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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Pleasure Of Pop Invention, November 14, 2006
Deceptive Bends was the beginning of the end for 10cc. The band had split into two bands: 10cc and Godley & Creme. "How Dare You" was the magnum opus, and in my view the best album that 10cc came out with, not to mention one of the best albums of a decade that was full of amazing albums.
But now the year was 1977 and Graham Gouldman and Eric Stewart regrouped and came back with a beautiful pop album that showed a subtle change in the 10cc sound. The interesting thing is that for all the wonderfully quirky pop art that filled the first four albums that included Godley & Creme, the music was still alive with fresh ideas and inventive productions, just a bit less cerebral. Sure, this was no "Consequences", Godley & Creme's first album that was full of high art but lacking in accessibility; but Deceptive Bends has so many infectious melodies and grooves that it intensified what made this band so attractive in the first place... The pleasure of invention.
Every song on this album has become (more or less) a highlight for me, including the bonus tracks. But the first side of the album is definitely the stronger half. It is rare to have a perfect album- in my mind there are very few of those. But I've got to give Deceptive Bends five stars nonetheless, because take away few missteps and you have a pop masterpiece.
Bloody Tourists continued the success of inventive pop music that Deceptive Bends had brought- it was the weaker of the two but still was mostly great.
I think the music declined somewhat after that for 10cc. That's not to say Look Hear, Ten Out Of 10, or Windows In The Jungle aren't strong albums- they just don't have the allure that the albums up to Bloody Tourist have; Ten Out Of 10 probably being the strongest of the three.
One note: I though it was interesting how close the guitar solo on "The Things We Do For Love" sounds like the guitar solo from "Killer Queen" by Queen.
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
5cc straight forward pop-rock record, March 11, 2000
With only 50% of the original band (Eric Stewart & Graham Gouldman retained the 10cc name when Godley & Creme left), 10cc (or in this case 5cc) produce a sleek, solid and creative pop-rock record. While popier even than its predecessors (with the exception of the first album), this album is missing the edge that Godley & Creme helped provide in the band. There are a number of classic tracks that hold their own against the best the quartet produced. The first two tracks are strong, witty and melodic.Marriage Bureau Rendezvous also shines capturing the uncertainty, sense of adventure and desperation of a blind date situation. The epic Feel the Benefit demonstrates the loss of Godley & Creme most; while the song features solid harmonies, melodies and is interesting, it's missing the outrageousness (or excessiveness depending on your point of view) that G&C provided. The bonus tracks are nice additions, but clearly b side material. The remastering very good.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
It's still 10cc, March 21, 2001
When Creme and Godley left 10cc, the expectation was that they'd had it. How could they survive without the contrast provided by the more artsy sort of influence of the missing members? Yet survive they did for some time, turning out a few gems along the way.There aren't any long pieces as complex and involved as "One Night in Paris", but there is "Feel the Benifit", a long-ish suite in the same general vein. There's also "I Bought a Flat Guitar Tutor", one of Stewart's wittiest compositions. Perhaps not the best album 10cc ever did, but it still has much to recommend it.
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