Graham Gouldman - "The Graham Gouldman Thing (Vinyl, Album, Stereo, 1968 (RCA)

My interest in figures who somehow made pop music culture, yet remain in its shadows is an obsession of mine. For instance, songwriters who wrote numerous hit songs for various artists, and yet, they made their album. Does one wonder if they had hopes of being successful without fronting other music artists? Graham Gouldman wrote hit songs for The Yardbirds and Herman's Hermits, among others. He eventually formed and became a member of 10cc. Eric Stewart, his co-band member, was also from the British Invasion era. He was a member and songwriter for The Mindbenders (with and without "Wayne").

I'm an admirer of these 'pop' songwriter albums such as "The Graham Gouldman Thing" as well as Tony Hazzard (wrote songs for The Yardbirds as well as Manfred Mann) and Boyce and Hart (they wrote classic hits for The Monkees). All albums are of great importance, mostly due that they have their 'hit songs' on them, and it's interesting to compare the recordings between their recorded version and others by the bands who did their songs.

Gouldman's album was co-produced by Peter Noone (Herman of Herman's Hermits) and himself, as well as John Paul Jones handling the arrangements. It is released in 1968, a tad later than The Yardbirds's "For Your Love" this is very much a showcase of Gouldman's songs and his ability to carry these tunes under his name. The hits (made famous by others) are "For Your Love" (The Yardbirds), "Bus Stop" (The Hollies), "No Milk Today and "Upstairs and Downstairs" both by Herman's Hermits. If there is a Gouldman aesthetic, it seems his songs relay sort of mid-20th-century British culture, that is a snapshot of life as it happens, with a touch of the Harold Pinter/John Osbourne observation of British everyday life. When he started working with 10cc, his songs, as well as the others in the band, became still, observational, but with a savage sense of humor. Here in his early works, it's more of a reflection that has traces of sadness and romantic disappointment. Gouldman wrote the hits, but I feel he left an enormous amount of DNA of his personality and thoughts in these commercial works.