I guess listening to a live 10cc album, from a studio perspective is unusual. I think the thing that cones across to me, in spite of studio production being missing, is these guys know how to rock .... and at this stage, it is still a rock show
With all the comparisons being made to studio versions, especially those are note perfect, there's always going to be the question of how much post-recording studio fixing went into the final product.
Art For Art's Sake We get a variation on the intro, that takes the general feel but approaches it in a live band way. We get nice grunty guitars, that sound really good. We get a nice first musical break down with some interesting keyboards placed in there. Then the vocal breakdown works very well also. The dreamy section, again comes across very well and we get back into the song. The main section of this song, is a very nice replica of the studio version, with some mild embellishments. Then we get the extended outro with a nice lead break, nothing earth shattering, but effective and a nice live variation.
People In Love The gentle nature of this track is captured pretty well. As far as the crowd noise goes on this album, we need to remember that in 1977, some bands had audiences that listened to the music, so it is very possible that the quiet nature of the audience during the songs, may well just be that people were listening. It isn't like 10cc were running around with flame throwers or using spinning pianos, drum risers, and doing burn outs on the stage with Harley's. These guys played their songs, and played them well. On the whole this track works really well, although it does seem somewhat like a lull in the proceedings.
Wall Street Shuffle Again, here we get a very good rendition of the studio track, that seems pretty much technically spot on. You can hear that it is live, but it is faithful to the studio version, and leaves one the impression that this new band really got rehearsed well before the tour got underway.
Tony O’Malley sings Art For Art’s Sake on the live album. It seems Eric isn’t bothered above singing this one as Graham gets the lead on later tours.
Wow, nice live ‘Easter egg’ (for several reasons!). I’ve always wondered if the Deceptive Bends album sleeve was an intentional reference to the poster for the 1953 schlock movie ‘Robot Monster’. A bit trashier than 10cc’s usual cinematic allusions but the resemblance is pretty strong.
As the title was taken from taken from a sign warning of dangerous curves in the southbound A24 between Leatherhead and Dorking in Surrey, I always thought of it as the lady had lost control of her car....
Annoyingly I can't upload the image on my work computer, but the Amazon page has an image of the poster I'm referring to: Amazon.com: Watch Robot Monster: The Original Version | Prime Video
Ships Don't Disappear In The Night (Do They) We start with a bit of Boogie piano, and the crowd clapping along. It has a great feel. This is a slower version of the song, with an emphasis on a groove. It works very well, but as an early favourite, it was always a bit of a let down that the kick-butt version felt like it had been left behind. In relaity this is a very cool version of the song, and I am also a little more open to rearrangements than I was back in the day. We get some really nice lead guitar and the arrangement is very good. Then after the lead break the song explodes into its standard arrangement. Things like this track, lift this album a lot for me. We also get a nice slide lead break. This is good stuff.
I'm Mandy Fly Me We get the Clockwork Creep intro as a taped intro, and move into a slightly stripped back version, missing all the studio dressage. In my head it seems like this song shouldn't translate well live, but I think this does. The band does a great job of this, and there really isn't anything essential missing at all. A very good version of this classic song.
Marriage Bureau Rendezvous I like this song anyway, but I think it is a song that translates well to a live performance, and I think this comes across very well. To be honest, this revisit is lifting this album in my eyes. Well worth trying out if you aren't familiar with it, or relistening if you are familiar with it.
Art For Arts Sake Different intro, but still okay. I couldn't figure out who does the raspy opening vocals (O'Malley). The harmony backing vocals sound great, and that fuzzy bass on the chorus. Guitar solos are different, but brilliant as always. People In Love Sound is really good here, though I'm not a huge fan of this synth/moog sound (it borders off key). The Wall Street Shuffle I always get a kick out of this song, play it loud. You cannot top the original, but this live version is getting there. The heavy fuzzy guitar sound doesn't have enough edge, the organ sort of borrows that. Ships Don't Disappear In The Night (Do They ?) Totally different slow rendition with a nice piano intro and slide guitar solo during the faster final part. And remember: gotta be nice to Vincent Price. I'm Mandy Fly Me Good version, but the changes aren't as dynamic as on the studio version, even my doorbell. Eric's vocals shine. Marriage Bureau Rendezvous You'd almost think the audience were asleep, even during the slow parts they cannot be heard at all. Nice version nonetheless.
Sorry for the belated reply on this one, but I just recently heard Sedaka's original version of Love Will Keep Us Together from the above album, and I think that it may now be my favorite pre-10cc track that they played on but didn't write or sing lead (yes, I've listened to Space Hymns). Love Will Keep Us Together (The Captain & Tennille cover) was one of those ubiquitous, evocative, catchy-as-all hell songs that just epitomized the 70s, and I heard it all the time in my early years. As a pure pop song, it has a lovely melody and chord sequence; I'm sure that Graham in particular could appreciate the songwriting smarts that went into its construction. Although the original Sedaka track isn't nearly as good as Captain & Tennille (particularly the lead vocal), I really dig it anyway because the backing is so 10cc. The "young and beautiful" section is particularly great with the handclaps, as well as the quirky mandolin-like instrumentation and percussion that you hear throughout the track. The backing vocals are subtle, but I'm pretty sure that I can pick out Kevin in there. The hit version was quite different compared to the 10cc backed version, but there were still many original elements that Captain Dragon retained in his arrangement; I think it's fair to state that the 10cc guys still made a significant contribution to that massive hit. I mean, damn, who knew?!? Well, I didn't. Anyway, this is DJ dvakman reporting in from pop footnote land; now back to our regularly scheduled program...
Graham Gouldman's 10cc's coming to Duisburg/Germany in December. Not too far from where I live so I just bought tickets. Can't wait!
A slightly off topic observation about Godley & Creme: One of the record review sites (All Music perhaps) consistently refers to them as the UK successors to Frank Zappa. As I'm listening to the recently released Flaming Lips album, I'm coming to the realization that the Lips are the US successors to Godley & Creme. Weird For Weird's Sake, Miley For God's Sake.
Good Morning Judge This is such a good song in my opinion, the rhythm guitars have a little more grunt in this live version, although the lead guitar hook is a little less effective. Listening to this track actually makes me feel that part of the reason this album sounds a little odd from a live perspective, is I get the impression they didn't mic up the amps here, giving the recording a natural live ambiance. It sounds like they had direct lines running to the recorder, because the track sounds live, but the separation between instruments is just too good, for it to seem like things were mic'd up. I don't know if that is the case, but that is sure what it sounds like. If they had a couple of ambient mic's on the crowd, that would explain why the crowd is a little in and out, as it would make sense with this set up to somewhat mix the crowd out of the songs, and into the gaps. I'm not sure, but that is what I feel I hear this morning. It doesn't sound too touched up, because I can hear things that a perfectionist overdubbed live album would have altered ... Anyway, that's just a little observation that may well be wrong, but that is what I'm hearing here this morning.
Feel The Benefit Here we get the bands latter day epic, and almost final statement of the earlier version of the band. Again the sound makes me feel the band recorded it with direct lines, rather than mic's and that would make sense for these guys, and the way they approach things. This is an excellent version of the song that has a live value, we get a bit of a jam at the end that for me really opens the song up. Sure it isn't the studio version, but as a live album fan, I think it adds another dimension and works really well. I love it anyway.
