L (Godley & Creme album)
L is the second album by Godley & Creme. It was released in 1978. At 34 minutes, it is less than a third as long as the group's previous effort, the ill-received triple concept album Consequences (1977). Despite this, L was also not received well commercially.
| L | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 1978 | |||
| Recorded | March–June 1978; Surrey Sound Studios | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 34:22 | |||
| Label | Mercury Records | |||
| Producer | Kevin Godley, Lol Creme | |||
| Godley & Creme chronology | ||||
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| Singles from L | ||||
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| Review scores | |
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| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | |
| Birmingham Post | |
| Record Mirror | |
The songs contain much variation and artistry, dissonances, complex time signatures and melodies, poetic lyrics, and some echoes from Frank Zappa's Over-Nite Sensation (1973). Zappa is even name-checked on the song "Art School Canteen." The album was played almost completely by Godley and Creme, except for saxophones, and a brief vocal cameo by Paul Gambaccini.
The lyrics retained the satirical stance of some 10cc material, with songs such as "The Sporting Life" and "Art School Canteen", which deal with suicide and art school angst.
The album cover depicts an "L-plate", used in some countries to designate vehicles with novice drivers ("Learner"). Although the duo were generally known as 'Godley and Creme', the original cover merely repeats their surnames around its perimeter (on the back) and delineates their 'group' name as 'Godley + Creme' on the spine.