Saturday, August 01, 2009

Number 375 - 10CC


Number 375

10CC

"Dreadlock Holiday"

(1978)
.
.
................Genre: Rock...............
art by Fippa
How important was this moment to 10CC?: "In February 1975 the band announced they had signed with Mercury Records for US$1 million. The catalyst for the deal was one song – "I'm Not in Love". Stewart recalled."At that point in time we were still on Jonathan King's label, but struggling. We were absolutely skint, the lot of us, we were really struggling seriously, and Philips Phonogram wanted to do a deal with us. They wanted to buy Jonathan King's contract. I rang them. I said come and have a listen to what we've done, come and have a listen to this track. And they came up and they freaked, and they said "This is a masterpiece. How much money, what do you want? What sort of a contract do you want? We'll do anything, we'll sign it". On the strength of that one song, we did a five-year deal with them for five albums and they paid us a serious amount of money"
I look like Serj Tainken?
After proving they could keep 10cc alive as a duo act with 1977's successful Deceptive Bends, Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman pressed on in 1978 with Bloody Tourists. Although it scored some notable hits, it was a less consistent and less memorable affair than its predecessor. The problem with Bloody Tourists is that it feels like a group of session musicians trying to come up with songs in the 10cc style instead of a proper 10cc album. The eccentric humor that once flowed freely feels forced on this album: "Reds In My Bed" is a lame stab at Cold War satire that never really succeeds in saying anything while "Shock On The Tube (Don't Want Love)" tries to be daring with its tale of a subway sex fantasy and instead comes off as smutty and dull.
Which one is Mandy .. fly me?
Another problem is that the music propping up these narratives is lacking in both hooks and inspiration: the backing track for "Take These Chains" is a dull attempt at rockabilly that sounds like an especially poppy Eagles outtake and "The Anonymous Alcoholic" has a disco-parody portion that merely sounds like a mediocre example of the music it is supposedly sending up. However, the album's singles present a few bright moments: "For You And I" is a lovely ballad that fortifies its attractive melody with some strong vocal harmonies and "Dreadlock Holiday" chronicles the exploits of a hapless tourist in Jamaican against a catchy pop-reggae backdrop. Sadly, these are the first two tracks on the album so when they have passed there isn't much to look forward to. In the end, Bloody Tourists is competent enough to keep the 10cc's hardcore fans happy but the casual listener is advised to track down its hits on a compilation. ~ [Donald A. Guarisco, All Music Guide]
Dreadlock Holiday
took the covers of that one
The lyrics, about a white man lost in Jamaica, were based on a true event that happened to Moody Blues vocalist Justin Hayward and Eric Stewart in Barbados it was a rare excursion into reggae for the act. It became the act's third and final number one single in the UK, and final top 10 hit, spending a single week at the top in September 1978. The single peaked at #44 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA. The song was later covered by Boney M on their 1985 album, Eye Dance. A reworked version is the main theme for Sky Sports coverage of Cricket in the UK, with the lines "I don't like Cricket, I love it" rerecorded as "We don't like Cricket, We Love it. Some elements of this song are used in the song "Hip Hop Holiday" by New Zealand hip hop group 3 The Hard Way. Also the song is featured in the movie Snatch. ~ [Source: Wikipedia]
For the Eagles see Number 509
What does RS think about 10cc?
There aren't many groups around with that much imagination and none who can inject such content into a highly commercial hit record. Although currently recording for a plethora of labels under a variety of names, 10cc is one group whose every last record is worth tracking down. They are one of the year's most promising new acts, and 10cc one of its most enjoyable releases. 10cc is among the few groups actively engaged in stretching rock's restrictive boundaries in a constructive and meaningful manner, without falling prey to pretense or excess. ~ [Source: RS 148]
Rolling Stone magazine deemed their '375th Song of all Time' was "Another Brick in the Wall Part 2," by Pink Floyd. Pink Floyd has appeared in The Definitive 1000 of All Time @ #497
Other songs with reference to 10cc: #431, #444, #907
Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at Number (We don't like cricket) and the Album ranked at (we love it, oh no)
This song has a Definitive rating of 79.8 out of 108
Search Artist here:1-2-3-A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-L-M-N-O-P-Q-R-S-T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z

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posted by Hippy at 9:09 pm

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