Search - 10cc :: Windows in the Jungle

Tip your hat to Mercury Records for this beyond-superb CD re

Dave | United States | 07/07/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"You've got to take your hats off to Mercury Records for this jaw-droppingly great CD reissue.



But to start, let me discuss the 8 tracks the original LP consisted of...



"Windows In The Jungle" originally came out in October of 1983, their last album before their initial disbandment, and geez, they sure did go out on an artistic high note.



Eric Stewart's "Frooty Rooties" solo album came out in 1982, & it showed him downplaying the humor element of 10cc, and instead, delving deeper into the hauntingly serious (with a capital 'S') vibe which he'd begun to pursue more heavily on certain tracks on the previous couple 10cc albums--Stewart's lyrical preoccupation with lovelessness/ sex-without-love came roaring to the forefront, while his characteristic humor/ tongue-in-cheekness largely fell by the wayside. That vibe is very much carried over on "Windows...", making this feel more like a Stewart solo album opposed to a proper 10cc release--although songwriting on every track here is credited to Eric Stewart/ Graham Gouldman, the record seems to be mostly Stewart's baby. Graham Gouldman's clearly audible on background vocals throughout, plus samples of his "Kit Mambo" track (from his 1980 "Animalympics" soundtrack) bookend the album, but overall his influence, though detectable, is not felt all that strongly--his contributions become even more suspect when considering that a track called "She Gives Me Pain", the b-side to the "Feel The Love" single, was credited to Stewart/ Gouldman even though it's just an ever-so-slighty remixed version of "Disco Bumpin'" that was on Eric's 1980 "Girls" soundtrack & had there been credited to Stewart/ [Duncan] Mackay (!). Additionally, nearly all the lead vocals on "Windows..." are from Eric, not a bad thing considering he's one of the finest vocalists in history and the fact that the material suits him perfectly. Speaking of vocals, there's a load of those densely textured '10cc style' harmony vocals on "Windows...", and they're simply amazing. Another change with this album is that drummer Paul Burgess who had played with 10cc since 1977's 'Deceptive Bends' was gone--through working with Paul McCartney, Stewart had met legendary session drummer Steve Gadd who subsequently was brought in to play on "Windows..." Simon Phillips, another session legend who had previously worked with Eric & 10cc, also drums on here, as does Stuart Tosh on "Food For Thought".



The resulting album finds Stewart realizing his serious ambitions in spellbinding fashion. The compelling 8-minute album opener "24 Hours" is an evocative, dreamy, 'day in the life'-type song with Eric Stewart in peak form vocally, which is saying a lot, and it's wonderfully melodic, moves seamlessly from section to section, and conveys a variety of emotions--it's simply masterful and absolutely exquisite. "Feel The Love" is an infectious, reggae-flavored pop tune with a soaring chorus, terrific background vocals, and an uncanny drum performance from Steve Gadd. "Yes I Am!" is an atmospheric, emotional romantic ballad which segues into the moody "Americana Panorama" which has great wordplay. The upbeat "City Lights" is a fun uptempo pop-rocker, and it's got cool funky bridge sections that have Gouldman on lead vocals. "Food For Thought" is also reggae-flavored and super catchy, and has humourous lyrics relating physical attraction to food terminology. "Working Girls" is a biting examination of what people will resort to in order to 'get ahead' in the world. The album closing epic "Taxi! Taxi!" is in quite a similar vein to Eric's "The Ritual" (from "Frooty Rooties")--it's a song about finding escape from the 'rat race' and falling in love--and it's dreamy, wonderfully melodic, arrestingly dramatic, and has a wonderful tenderness to it; it masterfully brings closure to the album.



Over a year ago, in my previous review for "Windows In The Jungle", I stated that it would be great to see "Windows In The Jungle" made readily available on CD with the terrific non-LP track "The Secret Life Of Henry" added as a bonus track. With this reissue, Mercury has heeded the call.



However, not to be outdone, they have added even more. They've included the live versions of "Dreadlock Holiday" and "I'm Not In Love" that previously came out on the b-side of a 10 inch vinyl single for "24 Hours"--these live takes were recorded at the Wembley Conference Centre in March of 1982. They've also included the aforementioned "She Gives Me Pain", plus radio edits for the three songs that were released as A-sides from the album, those being "24 Hours", "Feel The Love", and "Food For Thought". These live versions and radio edits aren't exactly crucial, but for collectors, their inclusion is a blessing.



Smartly, Mercury saved the aforementioned "The Secret Life Of Henry" for the end--it makes for an absolutely ideal album-closer. It's an epic song about wanting to break out of the cobwebs of everyday life with a propulsive, high-flying main song portion. Thematically, it fits in perfectly with "Windows"' main album portion.



Overall, "Windows..." is so criminally underrated, it's beyond all belief--this is seriously one of THE best albums ever made. Sure, it's got a considerably different overall vibe than their other albums, but it's great in its own right (way better than the overrated "Deceptive Bends"). "Windows In The Jungle" is definitely a must-have for any serious listener--I can't see how any true 10cc fan will go wrong with it, and the fact that Mercury has taken it a couple more miles with this reissue is all the more wonderful.

"

An evocative masterpiece; amply displays the genius of Eric

Dave | United States | 03/16/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Although they would eventually return in the early '90s, 10cc disbanded after the "Windows In The Jungle" album from October of 1983, but geez, they sure did go out on an artistic high note.



Eric Stewart's "Frooty Rooties" solo album came out in 1982, & it showed him downplaying the humor element of 10cc, and instead, delving deeper into the hauntingly serious (with a capital 'S') vibe which he'd begun to pursue more heavily on certain tracks on the previous couple 10cc albums--Stewart's lyrical preoccupation with lovelessness/ sex-without-love came roaring to the forefront, while his characteristic humor/ tongue-in-cheekness largely fell by the wayside. That vibe is very much carried over on "Windows...", making this feel more like a Stewart solo album opposed to a proper 10cc release--although songwriting on every track here is credited to Eric Stewart/ Graham Gouldman, the record seems to be mostly Stewart's baby. Graham Gouldman's clearly audible on background vocals throughout, plus samples of his "Kit Mambo" track (from his 1980 "Animalympics" soundtrack) bookend the album, but overall his influence, though detectable, is not felt all that strongly--his contributions become even more suspect when considering that a track called "She Gives Me Pain", the b-side to the "Feel The Love" single, was credited to Stewart/ Gouldman even though it's just an ever-so-slighty remixed version of "Disco Bumpin'" that was on Eric's 1980 "Girls" soundtrack & had there been credited to Stewart/ [Duncan] Mackay (!). Additionally, nearly all the lead vocals on "Windows..." are from Eric, not a bad thing considering he's one of the finest vocalists in history and the fact that the material suits him perfectly. Speaking of vocals, there's a load of those densely textured '10cc style' harmony vocals on "Windows...", and they're simply amazing. Another change with this album is that drummer Paul Burgess who had played with 10cc since 1977's 'Deceptive Bends' was gone--through working with Paul McCartney, Stewart had met legendary session drummer Steve Gadd who subsequently was brought in to play on "Windows..." Simon Phillips, another session legend who had previously worked with Eric & 10cc, also drums on here, as does Stuart Tosh on "Food For Thought".



The resulting album finds Stewart realizing his serious ambitions in spellbinding fashion. The compelling 8-minute album opener "24 Hours" is an evocative, dreamy, 'day in the life'-type song with Eric Stewart in peak form vocally, which is saying a lot, and it's wonderfully melodic, moves seamlessly from section to section, and conveys a variety of emotions--it's simply masterful and absolutely exquisite. "Feel The Love" is an infectious, reggae-flavored pop tune with a soaring chorus, terrific background vocals, and an uncanny drum performance from Steve Gadd. "Yes I Am!" is an atmospheric, emotional romantic ballad which segues into the moody "Americana Panorama" which has great wordplay. The upbeat "City Lights" is a fun uptempo pop-rocker, and it's got cool funky bridge sections that have Gouldman on lead vocals. "Food For Thought" is also reggae-flavored and super catchy, and has humourous lyrics relating physical attraction to food terminology. "Working Girls" is a biting examination of what people will resort to in order to 'get ahead' in the world. The album closing epic "Taxi! Taxi!" is in quite a similar vein to Eric's "The Ritual" (from "Frooty Rooties")--it's a song about finding escape from the 'rat race' and falling in love--and it's dreamy, wonderfully melodic, arrestingly dramatic, and has a wonderful tenderness to it; it masterfully brings closure to the album.



It would be great to see "Windows In The Jungle" made readily available on CD with the terrific non-LP track "The Secret Life Of Henry" added as a bonus track; it's an epic song about wanting to break out of the cobwebs of everyday life with a propulsive, high-flying main song portion--thematically it would have fit in perfectly on "Windows..." and it was released as the b-side of the "Food For Thought" single.



Overall, "Windows..." is so criminally underrated, it's beyond all belief--this is seriously one of THE best albums ever made. Sure, it's got a considerably different overall vibe than their other albums, but it's great in its own right (way better than the overrated "Deceptive Bends"). "Windows In The Jungle" is definitely a must-have for any serious listener--I can't see how any true 10cc fan will go wrong with it.



(P.S. I have recently seen a CD version of "Windows In The Jungle" being sold that does indeed have "The Secret Life Of Henry" added, but it clearly appears to be a bootleg from Russia (that's where it was being sold), and I know from experience that Russian reissues will sometimes shave off portions of tracks and so forth, so I'd proceed with great caution.)"

Exceptional reissue of 10cc classic album

Wayne Klein | My Little Blue Window, USA | 05/04/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"After the disasterously received "Look Hear!", Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman delivered the goods with a pair of terrific album(before the reformation of the band and the release of "Meanwhile..." and "Mirror Mirror" in the 90's)--"Windows in the Jungle" (the other is its precedessor "Ten Out of 10") is a concept album about America, the urban jungle that we live in and how America has turned the world into an extension of itself. It's a pretty bold album with typically imaginative melodies, musical arrangements and thoughtful lyrics. The broader 10cc humor that marked earlier albums is replaced here with sarcastic and thoughtful lyrics. Although many fans cite "Ten Out of 10" as the band's last cohesive effort, "Windows in the Jungle" is more consistent.



This ultimate edition of "Windows in the Jungle" comes in a replica of the original LP sleeve miniaturized for the CD. It includes the original photo collage insert as well as a fold out one sheet with lyrics in Japanese and English. The album also comes with all the single versions and b-sides released. "She Gives Me Pain" which is credited to Stewart & Gouldman was actually written by Stewart and former 10cc keyboardist Duncan MacKay for one of Eric Stewart's instrumental solo albums but is incorrectly credited to Stewart & Gouldman here as it was on the b-side of the single. We also get the terrific b-side "The Secret Life of Henry" which would have been a good album track for this recording. Written by Stewart and Gouldman, the production touches (as those for "She Gives Me Pain")are a bit dated sounding at times but the song itself is terrific.

We also get the two live tracks that showed up as b-sides "Dreadlock Holiday" and "I'm Not In Love" both of which were recorded in 1982 for the tour to support this album. While not essential, they are nice extra tracks to have. Additionally, we get the single edits for "24 Hours" and "Food For Thought" included as well which is, to the best of my knowledge, their first appearence on CD (unless they appeared on one of the multiple "Best of" anthologies that cropped up after the band's demise.



Eric Stewart takes all the lead vocals here which does, indeed, make this sound like more of a solo album than a 10cc album. 10cc members Rick Fenn and Stuart Tosh appear (with the latter on only one track). Vic Emerson takes over keyboard duties along with Mike Timoney and Mel Collins guests on saxes. Session drummer Steve Gadd ("Aja")does most of the percussion honors on the album.



This reissue is terrific and comprehensive except for one area--it would have been nice to have the liner notes in English for those purchasing this Japanese edition. This is a pet peeve of mine but I prefer a booklet to the one sheets with the lyrics as they stand up to wear and tear better and offer the opportunity for photos in addition to the album notes. Otherwise, this is about as perfect a remaster as we're likely to get. The remastering isn't too loud and has good dynamic range that stays fairly true to Tony Cousins original LP mastering.



"