Disco de 10cc: “10cc [Germany Bonus Tracks]”

The first album from these witty power popsters has traces of the Beatles, Beach Boys and Frank Zappa floating around in it. And that's in the first song. This great reissue has marvelous sound and five bonus tracks (4 b sides and an A side single version of Rubber Bullets).

The sound quality is outstanding although the booklet notes leave something to be desired. They provide a sketchy overview of the band but no insight (unlike the Mercury reissues of The Original Soundtrack and How Dare You!) into how the band worked as a unit to produce such marvelous, quirky albums. There are also a couple of mistakes in the booklet (and one glaring error in the songwriting credits).

The 50's song parodies (like Donna) haven't aged as well or as gracefully as the much more imaginative songs on the album. Overall 10cc remains remarkably fresh 28 years later. It's a pity that Godley & Creme packed up their bags and moved out of the house after only 4 albums. The dynamic that made the band so special was the interaction of Stewart, Gouldman, Godley & Creme. The duo (along with newer members Rick Fenn & Stuart Tosh) of Stewart & Gouldman produced at least two exceptional albums after the duo left, but none that had the impact of these first four recordings.

I cannot remember the creation of 10cc in 1972, but I do recall

the names:- Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Lol Creme and Kevin

Godley. All from the Manchester area of England. As musicians they

turned out to be progressive,intellectual and witty. Not half bad

for a pop band.

They were also very complex and "art school" with it. [Unlike the

Rolling Stones who were art school and ripped off American blues music].

Key changes and tempo 'swings', riffs and clever studio production were

all trademarks of 10cc. However, accusations still abound that their

albums were made stickly for the American market. This may be true if

you listen to "Donna", but that is just one example: It may not be cool

to accuse them of "robbery".

I own "Deceptive Bends," "How Dare You," and "The Original Soundtrack'

all on vinyl and "Sheet Music" on CD. The latter is their best album by

far. By a quirky art school type of reminiscence they are all still

available via Amazon. But maybe not on vinyl.

10cc the self named CD. under review here, remastered and so forth, is

a wild work that chops and changes. Not always to the advantage of the

listener. "Sand in my Face", has sardonic lyrics and should result in

a laugh or two. "Donna" was a chart topping No.1 in England for eternity.

"Rubber Bullets" appears twice. [Single and LP version]and rants on about

a prison riot over dancing in the county jail. But it fails to make any

reference to the use of rubber bullets in Northern Ireland. "Waterfall"

is a calm soothing acoustic number and finally the extra track called

"Bee in my Bonnet" is a sting in the behind, and would find a good home

in the trash can.

10cc emerged from a group of sessions musicians,who became The Mindbenders.

Eric Stewart played guitar, and Graham Gouldman on bass. The other key

members were Lol Creme, on guitar and keyboards plus vocals, and Kevin

Godley on drums. Hence 10cc was born. They launched their recording career

with Jonathan King's independent record label. However, by 1976 this kind

of line up had ceased to exist, and Godley & Creme went forward with pop videos.

Their albums terminated in 1980 with[Look Hear!] Eric Stewart went on to become

a record producer. Although they re-formed in 1992, nothing could replace the

original heights of their creativity, and this eponymously titled album stands

the test of time. Why it's release was 37 years ago!! and listeners might also

enjoy Frank Sinatra, Paul McCartney and Billy Joel.

10cc. were the darlings of the Trans-Atlantic Concorde age. They flew to America

to receive Grammy's, and then went home to record in Strawberry studios.

It was a topsy turvy world; and they paid the price of fame. The depressive

70's were left abandoned, and the pop world moved forward to the exciting 80's.

Cubic centiliters retained their value as a unit of liquid measurement:and the

world was getting ready for The Smiths. [Also from Manchester].The cyclical

nature of pop music continues.Check out other 10cc albums, because back in

the day they were quite unique.How Dare You!!

This first album, wh I bought b/c of "Rubber Bullets" and a prescient Rolling Stone review, never disappointed. At the time, the parodic "Johnny Don't Do It", "Fresh Air etc.", "Dean and I", all sounded great, and still do, but we all have simply forgotten how annoying it could be for those of us later baby boomers who were still infants when the doo-wop thing was going. So if you were like me stuff like Flash Cadillac and the Grease band and Shananas was really rather irritating. Why go back to Brylcreem when we had all these cool frizzies and afros now? Got lard? Turned out 10cc also did good Beatles and Beach Boys takeoffs as well, ("Rubber Bullets", "Headline Hustler") and, even though these bands were somewhat defunct and at the last had become parodies of themselves, whether intentionally or not, it was fresh funny stuff to listen to if you like intellipop. Then when they cut loose on things like "Speed Kills" or "Ships Don't Disappear in the Night, Do They?" you can see where they are headed. One thing about "Speed Kills", it is the most evocative song about the absolute inanity of days-long hyperstimulation and the inability to focus that comes with it I have ever heard. A little like "White Lightning", but more piercing in a way. Have fun with this, and think of all the pretense and pseudo-heaviness they were trying to blow up right at the time. Very good band, and bright minds on their way up. I find the addition of the singles, wh I had not heard before, a real plus. "Waterfall" is Beautiful, and "4% of..." is incisive and angry, like all really good satire. I hate to intrude with anachronistic revisionism, but this was really a specimen of its time that stands outside it, since it has this reflexive nature of being a commentary on that time and a really sick retro movement already going on, back into the 50's. These guys were progressive in every way, including rather advanced theoretical values, and I think they simply had to lash the Pharisees a bit before they got into their main text. "Hospital Song" is a venture into a gay kind of scatological humor and frankness about illness and bodily functions you don't find very far outside "The Boys In The Hall" and Monty Python. If some people are troubled by it, just remember, as Yanks, we live in a country without bidets in our necessary room, and bits of toilet paper kinked up in our posteriors. Filthy business we don't mention, like Iraq and the preponderance of pedophilia. Well, these guys are LOOSE of all that. Dig it.