10cc-Deceptive Bends (1977)

In 1976, the British band 10cc suffered the loss of two of its key songwriters, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme, who decided to leave to pursue solo careers. For many, this marked the end of the band's creative era. However, 10cc had enough going for them to move forward successfully with the other pair of great songwriters, Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman, as they demonstrated on their first album after Godley & Creme's departure. Released in mid-1977, the band's new album was titled "Deceptive Bands", an ironic title taken from a road sign on the A24 motorway between the British towns of Leatherhead and Dorking in Surrey, warning of the dangerous curves ahead. “Deceptive Bends” was undoubtedly the best demonstration of the Stewart-Gouldman duo's great talent for continuing to create great works. While it's true that they lost the charm of the eccentricities and experimentation that the departing members Godley and Creme had brought to the group's style, we also discovered Stewart and Gouldman's greatness as songwriters, who at that time were in top creative and instrumental form. Majestic compositions like the bluesy “Modern Man Blues”, the playful rock and roll “Good Morning Judge”, the Beatles-influenced “The Things We Do For Love”, the melodic “Don't Squeeze Me Like Toothpaste” and “People In Love”, and the progressive and dynamic “Feel The Benefit”, confirmed, despite the loss of the aforementioned and brilliant Godley and Creme, that the band could perfectly well pull through, producing a superb and seminal work like this, which would achieve well-deserved commercial success on the charts in numerous countries around the world.