The Original Soundtrack

Not to be confused with Original Soundtrack (album).
The Original Soundtrack
Studio album by 10cc
Released March 1975
Recorded 1974 at Strawberry Studios, Stockport, Cheshire, England
Genre Rock, art-rock
Length 41:46
Label Mercury Records 9102 500 (Super Deluxe)
Producer 10cc, engineered and mixed by Eric Stewart
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10cc chronology
Sheet Music
(1974)		 The Original Soundtrack
(1975)		 How Dare You!
(1976)
Singles from The Original Soundtrack
  1. "Life Is A Minestrone" b/w "Channel Swimmer"
    Released: 1975
  2. "I'm Not in Love" b/w "Good News"
    Released: 1975
  3. "Life Is A Minestrone" / "Lazy Ways"
    Released: 1975 (Double A-Side in the U.S.)

The Original Soundtrack is a 1975 album by 10cc.

Contents

Overview

The album was the first to be released by Mercury Records after signing the band for $1 million in February 1975. The catalyst for the deal was one song – "I'm Not in Love". Stewart recalled:[1]

“ At that point in time we were still on Jonathan King's label, but struggling. We were absolutely skint, the lot of us, we were really struggling seriously, and Philips Phonogram wanted to do a deal with us. They wanted to buy Jonathan King's contract. I rang them. I said come and have a listen to what we've done, come and have a listen to this track. And they came up and they freaked, and they said "This is a masterpiece. How much money, what do you want? What sort of a contract do you want? We'll do anything, we'll sign it". On the strength of that one song, we did a five-year deal with them for five albums and they paid us a serious amount of money. ”

The Original Soundtrack, which was already complete, was released just weeks later. It was a critical and commercial success reaching No.3 in the UK and No.15 in the US, and featured distinctive cover art created by the Hipgnosis team and drawn by artist Humphrey Ocean.

It is also notable for its opening track, Godley & Creme's "Une Nuit A Paris (One Night In Paris)", an eight-minute, multi-part "mini-operetta", its melody can also be heard in the overture to Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1986 musical The Phantom of the Opera.

The jaunty single "Life Is A Minestrone" (1975) was another UK Top 10 placing, peaking at #7. Eric Stewart (from a BBC Radio Wales interview): "We'd finished in the studio, Strawberry Studios, we'd finished recording and Lol was staying with me at the time, Lol Creme, and we were driving home and listening to BBC radio and this guy says 'mmmrrhhr mmhmrmr strone' and Lol says, 'Did that guy say life is a minestrone?' I said I don't know but what a great song, what a great idea for a song, what a great title. Life is a minestrone, isn't it. It's a mixture of everything we pile in there and of course once we sat down to start writing 'Life Is A Minestrone,' well, what's death? Death's got to be a cold lasagna, you know, 3 days old, stuck in the fridge, you don't want to eat it, and once you get on, on a roll like that about food and, and feeling, we had it written in a day." (thanks, Edward Pearce - Ashford, Kent, England). Their biggest success came with the dreamy "I'm Not in Love", which gave the band their second UK #1 in June 1975. The song also provided them with their first US chart success when the song reached #2.

A collaborative effort built around a title by Stewart, "I'm Not in Love" is notable for its innovative production, especially its richly overdubbed choral backing.

Track listing

Side one

  1. "Une Nuit A Paris" (Kevin Godley, Lol Creme) – 8:40
    • Lol - Vocals, Pianos, Vibes, Percussion
    • Eric - Vocals, Steel Guitar
    • Graham - Vocals, Bass, Percussion
    • Kevin - Vocals, Drums, Timpani, Percussion
  2. "I'm Not in Love" (Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman) – 6:06
    • Eric - Lead Vocal, Electric Piano
    • Graham - Guitar, Bass, Backup Vocals
    • Kevin - Moog, Backup Vocals
    • Lol - Piano, Backup Vocals
  3. "Blackmail" (Gouldman, Stewart) – 4:28
    • Lol - Vocals, Organ
    • Kevin - Vocals, Drums
    • Eric - Vocals, Guitar, Steel Guitar, Piano
    • Graham - Vocals, Guitar, Bass

Side two

  1. "The Second Sitting for the Last Supper" (Stewart, Creme, Gouldman, Godley) – 4:25
    • Eric - Lead Vocals, Guitar, Organ, Piano, Electric Piano, Backup Vocals
    • Kevin - Drums, Percussion, Backup Vocals
    • Lol - Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Backup Vocals
    • Graham - Guitar, Bass, Backup Vocals
  2. "Brand New Day" (Godley, Creme) – 4:04
    • Kevin - 1st Lead Vocal, Marimba, Bass Drum, Timpani, Cellos, Backup Vocals
    • Eric - 2nd Lead Vocal, Guitar, Backup Vocals
    • Lol - Pianos, Gizmo, Violins, Moog, Backup Vocals
    • Graham - Bass, Double Bass, Backup Vocals
  3. "Flying Junk" (Gouldman, Stewart) – 4:10
    • Eric - Lead Vocals, Lead Guitar, Electric Piano, Piano
    • Graham - Bass, Acoustic Guitar, Six String Bass, Autoharp, Backup Vocals
    • Lol - Acoustic Guitar, Piano, Autoharp, Backup Vocals
    • Kevin - Drums, Percussion, Backup Vocals
  4. "Life Is a Minestrone" (Creme, Stewart) – 4:42
    • Lol - Lead Vocal, Piano, Electric Piano, Percussion, Guitar, Backup Vocals
    • Kevin - Drums, Timbali, Percussion, Backup Vocals
    • Eric - Guitar, Backup Vocals
    • Graham - Bass, Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Backup Vocals
  5. "The Film of My Love" (Godley, Creme) – 5:07
    • Graham - Lead Vocals, Bass, Guitar, Mandolins
    • Eric - Guitar, Organs, Percussion, Backup Vocals
    • Lol - Piano, Percussion, Mandolins, Backup Vocals
    • Kevin - Bongos, Percussion, Backup Vocals

Japan bonus tracks

9. "Life Is A Minestrone (Single Edit)"
10. "Channel Swimmer"
11. "I'm Not In Love (Single Edit)"
12. "Good News"

Personnel

References

  1. ^ Eric Stewart interview, Radio Wales, "I Write the Songs"
10cc
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Live albums
Compilations
Box sets
Singles
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