Last Night This is another song that I like. We have a moderate tempo track that has a very staccato feel during the verses, and than moves into a smooth cocktail lounge chorus. Nice arrangement of the guitars. From the chordal verse and chorus to the little fills and the instrumental bridge. The song has a slightly 10cc-light feel to it and I guess that's what folks have against a lot of stuff on here. This is a good 10cc song and not a great one.
"Bloody Tourists" to this 10cc fan, was the last great album as a whole listening experience. Clearly, if you look back at my thoughts on "Deceptive Bends", that is an album that I enjoyed far better when I was younger, but it hasn't held up as well through the years for me. "Bloody" still has a LOT of great 10cc to offer, but no doubt that they were beginning to soften and lose some of their muse. My favorites from this album include ... "Dreadlock Holiday" (Great funky and fun reggae Gouldman track, which he sadly tried to reduplicate on nearly every album he has been involved with since.) "For You And I". (True Eric Stewart gold and I personally love the old school 10cc loud guitar strum at the very end, as if a way to say "so there!" to Kevin and Lol, who both hated "People In Love". I do have one question about this song by the way, just what was the banging sound during the opening of the song? It sounds like someone trying to get into the studio door or someone trying to get out of a locked trunk of a car.) "Last Night" (For some reason the instrumental part of this cool song always strangely reminded me of the main theme of the movie "Rollercoaster", also from around this same time period and I really love after that part ends and they come back in with "I'll play the jester and you play the fool ..." with that groovy guitar part underneath!) "Life Line" (It is just too hard not to love that "Don't Go Talking In Your Sleep, no" part of the song, as it's catchy as hell!) "From Rochdale To Ocho Rios" (Easily my favorite track on this album. Silly, fun, melodic and very 10cc) A few short notes on a few other tracks on this album ... "Shock On The Tube" (Thanks Eric for the basic re-write of "Deceptive Bends", "You've Got A Cold", only with more useful lyrics) "Reds In My Bed" (Again on this track, I hear bits of "Deceptive Bends", "Honeymoon With B Troop", only in a much slower tempo) "Take These Chains", "Tokyo" and "A.A." are all pretty standard 10cc "album filler" songs to me) Final thoughts: "Bloody Tourists" album cover was one of their best, in my opinion (and they have had quite a few great album covers!) I find it interesting to read that some forum members have mentioned that "Bloody" was the beginning of the end of your real love of 10cc? Sure the band was clearly moving away from the "weirdness" and going far more commercial, but this album still contains many great tracks and even the fillers aren't that bad, their just predictable. For me, after listening to their next album "Look Hear", that was when I said "WTF???". I still own it, but I don't remember ever liking even one song on it! But in the meantime until we get to that travesty, I'm interested in reading more 10cc fans thoughts on "Bloody"
Bloody Tourists was an album that I enjoyed at the time but thanks to format changes, moves, and other musical obsessions, I did not hear it for probably 25 years. When I finally came back to it I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. I like how the theme of travel and (mis)adventure comes up often on this album. I think the music is inventive and sometimes more intricate than it first appears. After this album, though, things do get a bit spotty.
I enjoy Bloody Tourists, but I need to be in a different mood than I would for anything prior. Personally I love Deceptive Bends, much more than when I was young. Look, Hear? I have actually started to enjoy quite a bit. The band changed, but I have a pretty wide taste in music, so they didn't change enough for me to dislike them. They became much more subtle and relaxed. There is some fantastic musicianship on Look Hear and also, and in my opinion some great songs. It all comes down to being able to separate the two main versions of the band. Bloody Tourists is somewhat of a transitional album, with the new agenda front and centre. Everything after follows that path somewhat, to varying degrees. I am yet to absorb Meanwhile and Mirror Mirror.
I am starting to feel that all the post Deceptive Bends albums, have this particular feature. It is just a case of if anybody wants to spend the time digging in to them. Everything prior was pretty much in your face and not even slightly subtle. Everything after is actually quite subtle and very much requires more listens to fully absorb .... this is my experience anyhow, as I never used to like any of them.
Well said by both @GLENN and @mark winstanley. No doubt that I've always enjoyed the "in your face and not even slightly subtle" 10cc far, far better, but I have to admit that the earlier 10cc was just a more focused band on keeping it "more interesting" and "fun". As with so many of my favorite artists and bands, their best material was short-lived and yet I have spent the rest of my life hoping that they had "one more great one" in them, with each new release. In other words, I have spent a LOT of my life, "musically disappointed", LOL. Paul McCartney, Jeff Lynne, Brian Wilson ..., are you reading this?
Last Night - bores me to death. Note! It is this song that has speed issues on the 1997 remaster - avoid! (see my album comment).
Last Night - I haven't heard this song is roughly 40 years, but I remembered it once it started playing. It's a good melody and, while listening I didn't understand why I wasn't engaged. There is something lifeless to the Bloody Tourists album to me. With Bloody Tourists and L, it's been fascinating listening to music that I haven't heard for soooo long. But, ultimately, it's only reminding me why I haven't listened in so long. I think that with 10cc, more than most bands, it's difficult to define why you take to some tracks/albums but not others. Most people on this thread seem to regard Sheet Music as their peak, with Original Soundtrack a disappointment. I feel the opposite but I fully "get" how one could have an opposing view - they are that kind of band - every album is so different that "liking" the band can mean only liking any one album. I still really love both Deceptive Bends and Consequences, yet both sides of the band lost me with their follow up albums. So much so that I completely bailed on them after these two. I'm not one to take Bloody Tourists and L and make one album out of the "best" tracks, instead I can't help but wonder what music might have been made if the group had reunited after each pair got their "solo" albums out of their system. If Bloody Tourists and L never happened, were never written, but the foursome had gotten together to write a new group album. Bloody Tourists & L both strike me as extreme (to different corners). Would a group effort have been more cohesive? I can't help but feel that L could have used some pop reigning in and BT could have used some "out there" imagination. I suppose this is a pointless thought exercise. Anyway, carry on.
Great thing about "Last Night" is the instrumental break which takes the song to a whole different place-- Really memorable guitar lick and you only hear it twice. Otherwise it's another nice pub-type song-- almost a love song until the last line throws a pretty surprising spin on it.
Last Night Yet another track from this album that nothing wrong with it. It is a perfectly serviceable catchy pop rock number, with some interesting key changes, and some entertaining lyrics. But again it is another soft rocker which lacks that extra sparkle the band used to have plenty of. It just feels safe & comfortable, which is something 10cc didn't used to be.
Last Night I like the unusual chord changes and the different places the melody goes. It doesn't have the magic of the classic 4-man line-up of the group, the weirdness that Lol and Kev brought to the table is sorely missing. And the sensibility that Eric and Graham brought to the table is missing in the Godley/Creme stuff. While 10cc has much more accessible songs, Godley/Creme is much more interesting and creative. Those two pairs really really needed each other. I can only listen to my vinyl copy, as the CD I have has terrible speed issues. They are really noticeable on this track.
The Anonymous Alcoholic This is a great song. It starts off based around a blues feel and structure, not a Sky Is Crying type structure, more a moderate blues with a bit of bounce. Lyrically this track is an excellent look at the problems with alcoholism. To some degree the tone may sound mocking, but if one listens closely this track is purely an honest observational piece, and it makes me wonder if one of the guys was struggling with this particular illness. As our resident drinker gets a few too many under his skin, he heads to the dance floor. The song bursts into a very cool dance type beat, and we get a continuation of the story. When we come out of the dancing alcoholic stage of the song, we head back to a blues, and that reflective, "I'll never drink again" situation. The guy loses his job and decides to give up drinking and then circumstances bring the situation full circle, and our alcoholic friend heads back to the bar to drown his sorrows. This is a very poignant song in so many ways, and the fact that the band are able to make this into a very listenable, entertaining song, shows that they still had a razor sharp wit and attention to detail. I find this track to also be among the best tracks on the album, and also is reflective of the maturity that has come into the band, as they handle this topic in an excellent manner Excellent track.
Last Night GG and Rick Fenn as writers operate pretty much in known territory and put down some corny lyrics. Still a pretty good song but no magic going on, but the fuzzy bass and cow bells sound good. I like the short solo/instrumental bit. Immediately after that it's as if members of Sailor have joined them with their Nickelodeon. Apart from early vinyl I have Flac files of the Japanese album with bonus track on my phone. I had checked some YouTube versions of the song in order to locate the speed problems. I cannot put my finger on it, but I think I can hear tape damage during the sentence But when we turned out the light we were riding on the crest of a tidal wave. Is that it, or do non-Japan versions have more obvious tape/speed problems ? The Anonymous Alcoholic The temptations of alcohol, drunk courage, facing the consequences, hangover and relapse. The song kind of drags along until the Move Your A$$ parts with the Rick Fenn sax, moog brass and Dorking Horns, accompanied by disco drums. Then it's back to the bar.
The Anonymous Alcoholic - second best track on the album and the only one except the best one (which is yet to come) that touches the magic of pre 1977.
Yes, there you have it. Listened to it from the -97 remaster just now, it seems to my ears that the whole tape drags, making it sounds of key, up until 2:24-2:30 where it suddenly catches up speed, then from 3:00 it somehow sounds weird again. I only know that there's no speed issues on the original Mercury CD, nor on the vinyl I bought upon release.
Pretty much my take on it-- While the song is very funny in places, it's essentially a very sad story and does make me wonder if either of them was dealing with such issues. I think the funny/sad shifts in the story are handled very well, and musically it makes a great mini-epic to close the side with. All told, I think the variety and overall quality of this album side make it top-notch.
Anonymous Alcoholic is another track that came right back to me upon hearing it. So far, this is the one that most reminds me of Deceptive Bends. It may be the track with the most wit so far.
It’s certainly the wittiest track on the album so far. I love how Graham chastises the character with the line: “you slept in your clothes” near the end. Great track and one that stands up with the original 10cc. The “old leather” line is funny as well. This track sparkles.
The Anonymous Alcoholic Now this is much more like it. This darkly witty tale with a sad ending is matched by the inventiveness of the track itself. The first & last parts sound a bit Eric Clapton sounding which when you consider his troubles with drink in the 1970s might not be a coincidence. Then comes the funky yet weird middle section which sounds like KC & The Sunshine Band produced by Brian Eno and this is a great gem I've never heard before.
Trivia: "The Anonymous Alcoholic" steals a line from the earlier b-side "Get It While You Can" I'll let you guys figure it out.
I saw the movie many times, they use to show it on the local New York tv stations before cable. The movie is based on a real life person who wrote a book about his experience.
