L (Godley & Creme album)

L
Studio album by Godley & Creme
Released	1978
Recorded	March–June 1978; Surrey Sound Studios
Genre	Art rock
Length	34:22
Label	Mercury Records
Producer	Kevin Godley, Lol Creme
Godley & Creme chronology
Consequences (1977) L (1978) Freeze Frame (1979)
Singles from L
"Sandwiches of You" / "Foreign Accents" Released: 1978[1]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]

L is the second album by Godley & Creme. It was released in 1978. Its 34-minute running time was a stark contrast with that of the ill-received triple concept album Consequences (1977). Despite this, the album was not received well commercially.

The songs contained 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. 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.

Track listing[]

Side 1

1. "The Sporting Life" – 7:25
2. "Sandwiches of You" – 3:17
3. "Art School Canteen" – 3:00
4. "Group Life" – 4:11

Side 2

1. "Punchbag" – 4:44
2. "Foreign Accents" – 4:37
3. "Hit Factory/Business Is Business" – 7:08

Personnel[]

• Kevin Godley – vocals, drums, xylophone, roto-toms, percussion, congas, triangle, Clavinet, high-hat, tonal percussion, snare drum, bongos
• Lol Creme – vocals, piano, Rhodes electric piano, guitars, Kramer bass, Gizmo, Farfisa organ, Guild 12-string acoustic, Guild acoustic bass, Clavinet, drums
• Andy Mackay – baritone, tenor, soprano and alto saxophone
• Paul Gambaccini – Bad Samaritan voices on "The Sporting Life"
• Jonathan Handelsman – alto and soprano saxophone on "Group Life"
• Chris Gray, Nigel Gray – engineers

References[]