Wednesday, March 18, 2015

the original soundtrack








It was just a silly phase when 10cc injected the charts with their clever quirky cinematic soundscapes. The band consisted of songwriter and former Mockingbird Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart from Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, and studio masterminds Lol Creme and Kevin Godley.  After several huge goofy hit singles ("Neanderthal Man / Hotlegs", "Donna", "Rubber Bullets", "The Dean and I", "Wall Street Shuffle"), and two albums ('10cc' and 'Sheet Music') the band was signed to Mercury Records for the recording of their third album 'The Original Soundtrack'.  

Eric Stewart remembers:  "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."



The sessions took place at Strawberry Studios Stockport, England and featured Lol Creme on vocals, piano, vibes, percussion, organ, guitar, gizmo, violins, moog, acoustic guitar, autoharp, electric piano, and mandolin;    Graham Gouldman on vocals, bass, percussion, guitar, double bass, six string bass, autoharp, acoustic guitar, and mandolins;    Kevin Godley on vocals, drums, timpani, percussion, moog, marimba, bass drum, cellos, timbali, and bongos;    and    Eric Stewart on vocals, organ, electric piano, piano, guitar, steel guitar, and percussion.  

'The Original Soundtrack' reached number thirty-seven in Sweden, sixteen in the Netherlands, fifteen in the US, five in Canada, and number three in the UK.  







http://www.10ccworld.com/





"I'm Not In Love" became their biggest hit going to number five in the Netherlands; three in Australia; two in the US; and number one in Canada, Ireland, and the UK.  The whispered "Be quiet, big boys don't cry" was done by Kathy Redfern, Strawberry Studios secretary.   Godley reveals the secret to the choir in the song:    "It is hundreds of voices — about 250, I believe. All four of us gathered ‘round a mic and sang a single note, in unison, for about 20 seconds. Actually, we sang every note in every chord of the song onto every track of a 16-track machine — one note at a time, of course. The resulting choral ‘super notes’ were then mixed to a stereo pair and trimmed into tape loops. Each loop was then spun and recorded back onto the multi-track tape where a very basic keyboard/Moog-bass-drum version of the song lived. The choral notes were then routed to faders on the mixing desk in groups that made up the appropriate chords for the song. (Fellow 10cc co-founders) Lol (Creme) and Eric (Stewart) then took turns at ‘playing’ the faders to the basic track and recording each pass to another stereo pair. Essentially, we’d created an enormous high-end Mellotron, using faders instead of keys. The tech was a little weak in the spillage department, though, so all the notes can be vaguely heard underneath — adding a ghostly atonal wash. It took a while, but it was one of those experiments that if it were medical, would’ve cured cancer. They don’t come along that often."




I'm not in love

So don't forget it
It's just a silly phase I'm going through
And just because
I call you up
Don't get me wrong, don't think you've got it made
I'm not in love, no no, it's because.. 

I like to see you

But then again
That doesn't mean you mean that much to me
So if I call you
Don't make a fuss
Don't tell your friends about the two of us
I'm not in love, no no, it's because.. 

I keep your picture

Upon the wall
It hides a nasty stain that's lying there
So don't you ask me
To give it back 
I know you know it doesn't mean that much to me
I'm not in love, no no, it's because.. 

Ooh you'll wait a long time for me

Ooh you'll wait a long time
Ooh you'll wait a long time for me
Ooh you'll wait a long time 

I'm not in love

So don't forget it
It's just a silly phase I'm going through
And just because I call you up
Don't get me wrong, don't think you've got it made
I'm not in love
I'm not in love







'The Original Soundtrack'
full album:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl8XG17PS4U



Side one
"Une Nuit A Paris" (Kevin Godley, Lol Creme) – 8:40
"I'm Not in Love" (Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman) – 6:08
"Blackmail" (Gouldman, Stewart) – 4:28

Side two
"The Second Sitting for the Last Supper" (Stewart, Creme, Gouldman, Godley) – 4:25
"Brand New Day" (Godley, Creme) – 4:04
"Flying Junk" (Gouldman, Stewart) – 4:10
"Life Is a Minestrone" (Creme, Stewart) – 4:42
"The Film of My Love" (Godley, Creme) – 5:07




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