Just for fun, let’s start with a trivia question: What Barry Manilow-penned ditty did 10cc record? (answer at the end of the post)
I won’t be at…..Friday night when 10cc crank up the way-back machine for a return to mid-seventies pop nirvana. I’d love to see them; never have before, and if they were playing Nashville I’d be there with bells on. However, since listening to records is a form of time travel, I’ll be able to console myself by spinning through the band’s 1977 concert album “Live and let LIVE!” And, quite honestly, I’m pretty sure I’ll be enjoying the better show.
If my exclusive and highly knowledgeable source (Wikipedia) is correct, 10cc are now Graham Gouldman et al. Former co-founder, lead singer and co-songwriter Eric Stewart hasn’t been with the band for more than a decade; a profound loss. Is Graham really going to sing “I’m Not in Love”?
I’m sure we’ll find out in Iman’s review. In the meantime let’s go back to an English summer 35 years(!) ago. It’s 1977 and the band is on its “Deceptive Bends” tour. During the course of three June dates at the Odeon Theatre Hammersmith in London, and two nights at the Apollo Theatre in Manchester, we hear 10cc in top form. Kevin Godley and Lol Crème are long gone from the band but the Stewart/Gouldman reconstituted lineup includes Ric Fenn-bass; Tony O'Malley-keyboards; Stuart Tosh-drums and Paul Burgess-additional percussion.
I’ve always preferred, in live performances, that a band play songs closer to the studio versions, rather than get “creative” and render favorite tunes unrecognizable. No fear of that with this band. Good ol’ 10cc step through chestnuts like “The Second Sitting for the Last Supper”, “Waterfall” and “Art for Art’s Sake” with faithful proficiency and gratifying elan. The vocals are true and the playing flawless. A stomping, slide guitar wind up on “Ships Don’t Disappear in the Night, Do They?” nearly brings down the house. They do almost all of the songs from “Deceptive Bends” which, according to a noted music authority (ok, me) was one of the best pop albums of the decade. And of course, they do the signatures: “I’m Not in Love”, “Wall Street Shuffle”, “The Things We Do for Love” “I’m Mandy Fly Me” etc.
No, there’s no “Rubber Bullets” or “The Dean and I” or any Crème penned tunes, but that’s ok. Those songs would probably be better sung by Crème than Stewart anyway. And that brings me back to Graham Gouldman as 10cc. I have no doubt he can carry most of the band’s repertoire and I suspect he’ll have some of the long-time later cc’s with him to buttress the music. Ric Fenn and Stuart Tosh have a longer history with the band than Godley and Crème. Still, when a legacy band is down to its last original member, it’s one step above a tribute act. That doesn’t mean it’s necessarily bad, but it’s sure not 1977 either.
So what Barry Manilow song did 10cc cover? Ok, I fudged this a bit. Back in the late 70s they did a radio spot for Dr. Pepper, harmonizing, in the best 10cc style, the now iconic jingle: “I’m a Pepper, he’s a Pepper, she’s a Pepper, they’re a Pepper, wouldn’t you like to be a Pepper too?”
I think 10cc was the only pop band that could ask that question.