Consequences 10cc podcast 35 - Ooma-chasa-schmooma: Windows in the Jungle (1983)

Welcome to the third instalment of our ventures into the murky world of 10cc in the 1980s. This week we look at 'Windows in the Jungle', their last throw of the dice before a long lay-off that saw the band lay dormant until they were tempted back into the water with Meanwhile and Mirror Mirror in the '90s. Paul and Sean are once again joined by friends of the show Pany Bogdanos and Andrew Dalgarno. Andrew's a huge fan of this album, and we're so grateful for his enthusiasm, as without it, the two hosts and our Stateside special guest would be a bit lost, quite frankly! Once again, we disagree on just about everything. No surprise really, as this album perhaps more than any other splits 10cc fans down the middle. Is it a brave re-invention, where Eric and Graham throw out the rulebook in a genuine, last-ditched close collaboration? An attempt to re-invent the 10cc brand with a completely new group of top session musicians? Is it an ambitious and cinematic concept album, a kind of 'Une Nuit à New York'? Or is it an artistic and commercial failure, showing the same creeping malaise of below-par songwriting we've heard on the last two albums? Suffice to say,Andrew is passionate, Paul is underwhelmed, Sean is properly het up and Pany is a voice of reason in the crossfire! Whatever your views on this record, we hope you enjoy our debate here. There's certainly a lot to discuss, and of course we'll probably never get to the bottom of it.