10cc has been relegated to the back pages of pop music history, which on the one hand is a bit of a shame, but on the other hand completely understandable. This multi-talented group of four singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalists (Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley, and Lol Crème) made their mark in the Watergate-era 70’s with their brand of snarky pop music, which somehow flew under the radar while arena-rock behemoths like Queen have endured long beyond the era. This 2-disc collection is an interesting glimpse into the beginning era of the group, including not only the first 2 albums but also B-sides and extra tracks as bonus cuts, with the majority of material seemingly torn direct from tabloids or comic books.

People gave Oasis a hard time, but not this album? It fitfully tries to run the gamut of emotions, but at the end of the day, Puff doesn't get the substance, or even the heart - on this record, he's simply on a mission for attention. Good, bad, ugly, whatever. That's entertaining in spots, but anything remotely past the chart hits severely pushes this listener's patience. "If it ain't about the money, I just don't care" - Mase's deadpan response to the line "broken glass everywhere" in the Grandmaster Flash-sampling "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" neatly sums up this star-crossed effort.

The title track and "Bad Mutha" exemplify the duo's approach - conversational, off-the-cuff, yet never-fail clear and concise. The intent was a looser take on Eric B & Rakim, and similarly, Finesse can't help but dominate. He's willingly aided by D.I.T.C. and DJ Premier of Gang Starr on the technical side of things. Yes, it's underrated.

The title track was a great single but the rest of the record doesn’t nearly gel as well. Styles P and Jadakiss went onto solo success, and that's part of the problem here. The group concept doesn't feel totally solidified, and often like a mere offshoot of "Puffy" Combs' Bad Boy stable.

It sounds like Nas, but with two rappers, and the music is a bit more meandering. In my mind, Nas by himself is far more interesting to listen to than these guys, but it generally works. Not sure why a decent mid-90's East Coast rap record received such an immense amount of critical attention.