10CC's third album, "The Original Soundtrack", finally scored them a major hit in the United States, and rightly so; "I'm Not in Love" walked a fine line between self-pity and self-parody with its weepy tale of a boy who isn't in love (really!), and the marvelously lush production and breathy vocals allowed the tune to work beautifully either as a sly joke or at face value. The album's opener, "Une Nuit a Paris," was nearly as marvelous; a sly and often hilarious extended parody of both cinematic stereotypes of life and love in France and overblown European pop. And side one's closer, "Blackmail," was a witty tale of sex and extortion gone wrong, with a superb guitar solo embroidering the ride-out. That's all on side one; side two, however, is a bit spottier, with two undistinguished tunes, "Brand New Day" and "Flying Junk," nearly dragging the proceedings to a halt before the band rallied the troops for a happy ending with the hilarious "The Film of Our Love." The Original Soundtrack's best moments rank with the finest work 10cc ever released; however, at the same time it also displayed what was to become their Achilles' heel the inability to make an entire album as strong and memorable as those moments.
Tracklist
1. Une Nuit a Paris: One Night in Paris, Pt. 1/The Same Night in Paris, Pt. 2 (Creme, Godley) - 8:40
2. I'm Not in Love (Gouldman, Stewart) - 6:06
3. Blackmail (Gouldman, Stewart) - 4:28
4. The Second Sitting for the Last Supper (Creme, Godley, Gouldman, Stewart) - 4:25
5. Brand New Day (Creme, Godley) - 4:04
6. Flying Junk (Gouldman, Stewart) - 4:14
7. Life Is a Minestrone (Creme, Stewart) - 4:42
8. The Film of My Love (Creme, Godley) - 5:07
Released: March 1975
Recorded: at Strawberry Studios, Stockport, Cheshire, England
Genre: Art Rock
Length: 41:46
Label: Mercury
Producer: 10CC
Engineered, Mixed by: Eric Stewart
Personnel
Lol Creme - vocals, piano, percussion, guitar, mandolin, autoharp, gizmo, organ, Moog, vibes, violin
Kevin Godley - vocals, drums, percussion, timpani, Moog, bongos, marimba, cello
Graham Gouldman - vocals, bass, guitar, mandolin, autoharp, percussion
Eric Stewart - vocals, guitar, piano, organ, percussion
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