Still Wonderful

I bought this when it first came out on vinyl and was immediately stunned by the album's brilliance. It predated things like I'm Not In Love and I'm Mandy and the band were still to establish themselves firmly in the national consciousness as superstars, having released just one album before. Tracks like Old Wild Men and Somewhere In Hollywood just oozed class, cratfsmanship and an inate understanding of studio technology. Fabulous then. Fabulous now. A must for lovers of songwriterly pop music at its best.

Who borrowed from whom?

When you listen to this album you can hear where it came from and who it influenced. It's like taking T-Rex, The Tubes, Sparks, Queen, Roxy Music, Oingo Boingo and throwing them all in the studio together. This is one of those rare times that a band's sophomore effort drastically outshines their initial offering. Don't pick through this one, it needs to be appreciated in its entirety.

Brilliant, Witty, Memorable

and still sounds fresh after 25 years! "Sheet Music" as the album title begins to tell the story of double entendres, toupes, and threepes that is vintage 10cc. Tightly controlled song structures, top-notch songwriting and vocals from all four members, 10cc crafted a sound all their own by borrowing from just about everyone and every style. I love every song on this album, with a special place in my heart for "Hotel", "Old Wild Men", and "Clockwork Creep". "Sheet Music" is the first of a series of 10cc albums from the mid-to-late seventies that defined their enduring sound.

10cc’s second album was the next phase in what guitarist Eric Stewart called the band’s “masterplan to control the universe. The Sweet, Slade, and Gary Glitter are all very valuable pop,” he proclaimed, “but it’s fragile because it’s so dependent on a vogue. We don’t try to appeal to one audience, or aspire to instant stardom, we’re satisfied to move ahead a little at a time as long as we’re always moving forward.” Sheet Music, perhaps the most widely adventurous album of what would become a wildly adventurous year, would more than justify that claim. “It grips the heart of rock’n'roll like nothing I’ve heard before,” raved Melody Maker, before describing 10cc as “the Beach Boys of “Good Vibrations,” the Beatles of “Penny Lane,” they’re the mischievous kid next door, they’re the Marx Brothers, they’re Jack and Jill, they’re comic cuts characters, and they’re sheer brilliance.” Stewart certainly agreed — he told that same paper, 10cc’s music was “better than 90% of the sheer unadulterated crap that’s in the charts” and, 20 years on, bassist Graham Gouldman continued, “Sheet Music is probably the definitive 10cc album. What it was, our second album wasn’t our difficult second album, it was our best second album. It was the best second album we ever did.” Three hit singles spun off the record, and most of the other tracks could have followed suit; it says much for Sheet Music’s staying power that, no matter how many times the album is reissued, it has never lost its power to delight, excite, and set alight a lousy day. – Dave Thompson