Roger Hodgson & 10CC – The Palais Theatre

To some audiences the combination of 10CC and Roger Hodgson (formerly of Supertramp) was a match made in heaven – two musically superior and unquestionably clever bands whose hits still enjoy extensive airplay. But I suspect this double bill was actually more a marriage of convenience – two acts thrown together by virtue of them being both in Australia for Bluesfest. It was interesting to note that neither acknowledged the other on the night.

Regardless the audience seemed very satisfied with both – as standing ovations and encores greeted both sets.

Both acts were short of personnel from their heyday. The 2010 10CC contained only Graham Gouldman from the original band. No Godley and Crème and no Eric Stewart. Roger Hodgson performed the material of Supertramp without Rick Davies.

10CC was the more problematic of the two. Joining Gouldman was another four members and to be fair they were all outstanding players, two of whom Rick Fenn and Paul Burgess had been playing these songs for a good many years. Most notable was Mick Wilson who managed to replicate the missing lead vocals in an almost uncanny way.

But somehow it felt like a tribute band a lot of the time – a very, very good tribute band, but a tribute band nonetheless.

Some of the songs were resounding successes, most obviously I’m Mandy, Fly Me where Wilsons vocal performance was just outstanding and Art For Arts Sake where the brilliance of the composition wasn’t dulled by the performance at all. Even the massed vocal arrangement of I’m Not In Love was well replicated when it could have been excused had it not been.

It was great to hear some gems like The Things We Do For Love, Good Morning Judge and the encore Rubber Bullets but somehow the performance just lacked a little heart and veered a little too close to “cruise ship” to be regarded as a triumph.

There was no lack of heart in Roger Hodgson’s performance. Here was a musician and a songwriter performing his songs for no other reason than there was nothing else he would rather be doing. He came across as a humble man and one who was genuinely appreciative of the fact that people had come out to see him after an absence of 34 years.

After selling 60 million albums around the world you could have expected him to exude a little more of a sense of entitlement to the adulation he received but he really seemed thankful and well adjusted to the combination of great talent and good fortune that bought him to this point in his life.

His performance was exemplary. Vocally he seems actually stronger and more assured than when he was a younger man making multi million selling albums. His guitar playing and keyboard work was superb and he was extremely well complemented by young Canadian multi instrumentalist Aaron MacDonald who managed to bring a lot of the memorable instrumental moments from the records to life in the concert environment.

The greatest complement you could pay would be to say that you didn’t miss the full band arrangements at all – and I can say that with assurance.

That has a lot to do with the quality of the songs of course. These are undeniably great compositions and that stand the dual tests of time and stripped back performance with flag flying.

The hits were there of course – Take A Long Way Home, Give A Little Bit, Dreamer, The Logical Song, Its Raining Again and Breakfast In America were all wonderful but some of the lesser known songs like Along Came Mary, Lovers In The Wind and an unrecorded song that might have been called The Awakening were equally as good. In fact the latter, with its interesting look at the tendency to “re-write your story” once you reach a certain place in your life was a highlight.

Roger Hodgson is one of the contemporary pop worlds great talents and its well worth making the effort to see his show, pay homage and be thoroughly entertained by a quality individual.

I’m Mandy Fly Me – 10CC

While 10cc where capable of many a gloriously silly song and the occasional production epic this was the song that always struck me as their most effective. It’s a song of distinctive parts and its meaning has always been subject to much debate.

In one corner there are those who suggest that its about the hallucinogenic effects of a 70’s “love drug” called Mandrax which was like the ecstasy of its time. There’s references to crazy dreams and trippy visions and coming down from induced highs – all of which tend to support that theory. In this respect it may be a  companion piece for Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds.

In the other corner there are those who argue that the song is inspired by a series of posters for an airline that featured beautiful stewardesses and the line “I’m (insert name of hostie) Fly Me. Clearly the campaign would not go too well in the politically correct era of today! There’s plenty of direct lyrically references that support this theory as well and 10cc did have a bit of an interest in the theme of holidays. But the fact that in the song the plane crashes and the mortal Mandy is nowhere to be found (after the mystical Mandy saves the singer in a heavenly type way) indicates that if the airline poster was the inspiration the band took the story into places that the advertising agency never intended.

Whatever the case the song is beautifully constructed and performed and along with the equally sublime Art For Arts Sake was the highlight of the How Dare You album.

While 10cc were known primarily as an “art band” there’s something very moving about I’m Mandy Fly Me that transcends either of the interpretations. It’s a sometime overlooked classic of a band who had many.

Roger Hodgson and 10cc Combine

Roger Hodgson from Supertramp and 10cc will together perform on a double bill at theatre sideshows in Sydney and Melbourne. Both bands are in Australia for Bluesfest held in Byron Bay over Easter 2010.

This is a really interesting show. Both Supertramp and 10cc are probably under-rated which is a strange thing to say about bands that sold millions of records and had large numbers of really big hits.

But listening to their songs now you cant deny that they were both genuinely talented purveyors of interesting, brilliantly conceived pop music that managed to blend successful commerciality with startlingly good  musicality.

Roger Hodgson must be  recognised as a gifted composer, songwriter and lyricist. As the voice, writer and arranger of most of Supertramp’s greatest hits that led to more than 60 million record sales, he gave us remarkably enduring songs like: Give a Little Bit,  Dreamer, It’s Raining Again, Take the Long Way Home, The Logical Song,  Breakfast In America, and Fool’s Overture.

Take a moment and think about those songs – they are seriously great songs.

Hodgson co-founded  Supertramp in 1969 and was with them for 14 years. He wrote and sang most of the classic hits that brought Supertramp worldwide acclaim. Roger recently received 2 awards from ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers) for his songs being in the top played songs in their repertory, proving that they have indeed stood the test of time.

It’s a similar story with 10cc. With 26 million albums sold, and hits like  I’m Not in Love, Rubber Bullets, The Wall Street Shuffle, Life Is A Minestrone, Art For Arts Sake, Good Morning Judge and The Things We Do for Love , as well as the strangely beautiful I’m Mandy Fly Me, its obvious that 10cc are one of Britain’s most original and innovative pop and rock bands. There’s a lot more to them than Dreadlock Holiday!! Noted for their studio polish, advanced musicianship, impeccable vocal performances, and clever lyrics that contributed to a style later dubbed “art pop,” 10cc first became successful for their classic singles that often parodied classic rock styles or satirised modern life.

The band’s original incarnation—a quartet comprised of Mancunians Lol Crème, Kevin Godley, Eric Stewart, and Graham Gouldman—10cc earned critical respect and public acclaim for many of their singles which showcased the band members’ talents as pop musicians, singers, and songwriters while incorporating studio techniques and instrumental virtuosity more commonly associated with the English progressive art-rock bands of the same era.

Here’s the catch – he current line-up includes only Graham Gouldman from the original line-up along with now long time members Rick Fenn and Paul Burgess, joined by Mick Wilson and Mike Stevens.

That’s a bit of a worry – although there’s no doubt that they wouldn’t have got through the quality controllers at Bluesfest if it was anything less than worthwhile. I think Bluesfest has earned our respect at that level.

Palais Theatre Melbourne –Tuesday April 06, 2010

Enmore Theatre Sydney – Friday April 09, 2010