10CC

First album of a group that actually had recorded together on the two albums of British eccentric Ramases (who pretended to be a Pharaoh), and if the music on this debut album does not sound like Ramases' albums, believe me that this foursome learned a few tricks on the songwriting from him, as will be evident throughout their career. Now most progheads will wonder what 10 CC is doing in our beloved Archives? Well for starters these guys developed an impressive inventive pop with many catchy hooks, clever melodies (Beatles anyone?), a strong sense of humour and bizarre (Zappa and to a lesser extent Beefheart) and huge taste for pastiche or parody (Queen and again Zappa), so you should dig the inclusion a bit more by now.

Of course 10 CC will never be prog, neither do we have the pretension to make you believe, either. But this band's oeuvre as bizarre and strange it might be at first listen, definitely deserves to be listened to closer especially from the proghead's point of view. Not that the song's arrangements are particularly intricate, or that their individual virtuosity is tearing the roof of your ceiling, but their crafty rockish-pop (in the line of Roxy music and as opposed to Queen's pop-rock) is always extremely well-made. The pastiche element is one that is almost equal to Zappa's (I'm sure Frank would've considered 10 CC very worthy of his in some ways), and the vocal harmonies remind of Queen early albums also, although clearly none of the 10 CC members have Mercury's vocals. Except for the irritating Donna pastiche (one of their two hits) and its doo-wop Johnny, this debut album is a rather even record with a fairly restraint (comparatively to their next releases) palette. Fresh Air, Speed Kills, Dean And I are maybe the highlights on this album, but not that much for a proghead to sing his teeth into in this debut.

As a matter of fact, the most bothersome thing about this record is its pretentious artwork suggesting anarchy (the bomb and tag-paint) and there is not the slightest hint of it. The most one can look at is clever pop, the way Peter Gabriel, Queen, Roxy Music or even Supertramp (in their poppier moments) might just develop. Nothing worth investigating unless the proghead loves their "meatier" records. Pleasant pop anyway!