10cc Album: “Very Best Of [Remaster]”

10cc was definitely pop, but a very rocking version of pop. Listen to "Art for Art's Sake" and you'll hear the very fine dividing line between pop and rock in the 1970s. As 10cc progressed, they moved away from that line, but for a while, oh so close.

"Donna" is probably the weakest song on this collection, and put me off the first time I heard it. I guess 1973, the year of the album "10cc" from which this song derives, still had some rather strange-sounding songs. "Rubber Bullets", a protest song, follows, along with "The Dean and I", also from "10cc". The last of these is the best of the three in my opinion, but far from their best.

"Sheet Music" contributed "Wall Street Shuffle" and "Silly Love". Both songs are pretty fast and maintain a fairly solid rock beat, but again 10cc had yet to hit their stride.

"The Original Soundtrack" contributes "Life is a Minestrone" and "I'm not in Love". The second is absolutely beautiful. A song about the denial of love when the singer is clearly deeply in love. This song is likely the most memorable of all 10cc's songs, and is still often played on classic rock stations.

"How Dare You" is my favorite 10cc album, and provided "Art for Art's Sake" and "I'm Mandy, Fly Me". This album is worth buying if you like the songs on this collection. I would rate it 5 stars as well.

From this point forward 10cc turned more toward pop. "People in Love" and "For You and I" are very mellow songs that benefit from the skill that 10cc had developed over the previous five years.

"Cry", credited to Lol Creme but in fact was recorded by Godley and Creme, was played on "Miami Vice". I believe the video to this song was also the first use of morphing on a music video. Interesting song, you can hear the 10cc sound. I believe this song was also the last song to chart well from any member of 10cc.

10cc created absolutely wonderfully orchestrated pop/rock. Sometimes a little too pop, but for a while their pop had a hard edge. All too quickly their dominance of the charts ended as the age of disco began, and was then supplanted by New Wave. But for a little while there was that wonderful music. I hope you find what I found in this classic rock.

How any real 10 CC fan could give this compilation less than five stars is beyond me. This has some of their best and brightest. No other group is even remotely close to being like 10 CC. They were so original. The CD is also interesting to listen to how they evolved from their earlier recordings (filled with wit and Beach Boys/60s music influence) to the beautiful and haunting "I'm Not In Love." (By the way, this CD has the complete, unedited version!) To me, most of the best album tracks (and hits) are included on this release. If you are a big fan of 10 CC however, I would also suggest purchasing The Original Soundtrack and Deceptive Bends. An extra added plus on this CD is the inclusion of Godley & Creme's "Cry." I listen to this CD constantly. It brings back so many great memories of the music and times of my high school days - times when groups tried to be unique, different and have a style of their own. 10 CC certainly had a style all of their own that nobody else has even come close to touching. This CD is a must! Haunting, clever, beautiful, witty, pop & rock with a lot of heart & soul! So what are you waiting for - buy it!

Purchase this terrific CD collection, place it in your stereo, put on a good set of headphones and enjoy! This is classic 70s popular music at it's finest; the digital remastering does great justice to the works of Stewart, Creme, Gouldman and Godley.

Included on this single-disc set are 15 of 10cc's best recordings. As a teen in the late 70s, I was familiar with their biggest radio hits: the haunting I'M NOT IN LOVE, the infectious THE THINGS WE DO FOR LOVE, and the philosophical FOR YOU AND I. Upon purchasing this collection, I was pleasingly introduced to a dozen other gems from this talented group, and I would recommend it to anyone.

10 cc, which disbanded in 1983 (been a while, huh?), is one of those groups that made a difference in the musical landscape of the seventies, not only in the U.K., but also in Europe (not that much in the U.S. I believe).

This collection is a must have and a piece of the puzzle for any serious music collector. Of course, who has never heard the mega hit "I'm not in love"? But there was much more, and a good part of that can be found here.

The collection starts off with a rather silly song that sounds like a fifties tune, reminding a little bit the beach boys. I had never heard this song and when I put the cd in the player I even pulled the cd out thinking I had made a mistake, that this was not 10cc. Well, I happen to know all the other tracks on this collection (except for "Rubber Bullets", another beach boyesque/beatlesque track), so I wasn't thrown off and I didn't have to check again, but this shows you how innovative, unconventional and creative 10cc was.

None of the remaining tracks are similar or alike. Each has different sequences, taking you on a musical rollercoaster, nothing mechanical and foreseeable here...

The lyrics are witty ("Life is a minestrone") and sometimes sarcastic enough("the Dean and I", "Good morning Judge") without being completely subversive ("Wall Street Shuffle", still very current if you listen closely). The lyrics on "Art for Art's sake" are a sharp criticism of materialistic and empty minded people. Very daring, especially considering the cut is from an album called "How dare you". You see, there again we go with the wit !

What I also find interesting about 10cc is that cross influence between Alan Parsons Project, ELO, Supertramp and Queen. At times, they are close to symphonic rock, then they can get really rocky with sharp guitars ("Silly love", "I'm Mandy..."), or even country like ("Good morning Judge"), making them a unique band with no real comparison, hence even more interesting. By the way, I remembered "I'm Mandy fly me" from a long time ago, and I've listened to it again with this cd. Can anybody try to clarify who Mandy could be ? Still searching... ;) If you like "I'm not in love", don't miss "People in love", a beautiful track that Paul Mc Cartney himself would have sold by millions if he had composed and sung it.

In short, a great band, a great collection of songs. Sad they couldn't continue any longer although we have WAX and GODLEY & CREME which are a continuation of 10cc after the split. Get it, have fun while listening to it, get in a British mood, and regret we don't have bands like this anymore today.

As pop tunesmiths, 10 CC were unbeatable in the 70s when they racked up a long consecutive string of hits, first in the UK and then in the US when they crossed over with their worldwide #1 smash, "I'm Not In Love", a song which incidentally is still cited by UK listeners today as one of their best loved radio hits of the pop music era. But before they became 10 CC, they scored as Hotlegs with "Neanderthal Man", a novelty number featuring a repetitive chant over a war dance beat. Then they became 10 CC and the rest (as they say) is history. Before the 70s decade came to an end, two of their key members left to form Godley and Creme, leaving the rest to carry on, albeit none too successfully. This "Very Best Of" compilation certainly lives up to its proclamation, collecting together all of 10 CC's UK & US chart successes during their golden era as well as those of their predecessor (Hotlegs) and successor (Godley & Creme) bands.

The collection starts off with "Donna" and "Rubber Bullet", their two earliest smashes but on looking back also their weakest musically. To my ears, these songs sound chintzy, dated and twee and are only too reminiscent of the worst of early 70s UK teenage pop. Remember Sweet, Bay City Rollers, Mud, Brotherhood of Man, etc ? Well, these are the horrors they recall. "The Dean & I", also from their debut album with the UK label, wasn't quite as bad but certainly not their best by a mile. The change of label (to Mercury) that immediately followed these early hits did 10 CC a world of good and this is evident from the vast improvement in the quality of writing and musicianship in the continuing long run of hits that ensued. "The Wall Street Shuffle" is possibly the best thing in this collection. It's got a great hook, clever lyrics and is still as catchy today as it was 30 years ago. It's also less calculated than "I'm Not In Love". The zany urgency of "Silly Love" recalls Sparks whilst "Life Is A Minestrone" is fun if nothing else. After that, 10 CC hit a purple patch with a much more sophisticated, layered and lusher sound starting with the impressive "I'm Not In Love", continuing through with the sharp and chisselled "Art for Art's Sake" and the Beatle-ish "I'm Mandy Fly Me" before hitting upon an excellent reggae inflected piece of fluff called "Dreadlock Holiday" which still sounds great today. "The Things We Do For Love" is more mundane pop but 10 CC managed to stave off the slide in quality that most acts experience after hitting their peak. Even the three Godley & Creme synth-pop numbers sound pretty decent. I thought I was hearing Soft Cell on "Under Your Thumb" but that's not surprising considering how eclectic 10 CC were musically. "The Very Best Of 10CC" is a fabulous piece of 70s pop history that's definitely worth revisiting.