After a three-week lay-off, but still buoyed by our recent chat with Graham, we plough into his interesting and eclectic work in the 70s.
Though not strictly up to the impossibly high standards of songwriting set by his 1968 album 'The Graham Gouldman Thing', some of Graham's solo dabblings in the early part of the 70s came close. It seems to Sean that his short stint as jobbing shirt-and-tie songwriter with Kasenatz and Katz in New York rather knocked the stuffing out of him. But he was given a new lease of life during a dizzying and prolific period of creativity with the other 10cc boys at Strawberry Studios playing on sessions with every Tom, Dick and Rameses that came through the door. He penned some interesting tunes too, including a single for CBS which Paul particularly admires.
We've already documented the major rift between Graham and Eric Stewart, that was further widened after the latter's near-fatal car accident when Gouldman took on two high-profile film projects. 'Sunburn' was, if not a classic, a light-hearted and hit 10cc tune in all but name, and arguably several degrees more heart-warming than anything on the band's album 'Look Hear' from the following year. The B-side's interesting too, with an (amusingly) familiar backing track and some interesting and possibly dark lyrics.
But the main course this week is most definitely Graham's final work of the 1970s, an unassuming soundtrack album for an equally unassuming animated film, semi-released in 1980 into an unfortunate political vacuum surrounding the summer and winter Olympics of that year. That the film 'Animalympics' and Graham's accompanying songs should disappear immediately into obscurity is a huge pity. This album literally bristles with fun, joy and musical ideas. The musical styles are at once pastiche and highly original. Styles range from white-boy Disco and Beatle-y pop, to anthemic or tender ballads, orchestral theme tunes, German Electronica, African tribal rhythms, AOR and The Who. This is a band really having fun! The melodies and musical hooks are literally bulging out of its grooves, and it's truly an album that can be played over and over. It's no Sheet Music, but it is in our opinion more enjoyable and cohesive than any album 10cc released thereafter.
Hope you have as much fun as we did, and see you very soon for more digging around the archives!
The Consequences Podcast 99 - Pany Turns the Tables: Paul and Sean on 50cc
The Consequences Podcast 98 - Do You Like Würms? Bull Session with Iain Hornal pt 2
The Consequences Podcast 97 - Saying the Word with Iain Hornal pt. 1
The Consequences Podcast 96 - Time, It’s a Flyer with your pilot Stuart Tosh
The Consequences Podcast 95 - Charlie Thomas pt. 2: Lots Of Love or Laughing Out Loud?
The Consequences Podcast 94 - Charlie Thomas on The Worst Documentaries in the World
The Consequences Podcast 93 - Chronicles of Modern Life: Henry Priestman on The Christians, his solo career and more rarities with Graham Gouldman
The Consequences Podcast 92 - Yachting Types: Henry Priestman on 10cc, Graham Gouldman, Yachts and his early years
The Consequences Podcast 91 - Paul Canning: Jiggery Pokery on the 10cc Bandwagon
The Consequences Podcast 90 - Paul Burgess pt 3: Journeyman par excellence
The Consequences Podcast 89 - Carol Jason and The Ballad of the Shape of Things, part 2
The Consequences Podcast 88 - Carol Jason and The Ballad of the Shape of Things, part 1
The Consequences Podcast 87 - Paul Burgess: Bloodied Tourists, 1978 - 83
The Consequences Podcast 86 - The Man at the Back: Paul Burgess, pt 1
The Consequences Podcast 85 - People Not in Love (for 24 Hours)
The Consequences Podcast 84 - 50cc
The Consequences Podcast 83 - Waxing lyrical with producer and songwriter Phil Thornalley
The Consequences Podcast 82 - Love Will Tear Strawberry Apart - with engineer Jonathan ‘Baz’ Barrett
The Consequences Podcast 81 - The Dean and Us
Consequences 10cc Podcast 80 - Strawberry Studios Forever: a ‘pod-umentary‘
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Irish Songs with Ken Murray
Immediately Kinfolk
Turned On
Resident by Hernan Cattaneo
Markus Schulz presents Global DJ Broadcast