Sheet Music (10cc album)

Last updated

Sheet Music
10ccSheetMusic.jpg
Studio album by
10cc
Released24 May 1974 [1]
RecordedJanuary 1974
Studio Strawberry Studios, Stockport, Cheshire, England
Genre
Length37:12
Label UK (original release)
Mercury (1982 reissue)
Repertoire (2000 German CD reissue)
Producer 10cc
10cc chronology
10cc
(1973)		Sheet Music
(1974)		 The Original Soundtrack
(1975)
Singles from Sheet Music
  1. "The Worst Band in the World"
    Released: January 1974
  2. "The Wall Street Shuffle"
    Released: May 1974
  3. "Silly Love"
    Released: August 1974

Sheet Music is the second album by the English rock band 10cc. It was released in 1974 on UK records (No: UKAL 1007), and yielded the hit singles "The Wall Street Shuffle" and "Silly Love". The album reached No. 9 in the UK and No. 81 in the United States.

Contents

Production

The album was produced by 10cc, engineered and mixed by Eric Stewart. It includes all possible combinations of co-writing duos between Stewart, Gouldman, Godley and Creme, which the band used to experiment and explore new creativity while making the album.

In a 2006 interview, ex-drummer Kevin Godley said: "We'd really started to explode creatively and didn't recognise any boundaries. We were buzzing on each other and exploring our joint and individual capabilities. Lots of excitement and energy at those sessions and, more important, an innocence that was open to anything." [4]

While 10cc were recording their album during the night, Paul McCartney was using the Strawberry Studios in the daytime to produce his brother Mike's album McGear . Graham Gouldman remarked how the band used Paul's drum kit for their album, and how Paul's influence was certainly felt while making the record. [5]

The subject of the song "Clockwork Creep", which ends side one of the album, is a bomb aboard a jumbo jet describing the final minute in its countdown to detonation. [6]

Release

Three singles were taken from the album, all of them released in 1974. The lead single "The Worst Band in the World" failed to chart, while the follow-up "The Wall Street Shuffle" made #10 in the UK and #2 in the Netherlands. The third single "Silly Love" made #24 in the UK.

The album was reissued several times with different b-sides from the 10cc and Sheet Music singles as bonus tracks. The most recent version is 2007 UK reissue which combines only Sheet Music related bonus tracks.

The album in its entirety—including all of the bonus cuts from the 1993 release and the 2007 release—appears, along with 10cc's first album 10cc and all its released bonus cuts, on 10cc - The Complete UK Recordings on Varèse Sarabande Records. [7] [8]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [9]
Christgau's Record Guide B [10]
Tom Hull C+ [11]

Charley Walters in his 1974 Rolling Stone review felt that the band had "concocted standard pop into their own inventive, even sophisticated, art", and that while not typical pop music it would be popular with AM-oriented DJs and their listeners. [12] Billboard felt the band had a "certain zany feeling", but that "their songs are far from silly when carefully listened to" and they had "some of the most innovative vocal techniques and instrumental arrangements around". [13]

Legacy

Dave Thompson, in a summary of the album for Allmusic, felt that it had staying power and that it was "perhaps the most widely adventurous album of what would become a wildly adventurous year". [14] George Durbalau in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die felt it was "a piece of well-crafted, highly idiosyncratic pop" and was "in a word, inventive". [15]

Kevin Godley, Graham Gouldman and Eric Stewart have subsequently referred to Sheet Music as 10cc's zenith throughout their career. [16]

Graham Gouldman performed the album live in its entirety in 2015 with his 10cc touring band. [17]

Producer J Dilla sampled the track "The Worst Band In The World" on his track "Workinonit" from 2006's Donuts. In 2020, after J Dilla's track was used in two Dave Chappelle Netflix specials, Music Sales Corporation and Man-Ken Music, Ltd. (the latter of which owns the 10cc composition) sued Universal Polygram International Publishing Inc. and E.P.H.C.Y. Publishing, for copyright infringement [18]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."The Wall Street Shuffle"
Stewart3:54
2."The Worst Band in the World"
Creme2:49
3."Hotel"
Godley4:54
4."Old Wild Men"
  • Creme
  • Godley
Stewart and Godley3:21
5."Clockwork Creep"
  • Creme
  • Godley
Creme, Godley, Stewart and Gouldman2:46
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
6."Silly Love"
  • Stewart
  • Creme
Creme and Stewart with Godley4:01
7."Somewhere in Hollywood"
  • Creme
  • Godley
Godley with Creme6:39
8."Baron Samedi"
  • Stewart
  • Gouldman
Stewart with Godley3:46
9."The Sacro-Iliac"
  • Gouldman
  • Godley
Gouldman and Godley with Creme2:33
10."Oh Effendi"
  • Stewart
  • Godley
Godley and Stewart2:49

1993 CD release bonus track

  1. "Waterfall" (Gouldman, Stewart) – 3:43

2002 Japanese CD reissue bonus tracks

  1. "Bee in My Bonnet" (Gouldman, Stewart) – 2:01
  2. "Gismo My Way" (instrumental) (Godley, Creme, Gouldman, Stewart) – 3:43
  3. "18 Carat Man of Means" (Godley, Creme, Gouldman, Stewart) – 3:27

2007 UK CD reissue bonus tracks

No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."18 Carat Man of Means"
  • Godley
  • Creme
  • Gouldman
  • Stewart
Stewart with Godley and Creme3:27
2."Gismo My Way"
  • Godley
  • Creme
  • Gouldman
  • Stewart
instrumental3:43
3."The Worst Band in the World (Radio Version)"
  • Creme
  • Gouldman
Creme with Gouldman2:49

Personnel

Credits sourced from the original album liner notes.

Charts

Chart (1974)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report) [19] 87
United Kingdom (Official Charts Company)9
United States (Billboard 200)81

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">10cc</span> British art rock band

10cc are a British rock band formed in Stockport in 1972. The group initially consisted of four musicians — Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme — who had written and recorded together since 1968. All four members contributed to songwriting, working together in various permutations. Godley and Creme’s songwriting has been described as being inspired by art and cinema. Every member of 10cc was a multi-instrumentalist, singer, writer and producer. Most of the band's records were recorded at their own Strawberry Studios (North) in Stockport and Strawberry Studios (South) in Dorking, with most of those engineered by Stewart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Godley</span> British musical artist (born 1945)

Kevin Michael Godley is a British singer-songwriter, drummer and music video director. He was a singer and drummer of the art rock band 10cc and later was part of collaboration duo Godley & Creme with Lol Creme.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Godley & Creme</span> English rock duo

Godley & Creme were an English rock duo formally established in Manchester in 1977 by Kevin Godley and Lol Creme. The pair began releasing music as a duo after their departure from the rock band 10cc. In 1979, they directed their first music video for their single "An Englishman in New York". After this, they became involved in the production of videos for artists such as Ultravox, the Police, Yes, Duran Duran, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Huey Lewis and the News and Wang Chung, as well as directing the groundbreaking video for their 1985 single "Cry". The duo split at the end of the 1980s. Both have since been involved in music videos, TV commercials, and sporadic music projects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lol Creme</span> British musician (born 1947)

Laurence Neil "Lol" Creme is a British musician and music video director, best known for his work in 10cc. He was later one half of the duo Godley & Creme, with 10cc drummer Kevin Godley. Creme has collaborated with Trevor Horn's Band. He sings and plays guitar, bass and keyboards.

<i>The Original Soundtrack</i> 1975 studio album by 10cc

The Original Soundtrack is the third studio album by the English rock band 10cc. It was released in 1975 and peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart. The Original Soundtrack includes the singles "Life Is a Minestrone", and "I'm Not in Love", the band's most popular song.

<i>10cc</i> (album) 1973 studio album by 10cc

10cc is the debut album by the British rock band 10cc, first released in 1973. It was recorded at Strawberry Studios in Stockport, which was part-owned by guitarist and engineer Eric Stewart, and released on Jonathan King's UK Records label. The album reached number 36 in the UK Albums Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I'm Not in Love</span> 1975 song by British band 10cc

"I'm Not in Love" is a song by British group 10cc, written by band members Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman. It is known for its innovative and distinctive backing track, composed mostly of the band's multitracked vocals. Released in the UK in May 1975 as the second single from the band's third album, The Original Soundtrack, it became the second of the group's three number-one singles in the UK between 1973 and 1978, topping the UK Singles Chart for two weeks. "I'm Not in Love" became the band's breakthrough hit outside the United Kingdom, topping the charts in Canada and Ireland as well as peaking within the top 10 of the charts in several other countries, including Australia, West Germany, New Zealand, Norway and the United States.

<i>How Dare You!</i> (album) 1976 studio album by 10cc

How Dare You! is the fourth album by British band 10cc. Released in 1976, it included UK hit singles "I'm Mandy Fly Me" and "Art for Art's Sake". The album was the band's third to have cover artwork by the Hipgnosis creative team.

<i>Deceptive Bends</i> 1977 studio album by 10cc

Deceptive Bends is the fifth studio album by the British rock band 10cc, released in 1977. It was the first album released by the band after the departure of founding members Kevin Godley and Lol Creme and produced the hit single "The Things We Do for Love".

<i>Look Hear?</i> 1980 studio album by 10cc

Look Hear? is the seventh studio album by 10cc, released in 1980.

<i>...Meanwhile</i> 1992 studio album by 10cc

...Meanwhile is the tenth studio album by the British rock band 10cc, released in 1992. It was the band's first in nine years and marked the brief comeback of the original 10cc members Kevin Godley and Lol Creme.

<i>Greatest Hits ... And More</i> 2006 greatest hits album by 10cc

Greatest Hits ... And More is a 2006 compilation and video albums of songs by English pop group 10cc as well as pre-10cc and post-10cc work by its founding members, Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart and Kevin Godley and Lol Creme, performing as Godley & Creme.

<i>Solitaire</i> (Neil Sedaka album) 1972 album by Neil Sedaka

Solitaire is a 1972 album by American singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Wall Street Shuffle</span> 1974 single by 10cc

"The Wall Street Shuffle" is a single by the British pop/rock band 10cc, released in 1974 on the UK Records label, from the band's 1974 album Sheet Music. It was the most successful single to be released from the album, reaching No. 10 on the UK chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Dean and I</span> 1973 single by 10cc

"The Dean and I" is a song by the art rock/pop band 10cc, from their 1973 eponymous debut album, written by Lol Creme and Kevin Godley. The song was released as the fourth single from the album in August 1973 and peaked at #10 on the UK Singles Chart. The single reached the top of the Irish Singles Chart on 20 September 1973.

<i>Live and Let Live</i> (10cc album) 1977 live album by 10cc

Live and Let Live is 10cc's first live album, released in the Autumn of 1977. It was recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon in London between 18 and 20 June 1977 and the Manchester Apollo, Manchester between 16 and 17 July 1977.

"Life Is a Minestrone" is a 1975 song by 10cc released as a lead single from their third album, The Original Soundtrack.

<i>100cc</i> 1975 compilation album by 10cc

100cc, also known as 100cc - Greatest Hits of 10cc is a compilation album by the English rock band 10cc.

"Silly Love" is a song recorded by an English rock band 10cc released as the third and final single from the album Sheet Music through UK Records in 1974.

<i>Clever Clogs</i> 2008 live album by 10cc

Clever Clogs is a live and video album by 10cc released in 2008.

References

  1. ↑ "BPI".
  2. ↑ Grimstad, Paul (4 September 2007). "What is Avant-Pop?". Brooklyn Rail . Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  3. ↑ Lester, Paul (18 August 2016). "The Outer Limits: How prog were Buggles?". TeamRock .
  4. ↑ "Kevin Godley interview". Muzikreviews.com. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  5. ↑ Stannard, Joseph(2010)."Are You Normal? 10cc's Graham Gouldman Interviewed". The Quietus
  6. ↑ Lester, Paul (22 November 2012). "10cc: 'It was a tragedy we didn't stay together'". The Guardian . Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  7. ↑ Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "10cc: The Complete UK Recordings 1972-1974" (review; CD release date, 16 March 2004). AllMusic . Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  8. ↑ "10cc: The Complete UK Recordings". Varesesarabande.com (publisher's product description). Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  9. ↑ Sheet Music at AllMusic
  10. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: T". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies . Ticknor & Fields. ISBN   089919026X . Retrieved 15 March 2019– via robertchristgau.com.
  11. ↑ Hull, Tom (April 1975). "The Rekord Report: First Card". Overdose. Retrieved 26 June 2020– via tomhull.com.
  12. ↑ Charley Walters (12 September 1974). "10cc – Sheet Music". Rolling Stone . Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  13. ↑ "10cc – Sheet Music". Billboard . 1974. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  14. ↑ Dave Thompson (2012). "Sheet Music – 10cc | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 26 April 2012. Dave Thompson
  15. ↑ George Durbalau (5 December 2011). 1001 Albums: You Must Hear Before You Die. Octopus Publishing Group. ISBN   9781844037148 . Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  16. ↑ The Worst Band In The World: The Definitive Biography of 10cc by Liam Newton (2000: Minerva Press) ISBN   0-75410-311-0
  17. ↑ Roger Wink (12 December 2014). "10cc To Perform Sheet Music Album Live". noise11.com. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  18. ↑ Madison Bloom (1 September 2020). "J Dilla's 10cc Sample on Donuts Is the Subject of Copyright Infringement Lawsuit". pitchfork.com. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  19. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 307. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.