Consumer Guide Album

10cc: Sheet Music [UK, 1974]
Points for studio mastery and general literacy--"Oh Effendi," about the vicissitudes of Middle Eastern trade, is Cole Porter-ishly clever--but demerits for a detachment that might seem pathological if it weren't so damned expert. Great satire communicates a feeling--most often hatred or anguish, although it can be kinder, as in "The Dean and I" on 10cc--that is lacking from this too-too apollonian (cerebral? professional? glib?) endeavor. Though if the feeling itself is absent, a good beat will sometimes suffice in its stead. B