L
	Produced by Lol Creme and Kevin Godley
	Released on 1978
	no chart information
	Find it at GEMM
SRM-1-3752 cover [high resolution scan]

W elcome to L. The convoluted carnival rides like “Rubber Bullets” and “Life is a Minestrone” were just appetizers, it turns out. The real hijinx happen here: songs about suicide and being beaten up as a kid. When the most commercial song on an album is called “Sandwiches of You,” expect anything but normal. In fact, the second album from Lol and Kev is so standoffishly strange it will send all but the most adventurous 10cc fans packing off to “Dreadlock Holiday.” If the L has a guiding principle, it’s art for art’s sake. Apparently, the pair felt confined by 10cc, and since their exit they’ve been on a mission to show how their big ideas couldn’t fit in their old band’s little britches. The closing stab at M.O.R. (middle of the road) music sums it up: Godley and Creme wanted to stay as far away from “safe” as possible. I didn’t appreciate L immediately. I wanted the melodic mischief of “The Dean and I,” not the internal (and sometimes inscrutable) griping of “Group Life.” But the album is an amazing accomplishment for two people. (More amazing is the fact that Lol and Kevin were still talking to each other after such a painstaking process.) To those convinced that Godley and Creme are the unsung heroes of art rock, L is for Lemme Show U Sumthin. “The Sporting Life,” “Sandwiches of You,” “Punchbag” and “Business Is Business” each have their moments. However, they’re sometimes nothing more than moments, separated by minutes of discomfort. Assuming the weirder experiments of 10cc weren’t weird enough for you, and you’re willing to sacrifice melody to get the weirdness, then L is for Love. Otherwise, stick to 10cc.

SRM-1-3752 back cover	SRM-1-3752 lyric insert

TRACK LISTING

1. THE SPORTING LIFE
2. SANDWICHES OF YOU
3. ART SCHOOL CANTEEN
4. GROUP LIFE
5. PUNCHBAG
6. FOREIGN ACCENTS
7. HIT FACTORY/BUSINESS IS BUSINESS
   
   All compositions written by Lol Creme and Kevin Godley
   

CREDITS

LOL CREME -- piano, Rhodes, guitars, Kramer bass, Gizmo, vocals, Farsifa organ, Guild twelve string acoustic, Guild acoustic bass, clavinet, percussion, drums, Gizmo and brass arrangements
KEVIN GODLEY -- drums, vocals, xylophone, roto-toms, percussion, congas, bass, triangle, clavinet, high-hat, tonal percussion, snare drum, bongos, Gizmo and brass arrangements
Jonathan Handelsman -- alto and soprano saxophones (4)
Andy Mackay -- baritone, tenor, alto and soprano saxophones
Chris Gray -- engineer
Nigel Gray -- engineer
Sally Fear -- original photography
Hothouse -- art, design and xerography
Alan Schmidt -- art direction

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