Ok so this oddity of an historical musical act in the 70s rock arena has been a bit of an obsession of mine lately. A couple of Manchester lads with a smashing studio set-up in Stockport who anonymously worked their way up the charts under various band names until finally landing a #2 with the questionable hit "Neanderthal Man" under the Hotlegs moniker in 1970. It was as 10cc that the team of Creme, Godley, Gouldman and Stewart redefined themselves as hopelessly Zappa-obsessed album rockers with plenty of music industry cynicism and studio experimentation to fill at least two volumes with material strange and fascinating enough to catch the ear of one J-Dilla. Oh and hooks, they had lots of those.
The band's s/t debut traverses the rich lyrical ladscapes and sonically iconic soundscapes of 50s & early 60s rock cliche, all the while with tongue protrudently in cheek. Opening with the memorable martydom of Johnny Kowalski ("aka Johnny Angel"), and effectively that of the motor-accident subgenre which created him, 10cc begin their extensive project to lampoon each of the rock's idiomatic inventions and their inherent cultural givens. The project continues with the portrait of the classic idle femme in "Donna" (which shamelessly borrows from "Oh! Darling") and the application of real life law enforcement temperaments to the "Jailhouse Rock" tradition in "Rubber Bullets". On all accounts, these bubblegum homages raise questions of identity within the framework of rock 'n' roll subject matter. Interestingly, in looking back to this earlier framework - as many of their glam and proto-punk contemporaries were - 10cc would seem to find and get at these issues more directly rather than simply emulate a retro aesthetic, while writing fun and catchy ditties that stick in your head for days. Perhaps my favourite cut from this disc, "The Dean and I", exemplifies this: an epic journey from adolescent innocence and its corresponding popular contexts and sentiments through sexual maturity and nuclear familial fulfillment and into the oblivion of moral responsibility: capitalism!
Very easily the band's opus, Sheet Music is an intricately crafted journey through the ins and outs of success in the rock world of the 70s, with a handful of ingenius melodies and recording techniques to boot. Opening with the Neil Young meets Spoon infectiousness of "The Wall Street Shuffle", 10cc turn their scathing critical eye upon NY's financial gravy train, recently the site of some kind of pinko occupation or other. Having set the tone for an economic commentary that will run throughout the album, the band turns that same fiery beam of cynicism upon themselves in the now highly coveted (RIP Dilla) "The Worst Band In The World", a track that really shows their mad scientist sound engineer side. It seems to me what Dilla did with the aforementioned track (retitled "Workinonit" on his Donuts) is exactly what pop music used to do: reappropriate something timelessly appreciated by all and update it. This is, of course, exactly what 10cc were doing themselves on their debut. It's Dilla's adaptation of their song that highlights exactly how ahead of their time they were in certain regards. "Old Wild Men" is a simply beautiful tribute to their rock forefathers while "Silly Love" showcases again the band's chameleon quality, with it's Marc Bolan-esque fuzz leads and ADT-ed barked shouts. "Somewhere In Hollywood" is a majestically beautiful odyssey through yet another commercial American cityscape and features a totally unecessary "The Long and Winding Road" melodic quote. "The Sacro-iliac" is an appropriately relaxed look into the future of the cushily retired rock musician, giving us a sense of where 10cc saw themselves in a decade and not a bad guess at that!
The whole affair brags lush textures, untouchable 70s drum sounds and a treasure of oddball samples for the hungry digger. DIG!
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