10cc
Bloody Tourists

THE REVIEW

Dear De-FankazzPostFrikkettDeBaseriani,

I don't know if you've ever experienced a period in your life where you changed your lifestyle, almost naturally, without even thinking about it too much, realizing that the only way to live and react to events that carved deep cuts in your soul was to fool around madly and relentlessly. Thus, forgetting all your strength except to engage in long, impossible walks, initially smoking bitterly and then convincingly a joint or two, messing around with the girls and things like that.

I know, you probably don’t care much, but in that year and a half of disorientation, searching for myself and why my existence wasn't exactly serene, I would wake up every morning or almost, bearded slacker and in the prime of my slacker artistry, to the notes of "Dreadlock Holiday."

Until then, I didn’t even know who 10CC were – original and cheeky in their name (10cc is the average quantity of an ejaculation) – but the festive and carefree reggae of this hit literally captivated me. I dreamed of traveling with them, far away, as defiant as their music: a fine blend of highly enjoyable and elegant pop-rock with influences lightly ranging from blues to funky to reggae to jazz.

Ideally, 'Bloody Tourists' is indeed a sweet journey developed at the compositional and lyrical level on two planes: one purely physical, aimed at describing the colors, sounds, and grooves of exotic and non-exotic destinations; a second much more intimate, almost whispering so as not to disturb, to tell us about the various aspects that humans savor, just like an unprepared and quirky tourist, in their personal journey within the universe that makes one bleed the most: that of love. Both dimensions find their proper and calibrated musical definition, always measured and perfectly fitting with the developed lyrical context.

And then off we go! Let's depart for Jamaica on the wings of that solar reggae-pop hymn that is "Dreadlock Holiday," and soon be delighted by the tear-jerking ballad "For You and I," which melancholically projects us, sadly, into the pitfalls and problems of an emotional involvement (On a one way street/ We can’t control our feet/ We’re on the road to ruin/ Don’t know what we’re doin’), whilst the subsequent vibrant "Take These Chains" immediately cheers us up, showing us the positive side of love, the one for which you exclaim, miraculously wrapped in honey "Paradise with you is twice as nice." "Shock on the Tube (Don't Want Love)," a direct and impactful rock steady, catapults us forcefully into the subway where certain things never happen. And that's a shame! (The carriage was spinning/ We were up on the floor/ She was whirling like a dervish/ I was whirling like a fool). The next "Last Night," airy and sly boogie-rock in its melody that winks sinuously and roguishly, reinforces the concept by insisting on the beauty of a pleasant sexual relationship (with the girl of the moment? Hence a one-night-stand).

And we gently slip into the funky, pompous, and at times shamelessly disco "Anonymous Alcoholic," which describes the disappointment of a heartache comforted by a nice binge with a tragicomic ending, while the romance and sadness of "Reds in My Bed" stun with the simplicity of its lyrical and melodic beauty (We could meet at the zoo where the tiger roams/ In a prison of steel/ He reminds me so much of the way I feel). And the journey continues pleasantly, exciting each time like the first time: and it reminds us of the importance of feeling even if only by phone, venting, telling and, why not, recounting (in "Life Line" where emblematic is the line "Telephone line's a life line"), pushing as far as the hyper-technological, flashy, disorienting Tokyo (the ethereal "Tokio") and down, down to the chaos of the sparkling pop nursery rhyme "From Rochdale to Ocho Rios," where you might easily encounter some vagabond ("Old Mister Time," surely the most evocative, most imaginative track), passing through yet another brilliant, lusty outburst of pop-rock sex in "Everything You Wanted To Know About!!!").

I know, perhaps once again I've exaggerated, and that's why I leave it to you to comment on this proposal, hoping that whenever you feel like it, you too can take refuge in these lines, in the refined music of this 10CC LP: whenever you feel a little down, are in search of sweetness, something that can give you sincere emotions or even simply feel the need for carefreeness.

Sincerely nostalgic, yours Fenni.

See Ya!