Sunday, September 12, 2010

"I'm Mandy, Fly Me", the center of 10cc's brilliant How Dare You! album from 1976, is a pop masterpiece. The lyric deals with the promise of adventure and romance which the advertising industry uses (and often abuses) for profit, but which may lead to good stuff anyway. It's unclear if we're meant to think of the story as real or imagined, and in one way it doesn't matter: The romantic yearning (and therefore the song itself) is there either way. Here's a representative excerpt:

I've often heard her jingle
It's never struck a chord
With a smile as bright as sunshine
She called me through the poster
And welcomed me aboard

Thematically, it raises a very interesting question - is the imagination or the reality of an event more important and/or productive? Musically, the song is as rich as the best of The Beach Boys or The Beatles (which is saying a lot, I know). It has a cinematic sweep to it (as 10cc's work often does), and it features a beautiful, expressive lead vocal by Eric Stewart. It's most definitely worth a listen.

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