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Rating: In the cauldron of 1970s English rock, 10cc deserves a special place as champions of easy listening music that re-evaluates the song form and often uses irony and eclecticism as their delightfully winning weapons. Of course, they cannot be strictly classified as progressive rock, missing many of the characteristic elements of that type of music, but a band blossoming in the 70s couldn't ignore the era's happenings.
10cc is a band with a long history behind it. The first hit by Graham Gouldman (one of the four founding members of the group) is For your love, brought to success by the Yardbirds. Then, under the name Hotlegs, the group achieved unexpected and worldwide success with Neanderthal man, which contained, in its essence, some characteristics of 10cc's distinctive style. The albums we are dealing with (The original soundtrack from 1975 and How dare you from 1977) were released after a series of chart hits (which were particularly successful in England). In these tracks, 10cc stands out for its ironic pop, sometimes fiercely sarcastic, that generally finds its natural dimension in a three to four-minute song often reminiscent of the Beatles' late-period songwriting. The original soundtrack represents, compared to previous productions, a decisive step forward in terms of composition, arrangements, and lyrics. The irony is present right from the title since the album is not the soundtrack of a film. The title refers, rather, to the final track, The film of my love, which, in its deliberate and unrestrained kitsch, reaches the heights of the horribly sublime. Listening to the track, one seems to see the prim images of the perfect Anglo/American family (personally, when re-listening to the piece these days, the image of George W. Bush, his wife, and offspring flashed in my mind). But, of course, there's more to the album: the divertissement of Life is a minestrone, with “juicy” gastronomic citations (upon reflection, the music of 10cc in these two inspired albums is a delightful minestrone): "….life is a minestrone, served with savory spices, death is a cold lasagna", The second sitting for the last supper, a more animated and captivating episode (with lyrics that Communion and Liberation would not have liked), the famous I’m not in love, a song with a romantic feel whose lyrics mock all the commonplaces of love lyrics (this track, thanks to the ever-grinding music industry, is nonetheless regularly included in love song compilations). Noteworthy in this song is particularly refined production, undoubtedly innovative for the time. There's also a suite One night in Paris, a sort of small rock opera with a vaguely vaudeville style, which seems less memorable compared to other tracks on the album. The next album, the last with the original lineup (Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley, and Lol Creme plus the mentioned Gouldman), accentuates the ironic, deliberately grotesque aspects of music and lyrics. It is worth noting that all four musicians provided a creative contribution to the composition of the tracks and that for this reason, the specialized press at the time compared 10cc to a historic Liverpool quartet… It ranges from the almost Renzi-like irrepressible egocentrism of I wanna rule the world, which expresses a geometrically ridiculous and, at the same time, worrying will to power of disturbed personalities, to the fetishism of Iceberg (“…I’m in love with an iceberg….”), to the amorous mawkishness of Don’t hang up, an ideal continuation of the swoon and amorous sweetness of The film of my love.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Une Nuit a Paris: Part 1, One Night in Paris / Part 2, The Same Night in Paris / Part 3, Later the Same Night in Paris (08:41)
02 I'm Not in Love (06:04)
I'm not in love, so don't forget it
It's just a silly phase I'm going through
And just because I call you up
Don't get me wrong, don't think you've got it made
I'm not in love, no, no
(It's because)
I'd like to see you, but then again
That doesn't mean you mean that much to me
So if I call you, don't make a fuss
Don't tell your friends about the two of us
I'm not in love, no, no
(It's because)
Be quiet, big boys don't cry, big boys don't cry, big boys don't cry, big boys don't cry, big boys don't cry, big boys don't cry
I keep your picture upon the wall
It hides a nasty stain that's lying there
So don't you ask me to give it back
I know you know it doesn't mean that much to me
I'm not in love, no, no
(It's because)
Ooh, you'll wait a long time for me
Ooh, you'll wait a long time
Ooh, you'll wait a long time for me
Ooh, you'll wait a long time
I'm not in love, so don't forget it
It's just a silly phase I'm going through
And just because I call you up
Don't get me wrong, don't think you got it made, ooh
I'm not in love
I'm not in love
03 Blackmail (04:27)
She doesn't need money
She doesn't need diamonds
She's lookin' for pretty things
She doesn't want romance
She doesn't need finance
She's looking for rendezvous
But every time she's going down
She never looks around
I'll wait and watch her with my
lens until she brings the curtain down
i'There behind the keyhole with my fisheye'/i
I'm back in the darkroom
I'm covered in fixer
I'm making a photograph
I'll send her some postcards
In glorious colour
I'm keeping the negatives
I'll form a letter from the news
With different type from different lines
I'll tell the world about her
I'll mail the People and the Times
'Oo it'll be so scandalous
For the both of them
But mainly her'
She showed them her husband
He ordered a dozen
He thought they were fabulous
The one with the ...
The two of the ...
And three of the ...
He sold her to Hefner
Who put her in Playboy
He gave her a center-fold
I made a real blunder
She made it in movies
I made her a superstar
04 The Second Sitting for the Last Supper (04:27)
Another fish head in the dustbin
Another loser in the queue for the soup kitchen
Another reason for a visit
We think you'd better come down
Another nigger on the woodpile
Another honky on the dole
Another trip from off the 15th floor
The greatest story ever told
Was so wrong, so wrong
'Cos you promised milk and honey
With an everlasting life
And we listened with our ears closed
And a blindness in our eyes
But we heard them as they nailed you
And we saw you crucified
The second coming of the Holy Ghost
We need a pocketful of miracles
Two thousand years and he ain't shown yet
We kept his seat warm and the table set
The second sitting for the Last Supper
Another Guru in the money
Another mantra in the mail
An easy way from rags to riches
God's little acre's up for sale
The time is right for ressurection
We think you'd better come down
The church don't ring with hallelujahs
You haven't been for so long
So long, so long
Two thousand years and he ain't shown yet
We kept his seat warm and the table set
The second sitting for the Last Supper"
05 Brand New Day (04:06)
When you open your eyes
To a brand new morning
And the sun shines
Above you
You pull on your breeches and say
Oh well, It's the start of a brand new day
For birds of prey
You live and learn your life away
But there below, your body must go
Against the grain
Like an old mule train
Keeps pulling hard against the
Here boy, there boy the boss got you running everywhere boy
'Ya got no money and ya got less sense
And you ain't going nowhere'
But there below your body must go
For birds of prey
You live and learn your life away
But there below your body must go
Against the grain
Like an old mule train
Keeps pulling hard against the
Here boy, there boy the boss got you running everywhere boy,
'Ya got no money and ya got less sense
And you ain't going nowhere'
But there below your body will go
At the end of the day
When you look around you
And the sun sets
Deep inside you
Dust off your breeches and say 'Oh well'
Say goodnight to the man in the moon
The sandman's on his way
07 Life Is a Minestrone (04:44)
I'm dancing on the White House lawn
Sipping tea by the Taj Mahal at dawn
Hanging round the gardens of Babylon
Minnie Mouse has got it all sewn up
She gets more fan mail than the Pope
She takes the mickey out of all my phobias
Like signing cheques to ward off double pneumonia
Life is a minestrone
Served up with parmesan cheese
Death is a cold Lasagne
Suspended in deep freeze
I'm leaning on the Tower of Pisa
Had an eyeful of the tower in France
I'm hanging round the gardens of Madison
The seat of learning
And the flush of success
Relieves a constipated mind
I'm like a gourmet in a skid row diner
A fitting menu for a dilettante
Life is a minestrone
Served up with parmesan cheese
Death is a cold Lasagne
Suspended in deep freeze
Love is a fire of flaming brandy
Upon a crepe suzette
Let's get this romance cooking, honey
But let us not forget
Life is a minestrone
Served up with parmesan cheese
Death is a cold Lasagne
Suspended in deep freeze
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