10cc's third album,
The Original Soundtrack, finally scored them a major hit in the United States, and rightly so; "
I'm Not in Love" walked a fine line between self-pity and self-parody with its weepy tale of a boy who isn't in love (really!), and the marvelously lush production and breathy vocals allowed the tune to work beautifully either as a sly joke or at face value. The album's opener, "
Une Nuit a Paris", was nearly as marvelous; a sly and often hilarious extended parody of both cinematic stereotypes of life and love in France and overblown European pop. And side one's closer, "
Blackmail", was a witty tale of sex and extortion gone wrong, with a superb guitar solo embroidering the ride-out. That's all on side one; side two, however, is a bit spottier, with two undistinguished tunes, "
Brand New Day" and
Flying Junk", nearly dragging the proceedings to a halt before the band rallied the troops for a happy ending with the hilarious "The Film of Our Love".
The Original Soundtrack's best moments rank with the finest work
10cc ever released; however, at the same time it also displayed what was to become their Achilles' heel - the inability to make an entire album as strong and memorable as those moments.
The Original Soundtrack review by allmusic.com