Freeze Frame
	Produced by Godley & Creme
	Released on 1979
	no chart information
	Find it at GEMM
PD-1-6257 cover

A s much as the quirky music of 10cc prepares you for Godley and Creme, the pair suffers from a commercial blind spot that’s baffling or frustrating by turns. They’re capable of writing brilliant snippets of art pop, sampled throughout the record, but insist on subverting their pop sensibilities to wild experimentation. “Random Brainwaves” (one of several tracks featuring guitarist Phil Manzanera), “I Pity Inanimate Objects” and “Get Well Soon” (with Paul McCartney of all people on backing vocals) scratch at the door of greatness, but when the door’s opened they run in the other direction like puerile pranksters. Even with all this, Freeze Frame is more commercial than their first two records and set the stage for the far superior Ismism (a.k.a. Snack Attack). The exotic arrangements are built by treating (or torturing) traditional sounds: vocals are stretched like taffy, guitars are shrouded in effects, and all manner of odd percussion is tossed into the salad. Compounding the confusion are inscrutable lyrics and strange narratives; “Brazilia (Wish You Were Here)” might be about the effects of greenhouse gasses or nuclear destruction, “Freeze Frame” appears to be about a person suffering from some phobia, but pinning any of this down is near impossible. For that reason, “Mugshots” is one of the few tracks that doesn’t escape recollection; it’s pretty catchy and has a storyline you can actually follow. Given the daunting nature of their limited catalog, Freeze Frame is one of the better Godley and Creme records, but it’s still a hard one to warm up to, even after repeated plays. On a different note, the nonverbal credits on the picture sleeve are appreciably clever.

PD-1-6257 back cover	PD-1-6257 lyric sleeve

TRACK LISTING

1. AN ENGLISHMAN IN NEW YORK    5:33
2. RANDOM BRAINWAVES    2:37
3. I PITY INANIMATE OBJECTS    5:21
4. FREEZE FRAME    4:45
5. CLUES    5:22
6. BRAZILIA (WISH YOU WERE HERE)    6:06
7. MUGSHOTS    3:53
8. GET WELL SOON    4:35
   
   All titles written and arranged by Godley & Creme

CREDITS

LOL CREME -- vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, keyboards, hand claps, marimba, xylophone, harmonica, percussion
KEVIN GODLEY -- vocals, drums, percussion, hand claps, electronics
Phil Manzanera -- guitars
Paul McCartney -- backing vocals
?? -- horns

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