Search - Godley & Creme :: Images

Great single disc compilation of Godley & Creme classics

Wayne Klein | My Little Blue Window, USA | 07/27/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Respected by their peers with a small core of fans from the duo's days with 10cc, "Cry" finally broke Godley & Creme to a much larger audience in the US. This terrific, remastered and reissued album (featuring two additional tracks not on the previous edition bringing the total to 16 songs), perfectly captures all the wit, invention and creativity Godley & Creme demonstrated over their career. Although they would abandon music for video (and, later, for software development at Disney among many other things), their real strength was in their unconventional approach to music. They became England's answer to Frank Zappa but with richer, more melodic songwriting; they became England's answer to Captain Beefheart but with a tender edge and an ability to actually sing. Don't get me wrong, I love Zappa and appreciate Beefheart but Godley & Creme took their Zappa fixation and combined it with their love of The Beatles creating their own unique sound.



The sound here is an improvement over the previously issued "Images". That, along with two tracks not available on the import copy I purchased a number of years ago, makes this a keeper. It's also a budget release so it isn't as expensive as some import releases. The only drawback is the lack of indepth liner notes akin to that available for the 10cc releases.



This is a great place to dip your toe in and see if Godley & Creme's music appeals to you. This, along with the 10cc Best of Compilation (not the "Millennium Collection" edition which skimps on a number of essential tracks) will provide you with the best glimpse into Godley & Creme's world. My only complaint is that, aside from the album "10cc: The Ultimate Collection" neither 10cc nor Godley & Creme have received the boxed set attention they deserve.



I'd also recommend (although it's quite different)Eric Stewart's "Do Not Bend" which is full of bluesy intelligent rock of the type that 10cc did when Stewart and Graham Gouldman lead the band after the departure of Godley & Creme. Highly recommended."

1/2 Stars -- Great progressive pop duo and a solid compilati

Johnny Boy | Hockessin, DE | 08/12/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"For many people, Godley & Creme are remembered as an offshoot "group" of 10cc. In 1976, 10cc nearly broke up when drummer Kevin Godley and keyboardist/rhythm guitarist Lol Creme wanted to work on a project called 'Consequences.' This music was complex music, and while 10cc's music was incredibly complex as well, Godley and Creme both felt the music wasn't right for 10cc. So, the two members departed from 10cc, leaving only Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart. Hosts of session players would take their place in the future (notable members include former Pilot drummer Stewart Tosh and legendary session drummer Steve Gadd).



Godley & Creme spent well over $100,000 to make 'Consequences,' and tried to encompass a wide variety of genres. There were ballads, jazz songs, progressive rockers, hard rockers, and several catchy pop songs. The album brought in many guest spots, including one from legendary jazz singer Sarah Vaughan. This also was a device for the Gizmotron, a special effects machine that was used for piano and keyboards that the duo invented.



Despite all of this, the album was a critical and commercial flop. It sold incredibly poorly, and it failed to crack the Billboard Top 40. However, Godley & Creme elected not to return to 10cc and chose to continue on as a duo, playing music that encompassed a wide variety of styles and genres.



In 2003, Spectrum Music (a United Kingdom record label) released 'Images,' a collection featuring 16 of the duo's best songs spanning all of their studio albums (including 'Consequences').



So how does this collection measure up?



Well, if you are an American fan of Godley & Creme, you probably remember the duo for their 1986 Top 10 hit 'Cry,' which was featured on 'Miami Vice' and had a music video that was regularly shown on MTV. They had several other minor American hits, these being 'Bits of Blue Sky,' 'An Englishman in New York' (NOT the Sting song), and 'Under Your Thumb.' These, while nowhere near as big as 'Cry,' still achieved modest success in the States. All of these songs are on this collection (although 'An Englishman in New York' is offered in a disappointing edited version).



Meanwhile, in the UK, Godley & Creme churned out hit after hit, and 'Images' collects almost all of them. The disco-esque 'Wedding Bells' (a song I never have really enjoyed), the five songs mentioned above, and the Police-inspired 'Wide Boy' all appear here. Other highlights include 'I Pity Inanimate Objects' (it is as weird as it sounds, TRUST ME -- but it's incredibly complex as well), and the Vocoder effect used on 'Out in the Cold,' a haunting but intricate piece of synthesized work.



So after all of this praise, why only 3.5 stars?



Well, I hate edits. The only case where I actually think edits work are on the 'Classics, Vol. 9' CD by Supertramp (but that's another review), and 'An Englishman in New York' (perhaps my favorite Godley & Creme song) is edited. It is chopped down from almost 6 minutes to 3:52. This is the single version. This was incredibly disappointing. The liner notes nor the packaging gave no indication of this either.



And finally, while other reviewers seem to be happy about this, was the addition of 'Submarine' really necessary? It is only an instrumental version of 'Power Behind the Throne,' so why did it need to see release on a compilation? Yeah, I know, it's a rare song, but did it *really* need to be included here? Why not include 'Freeze Frame' from the album of the same name instead?



Overall, if you are a 10cc fan and don't own a Godley & Creme album, then 'Images' remains the best place to start. If you are an American Godley & Creme fan, 'Images' (even though it is incredibly hard to find in the States) is probably the most common album of theirs on the market here. If all you want is the song 'Cry,' that can be found on 'The Very Best of 10cc' album, which is readily available in the States and is recommended as a starting point for 10cc.



Godley & Creme are long overdue for a 2 CD retrospective; until that time, 'Images' remains the best compilation on the market. Sure, Spectrum could do better, but overall, this is a fairly solid collection from an incredibly underrated and complex pop group (normally I don't listen to pop music -- in fact, in most cases I hate it -- but Godley & Creme and 10cc are the *extremely* rare exceptions).



Buy this if you can find it cheap."