music. There's zither on this one.

"Iceberg" is catchy like most of the tracks are but with QUEEN-like vocals and harmonies. "Art For Arty Sake" is the one track that stands out for me. Fuzz bass too! But yes some aggressive instrumental work on this one but man how can you not like this one? That ZAPPA quota is high here. "Head Room" works for me with the beats and bass with vocals and guitar over top. So catchy. "Don't Hang Up" ends it and it's the longest at almost 6 1/2 minutes. Too funny at times, I'm laughing out loud. Nice bass and QUEEN comes to mind on the chorus.

A pleasant surprise and I'm happy to own this one. I want to say this ends my 10CC adventure, and it does, but I have one GODLEY & CREME record I've been spinning on and off for weeks to get to for me to close the book on these guys.

1. A night in Paris in triptych to open the ball, or how to start with a rock pop folk tune helping to drift through the streets and Parisian atmospheres... an omniscient piano which serves as an anchor for this peregrination in which I feel the sounds of SUPERTRAMP, the madness of QUEEN and the atmosphere of the Charisma rabbit; libertine bar atmosphere at one time for those who have already set foot there; a bit of madness from the soundtrack 'The phantom of the paradise' to explain the grandiloquent side of this extraordinary title, in short, a night in Paris is not trivial 2. I'm Not in Love and the progressive slap without knowing it; the sound, the choirs, the ethereal voices, the divine break with this 'big boys don't cry' which is whispered, in short it's romantic to the point of wanting to hug the first lady you meet, not easy nowadays; good 5* just for him 3. Blackmail arrives, funky tune of EW&F, nothing more to see, the magic is gone, perhaps the opportunity to accentuate the title from before and inscribe it on the rock music mountain... Good sound has aged, the guitar on a smoothy soft prog and the air never stops eyeing the ELO who have also done proggy without realizing it; reverberation a time before the guitar which squirts and gives spice, well because the Bee Gees are not too much for me 4. The Second Sitting for the Last Supper returns to an operetta soft rock air, de facto art-rock with a heavy slope and its electric solo which denotes pleasantly; the finale with the Jerry LEE-style piano is worth its weight in keys

5. Brand New Day piano arpeggio with a keyboard well held by Lol, yes it's not for fun here; the vocal provided by Kevin is worth its weight, bordering on an operetta, we're still on it; the break leans towards the MMEB for the keyboards, the voices are reminiscent of those of the QUEEN, we are in full musical art with some sound effects to make it look like 6. Flying Junk with the piano score and SUPERTRAMP again, ah the guitar which squirts yes a little of the BJH, ok the Barclay James Harvest with these acronyms we would get lost; the aerial guitar of the 60s as in the days of Anglican bandits on mopeds, a bygone era; the aerial finale, burst 7. Life Is a Minestrone follows, condensed from BEACH BOYS and BEATLES for a very 60s sound; yes 50 years of this album plus a decade, that's why, in short I wasn't born again; the ELOs come back to me on this piece, I also have the impression of hearing may day may day, it's the end of the beans 8. The Film of My Love and the Greek Wedding title? A musical cliché, a solo that flirts with 'Amically your' and you find yourself with a title still outside the system which in no way corresponds to the identity of said group 2 bonuses in 97 with the remaster version including a 'Good News' which immerses me again in the atmosphere of BJH, there it is no longer a coincidence.

This is a worthy followup to "Sheet Music" in fact it feels like they have become even more adventerous even though I still prefer "Sheet Music". "The Original Soundtrack" was released in 1975 and featured maybe my favourite ballad called "I'm Not In Love". This is a band who could write great lyrics and this song can certainly boast about that. The atmosphere, electric piano but those words. Nothing else the band did sounds like this and certainly not on this record.

Two of my biggest "take aways" in checking out 10CC's music was one, just how much humour there is in it. I mean I thought of Zappa a lot when I checked out "Sheet Music" but there's less of that Zappa sound here. The other thing that surprised me was how much the vocals and arrangements screamed QUEEN. Contemporaries all the way so it's interesting. That QUEEN flavour that was on "Sheet Music" is blown up here, it's all over "The Original Soundtrack". They are an interesting parallel QUEEN and 10CC with of course one being more Rock and the other more Pop, but I'm betting if you were a fan of one, you were a fan of the other.

"I'm Not In Love" is the outstanding track on here, I'm not huge on anything else including the opener that sounds so much like QUEEN and I've just never been the biggest QUEEN fan. The piano and harmonies bring them to mind and this does get theatrical including some silliness. Oh man disco came to mind with "Blackmail" no thanks, and while I like track four, the lyrics not so much. Sugary vocals on "Brand New Day" and QUEEN-like harmonies. "Life Is A Minestrone" is fun and the closer "The Film Of My Love" is all about the nostalgia. My parents might have liked this one.

I'm already looking forward to spending time with their next record to see how they developed or changed. Such a talented band.

All I knew about 10CC back in the 70's was the songs I heard by them on the radio. So it was very surprising to listen this one for the first time. The witty lyrics, the quirky sounds, the vocal arrangements all bringing to mind either Frank Zappa or QUEEN much of the time. There are some inappropriate lyrics for sure and silliness rules the day here.

I don't remember hearing any of these songs back in the 70's although apparently "The Wall Street Shuffle" and "Silly Love" were released as singles. Honestly I will repeat myself a lot if I describe each track. Lots of piano, plenty of guitar, both upped by the vocals and silliness. "The Worst Band In The World" is a sarcastic track with the focus on the vocals and Zappa came to mind.

My least favourite song is "Hotel" for the lyrics and silliness. "Old Wise Men" isn't much better. I thought of QUEEN on "Somewhere In Hollywood" the longest track at over 6 minutes. "Baron Samedi" is a nervous sounding piece, quite jittery. Rough vocals at times. Zappa came to mind in spades on "The Sacro-Lliac" with those vocal arrangements. The closer has a country vibe to it and is a catchy vocal driven tune.

Not my music at all but I enjoyed spending time with it, a talented band. They were Neil Sedaka's backing band? Lol.

Other reviewers say this is not prog. Well, it is not. In 1975 we returned to the US from vacation and they were playing "I'm Not In Love" nonstop. One of the greatest songs of all time. Maybe it was that, but *something* prompted me to buy this album almost 50 years later. Not only is it not prog, but it has only a handful of catchy pop songs mixed with talking and humor; maybe three or four good ones including "I Wanna Rule the World", "Dont Hang Up". As a true prog listener I tired even of those after about two days. No depth there. It remains a puzzle why some groups like this get a pass but others are subjected to a lengthy prog/not prog debate (Kansas comes to mind). I hesitate to give negative reviews, reserving two stars for things I really hate and three stars go to things that other people think are great but I do not. Giving it the benefit of the doubt I have a copy of Sheet Music on order. For the meantime this can has 2.5 stars rounding up to three. Definitely nonessential.

— First review of this album —

'Les Nouveaux Riches' is a mediocre song from the mediocre 10cc album titled 10 Out Of 10 (1981). The loss of misters Godley and Creme from the line-up was a major blow artistically. Eric Stewart, the remaining driving force of the group -- probably more dominating than Graham Gouldman as a singer and songwriter -- managed to continue writing hits such as 'Dreadlock Holiday' but that's another song I'd call mediocre and boring on the long run. And terribly overplayed, sad to say. The way also this French-titled but otherwise English-language song incorporates light reggae / calypso flavor really feels like a worn-out cliché. What's nice here are the vocal harmonies but this is not a song I'd care to listen repeatedly.

The B side song is in my opinion better. 'I Hate to Eat Alone', taken from the previous album Look Hear? (1980), is a relaxed and calm minor key song, perhaps a bit trivial but fairly enjoyable. If it was a non-album track I might round my 2½ stars upwards, but two stars will do.