10CC : DECEPTIVE BENDS

 

  1. Good morning judge
  2. The Things We do for love
  3. marriage bureau rendezvous
  4. people in love
  5. modern man blues
  6. honeymoon with b Troop
  7. i bought a flat guitar tutor
  8. you've got a cold
  9. feel the benefit (parts 1, 2 and 3)
    Bonus Tracks :
  10. hot to trot
  11. don't squeeze me like toothpaste
  12. i'm so laid back, i'm laid out

Label : Mercury

Time : 51:33

Release Year : 1977

Review (AllMusic) : 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. "People in Love," a surprisingly straightforward ballad built on a gorgeous string arrangement, also became a modest chart success. The remainder of the material doesn't stand out as sharply as these hits, but each of the tracks offers up plenty of naggingly catchy pop hooks, oodles of catchy riffs, and surprising twists in their arrangements. Highlights among the non-hit tracks include "Marriage Bureau Rendezvous," a satire of dating services set to a lilting soft rock melody, and "You've Got a Cold," a portrait of illness-influenced misery set to a percolating pop melody. The only place where Deceptive Bends slips is on "Feel the Benefit," the lengthy medley that closes the album. Its excessive length and hazy lyrics make it less satisfying than the album's shorter tunes, but it is kept afloat by a catchy, mock-Spanish midsection and some lovely string arrangements. All in all, Deceptive Bends is the finest achievement of 10cc's post-Godley and Creme lineup and well worth a spin for anyone who enjoyed Sheet Music or The Original Soundtrack.

Review (Wikipedia) : Deceptive Bends is an album released in 1977 by rock band 10cc. The departure of Kevin Godley and Lol Creme in 1976 to form Godley & Creme almost ended 10cc. However Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman kept the group alive as a duo (with the assistance of percussionist Paul Burgess). The cover design was provided by Hipgnosis. Stewart recalled: "I had a big challenge ahead of me to prove to the record world that we were not just 5cc, as some of the British media had graciously called us. The music was simpler than some of the previous 10cc albums, it was far more direct, streamlined and positive. The whole album was recorded very (in our terms) quickly. I was on a mission, and flying higher and faster than I had ever been before, and I knew by then that we had a very strong album. The new songs played a big part in the equation of course, I was out to prove also that we could write a hit album without Kevin and Lol ... we did!" [1] Godley and Creme were still members of the group early in this album's history. The band's original line-up debuted a live version of "Good Morning Judge" at the Knebworth festival on 21 August 1976 and also did studio work on an early version of "People in Love" referred to as "Voodoo Boogie". "Voodoo Boogie" featured a more offbeat arrangement and prominent backing vocals by Lol Creme, but the track was considered "awful" when assembled together and Godley and Creme left the group shortly thereafter. The official versions of "Good Morning Judge" and "People in Love" were performed by Stewart and Gouldman alone (with the help of a few session musicians) in the eventual album release.

Review (Only Solitaire Blogspot) : Despite leaving so abruptly, Godley and Creme couldn't help but leaving some scent behind them, and for a brief moment of one or two years it almost seemed like the castrated Gouldman-Stewart variant of 10cc might be able to make it anyway. Deceptive Bends may be a small step down from the level of the fearsome foursome, but it is still a thoroughly enjoyable and frequently un­predictable record that not only pledges allegiance to the band's old credo, but even manages to uphold that allegiance in more than just words. After all, one might complain that the songs have become more streamlined, featuring fewer sur­prising twists and grotesque stylistic clashes than we came to expect from 10cc, but wasn't that already the situation on How Dare You? and its "mature" type of sound? Deceptive Bends is generally made in the same mood, mixing up tongue-in-cheek sarcasm and sweet sentimentality until you cease to understand which is which and what is where. Only occasionally do we get true signs of the decay and decline to come: the percentage of slow ballad stuff is ominously going up, and although a song like 'People In Love' is quite melodic and quite exquisitely arranged with its light-symphonic mixture of pianos, weepy slide guitars, and strings, in the end it lands in MOR territory where 10cc have never landed before. 'The Things We Do For Love', too, is like a slightly de-arenified version of Foreigner, although that might as well be a compliment (given how Foreigner's first two albums weren't that bad at all). Still, 10cc turning into Foreigner isn't exactly a heartwarming observation. And yet these unhappy feelings are still quite muted next to the album's successes - 'Good Mor­ning Judge', 'Modern Man Blues', and 'Honeymoon With B Troup', in particular, are all catchy, funny highlights, showing that the Gouldman-Stewart duo is still able to handle both ferocious melodic hooks (the opening to 'Good Morning Judge' is simplistic, but nevertheless one of the most energetic openings on a 10cc record) and snappy lyrics (no record with lines like 'My baby goes topless and brings her beauty to a bottomless day' can be all bad). Finally, the duo's brave take on a multi-part suite ('Feel The Benefit'), although it feels somewhat meaning- and directionless next to 'Une Nuit A Paris', is still easily listenable throughout all of its eleven minutes. I used to get somewhat indignant at its openly "borrowing" the melody of 'Dear Prudence' for the main opening theme, but now that I think of it, its complex structure, bom­bastic conclusion (featuring some truly soaring leads from Eric - arguably his most "spiritual" playing in 10cc) and overall feel are all intended to be Beatles-like, reminding one of the closing sym­phony on Abbey Road. In this light, 'Feel The Benefit' is not only pardonable, but forms an ex­cellent conclusion to the album - and, in fact, just like the closing symphony on Abbey Road, forms an excellent swan song to the band's career as a whole. For all I know, Deceptive Bends might, and should, have been a goodbye record - created by just the duo of Gouldman and Stewart (with a little help from Paul Burgess on the drums), with the spirit of Godley and Creme still whirling around in the studio. Everything that follows is but one large footnote, and one that gives fairly little pleasure to study. Deceptive Bends is our last and smallest piece of Turkish delight to gobble up, but it's still a piece of Turkish delight and so deserves a good thumbs up from both the emotional and the intellectual departments.