When Kevin Godley and Lol Creme left 10cc in 1976 to pursue a solo career, many thought it was the death knell for the group. However, Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman kept the group alive as a duo (with the assistance of percussionist Paul Burgess) and turned in a surprisingly solid album with 1977's Deceptive Bends. It may lack the devil-may-care wackiness that popped up on previous 10cc albums, but it makes up for it by crafting a series of lush, catchy pop songs that are witty in their own right. Deceptive Bends also produced a pair of notable hits for the group: "Good Morning Judge" told the comical tale of a career criminal over a hook-laden, surprisingly funky pop backing while "The Things We Do for Love" was an irresistible Beatles pastiche that showcased 10cc's mastery of pop vocal harmonies.
In the fall of 1991, it was announced that 10cc's original quartet of members had reconvened in Woodstock, to begin work on their first album together in 16 years…
10cc's second album was the next phase in what guitarist Eric Stewart called the band's "masterplan to control the universe. The Sweet, Slade, and Gary Glitter are all very valuable pop," he proclaimed, "but it's fragile because it's so dependent on a vogue. We don't try to appeal to one audience, or aspire to instant stardom, we're satisfied to move ahead a little at a time as long as we're always moving forward." Sheet Music, perhaps the most widely adventurous album of what would become a wildly adventurous year, would more than justify that claim.
Mirror Mirror sets the tone from track one with a supposedly reworked version of previous hit "I'm Not in Love" that cannot be distinguished from the original. While new tracks peal off some pleasant moments, songs flashing the group's trademark lyrical wit generally tend toward musical vaporware, while those revealing an occasional glimmer of instrumental creativity go nowhere fast on the songwriting.
10cc's second album was the next phase in what guitarist Eric Stewart called the band's "masterplan to control the universe. The Sweet, Slade, and Gary Glitter are all very valuable pop," he proclaimed, "but it's fragile because it's so dependent on a vogue. We don't try to appeal to one audience, or aspire to instant stardom, we're satisfied to move ahead a little at a time as long as we're always moving forward." Sheet Music, perhaps the most widely adventurous album of what would become a wildly adventurous year, would more than justify that claim.
10cc's third album, The Original Soundtrack, finally scored them a major hit in the United States, and rightly so; "I'm Not in Love" walked a fine line between self-pity and self-parody with its weepy tale of a boy who isn't in love (really!), and the marvelously lush production and breathy vocals allowed the tune to work beautifully either as a sly joke or at face value…
Deriving their name from the metric total of semen ejaculated by the average male, the tongue-in-cheek British art pop band 10cc comprised an all-star roster of Manchester-based musicians: vocalist/guitarist Graham Gouldman was a former member of the Mockingbirds and the author of hits for the Yardbirds, the Hollies, Herman's Hermits and Jeff Beck; singer/guitarist Eric Stewart was an alum of Wayne Fontana & the Mindbenders; and vocalists/multi-instrumentalists Kevin Godley and Lol Creme were both highly regarded studio players…
"The Things We Do For Love" is an compilation album by the English rock band 10cc. 10cc are an English rock band founded in Stockport, England, who achieved their greatest commercial success in the 1970s. The band initially consisted of four musicians – Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley, and Lol Creme – who had written and recorded together for some three years, before assuming the name "10cc" in 1972. 10cc featured two songwriting teams, one "commercial" and one "artistic". Stewart and Gouldman were predominantly pop songwriters, who created most of the band's accessible songs. By way of contrast, Godley and Creme were the predominantly experimental half of 10cc, featuring an "art school" sensibility and cinematically-inspired writing.