10cc are the Beatles of the '70's (production wise)

I like a few of 10cc's major hits, although many times their sound is just too "British" for me. It's a cultural thing, I guess. But then, I also have not heard "Original Soundtrack", "Deceptive Bends", "How Dare You", or any other proper 10cc album. It also bugs me how most 10cc comps don't have "The Wall Street Shuffle", which was my introduction to them. I appreciate 10cc's quirkiness.

But few bands I have ever heard are as quirky as ELO! I just listened to some of their United Artist era stuff and Jeff Lynne was a real studio rat! It sounds like he just recorded miles of tape and went razor block happy. But his method worked. As odd as the music is, I love it .

The Beatles? I say, compared to the fab four, ELO, nor 10cc can touch them in terms of production OR craftsmanship! 10cc is clever, though.

Jeff Lynne's lyric writing leaves a lot to be desired...

 

You have not heard any 10cc album but you appreciate their quirkiness?

And I'd sure like to know what it is about Beatles production that is superior to the best of 10cc. And I'd really like to know how you can make that sort of statement after claiming you have not heard a 10cc album...

 

Please recall that I am a singles oriented person first. I'm judging by their (US) hits, and MY perception of their sound. Songs like "I'm Not In Love" was lyrically brilliant. The production was also fantastic. "The Things We Do For Love" is also a perfect pop record. To me, songs like "Rubber Bullets" is very quirky, as is "Wall Street...". But after those, I really can't cet into their sound. Also, remember that 10cc is mostly a 70s band, hitwise. The Beatles were 60s all the way. Different production values. ELO came closer to that 60s asthetic of the Beatles.

 

Grant........grrrr..........no I won't get stuck into you, but I am puzzled by your comment about Wall Street Shuffle not being on most 10cc comps.

In fact, it is!

 

Not here in the US...

What did I say that you have a problem with?

 

I'm afraid it is. Go have a look at CDnow etc. or allmusic.com. Anyway no need to dwell on that one!

No not a problem really. I wasn't being serious..........well, its just that you picked the 2 songs (I'm Not In Love and The Things We Do For Love) that everybody and their dog knows when there is so much more to know and love about the group than those 2 tracks.

 

Well Peter,

I was basically going by what I have seen in the record stores. Online retailers tend to sell more imports, so my claim holds true to my reality. Yes, it appears on exactly one CD comp I have seen, and I have it. But, unless I have just overlooked the track, it's just not that available stateside.

I picked the two tracks that everyone knows is simply because I live in the US where they are about the only two 10cc singles that made it to the top. I don't know about the rest of the world. I recall that "Wall Street Shuffle" was played on my local radio a lot in 1974, but the DJ must have loved the song. I also recall that "People In Love" got some air time in certain markets, but Australia must be different.

 

Australia is very much the same as everywhere else but since when should a music lover (and I presume you are) limit him/herself to what is played on the radio?

I'm not criticising you Grant, I'm just trying to nudge you in a particular direction.....i.e. 10cc's albums are worth investigating if you have only heard the singles.

Incidently the radio tracks tended to be the Stewart/Goldman compositions. You might find the Godley/Creme compositions more rewarding.

 

But I was a kid and a teen in the 70s. I grew up on radio and am singles oriented. It's part of why I never heard their albums. Most of my LP purchases was soul music.

I realize that these days, especially with the internet, people from other lands are all part of one big family, like here. That's why it is easy to forget that back then, countries were different in what they had, musically. Sure, we all heard the biggies like the Beatles, The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, INXS, and Elton John, but the US, for which I can only speak of, 10cc was NOT as big as in, say, England. The Sweet had three or four big hits here, but in England it's a different story. Status Quo has been mentioned in these forums, but here they are virtually unheard of. The Canada says that only a certain percentage of US music can be heard there. For as many Canadian artists there have been that are popular here, it is only the tip of the iceberg! Let's not even talk about Latin America, where there is also a language barrier!

But I can only speak of my homeland and what is available to ME.

One day I will seek out a 10cc album and give it a listen. And yes, they have been in abundance here! A couple have shot to #1 here because of certain singles.

Again, my main influebce was the single, and soul music. Let's see...in 1975, the LPs I bought were KC & The Sunshine Band, Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony's "Disco Baby", Ohio Players' "Honey", anf Earth Wind & Fire's "That's The Way Of The World". No rock albums in there. Sorry.

 

Sorry Grant, maybe I'm not making myself clear.

I wasn't suggesting that as a music lover you should have been aware of 10cc in the 70s. I'm just saying that as a music lover there is no reason why you can't investigate their music 20 or 30 years later.

I've spent the last 20 years buying albums by artists I was only vaguely aware of as a child if at all or by artists who were recording when I was a baby, eg Fats Domino, Jerry Lee etc. I've also spent a lot of that time buying albums by a lot of early 70s soul artists who I disliked with a vengeance at the time, eg Spinners, Isley Brothers.

It's all part of being a music lover isn't it?

 

Re: Re: Re: 10cc are the Beatles of the '70's (production wise)

Paul, don't you mean 5cc?

 

I would say ABBA were the beatles of the 70's

 

Re: Re: 10cc are the Beatles of the '70's (production wise)

Interesting point Eric. In terms of popularity, it would be ABBA. There's even a case for Elton John. No one band or individual ruled the 70's the way the Beatles ruled the 60's. Ditto for the 80's, 90's and now.

From a production standpoint (the focus of this thread), I'd stick with 10cc or ELO.

 

I can see how you can make a case for ABBA. I think their production and pop song writing were both outstanding. The only area that would make them come up short is the fact that their songs were extremely light weight, especially lyrically.

 

Re: Re: Re: 10cc are the Beatles of the '70's (production wise)

What are you talking about? The Rolling Stones and Beach Boys ruled the 60's!

 

Peter. I never said that I wasn't interested in investigating 10cc.

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: 10cc are the Beatles of the '70's (production wise)

Like I said to Joe Tangent, you Canadians are funny.

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: 10cc are the Beatles of the '70's (production wise)

John B, are you sure you're a Canadian?

Everyone knows that The Archies ruled the 60s!

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: 10cc are the Beatles of the '70's (production wise)

There is a debate as to whether MJ has one head or two.