Mirror Mirror (10cc album)

Mirror Mirror
Studio album by 10cc
Released	June 1995
Genre	Rock
Length	58:01 (14 track version) 65:22 (15-track version)
Label	Avex UK, ZYX
Producer	Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman, Adrian Lee, Rod Gammons
10cc chronology
…Meanwhile (1992)…Meanwhile1992 Mirror Mirror (1995) The Very Best of 10cc (1997)The Very Best of 10cc1997
Singles from Mirror Mirror
"Ready to go Home" Released: 1994 "I'm Not in Love (Acoustic Session '95)" Released: 1995

Mirror Mirror is the 11th and last album by British rock band 10cc. It was released in 1995 and did not chart in the UK or US. The album was their first not to be released on a major label, as Stewart and Gouldman found themselves without one following the failure of their previous album, the "reunion" project ...Meanwhile.

Again featuring just two of 10cc's core band members, Graham Gouldman and Eric Stewart, the album included performances by Paul McCartney on two tracks, Andrew Gold on two tracks and Rick Fenn on one track.

Mirror Mirror was more a combination of two solo albums than a conventional 10cc production. Gouldman and Stewart played together on only one track – an acoustic reworking of their 1975 hit, "I'm Not in Love", one of only three songs on the album that bore a Stewart-Gouldman joint songwriting credit. Songs written by Stewart, including one co-written with McCartney, were recorded in France, while Gouldman's songs, one of which was co-written with musical theatre lyricist Tim Rice and another with Gold, were recorded in London.

Following the tour to support Mirror Mirror, Stewart announced his departure from 10cc, adding that as far as he was concerned, he was done with the band, and to date, he has rebuffed all suggestions of a reunion. Gouldman, however, has continued with his own lineup for 10cc, still touring as of 2016.^[1]

Background and recording

Gouldman admitted the album was "almost like two-halves of an album", largely a result of the fact that he and Stewart began recording in separate countries. "Vaguely, we intended starting off these tracks and then bring them together, finish them together, which a lot of people do," he said. "But it never happened, we got so into what we were doing, we wanted to keep it pure. I don’t like to say we hoodwinked the people, but you could say it’s not quite what it appears to be, and anyone with any sense, who reads the credits, could see that."^[2]

One of Gouldman's songs, "Ready To Go Home", was written after the death of his father, Hyme Gouldman, in 1991. Gouldman re-recorded the song for his 2000 album, And Another Thing..., when he observed in the liner notes: "It reflects my feelings at the time. I suppose I was trying to put a positive slant on his passing, remembering all the things we had done together and his artistic legacy to me. The last verse of the song best reflects my feelings on this. This song has been recorded by many artists and remains one of my favourites. Very emotional."

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[3]

Allmusic panned the album, commenting that the claim of "I'm Not in Love" being reworked is dubious, since the track has no noticeable differences from the original recording. They summarized the rest of the album with "songs flashing the group's trademark lyrical wit generally tend toward musical vaporware, while those revealing an occasional glimmer of instrumental creativity go nowhere fast on the songwriting."^[3]

Track listing

At least three different versions of the album exist. The most common version of the album has 10 songs. A European version of the album leaves out one song ("I'm Not in Love: Rework of Art Mix"), but also adds five new tracks: "Yvonne's the One" (Written by Eric Stewart and Paul McCartney, and first attempted in February 1985 during the sessions for Paul's Press to Play album, but remade and completed on this album, with Paul returning the favour by playing rhythm guitar), "Margo Wants the Mustard", "Blue Bird", "Now You're Gone", and a 1995 acoustic rendition of "I'm Not in Love". The Japanese version has 15 tracks, including all five new tracks, and the "Rework of Art Mix" version of "I'm Not in Love".

1. "Yvonne's The One" (Eric Stewart, Paul McCartney) - 4:26
2. "Code of Silence" (Stewart) - 5:39
3. "Blue Bird" (Graham Gouldman) - 4:04
4. "Age of Consent" (Stewart) - 5:24
5. "Take This Woman" (Stewart, Gouldman) - 3:51
6. "The Monkey and The Onion" (Gouldman, Tim Rice) - 3:17
7. "Everything is Not Enough" (Stewart) - 4:28
8. "Ready To Go Home" (Andrew Gold, Gouldman) - 4:37
9. "Grow Old with Me" (Gouldman) - 3:22
10. "Margo Wants the Mustard" (Stewart) - 3:54
11. "Peace in Our Time" (Gouldman, Steve Pigott) - 4:03
12. "Why Did I Break Your Heart?" (Stewart, Gouldman) - 5:18
13. "Now You're Gone" (Gouldman) - 3:01
14. "I'm Not in Love (Acoustic Session '95)" (Stewart, Gouldman) - 3:30

Personnel

10cc

• Eric Stewart — lead and backing vocals, lead guitar, keyboards, percussion
• Graham Gouldman — lead and backing vocals, guitars, bass guitar, percussion, mandolin
• Rick Fenn — lead guitar ("Peace in Our Time")
• Steve Pigott — keyboard, drum programming
• Gary Wallis — drums, percussion

with

• Adrian Lee — bass, programming, arrangements, keyboard, backing vocals, brass section, percussion, accordion, vibes, acoustic guitar
• Paul McCartney — rhythm guitar ("Yvonne's the One"), strings, electric piano, frogs, crickets, percussion ("Code of Silence")
• Andrew Gold — lead vocal ("Ready To Go Home"), backing vocals ("Grow Old With Me")
• Ian Thomas — drums
• Gary Barnacle — saxophone
• Peter Thoms — trombone
• Lise Aferiat and Nicola Burton – violin
• Chris Goldscheider – viola
• Andrew Hines and Patrick Jones – cello

References