Mirror Mirror (album)

Again featuring just two of 10cc's core band members, Graham Gouldman and Eric Stewart, the album included performances by Paul McCartney on two tracks, Andrew Gold on two tracks and Rick Fenn on one track.

Mirror Mirror was more a combination of two solo albums than a conventional 10cc production. Gouldman and Stewart played together on only one track – an acoustic reworking of their 1975 hit, "I'm Not in Love". Songs written by Stewart, including one co-written with McCartney, were recorded in France, while Gouldman's songs, one of which was co-written with musical theatre lyricist Tim Rice and another with Gold, were recorded in London.

"I'm Not in Love" was one of only three songs on the album that bore a Stewart-Gouldman joint songwriting credit.

Gouldman admitted the album was "almost like two halves of an album", largely a result of the fact that he and Stewart began recording in separate countries. "Vaguely, we intended starting off these tracks and then bring them together, finish them together, which a lot of people do," he said. "But it never happened, we got so into what we were doing, we wanted to keep it pure. I don’t like to say we hoodwinked the people, but you could say it’s not quite what it appears to be, and anyone with any sense, who reads the credits, could see that."^[1]

One of Gouldman's songs, "Ready To Go Home", was written after the death of his father, Hyme Gouldman, in 1991. Gouldman re-recorded the song for his 2000 album, And Another Thing..., when he observed in the liner notes: "It reflects my feelings at the time. I suppose I was trying to put a positive slant on his passing, remembering all the things we had done together and his artistic legacy to me. The last verse of the song best reflects my feelings on this. This song has been recorded by many artists and remains one of my favourites. Very emotional."

[edit] Track listing

"Yvonne's the One" (Paul McCartney, Eric Stewart) — 4:27
"Code of Silence" (Stewart) — 5:40
"Blue Bird" (Graham Gouldman) — 4:06
"Age of Consent" (Stewart) — 5:43
"Take This Woman" (Stewart, Gouldman) — 3:53
"The Monkey and the Onion" (Gouldman, Tim Rice) — 3:18
"Everything is Not Enough" (Stewart) — 4:03
"Ready To Go Home" (Andrew Gold, Gouldman) — 4:38
"Grow Old With Me" (Gouldman) — 3:23
"Margo Wants the Mustard" (Stewart) — 3:53
"Peace in Our Time" (Gouldman, Steve Pigott) — 4:03
"Why Did I Break Your Heart" (Stewart, Gouldman) — 5:19
"Now You're Gone" (Gouldman) — 3:03
"I'm Not in Love (Acoustic Session '95)" (Stewart, Gouldman) — 3:30

[edit] Personnel

Eric Stewart — vocals, lead guitar, keyboards, percussion
Graham Gouldman — lead and backing vocals, guitars, bass guitar, percussion, mandolin
Paul McCartney — rhythm guitar ("Yvonne's the One"), strings, electric piano, frogs, crickets, percussion ("Code of Silence")
Adrian Lee — bass, programming, arrangements, keyboard, backing vocals, brass section, percussion, accordion, vibes, acoustic guitar
Andrew Gold — lead vocal ("Ready To Go Home"), backing vocals ("Grow Old With Me")
Rick Fenn — lead guitar ("Peace in Our Time")
Ian Thomas — drums
Steve Pigott — keyboard, drum programming
Gary Wallis — drums, percussion
Gary Barnacle — saxophone
Peter Thoms — trombone
Lise Aferiat and Nicola Burton — violin
Chris Goldscheider — viola
Andrew Hines and Patrick Jones — cello