Search - 10cc :: 10cc

Terrific under rated first album

Tammi | 08/29/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Just a note--you may notice this review is the same for the domestic version. Amazon mistakenly put this version (for the import) with that release. There are no bonus tracks here folks. Now to our regularly scheduled program.These four wiseguys (not in the Sopranos sense)from the Uk had been bopping around in the music biz for sometime. They all knew one another and decided they were clever enough to be a band. They were way too clever for the US at first and pandering didn't become them. So, they made some hits in the UK signed with a major in the US (Mercury at the time) and struck gold with I'm Not In Love, I'm Mandy Fly Me, The Things We Do For Love, Good Morning Judge, Dreadlock Holiday.In the meantime, we mortals had to settle for finding their two previous albums. They eventually did come to US shores and we've been grateful ever since. Well, mostly grateful after all the UK also gave us the Spice Girls.Anyhow, Donna, the first song to hit it big in the UK would never have flown in the US. It just didn't have the...velocity. It needed to be less 50's patische and more guitar rock God sarcastic.Or they needed big hair and silver platform boots. You decide.Anyhow, 10cc, their first "offical" album (they recorded one as Hotlegs before this one)is stocked with riffs, witty tunes (like Ships Don't Disappear in the Night, Rubber Bullets, etc.) The advantage of the CD age is that you can skip some of the weaker tracks. The other advantage is the great bonus tracks. 4% of Something and Waterfall (sounds like a parody of Hippiedom). I'd highly recommend this album if only for its sense of humor. Eric Idle and Monty Python would have been proud. So would the Beatles."

10CC having fun

ziyk@hotmail.com | London | 08/11/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"10CC were a group of four (and then two - see below) very talented musicians / singers / songwriters who came together in the early 70s to create distinctive, original music such as the classic single , "I'm Not In Love" and the epic musical-on-acid number, "Une Nuit A Paris". They excelled in collaboratively writing clever, witty pop songs, ultra-clean, inventive production and superb vocals.This is 10CC's first album and is a relatively simple (for 10CC), upbeat pop album. "Rubber Bullets" craftily sets insightful, cutting lyrics (it was even banned at one point) to a bouncy sing-a-long tune; "The Dean and I" was an equally good follow-up. Tongue-in-cheek 50s pastiche style tracks include "Johnny Don't Do It" and the almost-deliberately irritating first single "Donna" ("...is that the telephone, dear?"!) whilst "Sand In My Face" is great fun. "Speed Kills" is an instrumental with a title for a message; "Headline Hustler" and "Ships Don't Disappear (Do They)" are vintage pop-rock from Stewart/Goldman while "The Hospital Song" starts to suggest at Godley/Creme's wonderful quirkiness. It is the beautifully poignant "Fresh Air For My Mama", though, which I think points to 10CC's true greatness which shone through on the following three sophisticated, smoothly-produced, well-crafted albums - Sheet Music, The Original Soundtrack and How Dare You - before Godley and Creme left to produce extraordinary progressive art-music (for want of a better name) - in particular, "L", "Freeze Frame", and their highly underrated masterpiece, "Consequences", - leaving a more commercial but less interesting Stewart and Gouldman to continue on with the 10CC name. This album is good-fun-with-a-10CC-twist with lots of sing-a-long value, but not in the same league as their best."

What about speed kills?

T. Parker | Cheltenham | 02/12/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"i can't believe not much mention has been made of 'speed kills' in the other reviews. sure, tracks like 'rubber bullets' and 'fresh air for my mama' are excellent, but 'speed kills' has to be one of the greatest rock songs ever - fantastic riff, and a truly awesome solo from eric stewart. apart from the other songs, the album is worth it just for that"