Casual fans probably know 10cc best for their fluffy 1977 hit, “The Things We Do for Love.” More discerning listeners perhaps recall the strikingly innovative 1975 ballad, “I’m Not in Love.” But for true connoisseurs, nothing in the group’s catalog quite touches the art-rock sweep of “Somewhere in Hollywood,” from the band’s 1974 album, Sheet Music.
Penned by Kevin Godley and Lol Crème, far and away the artier half of the British quartet, “Somewhere in Hollywood” rivals Brian Wilson’s “Good Vibrations” as the epitome of a “pocket symphony.” In part a homage to Marilyn Monroe, the song kicks off with a wash of wind-chime-y effects and a watery keyboard figure, before giving way to Godley’s yearning choirboy tenor.
Down on the casting couch
A star is gonna be born
A star with the stature of a Harlow
Who’s doomed, and groomed to enrapture
All her co-stars
In the first of several stunning twists, the sound of Bojangles-style tap dancing punctuates the second verse, spicing the over-arching poignancy of the track with a touch of levity.
Out in the mezzanine
On the arm of a dumb marine
Her beauty looks out like a trailer
With the word “trailer,” the song kicks into high gear, as a ratcheted tempo and harmony vocals propel the song into a carnival waltz.
Norman Mailer waits to nail her
He's under the bed and he's waiting for her to be dead
He's out on the patio with his Polaroid and scenario
And he’s armed and he’s dangerous
With the last word, the song slams to a halt, allowing Godley to assume the lead vocal again and rein the song back to its original, piano-driven tempo. Hints of an orchestral crescendo underscore his plaintive delivery.
Lights, action, sound …
With that refrain, the track takes flight again, as galloping percussion and cartoon-ish kazoo sounds drive the song toward its final verse. It’s here that Godley shines most brightly, his glistening tenor striving towards something transcendent.
I had a part in the talkies
When you were a little girl
I’ve taken Lassie for walkies
When she was the pup that Vaudeville threw up
And destiny lead her hand in paw to
Somewhere in Hollywood
“Somewhere in Hollywood” is significant on many fronts. The track (and indeed the entire Sheet Music album) saw 10cc balance high-brow novelty with strikingly sophisticated arrangements in a way that’s never been duplicated. Furthermore, the track served as a template for “Une Nuit A Paris (One Night in Paris),” the archly cinematic lead track on the band’s next album, The Original Soundtrack. That song, in turn, inspired Queen to write “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
Most importantly, however, “Somewhere in Hollywood” is a masterpiece in its own right—a neglected, ambitious yet accessible gem that belongs in the pantheon of pop’s all-time greatest songs.