Context is everything on this track. When it came out, literally NOTHING sounded like it. Totally unique, but not in a bombastic way. Texturally... nuanced... definitely a statement track.

@Jude_196

2 ай бұрын

WELL SAID - and, I concur!! VERY dreamy sound....and, the DENIAL is just SO WONDERFUL!!!

@rk41gator

2 ай бұрын

Absolutely addicting.

@TheWerequat

2 ай бұрын

I'd disagree that nothing sounded like it, given all the ethereal prog rock that preceded it. I do love the song and 10CC, a favorite band of mine.

@L33Reacts

2 ай бұрын

It was a perfect blend of innovation and mystique, it seems. And a lot of elbow grease... my hat tips to these guys for the sheer vision to make it happen.

@TheWerequat

2 ай бұрын

@@L33Reacts It was almost thrown away. Interesting story

I miss the 70s

From Eric Stewart "At that time my wife and I had been married about eight years," Eric Stewart recalls, "and she asked me 'Why don't you say "I love you" more often?' I had this crazy idea in my mind that repeating those words would somehow degrade the meaning, so I told her 'Well, if I say every day "I love you, darling, I love you, blah, blah, blah," it's not gonna mean anything eventually.' That statement led me to try to figure out another way of saying it, and the result was that I chose to say 'I'm not in love with you,' while subtly giving all the reasons throughout the song why I could never let go of this relationship." It was clearly " Just a silly phase he was going through."....Even though he and his wife are still married after more than 50 years.

Before this song came out in 1975, the technology did not exist to make it, so they invented it😮! You can find extended versions of this song on KZread 😊

They recorded multiple vocal takes of a single note onto separate tracks. They then mixed each multi voice group onto a single track, giving that note a huge sound. They then repeated the process for the other notes of the scale. They then used the faders on the mixer as a virtual musical keyboard to create that lush background. Just gorgeous

@charleswagner2984

2 ай бұрын

I heard on KZread that there are over 200 vocal tracks to make their custom made choir mellotron with just 3 voices. The engineer was playing the mixer board as if an instrument to get that ambient background out of 200 voices from just 3 guys.

@charleswagner2984

2 ай бұрын

kzread.info/dash/bejne/g22BstOlf5XJeLQ.htmlsi=1g2huDUgQVDb0tTA

@ChrisEchoes

2 ай бұрын

@@charleswagner2984it was actually the whole band that were operating the faders with the multi-tracked voices. Eric Stewart was the main engineer but they needed more pair of hands.

@johncampbell756

2 ай бұрын

I thought they also had used a brand new chorale synth as well that ended up all over 80s music afterwards. I'm OK with being wrong.

@ChrisEchoes

2 ай бұрын

@@johncampbell756 no synth whatsoever. The drumbeat was done on an old stool believe. The original conception of the song was apparently more in a bossanova style but they all felt something was lacking in that version so they totally rejigged it.

"Be quiet...big boys don't cry...big boys don't cry...big boys don't cry..."

@fayesouthall6604

2 ай бұрын

Spoken by the young woman who was a secretary at the studios they owned.

@charleswagner2984

2 ай бұрын

This is how it was made. kzread.info/dash/bejne/ZaOsx5amnNa3n9Y.htmlsi=73l7HlqR3RJ5o_Xh in

@markkauder1288

2 ай бұрын

Misheard lyrics for 48 years….I am 69, loved this song since it came out…..but until a year ago, i thought she was saying “Requesting Quiet”…..LOL

@michaeljozwiak25

2 ай бұрын

Well since 1975, until now I thought she was singing, “Be quiet. Be quiet. Be quiet…”.

@NoCanDu

2 ай бұрын

That part reminds me of that “Mr. Jaws” single that was out around 1976? 😂

In 75 I was 14. Nobody had ever heard anything like this. It was indeed like a transcendent experience. It was mostly done with SO MANY OVERDUBS. There are documentary videos about the making of this song, I think you'd enjoy seeing one.

This song was so innovative. Layers... The back story is incredible. There's a whole "Behind The Music" documentary on the making of this song.

@RogerGoodgroves

2 ай бұрын

kzread.info/dash/bejne/ZaOsx5amnNa3n9Y.html

This band's first 4 albums are absolutely amazing. 4 very talented songwriters at their peak.

This didn't take the world by storm; it took the world by soft rain. This just poured sweetly out of radios that everyone was lolled into feeling nice, Loved your thoughtful reaction.

I Was In Love For The First Time When This Was Released..... Damn It Still Burns.

LEE - A few interesting facts about this group... Graham Gouldman was the songwriter for a lot of the early Hollies songs when Graham Nash (You know the N from CSN & Y) was part of them.. Kevin Godley from the band directed the Real Love single that came out of the Beatles Anthology project and of course, Eric Stewart the band member singing the lead vocal on this song was part of Paul McCartneys band for three albums..... The ethereal sounds you hear ALL the way through the track are an extreme example of multi layered vocals and came about because the band we checking the vocal mikes and mixing desk in the new recording studio that they had built. "Strawberry Sudios" in Manchester. And the female voice you hear about two thirds in is actually the recptionist they had at the reception desk there.... Not bad for a band you've never heard of... Thank you for letting us into your life and letting us keep pestering you with the music we love in the hope that you might love it to.... Keep on Rocking young sir.

……that mix tape is what we had back in the 70’s……waiting for your song on the radio than pressing record ! Good times ❤️ all his excuses prove he’s in love ❤️❤️❤️

@L33Reacts

2 ай бұрын

I remember doing that as a kid on my 3 in 1 radio. I'd use the blank tapes and record the radio lol. And bam I had my songs to listen to. Before I had a computer and such lol the good ol 90s are missed

@jonathanroberts8981

2 ай бұрын

There are a few songs I taped off radio back then that I STILL don’t know the names of, or the band.

One of the greatest songs of the rock era. The making-of interview on YT is worth watching.

A classic song.

These musicians can do whatever style of music they wish. For something proggy and funky "Art For Art's Sake". Or a fun reggae tune "Dreadlock Holiday". Or a Beatles inspired "The Things We Do For Love". A great and original band.

@Pseudonym-aka-alias

2 ай бұрын

Dreadlock holiday wasn’t fun by all accounts, they were on holiday and were threatened…..apparently?.

Lush is a word I’d use. So much better with headphones than on the radio

@gillwaugh7212

2 ай бұрын

Yeah. I love the way it shifts from left to right...

An amazing example of masterful analog production. The band spent weeks recording their voices and layering them on tape loops to create the lush background for this track.

10CC was an incredible band, two of the 3 main cogs of this band, Kevin Godley & Lol Creme are musical geniuses. They were the masterminds behind the layering and overdubbing you hear in this song. They eventually left the band to pursue a more prog style and formed Godley & Creme. They also created a sound effects box they called the “gizmo” that made over 50,000 different sounds. You have to hear their music, it is some of the more complex, obscure, amazing music I have ever heard, “Zappaesque” if you would. Later in their careers they became video directors and put together hundreds of some of the most incredible videos throughout the 80’a & 90’s. Listen to Godley & Crème’s albums “L” or “Freeze Frame” just phenomenal.

Wow thanks so much for reviewing my pic so quickly this was the first group to use that layering which had like a thousand voices combined (layers of tape) sounding like a synthesizer❤

@TheCornishCockney

2 ай бұрын

No,it’s all tape and the tape they used was so thin,it was almost transparent. All real voices of the band but layered and multi tracked. Hugely inventive.

@charleswagner2984

2 ай бұрын

624 voices tape looped. kzread.info/dash/bejne/ZaOsx5amnNa3n9Y.htmlsi=73l7HlqR3RJ5o_Xh

@TheWerequat

2 ай бұрын

@@TheCornishCockney There are instruments. A synthesizer, piano, guitar, bass, and a toy music box. The layering of voices wasn't new but 10CC had the novel idea of trying to make them sound like something else by recording scales and then "playing" the voices like an instrument.

He doth protest too much? Lovely sound🎶

@ShadowSong634

2 ай бұрын

I agree. The music itself sounds like a beautiful love song but the lyrics suggest this great fear of vulnerability.

@juneseghni

2 ай бұрын

entire point of the song..lol

When you said those layers are crazy that's exactly why I became a patreon member you catch everything musically and I really enjoy that because you truly listen to the songs not like other channels and that leads to a great reaction and you do your research before and after what could be better than that❤ great reaction bro thanks

There's a video on how they made the background vocals. It was a lot of work back then with the relatively low-tech available. The whispering lady was a Secretary IIRC they pulled in and said whisper these words.

@scottmcgregor4829

2 ай бұрын

The video of them putting the song together is more amazing than the song itself.

@charleswagner2984

2 ай бұрын

​@@scottmcgregor4829 I just found this. kzread.info/dash/bejne/g22BstOlf5XJeLQ.htmlsi=1g2huDUgQVDb0tTA

@charleswagner2984

2 ай бұрын

​@@scottmcgregor4829I found it. kzread.info/dash/bejne/g22BstOlf5XJeLQ.htmlsi=1g2huDUgQVDb0tTA

@charleswagner2984

2 ай бұрын

624 voices tape looped. kzread.info/dash/bejne/ZaOsx5amnNa3n9Y.htmlsi=73l7HlqR3RJ5o_Xh

"I'm Not In Love" is unusual in that there are no synth strings, except for the muted bass drum simulation on a Moog. All that seems to be covered in synthesizers are in fact the voices of Godley, Creme and Gouldman multiplied in several different keys and creating loops with these different vocal tracks, totalling 624 voices in all !!!! It was a mammoth task that took three weeks for the backing vocals alone. It almost sounds like sampling before its time. Genius.

brings me back to being 20

@deadwood75

2 ай бұрын

Yeah, I was 23, just out of the Army. Good years.

@grahambatchelor3576

2 ай бұрын

I concur....

Thank you L33, and Scott… For the beautiful introduction to 10cc… So much high quality crafted music to discover from a Very talented, intelligent musicians!!

Danced on this one at a class-dance in the evening at some class-mate's garage in 1975. Ten years old. Put it on myself, I always played the deejay, and rushed into the arms of the girl I really liked at the time. Slow-danced myself in heaven the whole 6 minutes......

This is a band that goes under the radar a lot. Very good and extremely talented as well as underrated.

@nonrepublicrat

2 ай бұрын

lol. if you say so.

@fayesouthall6604

2 ай бұрын

Yeah underrated definitely.

You just stumbled into my favorite band. They created some of the best albums of the 70's.

I never knew how to react to this song when it came out. It was so difficult to categorize. It does, however illustrate, how much innovation and experimentation was going on in the 70s musically.

@TheCornishCockney

2 ай бұрын

Far and away the best decade.

I think you are going to love discovering 10cc! This is actually an unusual track for them. They are rarely this chill. And rarely this serious. As for how they achieve this religious-adjacent "choir" backing vocal - I always heard that they recorded onto tape vocalist singing a single note and they built up a library of looped impossibly long, held out notes. And then they use the Moog synthesizer to play each note as they needed it. There were no real computers, the Moog was just about state of the yard at the time. I look forward to when you react to some of the funnier songs. They really spanned a gamut!

@davidwoolbright3675

2 ай бұрын

That would be State of the Art. Not yard.

@jonathanroberts8981

2 ай бұрын

The Moog on this track only provides the bass drum sound. Sampling keyboards were years away at the time.

@thoughtstorms_keith

2 ай бұрын

@@jonathanroberts8981 yes, i got my aging memory-meat muddled! Somehow, they edited those tracks... somehow all those same note tracks were playing, and they faded them up as needed. Or is my state of the Yard brain failing me again? \C;

@thoughtstorms_keith

2 ай бұрын

@@davidwoolbright3675 yep. Speech-to-text, she is a capricious wrench. Wench. Hah! Good catch.

If you do research and see how this sound was built, it was quite a game changer. I live close to Stockport where 10cc's Strawberry Studios is. I pass the building often. Their creativity was astounding.

@Rolling_Ronnie

2 ай бұрын

The had two studios, Strawberry North and Strawberry South, near Leatherhead and the road past Box Hill (beloved of bikers) where the Deceptive Bends sign is.

@fuzzlewit9

2 ай бұрын

@@Rolling_Ronnie Indeed, but obviously being near Stockport I'm on about their first studio, Strawberry North opened in 1968, not the South studio opened in 1976. There's a blue plaque on the outside of the Strawberry North building that reads "Strawberry Recording Studios 1968 to 1993. Association with the band 10cc resulted in some of the most memorable music being produced at these studios. Paul McCartney, Neil Sedaka, The Stone Roses, the Syd Lawrence Orchestra and many others also recorded here."

An example of a typical bloke's macho reaction to love. Beautiful sounds.

1975,year of 3 classic songs."I'm not in love","Born to run" &"Bohemian rhapsody".

@craigfazekas3923

Ай бұрын

It is said that Une Nuit á Paris by 10cc influenced the making of Bohemian Rhapsody. Not in any particular way, just in idea & scope.... Apparently members of Queen, particularly Mercurial von Frederico, were fans of 10cc. Much like 10cc, Queen's production values were top notch. I hate the band, but Def Leppard can say the same- but to an obnoxious level.... Def Leppard's production values are so pronounced ? They make 10cc sound like Neil Young in terms of production values....lol. 🚬😎👍

This is one of my favorite songs from my youth. After hearing it I explored more 10cc, and I was surprised at how diverse their sound is. Atmospheric like this one, reggae like Dreadlock Holiday, doo-wop parody Donna, and so on. I don't think they ever settled on "a sound" for the band and continued to change and evolve over the years they were together.

I was 15 when I first heard this and immediately picked up that the singer was totally in love.

You'll see many references to how they made this track. From memory, they recorded as many tracks of them all harmonizing different notes as they had channels on their mixer desk, and loaded those tape loops onto each individual channel. Then, they all sat around the mixer console & 'played' it as an 'instrument', recording the output to a separate channel. Potentially so easy to do today in digital, but ground-breaking in analogue. Check out the recommended extra videos.

I remember where I was, who I was with, when I first heard this song. Unlike anything I'd ever heard before. So glad to see it here! (FYI the song appears in the heartbreaking opening sequence of Guardians)

My girlfriend left me in high school when this came out and it was meaningful to me for that reason. It really brings me back to those days. Man time flies, I cant believe it was that long ago................... Also check out Cry by 2 of the 10CC members in the Miami Vice Video The blonde grew up in my hometown but left before High School .

I was 19 when this came out, great tune.

You need to dig into it because they way they achieved that sound is really amazing. It is so unique and distinctive it was the only time it was ever used by anyone. The band owns it and even they had the sense to realize it could never be used again. It was a one time and it was amazing.

I played this whole masterful album endlessly when I was in college. Then went to see them live when they came to my city. Definitely a headphone song!

There is a "making of..." video here on KZread that is worth watching. It explains how they layer the voices. This song played during a sunset will melt your thoughts away.

10CC "Dreadlock Holiday" 🔥

"Feel the Benefit", from their 1977 Deceptive Bends album. A mini prog masterpiece.

They recorded their voices literally 100s of times to create these 'crazy' layers. Unique.

Toward the end of Top 40 AM radio. It was a great time to be alive. The diversity was amazing, not always great, but interesting.

This song takes me back to that little kid in 1975…no other song has that power. There’s a whole documentary about the making of this song and the use of tape loops and copious overdubs. Just brilliant…beautiful.

One of my top ten Desert Island mix tape choices, for sure. I'm so glad you appreciated it too. :)

Seeing Lee experiencing such novel sounds was fun 😀 It is transcendent! It captures the beauty of an inexpressible young love… (Ferris Bueller! lol)

Hypnotic tune. It holds you in.

Great Band - that female voice they got from the studio's receptionist - called her into the session and asked her to read the line! This is one of those songs we just knew was an instant classic. Was headed up North on a fishing trip with my buddy after last day of H.S. and we were jamming to top 40 radio and talking away - until this came on and we both shut up and listened, somehow filled with instant nostalgia, until the next song came on and we resumed confab. Next, try their DREADLOCK HOLIDAY and the official music video, if possible.

The singer was with the Mindbenders and Graham Gouldman who is also in the band. He wrote many hits for the Yardbirds, Hollies, Herman's Hermits & The Grassroots.

This is one of those songs where I wish there was a 20 minute version so I could just keep listening.

@jonathanroberts8981

2 ай бұрын

I recall the tracks were made available as samples a few years ago. Don’t recall what company issued them nor what sampling systems were supported.

Love the name of this band

@mikeeckel2807

2 ай бұрын

If I remember correctly it is the size of an average ejaculation.

The year this came out, I just had someone break my heart and I still get a tear in my eye when I hear it...

Like others have said this was written and produced at Strawberry Studios in Stockport in the North of England just 7 or 8 miles away from me now. 10cc were so innovative in music and lyrics and worth checking out others by them

Lots of talk on the technical aspects of this truly unique and artistic song, and rightly so, but for me the lyrics are equally deserving of praise. When I first heard this song I remember thinking what an insensitive guy, to be so dismissive of someone who truly likes/loves him. But, as a high schooler, I felt it was also very honest about some of the clumsy attempts at early relationship building that was happening all around me. Then of course as you get to the end of the song and you realize the guy is actually insecure about is own feelings for this other person and probably afraid to be vulnerable. Oh to be back in high school again with the hindsight of confidence and experience of course 😊

256 voices singing aahh ❤🎶🔥

Recorded just half a mile a way from me at Strawberry Studios in Stockport! Glad you played the full song and not the radio edit. The band was always innovating, melodically, harmonically, instrumentally (check out the Gizmo) and in production, but had real chops too. Funnily enough, same chord sequence introduces this as Hall & Oates "She's gone"

I was 11 when this came out, and I was mesmerized by this song. I still get a an emotional reaction to hearing this. It is great to see someone else experience this for the first time as well.1975-1978 were amazing years for music, Steely Dan, ELO, brilliantly textured music!

I loved this song as a little kid. It was on the radio a ton. I've heard it described as the in denial song. Another one of theirs on the radio a lot was The Things We Do For Love. It's very different than this one though

Don't Feel The Benefit is my favorite of theirs. I really like Dreadlock Holiday and Art For Art Sake. Live videos are available for most of their music and are of really good quality. Thanks for your reactions.

Such a beautiful song...

Great songs like Art For Arts Sake, Good Morning Judge, Wall Street Shuffle, Donna, I'm Mandy Fly Me and The Things We Do For Love. All members sang on the albums. Kevin Godley (drums) and Lol Creme (guitar/keys) went on to form Godley & Creme known for their great videos at the time. Songs like Cry and Englishman In New York. The phenomenal voice of Eric Stewart on this one.

Ethereal quality, loved this one in the 70's we had hits everyday on FM radio.

A superb band, great song. Inventive AF. There's KZread video of the making of this song and for it's time with (apparently) limited studio technology they created this masterpiece. They laid and overdubbed so many tracks that you can almost feel the tape breaking up but they covered it with effects to distract you. Genius. "I'm Mandy, Fly Me" is my favourite song by them. Cheers.

Great 10cc singles: The Dean and I, Rubber Bullets, Life Is a Minestrone, Wall Street Shuffle. Best albums: Sheet Music and The Original Soundtrack. Later stuff is OK too, but they were at their best before Godley & Creme left.

I first heard of this song from Will to power's cover from 1990.

What a fun reaction. I'm glad you're able to shut your eyes and just check it out. Many great observations afterwards. If you want something totally different and really upbeat by them and also a huge hit, check out, I'm Just a Singer in a Rock and Roll Band. The song is a banger, but man the bass guitar line on that is just killer. It's so kinetic.

@jamespuleo3269

2 ай бұрын

Hi Steve. Great tune, but I just wanted to let you know that was the Moody Blues. They did Nights In White Satin, Ride My See-Saw, Tuesday Afternoon, The Story in Your Eyes, Question, Legend Of a Mind, Go Now! many others ~~~

Thanks, L33 - I remember this song well... 10CC were awesome.. you may also know another "hit" by them... "The things we do for love".. a different mood, for sure... the amazing thing is that this band could produce this sound LIVE... I appreciate your reaction!

The music video of 10cc's "Dreadlock Holiday" has been a favorite of KZread reactors for the past couple years.

Brilliant song.

Even out of my flip clock-radio it created a powerful and unique vibe.

@L33Reacts

2 ай бұрын

The great ones always leave an impact no matter how you listen to it!!

I have to agree with the community: good reviewer. Captures the soul of the song.

If I recall it was about 200 layers of voiceover. Way way off the charts. The whispering woman worked in the same building as the studio. Details, details. There's a video on the making of this masterpiece. Worth checking out.

Yep, one of the best recordings ever, it's worth looking up (Wiki should do) the recording of the song, it was indeed as groundbreaking and innovative as you heard, this is pre-digital music, the boys were pushing sliders and turning knobs, and sounded like nothing else. If you're enjoying 10cc, work up to One Night In Paris from the same album, Original Soundtrack, it's their Bohemian Rhapsod, very dramatic, and French...

Wall of sound, layer upon layer

Great choice. G&C also pioneered music videos in the age of MTV. One of the great bands.

This song was all over the radio in the summer of ‘75!

The haunting sounds were recorded on multiple sections of tape and then played over and over each other. Pretty creative for its time.

Love all your comments coming from the heart…

They were brilliant live, saw them for pennies at uni in early 70s. There are one or two great videos on KZread

@jonathanroberts8981

2 ай бұрын

I saw them at the Beacon in NYC. Heck of a show. They had a second drummer so Godley could go out front to just sing on a few spots. Report at the time was that 10ccs was one more than the average ejaculat!on. But this has been denied as well.

There is a whole video out about how they created this wash effect. It was done old-school with tapes and many, many layers of vocals recorded over and over and played back together to make the effect.

The first track from their ( The Original Soundtrack) called Une Nuit A Paris ( One night in Paris . Its absolutely brilliant. Well worth a listen. It's what they called Art Rock .

Check out the duo of Godly & Creme/Cry EXTENDED VERSION. These guys were the brains behind 10cc

@jerrydial5984

2 ай бұрын

Nice catch! I was gonna ask if it was the same two guys from Godley & Cream but you posted before I asked. Thank you!

@TheoZoffrok

2 ай бұрын

Godley & Creme are hugely talented, but it's grossly insulting to the other two to suggest that they were "the brains of the band". Eric Stewart, who wrote this song, is the best singer, and a superb multi-instrumentalist; and Graham Gouldman is a songwriting genius through three decades (the Yardbirds, 10CC, Wax, hits for other acts) and also a multi-instrumentalist.

Beautiful, heartbreak- hit me hard ever since its release Reminds me of several painful relationships. Yes, guys have acted this way sometimes when they fell hard...it's not always because "he's just not that into you".

And also try Rubber Bullets by them ;)

10CC were a great, innovative band.

Oh yes he is!

Loved your take brother. Lots of young reactors sort of take the modern "tech" manipulation for granted. Good on ya recognizing this was "pre-tech". Some really creative stuff with the vocals, as other people have pointed out. I hadn't really made the early Genesis connection, but hear it for sure.

Malaise and melancholy made luscious. Reminds me of the space and mood in Bowie's Major Tom, minus the fear.

If you watch the making of this track, you will be amazed at how this tune was produced.

A great song from a great band. 🎶🎶👍

Evocative beauty.

10CC were an amazing group with many awesome hits! As well,Godley and Crème had separate hits later-absolutely check out the “ Cry “ video by them! Amazing!!

@stephanieharding9764

2 ай бұрын

Agreed! Also Wedding Bells was great.😊

There is a great video of them doing this live. And they ain’t kids. Really well done.

BIG BOYS DO CRY!!!!

This song is glorious.. hear brwakinh.. magnificent . An average or below average band produced this magnificent work

They recorded dozens of vocal tracks on an analog board and mixed them LIVE to tape. We were taught this in recording school. Groundbreaking at the time