DECEPTIVE BENDS

This aptly-titled album was the first major test for the band, as it was the first where they were only two of the four original members. Could the band manage their usual tricks with only half the personnel? Enlisting previous collab Paul Burgess in the fold, the remaining duo pulled in a very decent effort, stretching out their songwriting talents to the max.

After a very usual comedy-like opening track (a bit like a poppier Robbery, Assault And Battery or Harold The Barrel), comes one typical huge hit (even if hardly their best), Things We Do For Love. The next People In Love has interesting arrangements, but the album side glides on smoothly but rather uneventful until the closing Modern Man Blues which adds a bit of much-needed pimento in their music, as if to compensate for their old KB-man Creme's departure, Gouldman did not dare putting too much guitars in. Easily the first side's highlight with the opener.

However, the second side quickly drops to lower-than-usual 10 CC standards until the three part-suite, 11-min+, Feel The Benefit. While the track starts out rather slowly and is almost choked by much too present orchestral arrangements, around the middle of the "epic" clearly the trio pulls its stuff together and starts rocking (almost proging) and pulls in maybe their best five minutes ever. The instrumental end of this track is really superb (with a sizzling g guitar solo) and can only remind us just how close this band was to being progressive.

Overall though, this album is rather deceiving (hence my original comment at the top of this review), but it has many excuses as if there had been a full line-up as for their previous efforts, this albums better ideas indicate that they would've reached their apex on this release. Sadly, with only 5 CC left, there was no miracle, although the remaining duo managed to live up to their name. Well done under the circumstances.