Andy & Alex - I hope you read this. As you both know all too well, songs awaken and evoke memories for listeners. By virtue of your age, you were not yet born when this was released. I turned 30 in 1975, and was in the middle of a two year relationship which began in '74 and ended in '76. The object of my affection wasn't as much in love as was I. The haunting sounds and lyrics of " I'm Not In Love " still play with my emotions to this day. I'll turn 78 in a few months. The person over whom I was so heart-broken passed away years ago, and we had both moved on long before that. Nevertheless, at least twice a month I still listen to this gem, and often shed a tear or two. Yeah, big boys DO cry.
You have no idea how big this song was when it came out in May of 1975. I was 17. Ethereal. Haunting. Heartbreaking. B+ is an insult. Listen to it without the headphones. Don't overanalyze. Just enjoy it.
This is an S Tier song for me. One of my favorite songs of all time. It’s gonna grow with more listens. The fact that you both talked about it in the impactful way you did, I think you both know this is better than a B+. I’ve wanting you to hit this for years, so thanks !
yes, top song for any rating system....the guys are just not mature enough to understand the past. It is not their fault. But it is going to take time for them to get it.
It is almost impossible to understand how out of this world this sounded in 1975. As a recording of that age it is almost a miracle it worked. Ranks up there with "Tomorrow Never Knows" and "Good Vibrations" in terms of recording landmarks.
And shares its most defining method with Tomorrow Never Knows. Avante-garde artists of the mid 60s invented the technique; Macca heard it and brought it into popular music, and 10cc heard it and made it perfect.
Omg this is one of the best produced songs of the 70s, unfortunately timed cause it came out around the same time as Bohemian Rhapsody which overshadowed it. But it’s just as marvelous in my opinion!
@@mowerdan8133 who said anything about AM radio? FM was where it was at. Besides both songs were released as singles a few months apart. 10cc released I’m Not In Love in May 1975 and Queen’s BohRap was the number 1 song on the charts that Christmas.
To me the fascinating thing is - both 10cc and Queen were in the studio around the same time - and both were pushing the boundaries of musical production. The results were unlike anything ever heard before. It truly was an inspiring era.
They're technicians. Need to feel the music more imo Its a 70s vibe to be sure but my son ( same gen ,) and his musician/ producer friends are really into it. In all regards. Vibe/ production etc
This is a sensible comment and I appreciate it. I had to say this because so many seem to get very defensive when others don't feel exactly the same about such things. Like these things are always subjective. You state why it may have hit you differently because of when it came out. You appreciate them listening to it and talking about it. This is refreshing here on the internet. 🙂
You guys will appreciate the back story about the production on this song: "To create the song’s unusual sound, the band used a makeshift sampling technique before samplers existed. The band created tape loops of backing vocals, built from more than 250 vocal tracks. The base track for the song was just electric piano and a bass drum; later, the heavily layered vocal samples were added on top, faded in one by one from the mixing console. The deterioration of sound quality due to the heavy layering and redubbing of tape gave the backing vocals a haunting, slightly distorted edge. Rather than roughening the mix, it causes the track to shimmer, and enhances its ethereal, otherworldly quality." Also impromptu, the secretary that worked in the studio did the "Big boys don't cry" bridge vocals.
The loops weren't actually faded in one by one. A multitrack was used, with each individual sung note assigned to a track and a fader. The whole band then sat a the mixer and faded the individual notes in and out to make up the chords needed. But they did this 'live' in the studio and recorded the result
In Earth's electronic shell at about 48 light years away this song is blanketing the radio waves. It was on heavy, heavy rotation on the radio. The production on this song is groundbreaking and worth checking out, especially since I know you guys are into production techniques.
The creative use of vocal tape loops made this song like no other, although some later hits like Billy Joel's "I Love You Just the Way You Are" used the technique more sparingly. When I'm in the right mood, this song still gives me chills for its haunting, regretful sound. This is a masterpiece of 1970s studio production and, in my opinion, is an S-tier track.
The ahhs were all analog recorded (digital wasn't even a thought, back then). It took over 3 weeks to get the final background track... and mountains of recording tape. The background vocalists sang in a specific key, then recorded singing in another key, and another key, and another... THEN the multitude of ahhs were treated as if they were keys on an instrument and played back as such. Just keeping everything in order would be a nightmare. It's ingenious, labor intensive, and VERY time consuming. IMHO, that element, in itself, deserves an S rating.
WAY more to it than "tape loops". Easier to understand for anyone who has ever used a mixing board before..... Each individual vocal note in the harmony was "stacked" (sung over and over again by multiple people) and then multiplied many times to give the overall effect of a massive amount of people singing that note. The voices are then further processed where they are extended indefinitely through reverb or a delay processer and then they are recorded recorded onto a single track of the tape where that track contains an endless note sang by numorous voices. Then the next note in the harmony was given the same treatment and recorded onto a different track. This was repeated over and over again until all the notes in the scale were individually recorded onto 12 different tracks, each seperate track representing one note in the scale of the key of the song. So now that you have all these individual notes stored on different tracks, you can call them up individually or in groups to play actual chords simply by using the faders to raise or lower the volumes on each individual track. So now what they have done, is turned their mixing board into a musical instrument where "notes" can be played by manipulating the faders, which is exactly what they did and how this song was recorded. To an experienced producer or an audio engineer, this is a slap yourself in the forehead moment as the concept is so simple, I'm sure countless of them asked the question "why didn't I think of that?" But therein lies the genius as there has to be a first one that thought of it and even though the rest can see how obvious the concept is after the fact, they didn't think of it. Anyway, another benefit of this technique is now you have all the voices recorded in the above described manor, all the singers can be long gone and the producers can continue to play with and manipulate the voices over and over again to their hearts desire. This was a huge deal in music production at the time. So much so, it is still talked about and celebrated today as one of the great stories of music production and recording.
An absolute classic song. It flashes me back to the summer of 1975 every time. I can sense the air, the tastes, smells and the emotions of being alive in that wonderful time of youth. Love that song. Brilliant!
This song gobsmacked radio listeners to the point that it was almost impossible to ignore and then eventually helplessly learn to love. In a similar way that we heard Bohemian Rhapsody on the radio and could not ignore that one too.. 2 miracle songs in the the same year of 1975.
You're right, but I beg to differ on Bohemian Rhapsody. I thought it was overblown nonsense at the time, hated the lyrics, and I still can't stand it, but that's just me.
This song was so groundbreaking. Completely revolutionized voice sampling, have a look online for the making of this, incredible. The got the secretary in to do the "Big Boys ..." line because she happened to be around late at night.
It isn't sampling though. It's many many many tracks of actually sung vocals. They spent three weeks recording Gouldman, Godley and Creme singing "ahhh" 16 times for each note of the chromatic scale, building up a "choir" of 48 voices for each note of the scale. The main problem facing the band was how to keep the vocal notes going for an infinite length of time, but Creme suggested that they could get around this issue by using tape loops.
Watch any documentary about the making of this song. It will blow your mind! This is pre-synth. When it was played on the radio people were amazed! A true masterpiece of audio art. [edit: Richard Schwartz has corrected me. Synths were available and used. I should have said pre-samplers or computerized synths. The way they created an instrument from their voices is quite the tale. And the sound was definitely unique.]
Golden earring was such a sleeper of a band. Radar love is pure Americana recorded by a Dutch band. And their 2 big hits were 10 years apart. Twilight zone is a gorgeous piece of music
Classic tune. The definition of 'vibe'. Pioneering at the time. The line "Big boys don't cry" was actually said by a secretary who worked in the studio. They had to talk her into it.
The band spent about 3 weeks just recording themselves singing "ahhs". 16 tracks of 3 voices for each note, which they could loop endlessly, and mix by riding the faders. True music-production innovation for 1975.. 8 years before the first digital synth hit the market!
In 1975, I was 12, and this song sounded like it came from outer space and never once lost my interest. I still hear something different in it every time I hear it.
Alex hit it on the head that's the way I've always interpreted, he's too deep in love but doesn't want to admit it so he's pretending to push away. And by the way when this came out nothing at this time sounded like this. It was played on the radio daily nonstop. And yes 10cc's is the avg amount of 👶makin🍼😮
This was a pioneering use of vocal loops to a degree that no one had done before. It fit right in with the mood of the '70s rock music scene. Very, very cool and it gets to be addictive.
In my estimation, one of the top 3 'Emotive' tracks of the Seventies. Takes me right back to the sights, sounds, and even smells of 1975.....Simply Sublime.
I was a senior in high school in 1976. My girlfriend ('75) left for college right after she graduated and I never heard from her again. This song was big back then, and I agree wholeheartedly with you, Alex. The song is captivating. And damn, it brings me right back to those days. Horribly sad for me. Definitely a kick in the chest. Thanks for tee-ing this one up.
"Stewart spent three weeks recording Gouldman, Godley and Creme singing "ahhh" 16 times for each note of the chromatic scale, building up a "choir" of 48 voices for each note of the scale. The main problem facing the band was how to keep the vocal notes going for an infinite length of time, but Creme suggested that they could get around this issue by using tape loops. Stewart created loops of about 12 feet in length by feeding the loop at one end through the tape heads of the stereo recorder in the studio, and at the other end through a capstan roller fixed to the top of a microphone stand, and tensioned the tape. By creating long loops the 'blip' caused by the splice in each tape loop could be drowned out by the rest of the backing track, providing that the splices in each loop did not coincide with each other. Having created twelve tape loops for each of the 12 notes of the chromatic scale, Stewart played each loop through a separate channel of the mixing desk. This effectively turned the mixing desk into a musical instrument complete with all the notes of the chromatic scale, which the four members together then "played", fading up three or four channels at a time to create "chords" for the song's melody. Stewart had put tape across the bottom of each channel so that it was impossible to completely fade down the tracks for each note, resulting in the constant background hiss of vocals heard throughout the song."
I actually love this song most when I'm driving and alone. Having never heard it in headphones before watching this reaction to it, and I found that to be too up close and technical for this one. This song is like a Seurat painting - you can get up and focus on the technique, but it is lovelier if you back away from it and let it just be a soundscape.
Oh man, you guys are lucky hearing this first time in luxury seats. My first time was wiped out with my head over the air conditioner vent trying to recover for tomorrow priming tobacco, let’s do it all over again. Such is the life of a 70s era Carolina kid. Listening on an AM transistor radio broadcast from hundreds of miles away. Magic…
I always preferred listening to this late at night when things were generally quiet. To me it’s a still of the night song. Still a favorite after all these years. I was finishing up my junior year of high school when this came out. God I’m getting old.
One of THE songs of my life! Remember me, in the 70’s, listening this in my room, lights off, just “traveling” in those strange and kind of magical sounds! All so new and original, then! Still love this!!!!! ✌️
Even when listening on a small transistor radio in the 70s, the layers of the song were evident. We weren't sure how it was done, but we were glad it was. The song puts you in a placid state of mind, so to speak.
Close your eyes and you're drifting away, off in a cloud somewhere listening to this song. The immersiveness of the vocals/synths is the whole thing. It is what makes this song so very unique. They may have had one or two other songs but this is the one that hit hard back in the day. Was all over the radio everywhere you turned. And I wasn't mad about it. 😏
I was 17 in the summer of '75 before my senior year. And I was soooo painfully in love when this song was all over am. Probably no song takes me back to a time better than this little, ethereal, masterpiece.
Based on everything you guys just said, giving a B+ rating makes no sense. You just described an A+ song for sure. And as a 66 year old who listened to this song on the radio when it was first released, and knows how the song was created, it's an S tier for me.
Год назад+5
You're completely right. I mean, the bit where Alex guessed it's more than a minute shorter than it actually is, automatically makes it better than B+.
next reaction - two members of 10cc formed a duo called Godley & Creme. They released a fairly big hit in 1985 called "Cry." The video for the song was groundbreaking at the time for one of the first uses of morphing in a music video. The vibe of Cry is very similar to this song.
The song casts a spell. It haunts you somehow. First time I heard it I also felt it was a little corny and over the top but still it feels masterful. And over time it’s one of those songs you keep going back to because it just sets this mood that you crave to hear and feel.
Y’all are becoming my favorites to watch. You don’t pause songs. So many pause at the wrong time and it makes me cringe. Keep it going and freaking listen ffs. Thanks for making these, I know it’s a lot of work!
The back story about this song is that it was mixed in a way that made you think that there was a group of people singing background, not sure how many times it was over dubbed but i think it was more then 5. Also the woman who said big boys don’t cry was a secretary at the recording studio who did that. You should go on RUclips and check out 10cc and it will make you think differently about the song.
I think that's a solid first reaction. It's an unusual song. Listen to it again, w/o the need to critique. You will grow to appreciate it more and more. For many of us, that song is embedded in our subconscious so our minds just go with the flow!
The documentary of the making of this song is wortj watching. No computer or digital technology to make this, its incredible how they made this wall of sound
Two of the band members, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme went on to become prolific producers of avant-garde music videos in the 1980s. Haven't heard this is a while.
This is one of those songs that's part of the soundtrack of my childhood. I've always known it. It's interesting seeing young adults so deliberately and intently experience the song for the first time. This has just been a comfort song for me.
Andy mentioned it might be a grower. Oh yes young man. It may get so addictive it grows into an S tier. I was actually taken aback that you both said B+.
Yep! It's an S tier song alright. It's also the very first 45 I bought back in the day. B+? Each to their own... I can't hate on these guys, it's my favourite channel.
Y’all, we all LOVED this song when it came out! Whenever I hear this song it reminds me of “Go All The Way” by The Raspberries. Maybe the songs were back-to-back on one of my albums put out by Ronco back in the day. I think Brandy by Looking Glass was on that album too. Man, such great songs. Sorry y’all couldn’t have grown up in the 70’s. It was pretty awesome!❤
Eric Stewart wrote I'm Not in Love in response to his wife telling him that he didn't say "I love you" often enough. When they were recording this song, Kevin Godley thought it needed something extra to put it over the top. He came up with the line, "Big boys don't cry," which the band members liked, but they needed to find the right voice to speak it. Just then, secretary Kathy Redfern opened the door to the control room and whispered, "Eric, sorry to bother you. There's a telephone call for you." Lol Creme said, "That's it! That's the voice!" Redfern was reluctant to do it, but they talked her into it. The line later became the inspiration for the band name Boys Don't Cry. After Godley and Creme left 10cc, they formed their own group and recorded "Cry." That's one I'd like you to react to.
This was before synthesisizer music. They created this sound. Miles of tape recording hours of voices, running in s loops.... 10cc is a volume of "love" they named the band for. This was a not in love, love song. Brilliant in lyrics. Some other songs: Feel the Benefit, You've Got A Cold, Morning Judge, Rubber Bullets, Dreadlock Holiday ....
10cc were ground breaking in many ways and their combination of Pop and Art Rock was one of the most creative features of the mid seventies soundscape. It was a real shame when Kevin Godley and lol Creme went off to focus on making Videos for MTV for all and sundry but to be fair they were brilliant at that as well so you can hardly blame them. The Albums ‘Sheet Music’ and ‘The Original Soundtrack’ were simply amazing bits of creation and curation.
It is difficult for today's ears to understand how this single made such and impact when it was released. It came out slap-bang in the middle of the Glam Rock era in the UK. It was like a rebirth of composition and recording which had been lost since the Beatles disappeared from the scene. At the time it was much more sophisticated than other band were able to produce. You guys are more used to hearing music produced to a higher standard. This song moves me still even after all these years. I was 20 when I first heard it.
A&A, you'll love their "The Things We Do For Love" and "Dreadlock Holiday"!! They used dozens of taped backing vocals. A very interesting recording and production story behind this song which is available on this platform
This song has, since release, stood as S tier for me. No question. Also, you can easily find a more recent years live performance here that is perhaps even more stunning.
This was PRODUCTION HISTORY. The sound board became an instrument with vocal tape loops of every note on the chromatic scale. Billy Joel used that method on "Just the Way You Are".
The production on this was insanely innovative for the time. The background vocals are so rich and full., they surround you. And no synthesizers used! Your reactions to this song were so fun to watch. The song seriously puts you in a trance. "I'm Not In Love" has been a favorite of mine since... well, longer than I am willing to admit! Great video Andy & Alex!
Try next: "The Things We Do For Love," "Wall Street Shuffle" ""I'm Mandy Fly Me," "Dreadlock Holiday." Also "Good Morning Judge" and "Art For Art's Sake."
10cc is such a great band and they have so many other fantastic songs. "Marriage Bureau Rendezvous" and "I'm Mandy Fly Me" are other great picks just like this one here.
You broke a lotta hearts with that B+. Listen again , and then again. You dismantled it pretty thoroughly, but I think maybe you had to be there on the ground floor for this one… S tier and then some.
Oh my god. Been decades since I heard this. It peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 on July 26th, 1975 and kept that spot for three weeks. So yeah, little kid me probably heard it in the car with mom running errands.
Hearing this song when it came out blew our minds! S tier song from those who grew up with it. They didn't use a synthesizer. From my understanding, they wanted to have a chorus in the background of the song, but they didn't have the budget. They decided to record the band members singing different notes and record them, then they layered and looped the tracks to give it that "heavenly angel" choir fee. The woman's voice in the song that says, "Be quiet, big boys don't cry. Big boys don't cry..." was the receptionist at the studio. She didn't want to do it, but the band convinced her. Check out the video from the making of the song. It is very interesting. Have you two heard 100CC's song, Dreadlock Holiday?
A pre-digital masterpiece of analog recording studio art. (It now seems hard to believe that Dire Straits 'Brothers in Arms' released in 1985 was the first album ever to be recorded digitally).
Dire Straits' album was nowhere near the first album to be digitally recorded. The first charting pop album that was recorded digitally was Christopher Cross's 1979 debut lp.
@@makeadifference4all Thanks. I see from wiki that 'Brothers in Arms' the best-selling digitally-recorded album of the 80s, and the first album whose CDs' sales outsold LPs'. I also see that while Cross' album was the first digitally recorded album to chart in the United States, the first digitally-recorded LP of popular music was actually by Ry Cooder. It was released in July 1979 with Cross' album released in December 1979. The first commercial release of any digitally-recorded music was a jazz LP in 1977.
This song is ingrained in memories of most of us who grew up in the 1970s simply because it was so different from everything else we were listening to at the time. It's only a B+ for you guys now but with more listens I'm sure it won't stay a B+.
We always snuck this song into our Friday night drinking/smoking jam nights back in the day. Everybody would just instantly melt into whatever they were sitting in and would just quit talking, closing their eyes. It was always played at about 3am when it was just the 5 or 6 true music lovers in our group of friends.
Smooooth, and a creative synth Pleasure. I have honestly, loved this song since I was a young boy, sitting in the back of my mom's little blue, AMC Hornet. I loved to sing along and space out to it, escape. ❤
This song is a recording master piece with the keyboards that seem to overlap each other simultaneously. A big number 1 hit in the UK charts in 1975 it sounds haunting at times, as I said a recording master piece sung beautifully. It's timeless, from a very underrated British Band.
The fact is that apart from a bit of guitar (and bass at one point), there is only one keyboard on this track. A Fender Rhodes electric piano (as well as an acoustic piano) and the bass drum sound was done with a Moog synthesizer but all the rest of the track was created with the voices of the four 10cc musicians through tape loops. It sounds like a Fairlight CMI before its time!
Your comment about listening to this driving home late at night is bang-on! That's exactly what I remember as a teenager in the 70's - late night drives in the summer, coming home from a long day working at the pool... windows down... alone and melancholy in the wilds of suburbia.
For such an ethereal, atmospheric, 'vibe" kind of song, it's surprising that it was such a huge top-40, AM radio hit - sliding into the airwaves alongside KC & The Sunshine Band, The Captain & Tennille, Linda Ronstadt, Queen, Neil Sedaka, The Doobie Brothers, Labelle, Bachman Turner Overdrive, Jethro Tull, Elton John, The Eagles and Earth Wind & Fire. Google "Billboard Top 100 hits of 1975." What a strange, yet glorious, mix of tunes, genres and bands which we SO took for granted at the time. Yet we all had our camps: rockers hated disco, disco hated country, punk hated everybody. But now we simply love them ALL (at least I do!). What a wonderful and creative time for popular music. Today's artists just don't compare.
Andy & Alex - I hope you read this. As you both know all too well, songs awaken and evoke memories for listeners. By virtue of your age, you were not yet born when this was released. I turned 30 in 1975, and was in the middle of a two year relationship which began in '74 and ended in '76. The object of my affection wasn't as much in love as was I. The haunting sounds and lyrics of " I'm Not In Love " still play with my emotions to this day. I'll turn 78 in a few months. The person over whom I was so heart-broken passed away years ago, and we had both moved on long before that. Nevertheless, at least twice a month I still listen to this gem, and often shed a tear or two. Yeah, big boys DO cry.
Beautifully stated.
Some songs are the background music of your life. Thanks for telling your story of it.
Thank you for that little peek into your life, big boys do indeed
I hear you Jay
69 dude!
The big boys don't cry line was thrown in on a whim - they had the secretary of the music studio say those lines....
You have no idea how big this song was when it came out in May of 1975.
I was 17.
Ethereal. Haunting. Heartbreaking.
B+ is an insult.
Listen to it without the headphones.
Don't overanalyze. Just enjoy it.
Yup I agree.
I was 13 :)
Big boys don't cry. 😁
Gigantic record, was voted on Capitol radio chart as greatest record of all time five years straight, recorded at Strawberry studios
Hard for me to watch these guys play the best music of all time and give it a "gneh" especially the fop on the right
This is an S Tier song for me. One of my favorite songs of all time. It’s gonna grow with more listens. The fact that you both talked about it in the impactful way you did, I think you both know this is better than a B+. I’ve wanting you to hit this for years, so thanks !
This was an unsubscribe for me.
yes, top song for any rating system....the guys are just not mature enough to understand the past. It is not their fault. But it is going to take time for them to get it.
@@jbjacobs9514funny
It is almost impossible to understand how out of this world this sounded in 1975. As a recording of that age it is almost a miracle it worked. Ranks up there with "Tomorrow Never Knows" and "Good Vibrations" in terms of recording landmarks.
And shares its most defining method with Tomorrow Never Knows. Avante-garde artists of the mid 60s invented the technique; Macca heard it and brought it into popular music, and 10cc heard it and made it perfect.
I was a kid when it came out and it blew my mind. And it still does.
Definitely. It sounds way more like 1985 than 1975 from a production/technical standpoint
What crazily accurate reply.. Totally on the mark.
I was 15 at the time this song came out. Ranks right up there with the feeling I got when I first heard Bohemian Rhapsody.
S tier all the way. One of the most brilliant songs ever. I don't think I've ever disagreed with your ratings to this extent!
Omg this is one of the best produced songs of the 70s, unfortunately timed cause it came out around the same time as Bohemian Rhapsody which overshadowed it. But it’s just as marvelous in my opinion!
"I'm Not in Love" was charting on the AM radio stations summer of '75. Bohemian Rapsody hit the AM charts spring of 1976.
@@mowerdan8133 who said anything about AM radio? FM was where it was at. Besides both songs were released as singles a few months apart. 10cc released I’m Not In Love in May 1975 and Queen’s BohRap was the number 1 song on the charts that Christmas.
Oh, I thought Bohemian Rhapsody was Christmas number one '75
@@KealohaHarrison AM radio is where the masses heard the tunes.....the general public. I was in high school during this time
To me the fascinating thing is - both 10cc and Queen were in the studio around the same time - and both were pushing the boundaries of musical production. The results were unlike anything ever heard before. It truly was an inspiring era.
I think it hit us different in the 70’s because we hadn’t heard anything like it before. Always one of my favorites. Thanks for listening guys!
yeah way ahead of it's time, probably why we would rate it higher than A&A.
This song wasn't as impactful on me in 75 as it is now
They're technicians. Need to feel the music more imo
Its a 70s vibe to be sure but my son ( same gen ,) and his musician/ producer friends are really into it. In all regards. Vibe/ production etc
This is a sensible comment and I appreciate it. I had to say this because so many seem to get very defensive when others don't feel exactly the same about such things. Like these things are always subjective. You state why it may have hit you differently because of when it came out. You appreciate them listening to it and talking about it. This is refreshing here on the internet. 🙂
You guys will appreciate the back story about the production on this song: "To create the song’s unusual sound, the band used a makeshift sampling technique before samplers existed. The band created tape loops of backing vocals, built from more than 250 vocal tracks. The base track for the song was just electric piano and a bass drum; later, the heavily layered vocal samples were added on top, faded in one by one from the mixing console. The deterioration of sound quality due to the heavy layering and redubbing of tape gave the backing vocals a haunting, slightly distorted edge. Rather than roughening the mix, it causes the track to shimmer, and enhances its ethereal, otherworldly quality." Also impromptu, the secretary that worked in the studio did the "Big boys don't cry" bridge vocals.
The loops weren't actually faded in one by one. A multitrack was used, with each individual sung note assigned to a track and a fader. The whole band then sat a the mixer and faded the individual notes in and out to make up the chords needed. But they did this 'live' in the studio and recorded the result
.. and a sexier secretary voice you'll never hear.
Yes to all and for years I thought a synthesizer was used to make the backing sounds. When I saw the video on how this was produced, it blew my mind.
@@flubblert Speak into the microphone........ Why, Miss Smith, you're beautiful. Now take off your glasses and let down your hair.
@@Russ_Keith 😉
In Earth's electronic shell at about 48 light years away this song is blanketing the radio waves. It was on heavy, heavy rotation on the radio. The production on this song is groundbreaking and worth checking out, especially since I know you guys are into production techniques.
It’s light years away because some guy from Earth named Peter Quill took it with him on his Sony Walkman. 😎
They laid down over 48 vocal tracks in a time where you had to do it manually. They then used them like an instrument in the song insanely done
My boyfriend at the time played this a lot...thought he was trying to tell me something. Still love this song...we ended up getting married. 😍😜
Me too.
The creative use of vocal tape loops made this song like no other, although some later hits like Billy Joel's "I Love You Just the Way You Are" used the technique more sparingly. When I'm in the right mood, this song still gives me chills for its haunting, regretful sound. This is a masterpiece of 1970s studio production and, in my opinion, is an S-tier track.
Great reference to Billy Joel. Great songs, both.
Billy has admitted to getting the idea from listening to this song.
The ahhs were all analog recorded (digital wasn't even a thought, back then). It took over 3 weeks to get the final background track...
and mountains of recording tape. The background vocalists sang in a specific key, then recorded singing in another key, and another key, and another... THEN the multitude of ahhs were treated as if they were keys on an instrument and played back as such. Just keeping everything in order would be a nightmare. It's ingenious, labor intensive, and VERY time consuming. IMHO, that element, in itself, deserves an S rating.
This is absolutely an S tier song, just based on its creativity that produces such a haunting soundscape.
WAY more to it than "tape loops".
Easier to understand for anyone who has ever used a mixing board before.....
Each individual vocal note in the harmony was "stacked" (sung over and over again by multiple people) and then multiplied many times to give the overall effect of a massive amount of people singing that note. The voices are then further processed where they are extended indefinitely through reverb or a delay processer and then they are recorded recorded onto a single track of the tape where that track contains an endless note sang by numorous voices. Then the next note in the harmony was given the same treatment and recorded onto a different track.
This was repeated over and over again until all the notes in the scale were individually recorded onto 12 different tracks, each seperate track representing one note in the scale of the key of the song.
So now that you have all these individual notes stored on different tracks, you can call them up individually or in groups to play actual chords simply by using the faders to raise or lower the volumes on each individual track.
So now what they have done, is turned their mixing board into a musical instrument where "notes" can be played by manipulating the faders, which is exactly what they did and how this song was recorded.
To an experienced producer or an audio engineer, this is a slap yourself in the forehead moment as the concept is so simple, I'm sure countless of them asked the question "why didn't I think of that?"
But therein lies the genius as there has to be a first one that thought of it and even though the rest can see how obvious the concept is after the fact, they didn't think of it.
Anyway, another benefit of this technique is now you have all the voices recorded in the above described manor, all the singers can be long gone and the producers can continue to play with and manipulate the voices over and over again to their hearts desire.
This was a huge deal in music production at the time.
So much so, it is still talked about and celebrated today as one of the great stories of music production and recording.
An absolute classic song. It flashes me back to the summer of 1975 every time. I can sense the air, the tastes, smells and the emotions of being alive in that wonderful time of youth. Love that song. Brilliant!
This song gobsmacked radio listeners to the point that it was almost impossible to ignore and then eventually helplessly learn to love.
In a similar way that we heard Bohemian Rhapsody on the radio and could not ignore that one too.. 2 miracle songs in the the same year of 1975.
You're right, but I beg to differ on Bohemian Rhapsody. I thought it was overblown nonsense at the time, hated the lyrics, and I still can't stand it, but that's just me.
This is an S-tier song so hauntingly
beautiful. The singers voice always gives me the feelies. I was 7 when this song was released.
Eric Stewart is the singers name. Fantastic musician and writer.
One of the most creative British bands of the 70s. Their lyrics were packed with humour and they had hit after hit throughout the decade.
Humor: bought the album for “I’m Not In Love”, stayed for “Life Is A Minestrone”
This song was everything when it came out. For those of us who were around back then, this radio hit fills the feels.
This song was so groundbreaking. Completely revolutionized voice sampling, have a look online for the making of this, incredible. The got the secretary in to do the "Big Boys ..." line because she happened to be around late at night.
The production on Their stuff is among the best ... Decades later it's still amazing
It isn't sampling though. It's many many many tracks of actually sung vocals. They spent three weeks recording Gouldman, Godley and Creme singing "ahhh" 16 times for each note of the chromatic scale, building up a "choir" of 48 voices for each note of the scale. The main problem facing the band was how to keep the vocal notes going for an infinite length of time, but Creme suggested that they could get around this issue by using tape loops.
@@Straydogger So amazing really....
This song will always have a special place in my heart. The goosebumps forming everytime.
Watch any documentary about the making of this song. It will blow your mind! This is pre-synth. When it was played on the radio people were amazed! A true masterpiece of audio art.
[edit: Richard Schwartz has corrected me. Synths were available and used. I should have said pre-samplers or computerized synths. The way they created an instrument from their voices is quite the tale. And the sound was definitely unique.]
Yep pre computer
@@tracycampbell3060 I like to Radar Love by 10cc
@@jackweber6273 that was by Golden Earring. I love that song too
Golden earring was such a sleeper of a band. Radar love is pure Americana recorded by a Dutch band. And their 2 big hits were 10 years apart. Twilight zone is a gorgeous piece of music
@@tracycampbell3060 And I thought they did "Love is like Oxygen" by Sweet! What is it about 10cc we keep giving them free hits! 😄
A terrific song that instantly takes me back to the 70's and those carefree days.
Classic tune. The definition of 'vibe'. Pioneering at the time. The line "Big boys don't cry" was actually said by a secretary who worked in the studio. They had to talk her into it.
True story.
It is 100% correct
I learn something new every day
So emotional. So personal. So brilliant. Still gives me chills 50+ years later.
The band spent about 3 weeks just recording themselves singing "ahhs". 16 tracks of 3 voices for each note, which they could loop endlessly, and mix by riding the faders. True music-production innovation for 1975.. 8 years before the first digital synth hit the market!
Analog gods. There should be statues.
In 1975, I was 12, and this song sounded like it came from outer space and never once lost my interest. I still hear something different in it every time I hear it.
Alex hit it on the head that's the way I've always interpreted, he's too deep in love but doesn't want to admit it so he's pretending to push away. And by the way when this came out nothing at this time sounded like this. It was played on the radio daily nonstop. And yes 10cc's is the avg amount of 👶makin🍼😮
Methinks thou dost protest too much 😉
The ethereal sound is what makes the song. You can't not love it. As well as the lyrics of him denying that he's in love when he obviously is.
well said.
This was a pioneering use of vocal loops to a degree that no one had done before. It fit right in with the mood of the '70s rock music scene. Very, very cool and it gets to be addictive.
In my estimation, one of the top 3 'Emotive' tracks of the Seventies. Takes me right back to the sights, sounds, and even smells of 1975.....Simply Sublime.
I remember what I was doing at the exact moment I first heard it !
There are songs that take you back to a certain time and place in the past every time you hear it.
And this definitely is one of them.
I was a senior in high school in 1976. My girlfriend ('75) left for college right after she graduated and I never heard from her again. This song was big back then, and I agree wholeheartedly with you, Alex. The song is captivating. And damn, it brings me right back to those days. Horribly sad for me. Definitely a kick in the chest. Thanks for tee-ing this one up.
😭 I know.
We have all felt that. It's awful
@@caryriggs5719 Sticks with 'ya, too. 50 years on. Crazy now that I see that number in writing.
"Stewart spent three weeks recording Gouldman, Godley and Creme singing "ahhh" 16 times for each note of the chromatic scale, building up a "choir" of 48 voices for each note of the scale. The main problem facing the band was how to keep the vocal notes going for an infinite length of time, but Creme suggested that they could get around this issue by using tape loops. Stewart created loops of about 12 feet in length by feeding the loop at one end through the tape heads of the stereo recorder in the studio, and at the other end through a capstan roller fixed to the top of a microphone stand, and tensioned the tape. By creating long loops the 'blip' caused by the splice in each tape loop could be drowned out by the rest of the backing track, providing that the splices in each loop did not coincide with each other. Having created twelve tape loops for each of the 12 notes of the chromatic scale, Stewart played each loop through a separate channel of the mixing desk. This effectively turned the mixing desk into a musical instrument complete with all the notes of the chromatic scale, which the four members together then "played", fading up three or four channels at a time to create "chords" for the song's melody. Stewart had put tape across the bottom of each channel so that it was impossible to completely fade down the tracks for each note, resulting in the constant background hiss of vocals heard throughout the song."
It was Jacob Collier style before there was a Jacob Collier.
It was a huge hit back in the day. It deserves better than a B+.
Still love this song 49 years later. B+???
I actually love this song most when I'm driving and alone. Having never heard it in headphones before watching this reaction to it, and I found that to be too up close and technical for this one. This song is like a Seurat painting - you can get up and focus on the technique, but it is lovelier if you back away from it and let it just be a soundscape.
Alone anywhere. Mysterious, haunting and beautiful all at the same time. Even when it came out when I was just 11.
Well said.
Oh man, you guys are lucky hearing this first time in luxury seats. My first time was wiped out with my head over the air conditioner vent trying to recover for tomorrow priming tobacco, let’s do it all over again. Such is the life of a 70s era Carolina kid. Listening on an AM transistor radio broadcast from hundreds of miles away. Magic…
I always preferred listening to this late at night when things were generally quiet. To me it’s a still of the night song. Still a favorite after all these years. I was finishing up my junior year of high school when this came out. God I’m getting old.
Steve, I'm right there with you. : )
Don't feel bad. I was graduating from High School when this song came out. I'm even older than you.😊
Older and wiser... . Youth is wasted on the young. It's not acceptable to be racist or sexist, and rightly so. ,but ageism is fine it seems.
Couldn't agree more
I agree 100%--definitely a lights-out, late-on-a-quiet-night song! If they hear it that way, they will promote it to S-tier (which is where I put it).
I freaking love this song. I was in junior high when this came out. I still love every part of this song it’s a GEM.
Nothing else sounds like this track. Mid 1970's and they were WAY ahead of their time.
one of the most groundbreaking songs. with hundreds of layering vocals. this song is 48 years old and its amazing.
One of THE songs of my life! Remember me, in the 70’s, listening this in my room, lights off, just “traveling” in those strange and kind of magical sounds! All so new and original, then! Still love this!!!!! ✌️
The "big boys don't cry" is so memorable; no matter what...that always sticks in one's mind...
Even when listening on a small transistor radio in the 70s, the layers of the song were evident. We weren't sure how it was done, but we were glad it was. The song puts you in a placid state of mind, so to speak.
Close your eyes and you're drifting away, off in a cloud somewhere listening to this song. The immersiveness of the vocals/synths is the whole thing. It is what makes this song so very unique. They may have had one or two other songs but this is the one that hit hard back in the day. Was all over the radio everywhere you turned. And I wasn't mad about it. 😏
I was 17 in the summer of '75 before my senior year. And I was soooo painfully in love when this song was all over am. Probably no song takes me back to a time better than this little, ethereal, masterpiece.
Hey, I was going to post this.😃 I parallel your story right down to the age and school year.
Same experience, same age! ❤
I’ve been listening to this song my whole life and I never get tired of it. It’s beautiful and always makes me feel so zen.
Based on everything you guys just said, giving a B+ rating makes no sense. You just described an A+ song for sure. And as a 66 year old who listened to this song on the radio when it was first released, and knows how the song was created, it's an S tier for me.
You're completely right. I mean, the bit where Alex guessed it's more than a minute shorter than it actually is, automatically makes it better than B+.
@Penderyn It doesn't stir YOUR soul. You can't speak for the rest of us.
next reaction - two members of 10cc formed a duo called Godley & Creme. They released a fairly big hit in 1985 called "Cry." The video for the song was groundbreaking at the time for one of the first uses of morphing in a music video. The vibe of Cry is very similar to this song.
The song casts a spell. It haunts you somehow. First time I heard it I also felt it was a little corny and over the top but still it feels masterful. And over time it’s one of those songs you keep going back to because it just sets this mood that you crave to hear and feel.
Y’all are becoming my favorites to watch. You don’t pause songs. So many pause at the wrong time and it makes me cringe. Keep it going and freaking listen ffs. Thanks for making these, I know it’s a lot of work!
So for creativity and not recorded for headphones, it deserves a higher rating. Groundbreaking song back in the day with tons of air time.
The back story about this song is that it was mixed in a way that made you think that there was a group of people singing background, not sure how many times it was over dubbed but i think it was more then 5. Also the woman who said big boys don’t cry was a secretary at the recording studio who did that. You should go on RUclips and check out 10cc and it will make you think differently about the song.
When I saw A&A were going to do I'm not in love by 10CC, I said OMG!!!!!! Get ready for the ride of your lives guys. ✌️❤️
They missed the ride...
@@cdcaleo I'm about to watch.
@@cdcaleo They did. But not all together. Which is good.
I SAW 10CC LIVE IN THE LATE 70'S AND THIS SONG WAS SOO POWERFUL-LIKE AN OUT OF BODY EXPERIENCE.
Holy crap, thnx guys! Been requesting for 4yrs 😅 🔥This song will grow on you!
they don't understand it yet....they will.....A and A are still pups with regard to classic rock....
@@austinpeevey8570 Agree, & they’ll understand it soon enough just by glancing at the comment section here 😉👍🏻
@@austinpeevey8570I haven't watched it yet. Did they dismiss it?
Haha, your faces when the "be quiet, big boys don't cry" kicks in. That's the look of every person the first time they heard this song. 😄
I loved this song the minute it came out. And I don’t know a single person that doesn’t feel the same way.
Perfect words.
This is what you call innovation particularly for the 70’s!
I think that's a solid first reaction. It's an unusual song. Listen to it again, w/o the need to critique. You will grow to appreciate it more and more. For many of us, that song is embedded in our subconscious so our minds just go with the flow!
The documentary of the making of this song is wortj watching. No computer or digital technology to make this, its incredible how they made this wall of sound
Two of the band members, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme went on to become prolific producers of avant-garde music videos in the 1980s. Haven't heard this is a while.
A&A, separately, Godley and Creme also had 7 studio albums and 2 top 10 singles in several countries.
"cry"
In 1975, this song was cutting-edge production. You both should check out the documentary about the making of it.
This is one of those songs that's part of the soundtrack of my childhood. I've always known it. It's interesting seeing young adults so deliberately and intently experience the song for the first time. This has just been a comfort song for me.
Andy mentioned it might be a grower. Oh yes young man. It may get so addictive it grows into an S tier. I was actually taken aback that you both said B+.
This song is a definite masterpiece and will never die, . Most people would rate this song an ''S'' take a poll on this song LOL!
Yep! It's an S tier song alright. It's also the very first 45 I bought back in the day. B+? Each to their own...
I can't hate on these guys, it's my favourite channel.
As the Bard said "Methinks he doth protest too much"
Y’all, we all LOVED this song when it came out! Whenever I hear this song it reminds me of “Go All The Way” by The Raspberries. Maybe the songs were back-to-back on one of my albums put out by Ronco back in the day. I think Brandy by Looking Glass was on that album too. Man, such great songs. Sorry y’all couldn’t have grown up in the 70’s. It was pretty awesome!❤
This is one of my favorite songs. It’s fascinating as to how they produced
The king of vocal overdubs in the 70's . 10cc's of pure overdubbing! Always loved this tune.
Eric Stewart wrote I'm Not in Love in response to his wife telling him that he didn't say "I love you" often enough.
When they were recording this song, Kevin Godley thought it needed something extra to put it over the top. He came up with the line, "Big boys don't cry," which the band members liked, but they needed to find the right voice to speak it. Just then, secretary Kathy Redfern opened the door to the control room and whispered, "Eric, sorry to bother you. There's a telephone call for you." Lol Creme said, "That's it! That's the voice!" Redfern was reluctant to do it, but they talked her into it. The line later became the inspiration for the band name Boys Don't Cry.
After Godley and Creme left 10cc, they formed their own group and recorded "Cry." That's one I'd like you to react to.
This was before synthesisizer music. They created this sound. Miles of tape recording hours of voices, running in s loops.... 10cc is a volume of "love" they named the band for. This was a not in love, love song. Brilliant in lyrics. Some other songs: Feel the Benefit, You've Got A Cold, Morning Judge, Rubber Bullets, Dreadlock Holiday ....
10cc were ground breaking in many ways and their combination of Pop and Art Rock was one of the most creative features of the mid seventies soundscape. It was a real shame when Kevin Godley and lol Creme went off to focus on making Videos for MTV for all and sundry but to be fair they were brilliant at that as well so you can hardly blame them. The Albums ‘Sheet Music’ and ‘The Original Soundtrack’ were simply amazing bits of creation and curation.
Family summer vacation road trip 1975, could not escape this song on the radio.
Every time I hear this song, I can feel the dude's melancholy. It tugs at my heart.
It is difficult for today's ears to understand how this single made such and impact when it was released. It came out slap-bang in the middle of the Glam Rock era in the UK. It was like a rebirth of composition and recording which had been lost since the Beatles disappeared from the scene. At the time it was much more sophisticated than other band were able to produce. You guys are more used to hearing music produced to a higher standard. This song moves me still even after all these years. I was 20 when I first heard it.
One of my absolute favorites.
I listened to this when I was 12 on AM radio in the dark and the bridge haunted me and the girl talking scared the hell out of me.
A&A, you'll love their "The Things We Do For Love" and "Dreadlock Holiday"!! They used dozens of taped backing vocals.
A very interesting recording and production story behind this song which is available on this platform
@Butterflies Are Free Godley and Creme thought 'Things we do for love' a bit weak and it was one of the reasons the band split.
@surlechapeau That's kinda how it works. 10cc were a cooperative band and they didn't give the most royalties to who liked the song most. 🤷♂️
@surlechapeau Godley and Creme had left 10cc by Deceptive Bends, so got zero royalties for the song. 😆
@@chriswood3252 thx
Huge Huge hit... I never get tired of this because its so good.
This song has, since release, stood as S tier for me. No question. Also, you can easily find a more recent years live performance here that is perhaps even more stunning.
Yeah, but the recent performances only have one of the original members.
This for some reason was a very emotional song for us teens in the 70s.
This song still gives me chills.
Same here. Little did I know I'd live out the lyrics on more than one occasion in adulthood.
What an atmospheric gem
This was PRODUCTION HISTORY. The sound board became an instrument with vocal tape loops of every note on the chromatic scale. Billy Joel used that method on "Just the Way You Are".
The production on this was insanely innovative for the time. The background vocals are so rich and full., they surround you. And no synthesizers used! Your reactions to this song were so fun to watch. The song seriously puts you in a trance. "I'm Not In Love" has been a favorite of mine since... well, longer than I am willing to admit! Great video Andy & Alex!
Try next: "The Things We Do For Love," "Wall Street Shuffle" ""I'm Mandy Fly Me," "Dreadlock Holiday." Also "Good Morning Judge" and "Art For Art's Sake."
10cc is such a great band and they have so many other fantastic songs. "Marriage Bureau Rendezvous" and "I'm Mandy Fly Me" are other great picks just like this one here.
I'm Mandy was the follow-up to I'm not in love, inspired by a British Airways advertising slogan at the time. It was a cracker too.
You broke a lotta hearts with that B+. Listen again , and then again. You dismantled it pretty thoroughly, but I think maybe you had to be there on the ground floor for this one… S tier and then some.
Oh my god. Been decades since I heard this. It peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 on July 26th, 1975 and kept that spot for three weeks. So yeah, little kid me probably heard it in the car with mom running errands.
This song is always such a vibe...airy and ethereal
Hearing this song when it came out blew our minds! S tier song from those who grew up with it.
They didn't use a synthesizer. From my understanding, they wanted to have a chorus in the background of the song, but they didn't have the budget. They decided to record the band members singing different notes and record them, then they layered and looped the tracks to give it that "heavenly angel" choir fee. The woman's voice in the song that says, "Be quiet, big boys don't cry. Big boys don't cry..." was the receptionist at the studio. She didn't want to do it, but the band convinced her.
Check out the video from the making of the song. It is very interesting.
Have you two heard 100CC's song, Dreadlock Holiday?
I absolutely love love this song. I love the music and the lyrics.
A pre-digital masterpiece of analog recording studio art. (It now seems hard to believe that Dire Straits 'Brothers in Arms' released in 1985 was the first album ever to be recorded digitally).
Dire Straits' album was nowhere near the first album to be digitally recorded. The first charting pop album that was recorded digitally was Christopher Cross's 1979 debut lp.
@@makeadifference4all Thanks. I see from wiki that 'Brothers in Arms' the best-selling digitally-recorded album of the 80s, and the first album whose CDs' sales outsold LPs'. I also see that while Cross' album was the first digitally recorded album to chart in the United States, the first digitally-recorded LP of popular music was actually by Ry Cooder. It was released in July 1979 with Cross' album released in December 1979. The first commercial release of any digitally-recorded music was a jazz LP in 1977.
This song is ingrained in memories of most of us who grew up in the 1970s simply because it was so different from everything else we were listening to at the time. It's only a B+ for you guys now but with more listens I'm sure it won't stay a B+.
Great song. You should check out how it was recorded. There are a few videos on RUclips about it. A very original and creative approach to recording.
We always snuck this song into our Friday night drinking/smoking jam nights back in the day. Everybody would just instantly melt into whatever they were sitting in and would just quit talking, closing their eyes. It was always played at about 3am when it was just the 5 or 6 true music lovers in our group of friends.
Smooooth, and a creative synth Pleasure. I have honestly, loved this song since I was a young boy, sitting in the back of my mom's little blue, AMC Hornet. I loved to sing along and space out to it, escape. ❤
This song is a recording master piece with the keyboards that seem to overlap each other simultaneously. A big number 1 hit in the UK charts in 1975 it sounds haunting at times, as I said a recording master piece sung beautifully. It's timeless, from a very underrated British Band.
The fact is that apart from a bit of guitar (and bass at one point), there is only one keyboard on this track. A Fender Rhodes electric piano (as well as an acoustic piano) and the bass drum sound was done with a Moog synthesizer but all the rest of the track was created with the voices of the four 10cc musicians through tape loops. It sounds like a Fairlight CMI before its time!
A big hit when I was 12. We understood that he was, in fact, in love.
Your comment about listening to this driving home late at night is bang-on! That's exactly what I remember as a teenager in the 70's - late night drives in the summer, coming home from a long day working at the pool... windows down... alone and melancholy in the wilds of suburbia.
For such an ethereal, atmospheric, 'vibe" kind of song, it's surprising that it was such a huge top-40, AM radio hit - sliding into the airwaves alongside KC & The Sunshine Band, The Captain & Tennille, Linda Ronstadt, Queen, Neil Sedaka, The Doobie Brothers, Labelle, Bachman Turner Overdrive, Jethro Tull, Elton John, The Eagles and Earth Wind & Fire.
Google "Billboard Top 100 hits of 1975." What a strange, yet glorious, mix of tunes, genres and bands which we SO took for granted at the time. Yet we all had our camps: rockers hated disco, disco hated country, punk hated everybody. But now we simply love them ALL (at least I do!). What a wonderful and creative time for popular music. Today's artists just don't compare.