Mobile Fidelity does a great job of mastering classic cd's. Some of the outstanding examples include Building the Perfect Beast(Henley) and The Sky is crying. This album belongs in the same category due to the excellence in writing, engineering, performance and production.

10cc was first established in 1972, but all the participants knew each other before then performing in various bands together. Their first album 10cc had all the elements, but the songwriting hadn't matured to this level yet. Sheet Music is the band's first unqualified classic and this, their third album is the second.

One Night in Paris, although one of the funniest tracks(and musically challenging due to the variety of melodies that floats through it), hasn't aged as well as the other songs. I'm not in love can truthfully be called one of the great anti-love songs. Stewart and Gouldman do a terrific job of turning emotional cliches on their head in a song with an infectious melody. The middle eight of the song with the tape loops of backing vocals(yes, I, too thought for years it was a sythesizer)of the four members of the band singing harmonies is amazing. The second sitting for the last supper is another great song in a strong trio that includes Life is a Minestrone(one of the best--and funny--metaphors for describing life I've ever heard)and the beautiful Brand New Day. All the material is great, but these three stand out.

The engineering of the album(and production) is flawless for the time and still sounds terrific today(considering they were only using 16 track machines to make the album). The mastering job is uncredited(which I hate), but is superior. The only comparable version is the import cd released 2 years ago by Polydor. The dynamic range is similiar for both, but I'd give the edge to this disc based on sound and the Polydor disc based on content(it has 2 must have b side bonus tracks).

Altogether a great album(something that is said about too many albums now days) and one of the best from the 1970's.

This band's Beatles influence is clear, particularly the Abbey Road era work of Paul McCartney and George Martin. There is also a fair dose of quirky British humour throughout. Where this is a creative, playful album it never quite makes the status of greatness. The musicianship is competent but not outstanding. There is a bit too much taken from the English crooner tradition of the 30's and 40's making for overly dramatic vocal performances that actually detract from the songs rather than enhance their effectiveness. At times, it sounds as if Paul McCartney (Wings era) hooked up with Monty Python to create a playful, comedic, musical that was noble in it's efforts but didn't quite manage to meet with success. Where this is one of the band's better work's, none of their output goes beyond B level progressive pop...Simon

Simply said, the Godley-Creme-Gouldman-Stewart procreative combination of catchy hooks, tight harmonies, and witty lyrics make 1975's "The Original Soundtrack", recorded at their creative, artistic and literate peak, a truly classic album. Even though the absolutely fantastic, beautiful, my personal favorite of all-time "I'm Not In Love" primarily put 10cc on the commercial map, every track from top to bottom on this album is in a class of its own -FIRST. 10cc is indeed one of the classic supergroups in the world of art-rock. Simple - this is an essential album sounding even better on CD.

Note: This album is not a real Soundtrack album to any movie, play, etc. It is just the "witty " name 10cc gave this gem.

10cc began as a songwriting and recording project between four extremely talented veterans of the classic Rock era. Just one member- Graham Gouldman- was responsible for a tremendous number of hit in the 1960s, including "Bus Stop", "Carrie Ann" and "For Your Love".

10cc produced a number of hits in the UK and the US, eventually culminating with "Original Soundtrack", one of the most memorable albums and most played of that era.

"I'm Not In Love" was the biggest hit- and one of the biggest hits of the 1980s- but for me, the prize on this album has always been the mini-opera "One Night in Paris". It's witty, it's memorable and full of catchy tunes.

Of course, the whole album is full of catchy tunes and witty lyrics. 10cc were an amazingly talented bunch. If you've never heard them, or you only know "I'm Not in Love", buy this album and work backwards through their catalog. There are dozens of gems there waiting to be rediscovered.

'The Original Soundtrack' is widely regarded as 10cc's zenith. 'I'm not in Love', that great song of romantic denial, is justly held to be a classic. But I worry that some of the rest of this album is a touch contrived.

At the time in the UK, it seemed that every half-serious band was doing a concept album. After Yes released 'Topographic Oceans', anything went. Queen produced 'A Night at the Opera', Supertramp did 'Crime of the Century', and 10cc created this. Theatre-pop ruled, briefly. 'One Night in Paris' provided the visual theme for most of this album.

Although Godley & Creme could hit some high notes, the listener may wonder why 10cc didn't hire some female backing singers. It was just one of the customs of the era that rather than make the best possible product and sod the cost, you instead made the best possible product with the limited resources you had. It was part showing off too. Rather like the five male members of the Monty Python team performing most of the female parts themselves, even when Carol Cleveland was available.

The arrangements are rather denser than the predecessor album, 'Sheet Music'. 'I'm not in Love' is beautifully recorded and mixed. But personally, I prefer 'Sheet Music', which has no long tracks and relies entirely on the strength of the tunes rather than any dramatic structure.