HISTORY MIX VOL. 1

No reason to cry

This collection dating from 1985 seems to have fallen through the cracks, perhaps due to the fact that it is not an original album but neither is it a straightforward compilation. In addition, the tracks used in the mix were originally recorded by 10CC, and Hotlegs in addition to Godley and Crème.

At present, the best way to obtain the album is as part of a double CD collection which also includes Godley and Crème's "Bird of prey" album. As this CD contains all the tracks on both versions of the original LP, I shall use it as the basis for this review.

As the title suggests, the principal tracks here are made up of mixes of familiar tracks. Do not therefore be fooled by the 12 and 17 minute running times of two of the tracks, they are most definitely not prog epics!

The opening track, "Wet rubber soup" is based on a selection of well known 10CC songs such as "Rubber Bullets", "Life is a Minestrone", and "I'm not in love". Since the original recordings are used as the basis of the mix, Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman receive performing credits alongside Godley and Crème. The main instigator however is JJ Jeczalik of Art of Noise who takes the original sounds and creates something completely new from them. The exercise is similar to that carried out on the music of ELP and Yes for remix albums, but the results here are actually more satisfactory. There are plenty of familiar sounds, such as the chorus of "Life is a minestrone", linked by some more obscure remixes and edits of 10CC music. The blending of the whispered "Big boys don't cry" ("I'm not in love") with "You make me want to cry" ("Cry") is actually quite effective.

The 17 minute "Expanding the business. . ." has an even more diverse range of source tracks, ranging from the pre-10CC "Neanderthal man" (Hotlegs) through 10CC's "One night in Paris" (these two tracks are overlaid on each other rather well) to Godley and Crème's "This sporting life". Although there are plenty of recognisable extracts, as a whole the piece does tend to drag on, failing to retain the listeners attention end to end.

Perhaps the main reason for the existence of this collection though is to facilitate the appearance of an extended version of the wonderful Godley and Crème single "Cry", produced by Trevor Horn. The 6½ minute rendition here captures the full essence of this superb song.

The remaining tracks are more orthodox, including a shorter single mix of "Cry" and its entirely forgettable B-side "Love bombs". Two G&C tracks, "Snack attack" (from "Ismism") and "Golden boy" (a fine isolated single) are given a less radical remix treatment, the latter appearing twice in different forms. Strangely, "Wet rubber soup", the first track on this album, is edited down from its 12 minute running time to 3½ minutes to become a single B side, completely destroying it in the process.

The album bears the notation "Volume 1", but to date this has been the only such venture under the Godley and Crème name. The potential for a second volume is certainly there in terms of material by 10CC and G&C which was not used here, but whether the demand is there is questionable. Perhaps this should remain a largely successful and enjoyable one off exercise.

This weird collection is half compilation, and half pseudo hip-hop pastiche made up of songs from the duo's long career together, as Godley & Creme, in 10cc and The Hotlegs. Plus one new song, Cry was added, probably because they had made a cool video for it.

The mix track are long and mostly boring. The only real pleasure comes from trying to figure out where each snippet came from, and from occasional humorous pairings of disparate clips. Other than that, it's better to get the original songs.

As for the compilation tracks, the only one here that I would have considered is An Englishman In New York. The rest are pretty forgettable.

This is very odd and perhaps an experiment more than an actual album with two mammoth and rather tedious epic tracks that are really only a mash up of well known 10CC and Godley and Creme songs blended together like a DJ got hold of them and butchered them for an album. Yet there are some moments of true innovation such as "Big Boys don't cry" meshed with the 'Humdrum Boys', but you have to search hard to find them. The medleys hold some interest but the length is criminal at over 17 minutes each and with horrible synth drum electro rhythms.

Being a compilation of sorts it features some of the great Godley and Creme songs such as the masterpiece 'An Englishman In New York' which is a song I have never forgotten ever since I saw the bizarre streamlined film clip in the 80s. I even tried to write out the lyrics that were indecipherable to a teenager of the 80s but still had fun elements with ideas such as 'demented new york athletes staggering around the block... devotion to Bloomingdales gift wrapped in red in the land of blue rinse... happy to see you, Avon crawling!" The sheer cynical sardonic edge is irrisistible, even when he sings "Hitler is king of the jews." It makes a lot of statements about the human condition "strange apparatus, you've never seen", our waste of resources and our rubbber knecking at what others should or should not be purchasing in a consumer society; "I've got to be the first on our block, no way street, happy to see you, have a nice day". And it was the first time I came across the word "Anglophile" and found out what it meant. The song holds power even today and really it is the pinnacle of brilliance as far as I am concrned. Nothing else the band did came close or moved in the same way.

'Light Me Up' is interesting with female vox and a poppy 80s aroma, but forgettable. 'Save a Mountain for Me' drags interminably until I have had enough of its mediocrity. 'Golden Boy' is okay at first with the deep bass synths but goes on too long with the repetition of "golden boy" grating on the nerves.

Overall this is a poor compilation and if bought just for 'An Englishman In New York' you might be well advised to get hold of "Freeze Frame" instead, that at least had prog songs scattered thereabouts.