Reviews and Commentaries for 10cc
We’ve long been huge fans of this album both musically and sonically. It’s the kind of recording where the sound JUMPS out of the speakers. In that way it most reminds me of Crime Of The Century, one of the most amazing recordings in the history of popular music. Both are real blockbusters, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Deceptive Bends is also one of the most DYNAMIC popular recordings I know of.
If this album doesn’t wake up your system, it’s time to scrap it and start over.
Played on big speakers at loud levels, this is Demo Disc quality sound of the highest order.
Musically it’s one of my all time favorite albums as well, a real desert island disc for yours truly.
Incredible Stereo Separation
One of the many elements that combine to push this album well beyond the bounds of most popular recordings is the thought and care that went into the soundstaging. Listen to the stereo separation on any track — the sound of each instrument has been carefully considered within the context of the arrangement and placed in a specific location within the soundfield for a reason — usually that reason is for MAXIMUM EFFECT.
That’s why we LOVE 10cc. Their recordings from this era are an audiophile dream come true. Compare that to some of the stereo mixes for the Beatles albums, where an instrument or vocal seems to panned to one channel or another not because it SHOULD be, but because it COULD be. With 10cc those hard-left, hard-right effects make the songs JUMP. They call attention to themselves precisely because the band is having a blast in the studio, showing off all the tricks they have up their sleeves. They want you to get as big a kick out of hearing them as they did conjuring them up.
Here are some other records with Demo Disc sound in these areas:
Further Reading
- Record collecting for audiophiles from A to Z
- More records with specific advice on what to listen for
- More records with the potential for sound that “jumps out of the speakers
