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AllMusic Review by Dave Thompson:
Released immediately following 10cc's departure from the UK label, and in the wake, too, of their multi-million selling "I'm Not in Love" hit, 100cc is both a "best-of" the band's first two years together, and a handy wrap up of their non-album output. For six of their first seven British singles, 10cc prided themselves on exclusive B-sides -- the instrumentals "Hot Sun Rock" and "Gismo My Way," the oddball pop of "4% of Something" and "Bee in My Bonnet," and the sheer exuberance of "18 Carat Man of Means" and "Waterfall" were all available only to buyers of those early 45's, and their inclusion on 100cc took the edge off an already burgeoning collectors' market. Since that time, of course, this material has been recycled quite ruthlessly, as bonus tracks on CD reissues of the 10cc and Sheet Music albums, and in its own right -- the Early Years collection serves up a track-by-track reappraisal of this same selection. However, the joyful enthusiasm of labelhead Jonathan King's liner notes renders the vinyl original a fascinating reminder of the days when 10cc really were all the wonderful things that their admirers claimed, and the denouement of their later years was still a tragedy waiting to happen.
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