Given the near-impossibility of compiling a
10cc
collection that satisfies both the general fan's demand for hits and highlights and the collector's relentless search for a historical document, the U.K. configuration of
The Very Best of 10cc
turned up a fascinating selection of cuts, not only trawling through the headline band's own catalog, but reaching back to their earlier incarnation as
Hotlegs
and forward to former members
Kevin Godley
and
Lol Creme
's own career as sporadic hitmakers. The end result, while it will win few prizes for musical coherence, nevertheless offers a second-to-none illustration of the often-manic creativity that percolated within the original quartet. The gulf between the earliest inclusion,
' percussive
novelty
"Neanderthal Man,"
and the latest,
Godley
/
Creme
's lush
"Cry,"
is immeasurable, all the more so when one considers that in between times, the team detoured through the neo-
hard rock
boogie
of
"Rubber Bullets,"
the '50s-flavored
"Donna,"
the cod-
reggae
"Dreadlock Holiday,"
the
Motown
pastiche
"Wedding Bells,"
and the extraordinarily
Zappa-esque
"Une Nuit a Paris."
The fact that the compilation hangs together as well as it does, then, is tribute as much to the timeless invention of its best tracks as it is to the songs themselves. It is notable indeed that the most dated tracks (
"I'm Mandy, Fly Me,"
"Good Morning Judge,"
"People in Love"
) are those that really have no purpose beyond a toe-tapping tune, and one must thank the British public for not encouraging this side of the band any more than they did -- compare this version of the album with its lukewarm, 15-track American counterpart for further details. ~ Dave Thompson