What do you get with a band that seems to be equal parts Beatles influence and comedic irony? That would be 10cc, and those looking for an entry-level crash course into the band’s history could hardly ask for better than The Very Best Of, covering the British group’s six-year career and following it up with some material from alumni Godley & Creme.
10cc’s most offbeat material has always been what appealed to me most about the group, and most of their better efforts can be found here, including “Rubber Bullets”, “Life Is A Minestrone”, “I’m Not In Love”, and a healthy helping of songs from Deceptive Bends, their biggest-selling album (which has already been reviewed here). There are some other tunes which don’t quite do it for me (you’d think, being the vocal harmony fanatic that I am, that I’d dig “I’m Mandy Fly Me”, but for some reason I’ve never really gotten to like that one), but at the very least it’s a decent grouping of the band’s best material.
I’m a little torn about the decision to cap the collection off with Godley & Creme’s “Cry” – it seems a bit like 
tagging a Wings song onto a Beatles compilation to me – especially when Godley & Creme’s “History Mix” would’ve been more apt, combining “Cry” with several 10cc chestnuts in a bit of techno mega-mix – it seems to me that this would’ve been a more relevant track. But as fond as people are of “Cry”, I can see why it was included. Overall, a solid slice of 10cc.
- Donna (2:54)
- Rubber Bullets (5:17)
- The Dean And I (3:03)
- The Wall Street Shuffle (3:52)
- Sully Love (3:57)
- Life Is A Minestrone (4:40)
- I’m Not In Love (6:05)
- Art For Art’s Sake (5:52)
- I’m Mandy Fly Me (5:20)
- The Things We Do For Love (3:31)
- Good Morning Judge (2:53)
- People In Love (3:45)
- Dreadlock Holiday (4:59)
- For You And I (5:18)
- Cry (3:55)
Released by: Mercury
Release date: 1997
Total running time: 65:21
