Customer Reviews

Consequences

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This 2-cd set is of a package of music and 'radio skit' dialogues that loosely revolve around the premise of the world ("as we now know it") coming to an end by means of natural disaster. What it really is is one cd of musical vignettes and effects meant to demonstrate the Godley/Creme musical instrument invention the "GIZMO" The instrument produces a wide variety of sound that was extraordinary in it's time (1976). The second cd is comprised of a series of dialogues mixed with Godley/Creme numbers that carry the story of 2 lawyers, a plant worker, his estranged french prostitute wife, and a curious fellow who lives below the floor of the law office named Blint. You gotta
listen to it to get the full effect of Peter Cook's audio character studies (he does most of the character voices and also wrote the dialogues). All in all this is a cd set for those who
like the offbeat and have an oblique perspective on how the universe functions. For those like me who bought the 3LP set in 1976, it is a treat to be able to get this work on cd.

After hinting at the symphonic extravaganzas to come with "One Night in Paris" from "The Original Soundtrack" and "Don't Hang Up" from "How Dare You", Lol and Kevin left 10C.C. to put out this 3 album boxed set to showcase the Gizmotron. The "Gizmo" was a small unit of rotating wheels attached to the bridge area of a guitar. When the wheels were pressed and made contact with the strings, a bowing sound emanated. Cool huh? Well, maybe just a little too late for commercial success with the advent of things like the E-bow and cheaper PCM synthesizers, but the haunting sounds that Lol gets from this thing are fantastic. As an interesting side note, the venerable Jimmy Page used a gizmo'ed guitar for some of the great sounds on "In The Evening".

Anyway, I still love this album 25 years on. I only gave it 3 stars to scare off those who are not Godley/Creme afficianodos who might not get the "concept". The concept of "nature taking revenge on a world gone mad" plays out with a sprinkling of great pop songs spaced between the dry Peter Cook dialogue(which may take several listens to get the gist of what's going on).

Other highlights include a highly prized Sarah Vaughn guest vocal on "Lost Weekend", a haunting ode to the men who sail the seas in "Sailor", and a very lovely pop work out on "Five o'Clock In The Morning."

The rest of the instrumental tunes that serve to help the story line show off more of the Gizmo's talents, and the accompanying booklet(that came with the 3-album set)showed such artifacts as the boys shoveling dirt down a staircase onto a Sennheiser dummy head to simulate the burial scene.

And last but not least, they saved room for a beautiful symphonic extravaganza with "Blint's Tune-Movements 1-17", which show that these guys were certainly more than just your average pop rockers.

All in all, a great display of talent, but just not your usual 10C.C.-type release, and certainly not for everyone, what with the unusual British dialogue and such. But for those that go for the slightly left o' center with a twinkle in their eyes, this just might hit the bullseye. Enjoy!!

When I listend to this triple album first in 1978 I was completely surprised about this complex stuff on six vinyl sides. I had to listen over and over again to the story to discover more and more details hidden in this sound scene. Unfortunately this album was not mine, so I had to gave it back to my friend :-( In 1998 I purchased a 2-CD limited edition re-release of this fantastic concept album. This set came with a very poor booklet with no lyrics and dialogs and so I wrote a complete transcript of the album on my own...Through the years I became a virtual member of the staff around Mr. Blint and every time I listen to the album I'm really caught in the scene.
There are (also) very fine music peaces (my favorite is "Lost Weekend" sung by Sarah Vaughn) which apparently have nothing to to with the albums theme and the divorce negotiation.
The issue of this album, natures revenge to the mankind, today becomes more and more significance.
Listen to this "Movie for the blind" and you will stick to it!
After the very last track when you listen carefully, you can hear the birds sing again...

This album was released on my 17th birthday. If you are a fan of this album, you'll understand why I point that out. If you've never heard it, I'll leave that as an enigmatic statement as it would take far too much time and space to explain. I should also add that it is completely coincidental that I am writing this review on the 17th.

My 17th birthday was slightly over 30 years ago. I hadn't listened to this album for the last half of that time. Digging it out and giving it another listen, I was amazed at how fresh it seems. I still love the music and the Peter Cook "radio play" that weaves the songs together had me laughing out loud again.

What struck me about this album was how current the subject matter is. The aforementioned radio play (Cook wrote it and provides all but the female voices in a tour de force performance) is all about the weather having gone mad and threatening to wipe humanity from the face of the Earth while the attorney's of an estranged couple work to make what should be a trivial divorce into a major case. As the world (including the building they are in) literally falls apart around them, they remain oblivious to anything but the petty squabble about dividing the spoils in which they are embroiled.

Cook mined the sad facts of his own life for the material. Quite possibly, everything in the play is meant as a metaphor of his own life. What it serves as today, very nicely, is a metaphor of the world at large that is becoming less metaphor and more cold, hard fact. Our world is flying apart, including weather gone made, and most of us can't lift our heads above our petty concerns to notice. The realization that Cook's comedy had become near documentary made listening to the album bittersweet, but still laugh-out-loud funny.

One last point. In the modern musical environment of iTunes and disposable music, this album stands tall as an example of how the music industry might actually be able to sell entire albums again. While many of the songs can stand on their own, the whole album is constructed as one coherent piece rather than a mere collection of tunes. Buying only one track from this album would make about as much sense as buying one scene from The Matrix.

I won't try to describe this album. It's more of an experience than an album, you know? Instead, I'll tell you that it's hilariously funny, musically addicting, and a total blast. The songs are great, the voice acting is thoroughly entertaining, the replay value is infinite. You hear something new every time. The ambient sounds, the little details, the subtle language, the melodies and instrumentals all make this a fantastic musical experience. I highly recommend this album.

For anybody familiar with Godley and Creme's work this is a must have. I first came across this material in college (on LP) and thought that I would forever be left with only a cassette copy of part of it. I was amazed and delighted to find it on CD. I listen to it often HIGHLY recommended for those into avant-garde music.

Playing my old vinyl box set today, I notice that the liner notes are a tad misleading. They overhype the short-lived Gizmo guitar accessory, which made it possible to get sustained bowed sounds on the guitar in the same manner as the more recent electromagnetic "bow", although Jimmy Page was doing the same thing with an ordinary violin bow back then (witness "Dazed and Confuzed). And even so, the gadget would have eventually been made obsolete by a number of guitar synthesizers as used by Pat Metheny, Allan Holdsworth and Adrian Belew, to name a few. And when you play the album, the Gizmo isn't exactly central to the music anyway, which is a bit less broadly presented than the Mothers' "Uncle Meat". Just picture that album without the frat house vulgarisms and you've got it. The theatrical material is more along the lines of Firesign Theatre. There are even a few pretty decent actual songs here, such as "When Things Go Wrong", a bright little ditty that's a cross between Leo Sayer and Jimmy Buffett. Don't be fooled by "Honolulu Lulu", though. It's not the Jan and Dean classic--the melody has been taken intact from the bridge section of the oldie "Sentimental Journey". At least one other reviewer here compares the album as a whole to other "music business excesses of the time". Kin yew spell "art rock"? I knew yew could! The same old anti-prog zealotry is alive and well after a quarter century and it's just as tiresome today as it's always been, I guess. But fans of Echolyn, Flower Kings and Porcupine Tree are advised to tread carefully. A double CD that used to be a triple LP is a lot of album and it's not all music. The people who say it's a bit inflated are sort of right. let's just say it's a good thing my vinyl set is in fair shape--I wouldn't pay the 37 bucks to update the thing.

as a late 10cc fan (1986), i've been looking for this conceptual nugget for years on vinyl but to no avail. thankfully, the good folks at One Way have finally re-issued this masterpiece on cd and it sounds fantastic ! for those who have heard 10cc but not "consequences," then listen to "brand new day " from 1975's "the original soundtrack" or any other G&C penned tracks. for those who have heard neither 10cc or G&C then sit tight! this is a disc of beauty and wonder and fantastic music. lotsa those G&C trademark harmonies and production values that'll leave ya in a complete (and harmonious) state of "Wow !" reminds me of frank zappa's "civilization phase 3" in its use of the piano and subtle hints of ecological disaster. the music is also heavily orchestrated and, not surprisingly, G&C were zappa fans at the time (see "art school canteen" from "L," which is also available). shame that the G&C partnership is no more. the music industry needs an enema and, after listening to this set, it seems that G&C would be the ones for the job. amazing! if you have a passing familiarity with 10cc or other Godley and Creme, then you owe it to yourself to pick this up, pronto. you won't be disappointed (and at what a price, too!). if you're just plain curious, then these 2 discs should provide hours of pure listening pleasure. brilliant music from a time when "intelligence" and "creativity" weren't dirty words in the music business.

"Consequences" from 1977 was a record out of step with its time: complicated when simplicity was all the rage, playful when angst was It, demanding when rock was dumbing down. This 2 CD set is a faithful reproduction of the original records and will hopefully finally get the audience it deserves.

What's it about? The record tells the story of a day in April when nature starts fighting back against the abuses of humankind.All manner of disasters are depicted musically and through the voices of Peter Cook. The instrumentals are proggy, using a guitar attachment designed by Godley and Creme, called The Gizmo. The music still sparkles, even though vast leaps in technology have left the gizmo way, way behind. The songs are jazzy, using often 40's harmonies in a fond, oddly moving way.

Details have dated but the broad sweep of the piece is as relevant now as ever, and the "movie for your ears" approach is still refreshingly different.

If you have any interest at all in Prog Rock you absolutely need this CD.

..well, way back in '77 when floyd's ruled the earth & rotten & the crew were 'the next thing', the great lol creme & kevin godley, they who were hotlegs & 10cc before, released the obscure box set of 3 records, 'consequences'..too long & too prog-rock for some--"concept" albums never were for everyone--i think this nonetheless stands as one of their greatest works..and this from the quirky duo who also released other stellar, generally unrecognized lp's like 'L' & 'freeze frame' (also available, incidentally, from the wonderful 'one way' re-issue label in albany, new york--and no, i don't work for them!)..this beautiful sounding double cd set includes a faithful reproduction of the entire libretto/booklet that accompanied the original vinyl set--i know because i have the original right in front of me--and is astounding on headphones..if they'll only release "ismism" & "birds of prey" now, we'll be laughing!..well done, highly recommended, listen to some early 10cc today & brighten up your day..from the groves, this is manny in florida