(Merged) XTC Thread

[feelsflow]

op.  I'm getting that message warning me of no posts here in over 120 days.  Let's change that.

xtc:  the xtc place

I've been wringing my hands for far too long a time trying to grade and order the albums by this exceptional group of singers and players.  And when the mood strikes, the audience just right, I've noticed a bit of dancing about.

I'm going to make a list of my favorite xtc albums, but it's always likely to change tomorrow.  I have a better idea for me.  Make a list of my favorite Andy and Colin songs.  This would give a much clearer picture of what I like best.  My favorite songs are not necessarily on my favorite albums.

yes, I like that.

It's 25 February, two days away from the 26th anniversary of Oranges&Lemons.  February was a special month for xtc fans, as several of their albums were released in one of the coldest months of the year.  Virgin Records allowed no xtc records the benefit of being released for the Christmas market, no they weren't important enough to have that privilege.  We had to go stomping out into the snow, chancing frost bit fingers to get our new prize home.  Was it worth it?  Sure.  In my world they ruled the 80's English music scene.  Only McCartney could stand shoulders next to them, but that's a tale that won't be told here.  This is the xtc place.

I can't remember where I was when I first heard them.  I was living in New Orleans in 1978, and preparing to move back to California.  I missed seeing The Beach Boys live, they seemed to dislike coming to the South.  And of course the Summers were such a mess there.  Magical place New Orleans, but as Andy says in "Summer's Cauldron" - all the bugs and brandy could get to you.  So after spending one last Thanksgiving with my family me and my cousin headed west toward the setting sun.  After a few weeks of looking around the Bay Area, and a short trip up to Seattle to visit my grandmother, I found an apartment in San Francisco.  I lived there for the next 19 years.  A lot happened, and I grew up in many ways not addressed before.  Got to living life, and soon saw the Beach Boys for the first time since 1974.  Yeah, missed all the hubbub of Brian coming back to the stage, but he was still with the boys.  I was 26, it was cool when the fog rolled in every afternoon.  I felt free.  A fresh start.

Probably first heard xtc in a record shop - Streetlight Records.  I'm sure the song was "Crowded Room" - Colin was definitely my favorite of the singers.  He had strong pop sensibilities.  Another track I loved was "Set Myself on Fire," then I heard "This Is Pop" and "Are You Receiving Me?"  English music was very popular.  And 45RPM Singles was the way to hear them.  I thought Wings were holding their own, Paul coming up with great singles like "I've Had Enough" "Girl's School" and "Spin it On."  My new friends were into The Clash, Bowie, Buzzcocks, Roxy Music, The Jam, Dave Edmonds, the Stones of course.  I'll mention Sex Pistols, but not because I liked them - everybody else seemed to.  On the fringes or just getting started were Dire Straits, U2, The Cure, Gary Numan, The Police, Pretenders, the Stiff Records gang - Ian Dury, Wreckless Eric, Costello and Nick Lowe.  You get the drift.  American acts like The Ramones, Blondie, Tom Petty, Iggy and Lou Reed got attention, but music from the UK was the main attraction.  xtc fit right in.  I didn't throw away old favorites like John Martyn and Laura Nyro, all the California and American folks I'd loved for years.  They just had some competition now, and none of my new crowd were listening to any of that.  You'd get an apple thrown at you if you mentioned the real rulers of the charts - Bee Gees, Grease Soundtrack, even Abba, who I liked.  Nobody I knew did.  Fleetwood Mac were tolerated.  But don't put on "Mull of Kintyre" or The Beach Boys.  I spent most of my life being told to please not play so many Beach Boys songs.  I of course thought them the best America had to offer, even in the late 70's.  No, it was always "when are you going to play the new Bowie record (Lodger) or Manifesto."

1979.  Great year in my life.  For my birthday in April (just kidding ) Colin tossed out another single, "Life Begins at the Hop" and in September, "Making Plans for Nigel" was spinning around the globe.  Once Dave Gregory joined the group things developed amazingly.  I liked Drums and Wires, but not as much as the next one, Black Sea.

Maybe it would be best to go ahead and post the albums list and get back to my life with xtc later.  


I'm being called to dinner.    

be right back...  "Yeah, heard that before!"

[feelsflow]

xtc:  the xtc place

    the list:

10.  Mummer (August 1983) - Recorded in 1982

 9.  Black Sea (September 1980)

 8.  25 O'Clock (1 April 1985) - this would have charted higher, but it's just a 6 song Ep.  The track "25 O'Clock" will chart high in my songs list.

 7.  English Settlement (12 February 1982)

(tie)  Apple Venus Volume 1 (22 February 1999)

(tie)  The Big Express (October 1984) - for me, the true magic began in 1984.  This one and all the albums that followed were complete masterpieces.  They never wrote a song I didn't like ever again.

 4.  Nonsvch (April 1992) - this is where it gets real difficult.  The top 4 changes often.  Usually according to which one is playing.

 3.  Oranges&Lemons (27 February 1989)

 2.  Psonic Psunspot (August 1987) - The Dukes of Stratosphear never really went away in 1987.  There were many psychedelic songs that could have fit on this album that found a home on later releases.  Especially Colin.  He was notorious for holding on to tracks for years.

 1.  Skylarking (October 1986) - it would be very hard to dislodge this from the top spot.  It means very much to me.  Produced by one of my favorite artists, Todd Rundgren.

Okay, it's going on 25 O'Colck here in the East.  I hope everybody will hop on this train and add to the discussion.  Next for me is to take my top 10 list and break it down, explain why I love each one so.  Make a songs list, and tell you a bit more about how this group from Swindon played in my life.  And sorry this took so long to post, just look at it as a very very long night I was away.  peace, Will

[dogear]

So, this is a band I've recently fallen under the spell of.

It started about a year ago, when I was working in a record store and came across a band with a name that had been bouncing around in my head, but had no idea why. So, as any well-meaning person with easy access, I decided to investigate.

This was the first album of theirs I bought:

Looking for this image, I just learned that the seagull, shipmast, and crescent moon on the cover spell out X-T-C in a camouflaged fashion. Always something new to learn. Strangely, my copy of that album came in a green paper bag like this:

Full title "Black sea In A Green Paperbag"

[feelsflow]

I have one of those.  If yours is in the bag it's a first issue.  They were still fairly unknown in 1980 America.  Perhaps a tip of the hat to Zeppelin...or John and Yoko  The good or the bad of sticking records in a bag.  In any case, helped the record to stand out in the racks.

Any thoughts on the album itself, Gerhard?

Andy's thoughts:  "The band are becoming a slick-sounding, commando, trouble-shooting unit, ready to go anywhere on earth, songs written on the hoof, rehearsed in dressing room and slammed down here on our hardest album.  The live machine captured with minimum trimmings."

Reached #16 in the UK charts

#41 on Billboard U.S.A.

And, And # 1 in New Zealand!  Live notes:  They had covered Australia extensively in July/August 1979.  Then went back down under in September 1980, adding a big Thank You for New Zealand with four shows in Christchurch, Wellington and two shows in Auckland.

[alf wiedersehen]

xtc:  the xtc place

    the list:

Hmm, well, I haven't heard as much of the catalog as you have, but I'll give it a shot with what I have:

Mummer - I think there are some really good songs on here, but also some others that aren't... as good. "Love on a Farmboy's Wages", "Great Fire", "Ladybird", and I'll throw a bone to "In Love Memory of a Name" (to get a Colin song in this list) are what I would consider the album highlights. The album also has a few strange, dark songs, namely "Deliver Us from the Elements", "Human Alchemy" and "Me and the Wind". I think the songs are okay, but they're not really the reason I listen to this album. "Funk Pop a Roll" is akin to "Transcendental Meditation" on Friends, but I find it doesn't work as well here. I think it's a fine song, but perhaps should have been used elsewhere. Lastly, I think the first two songs are a bit cheesy, the very first being one of Andy's "message" songs that I'm not so fond of. I imagine we'll get into that more later.

Oranges & Lemons - I decided to give this one another recently to see if I liked it more than I thought I did, and I did like it more - but only a little bit. Perhaps one of my bigger problems with this album is that almost every single song has a message that it wants to impart upon the people. I think the only songs on this album that aren't trying to make a larger social/political point are "Mayor of Simpleton", "Hold Me, My Daddy", "Pink Thing", and "Miniature Sun". It can get a little overwhelming at times. Also, I think the album has a very brash, 80s sound to it, and that definitely detracts from my enjoyment. Of course, first time producer Paul Fox is partly to blame, but reading back to see what the band says about the album, it's clear they were going for this sound. Okay, despite all that, my favorite songs from this would have to be "Garden of Earthly Delights", "the Mayor of Simpleton", "Poor Skeleton Steps Out", "Scarecrow People" One of the Millions", "Across This Antheap", "Hold Me My Daddy", "Miniature Sun", and "Chalkhills and Children". Upon relistening to "Here Comes President Kill Again", I discovered that there actually is a good song in there somewhere, but you have to get through the painfully obvious lyrics and some slightly turgid sections. Anyway, with a more natural production and the weaker songs cut out, I would probably rank this higher. But they didn't and so I won't.

English Settlment - I'm a little surprised that I ranked this one relatively low. However, I think they basically used all the best songs for the first vinyl and threw everything else on the second one. Well, other than "Snowman", but they've always been conscious about ending an album on a high. Anyway, Colin and Andy's songs are uniformly great from "Runaways" to "All of a Sudden (It's Too Late)" and show them expanding and exploring new territories with incredible talent and great openness to experimentation. However, once we get to "Melt the Guns", it's starts to slow down a little. Of course, this is also where all the message songs start to show up, so I'm probably biased. However, I don't really find that these songs make much of an impact before they're gone. That's not to say there isn't some good qualities that exist amongst these songs, like "Knuckle Down" having a great melody and "Fly on the Wall" being a fun, sabotaged single. I think if you cut down this to a single album (but not like the US did, their version sucks), you would have a really strong album here. As it is, it's a little diluted by the lesser songs.

25 O'Clock - My reason for this placement is much the same as yours - it's short. Yeah, it was an EP, but I still want more. I really don't think there's anything bad on this album, maybe other than "What in the World??.." being a little weaker than the other songs on offer here. They really go all-out in their psychedelia emulation here, mostly edging towards the darker, more aggressive sounding material with "My Love Explodes", "Your Gold Dress", and "25 O'Clock". Although, they also embrace the child-like whimsy of Syd Barrett for "Bike Ride to the Moon". And, while I'm not sure why, I can never shake the feeling that I'm listening to "I am the Walrus" when I hear "Mole from the Ministry". It's short and sweet, and it sets a precedent for XTC doing the 60s better than a lot of band from the 60s did.

I'll do the top four in another post. This turned out longer than I thought it would be.

[feelsflow]

The sound on youtube isn't the best, but you could listen to any of their albums until you have a chance to buy.  You have two that I've not got yet, the new/redo of Skylarking and the Blu-ray of Drums and Wires.  I think the 2000 Japanese re-master of Skylarking will do for now  - I'm holding out hope the masters will be found for a Deluxe Blu-ray release.  And I was put-off by Andy not including any videos or sessions from the period.  Some, not all, of the 2000 re-masters sound fine.  Drums and Wires is on my birthday list, which I kept short enough to get it all, so that should be in my hands soon.  Notice by absence from your part 1 list that it must rank high for you.  Hmm, higher than Oranges & Lemons.

Haven't completed the notes to flesh out my list, but do want to comment on your choices.  Mummer - I see people using the word "cheesy" often here, usually to describe a Beach Boys song, but never quite sure exactly what it means.  You don't like the first two songs?  "Beating of Hearts" "message" isn't too interesting.  Andy had plenty of other, better tracks he could have used - made very clear by the great bonus tracks that came with the CD reissue.  Maybe the best bonus tracks of any the reissues, and why it beat out Wasp Star and Drums and Wires in my top 10.  "Beating of Hearts" certainly shouldn't have been used as the opener, not when he had "Jump" - that would have given it a nice soft take-off.  I love that song.  With the long delay of release of this album, they had time to go in and work on it more.  He tried this style of song a second time, as the opener of Oranges & Lemons - "Garden of Earthly Delights."  Andy seemed obsessed with African rhythms and themes.  With both songs, I usually visualize belly-dancers, or a whirling dervish - finger cymbals on.

When I mentioned that Colin was my favorite of the singers, that was only in the early days.  By the English Settlement sessions in 1981 Andy was very much his equal.  They both got better.  Dave and a few others added plenty to the backing vocals, don't want to leave them out.  But that doesn't mean I won't support Colin's "Wonderland."  In his sometimes McCartney style, I'll stick to wonderful as a comment.  We differ on the Colin material.  My other favorite is "Deliver Us from the Elements" - dark, yes.  I like your comparison of the placement of "Funk Pop A Roll" to Friends' "Transcendental Meditation" - never thought of it that way.  Don't see anywhere else they could put it on the album.  You mean as a stand alone single?  I sure think it worthy of that.  Your highlights songs from Andy are about right.  The only song I have a real problem with is "Human Alchemy" - making both side starters weak.

Oranges&Lemons - I'm holding off doing too much commenting on this until I get the Blu-ray.  Might be the placement of the songs that gives me the most trouble with the album, and agree some of them could have been left for b-sides.  On vinyl the sides seemed too short.  Just getting comfortable in your chair before having to hop up and flip the side.  Have to check the times, but could they have let them run at 45RPM?  The Style Council did that for one of their albums, and it worked.  Would have sounded better.  Perhaps my biggest miss with xtc was not getting the 45RPM Skylarking. It went out of print so fast, in fact I've never even seen one.  I have the vinyl "The Loving" 12" Single.  That sounds much more powerful.

English Settlement - when I first heard this I thought what an accomplishment!  A real leap forward.  Even though, I agree again that a trim here and there would have made for a better album.  It's not that they were not capable of making a double record (they almost did withOranges & Lemons), more that some of these songs are truly weak.  Should we be saying that at the xtc place?    Even for a new listener, it's noticeable.  The second disc drags time and again.  I'll say "English Roundabout" and "Snowman" are the best on the second disc.  "Melt the Guns" - I always wondered if he wrote this after getting home from a Clash show.

25 O'Clock - Guess we could have just listed the chocolate chips comp. and made room for something else on our lists, but that wouldn't be fair would it!  They really sound different to each other, cause they're doing different groups.  And the "more" that we got with the reissues filled them out very well, so they wouldn't have fit on one CD.  What are your thoughts on the bonus tracks?  I've already given away my favorite song here, so a quick comment on "The Mole from the Ministry" - got to be the droning cello.

Look forward to your part 2 list.             

[alf wiedersehen]

I have Nonsuch and Apple Venus, Pt. 1, but I haven't listened to 'em yet. Been a little inundated with 80s music recently.

It's sorta hard to explain what I mean by "cheesy" - it's just something I have an idea of how to use, but not a solid idea of how to define. Anyway, I find that "Wonderland" is really the cheesy one, with its lyrics and the music that accompanies it. I agree that "Beating of Hearts" isn't a good opener - the song never really goes anywhere (that I can remember) and isn't promising. I think the opening notes for "Love on a Farmboy's Wages" would have set the tone for the album much better and would have actually made you interested to hear the rest. I'm not too familiar with the b-sides and everything else they've added to the CD in recent times, I'll have to listen to those again soon. I still like the songs that I described as "dark" (even "Human Alchemy"), but I find that Andy's lighter songs are really the best the album has to offer. As for "Funk Pop a Roll", I guess I don't have a better suggestion of what to do with it. They could have released it as a stand-alone single, b-side, whatever - I just doesn't fit, whereas I think "Transcendental Meditation" really does. I was surprised to read that a lot of people don't particularly like "Funk Pop a Roll", and maybe that's because of its placement, but I like it.

Andy's been saying on his Twitter that the deluxe Oranges and Lemons should be out soon. Now, I have no idea how soon "soon" is, but hopefully it's a few months. I've noticed that the last two installments have come out in October of 2013 and 2014, so maybe that's when we'll see the new one. I'm actually really looking forward to it - I'm hoping it can change my mind about the album, and that it's generous with the bonus material like Drums and Wires was. Andy has said that he tries to approach these by thinking about what he would want if he was a fan, which is cool. He's also said that Skylarking is coming back to vinyl. I'm unsure if it'll be 45rpm or not, but you might still have a chance to get your hands on one. As for where Skylarking places on my list, I guess you'll just hafta wait to find out.

I don't know about you, but I don't think too highly of "Melt the Guns", and I wonder what Andy thinks of it nowadays. I recently found out that the original is a couple minutes longer and the producer decided to edit it down. Thank you, producer. With that said, I think we should definitely be able to point out weak spots in their discography. If not us, then who? Besides, it all comes from a place of love. Sometimes, it just hurts to know that a band can put both "Senses Working Overtime" and "Down in the Cockpit" on the same album. I like "English Roundabout" too, but I don't consider it a highlight of the album.

Y'know, I didn't manage to get a CD copy of 25 O'Clock with the bonus tracks. I bought a copy of the vinyl when it was out, but not the CD. In fact, I have the LP but not the CD for 25 O'Clock, and I have the CD but not the LP for Psonic Psunspot. Now the 25 O'Clock CDs go for more than I really want to pay for it. Maybe they'll reissue those again soon, too. I'll have to listen to both "I am the Walrus" and "the Mole from the Ministry" and get back to you on the connection.

[feelsflow]

xtc:  the xtc place


My comment last night on "The Mole from The Ministry" was me being a bit fuzzy.  It's more than just the cello and strings.  There are other "Beatles" instruments adding to recreate their sound.  I'm not an instruments expert (callin' Craig ), but I believe on "I Am the Walrus" they are using a bowed acoustic cello, miked up.  A tack piano and mellotron.  When I listen to "The Mole from The Ministry" I'm reminded of Tears for Fears nicking the tag for "Sowing the Seeds of Love" in 1989.  I like cello.  Jack Bruce would pull his out for some of the Cream tracks.  A fav of yours, Roger Waters, used a bowed bass on "Lucifer Sam" and "The Scarecrow."  That was probably an electric bass, haven't listened to those tracks in awhile.  Jimmy Page of course made bowing electric guitar famous on the Zeppelin track "Dazed and Confused."

This morning I was still thinking about Mummer.  How to make it have a better flow.  My chosen opener would have been "Jump" - I'll put up some samples for those who have a rough time navigating youtube, or are just lazy (not you Bubbly, but we're trying to draw a crowd here - fat chance).  "Jump":  http://youtu.be/oTn0kwg_fu0  pause to make sure that worked

[feelsflow]

worked.  I hate it when clips use o, O and 0...  let's continue.  That was a vinyl rip by egido sabbadini, he has everything.  You've probably noticed his name while roaming around Chalkhills.org.  He has an incredible youtube channel.

"Jump" - a nice slow take-off.  This was the b-side to "Wonderland" (June 1983), and I think that would be fine for track two.

Up next for my ease into the morning... "The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul" - this clip showed up back in 1987 on MTV's The Tube:  http://youtu.be/DvOjdxMsBjM
another o, better check it... 

[feelsflow]

Now I'm just being paranoid.  But if you post a bunch of clips and just one of them doesn't work then you have to redo every clip in the post.  youtube can be touchy.

notes for "The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul":     Andy says:   "... initially was a folk thing with acoustic guitar interweaving, but Todd wrote a brass arrangement for it.  It has since come out as a cross between Bobby Darin's "Mack the Knife" and Lena Horn's "Fever"!  It's sort of a big band number.  Didn't know whether this would make Skylarking so I never made an effort with the lyrics.  When I did finish them, I think they turned out probably my favourite song words I'd ever written.  I don't travel much these days.  I'm more the man who sallied around his soil."  Thanks Andy.  Notice how he talks in rhyme, just like he's writing lyrics to a song.  Glad Todd pushed him to the greatness this track is.

Up next is "Happy Family" - this is Andy doing it solo from a French TV show, 11 March 1985.  The song is an old one, available on Rag & Bone Buffet (1990) - an essential release for xtc researchers and fans.

http://youtu.be/usfT7W6RNxQ

Here's the ultra-rare "Spiral" - one of the bonus (new) tracks on the Apple Box, released on Halloween 2005.  The notes say Andy on instruments with Ralph Salmins on drums.  Cute trick if that's Andy on the horn bit, but maybe it's produced on a keyboard.  And I think I hear Colin in the background vocals.  He might not have wanted Andy to say...he did not want Andy to release the Fuzzy Warbles set.  He thought Coat of Many Cupboards was enough.  Guess he must have agreed to all the money they made with the Apple Venus demo discs, and he stuck on an extra track for the Apple Box as well.  This is another vinyl rip.

"Spiral":  http://youtu.be/Dkd-PaVjmhw

This is Andy's take, doing his best at a real Lennon song.  It's on Fuzzy Warbles Volume 3.  "Strawberry Fields Forever":  http://youtu.be/jC6EgaeKuqY

Before I go have lunch, want to add one more song.  This is also found on Rag & Bone Buffet.  An outtake from the Mummer sessions, one I really wish they had finished back in November 1982.  Instead they let it sit til the Orange&Lemons sessions, then didn't put it on that record - it sure would've fit better than some that did.  I have this on vinyl, it's the b-side to "The Loving" 12" Single (August 1989).  One of my favorite Colin  songs.  You can tell that the vocals were done in 1989, because they had gotten so much better by then.  Peter Phipps is on drums.

Okay, "The World Is Full of Angry Young Men":  http://youtu.be/gsCUs5u3_uE

Well, hope you enjoyed my breakfast selections, or as Andy says it:  Hope you enjoyed your meal, it's only gas and chemicals. We thought that you'd prefer something not nature made. 

[Mark H]

XTC sitting out most of the 90s as they went on strike is a damn shame (curse Virgin Records.)  The Fuzzy Warbles series hints at what else could have been.

I think Skylarking would be my fave if push came to shove and I definately have Go2 and Mummer at the bottom of my list.  

Fantastic work in this thread btw feelsflow

[feelsflow]

Thanks Mark.  I want this to be a special place here at Smiley, as Colin would say - a meeting place.  I will be stopping by often.  I will do what I can to bring interest to this group.  As I said earlier, other than what McCartney was doing in the 80's, this was the best the UK offered in that decade.  I love psychedelic music.  I love their pastoral sound.  I love it when the rock it up.  It took them a couple of years to get professional at it, but then...just sit back and listen.  As Bubbly noted, they could do 60's music better than many 60's groups.

I separate America from the UK (and the rest of the world) when I talk about music, cause there was an American group called The Beach Boys that ruled my world - and still do.  I grew up with them and The Beatles.  There has to be a way for me to include both when discussing - so don't look for me in the Beach Boys vs. Beatles polls.  I've nearly given up on defending the Beach Boys work post ten years on.  At the same time I still read most of it, if people stay civil.  There's plenty on the main board that is wonderful.  Smiley Smile Message Board is my favorite place to write and share.  When I first got here I did post often on the main board, but it gets hard to hear/read my favorite American music from the 70's and 80's trashed by - I'd say most posters.  It's the only problem I have with this place.

Andy, Colin and Dave loved The Beach Boys and The Beatles.  They worked at recreating that, and some of the other groups/artists from the 60's.  I say 60's.  That is what they focused on.  They aren't trying to do Brian from the 70's.  With McCartney, they will dip into his 70's sound.  That was a major sound of the 70's.  But not Lennon's 70's - if you hear different, this thread will be here to discuss it.  And they brought their own unique sound to many of their tracks.  So don't get me wrong everybody, this group was quite original when they chose to be.

As far as the 90's and beyond, I think as long as Dave was there it was great.  Not to say Andy isn't doing good things, he is, it's just not xtc.

For me, Mummer was better than Wasp Star - it made my top 10.  Go2 didn't either, though it's much better than White Music.  That's just my opinion.  The key missing ingredient is Dave.  My number 11 is Drums and Wires.  I hope one day Colin will be inspired to pick up his bass, guitar, keyboards, whatever he wants, and start producing music again.  If what I read is true, Colin used songs for the Apple set that he had written right after the Nonsvch sessions, or songs the group had passed on at the time he wrote them.  Hard to believe something like "Frivolous Tonight" was a discarded song.  That's a good question to research.  When did he write that?    Guess what?  Colin doesn't want to talk about it.  Actually, I've never read a book about xtc.  There's too much filtered information in books - the writers take on it.  His/her opinions.  I do all my research online.  Maybe I should buy one to see if there is anything there to believe.  The new one coming should have some good session notes, but if they're just ripped out away from Chalkhills... That just leaves a picture book.  Andy and Dave seem more than willin' to share on the various media spots we have access to.

I guess you could say the Fuzzy Warbles stuff hints at what would have been next, but that's just from Andy's point of view.  The Coat of Many Cupboards showed us a big chunk of the past.  The Deluxe Blu-ray sets will give us more of that in the future.  I want a video collection the most.  Virgin Records isn't controlled by Branson anymore, it's owned by some other characters.  And they want to make money.  Colin is obviously going along, but that's limited.  He's not going to step in to work on an old demo or anything.

Bubbly,  my comment on "Melt the Guns" was a jab at it!  When I was talking about "English Roundabout" and "Snowman" - I meant they were my top tracks from the whole second record.  That could have easily been baked-down to a single album, and the rest put on b-sides.  Later that would be impossible.  After 1984 there are no tracks that I don't at least like enough to listen to again and again.

This has been a nice day.  Watching it snow out the window in front of my desk.  Writing about, and listening to xtc.  I like this xtc place.  It's peaceful.

     

[alf wiedersehen]

The new one coming should have some good session notes, but if they're just ripped out away from Chalkhills... That just leaves a picture book.

Oh, yes, this seems like a good place to post this: http://www.amazon.com/Revolution-In-The-Shed-Inside/dp/1908279788



Andy says that's not going to be the cover or the title.

[alf wiedersehen]

A fav of yours, Roger Waters

Actually, I'm a bit indifferent on Roger Waters. I am a Syd Barrett fan, though.

Listening to "Jump" now.. yeah, this coulda make a fine opener. Speaking of songs that were left off albums, I really like "Red Brick Dream". I think they could have used that for great effect on the Big Express. After reaching the apex of that record's mechanized steeliness, "Train Running Low on Soul Coal", it would have been an interesting to finish with "Red Brick Dream" - a dreamy acoustic song that doesn't sound too unlike the rest of the album.

Thanks for the list of songs you made there. I'll have to check some of those out. I still haven't picked up Rag & Bone Buffet or Coat of Many Cupboards. The latter is expensive now, but the former is incredibly cheap and is probably due to laziness. Did you ever heard about Bric-a-Brac Breakfast? It was supposed to be a follow up to Rag & Bone Buffet, and Andy was asking people what they wanted to see on it, but it just sorta vanished. Here's an article someone wrote about it at the time: http://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/2010/02/05/xtc-bric-a-brac-breakfast-rag-bone-buffet-andy-partridge/. It seems the original request on his website has been taken down now.

What problem do you have with Andy's stuff for XTC from the 90s onward? Obviously, I can't really comment on anything from this period as I haven't heard it, but I would curious to know why you say "it's just not XTC".

I haven't heard White Music or Go2, but Dave does really seem like an important addition for the band. For instance, he didn't write a song like "My Weapon" at any point for the band. I recently discovered that Dave actually wrote a song for the band during Drums and Wires (I think), but the band didn't really like it and he never wrote another. And that's too bad, I would like to hear what Dave would write. He's such a good musician and always excellent at arranging. I think the early stuff separates us - I really Drums and Wires and Black Sea.

Have you seen any of Colin's recent musical work? Check it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar6E9t5IYeg. He both sings and shows up in the music video. So, maybe his interest in music is becoming restored a little? Andy's been pretty clear that the band is finished (and that he will not do a live show), but who knows what might happen for them in the future? Andy's releasing a new record with the Clubmen, there's a long-standing collaboration between him and Robyn Hitchock (hope we'll see the results of that sooner or later), and he says he still makes demos frequently. I think he should release those as some sort of companion set to Fuzzy Warbles. He doesn't think they're any good, but if he has no intention of finishing them or making an album, he might as well just release them on a small scale for his fans.

XTC sitting out most of the 90s as they went on strike is a damn shame (curse Virgin Records.)  The Fuzzy Warbles series hints at what else could have been.

It really is a shame. They were a reasonably prolific band right up until 1989, and then the pace just completely falls off. They were one of a handful of bands that consistently wrote excellent songs, even late into their career, and then they just stopped. I haven't counted them or anything, but I bet most of the Fuzzy Warbles demos probably come from around this time.

[feelsflow]

I'm fixin' to run a movie.  Will get back to comments soon.

But I will clear up a couple of points.  I love the music xtc did in the 90's.  Apple Venus Volume 1 (1999) and Nonsvch (1992) are high in my top 10.  I was saying as long as Dave was in xtc, 80's and into the 90's it was good.  I did word the second line wrong (do we need a corrector?  )  It should have read:  Not to say Andy isn't doing good things, now - since the group broke-up, he is, it's just that his current out-put isn't on the same level as xtc.  Not to me.  I've yet to look into most of what he's releasing in the 2000's on his own.  In fact, that was news to me that he's been working with Robyn.  Sounds like a good idea.  Do the Clubmen already have a record out?  Don't know anything about that either.  When I'm researching, it's mostly to find out more about his years with xtc.  I do know about what Colin is doing in music.  Guess that was a bit of a misstep in my post too.  I should have made that more clear.  Ya caught me.  What I meant was that I want Colin making music with xtc again.  I want Andy, Colin and Dave, "In the same Room" - writing and making music again with each other.  You know, like Mike wants Brian to do.  Be xtc again.

We'll help each other to learn more.  We're going to make this a thread that will stay at the top of the General Music Section.  I've been here at Smiley all day... I'm taking a movie break.  I'm going to watch The Emerald Forest.

be back soon.  

[Summertime Blooz]

I'm a huge XTC fan (going back to their first import 3D EP release), so let's do this :

In order from least favorite to absolutley mindblowingly incredible:

Go2
Wasp Star
Mummer
White Music
Psonic Psunspot
Oranges and Lemons
Apple Venus
English Settlement
Nonsuch
The Big Express
Drums and Wires
Black Sea
Skylarking

I will elaborate soon.

[feelsflow]

I go back as an XTC fan all the way to their beginning with the '3D EP' import that preceded their first album (I'm old).  I even got a chance to see them at a nightclub in  DC before Andy Partridge had a breakdown and XTC ceased to exist as a touring entity. Ever since that first album, which I think is fantastic, XTC has been one of my very favorite bands. Go 2 was a major letdown after the sheer brilliance of the debut, but they were a fractured group at this point, and keyboardist Barry Andrews soon left. Enter Dave Gregory to complete the classic XTC lineup. Along with mastermind Andy Partridge and sidekick Colin Moulding, they would go on to create a run of amazing albums that few bands can match. 'Drums and Wires' started the string and is still possibly my favorite album by them (alternating with 'Skylarking', depending on what year it is). 'Black Sea' is just as great. 'English Settlement' is a bit overstuffed to take in at a single sitting, but so many wonderful songs are there too. I find 'Mummer' is the least pleasing album from this era, low key and more pastoral than their earlier work, but is improved upon greatly in it's CD version with great bonus tracks like 'Toys' and 'Gold', originally released on singles. The band rebounded strongly with 'The Big Express' where they regained their rock edge. The Todd Rundgren produced masterpiece 'Skylarking', XTC's most fully realized and cohesive album statement soon followed. By definition, you can't really top your masterpiece, but 'Skylarking' was followed by two more almost-as good albums. By this point, the band was taking advantage of the expanded amount of running time allowed to them by the increasingly popular CD format. The double album 'Oranges and Lemons' offers up 15 mostly excellent tracks and even produced a minor hit 'Mayor of Simpleton'. Three years later they capped off their classic Virgin Records era with 'Nonsuch', a great jam-packed album that showed no evidence that the XTC engine was about to come to a stop for the next seven years. After a lengthy legal battle with Virgin, XTC returned (minus Dave Gregory) with the perfectly fine orchestrally-minded 'Apple Venus', a seeming successor to 'Skylarking'. Alas, 'Wasp Star' (AKA 'Apple Venus Part 2) was an extreme disappointment, unable to recapture the magic that XTC could once conjure so easily. Is this where the story ends? Probably not, but if it is, Partridge, Moulding, and Gregory have still left behind a musical legacy that few recording artists achieve.

Hey krabklaw,  Thanks for posting.  I pulled your first post over so I could read it as I commented.  We've got the space.

Neat you got to see them live.  I agree that Barry was a problem, but less a problem for you.  The early stuff is pretty manic, I liked it more back then than I do now. Better for me when they slowed down for the pastoral, they spent much of the rest of their career there.  So far you're White Music's biggest champion.  I did like some of it.  I saw xtc, and many other UK groups of the time, as Singles acts.  I spin 45's often to this day, and collect them.  I seem to differ from the common thought that Colin was a small part in this group tho.  He had the Pop sound I love in their early days.  Today, for the first time in awhile, I started trying to find exactly what I did like about the first three albums.  Right now I don't have the first two, so had to settle for youtube.  I had them on vinyl, but I had to make decisions when I moved from one coast to the other back in 1998.  I didn't leave any of my 45's behind.  I'll be covering results soon.  I want to say something about the albums that didn't make my top 10.  Yours is interesting, me and Bubbly are sticking in the first Duke's record, giving it credit as an album.  Great to see agreement with The Big Express.  By the time of Black Sea I was a solid fan.  I have all the 45's from the album.  Maybe the reason it's lower on my list is because I look at the singles as being the strongest tracks.  My favorite version of "Set Myself on Fire" is the live version on the flip of "Towers of London" - I have the double single.  I did notice you talking up the singles from the mummer period as a highlight.  Me too.

We've got to start a corrector box, with no hard feelings...cause Dave is very much on Apple Venus Volume 1.  Yes, I see Andy and Colin are listing him as a player and not a member in the credits... I only checked that cause of your post.  The damn credits are listed under the jewel case.  Always read the fine print, friend.  Well, the cover card is nice and shiny.  Dave's not given any arranging credits either.  Hmm, that looks like a money deal to me, he's all over the record.  That's the main reason I attached your old post.  Andy and Colin shouldn't have done that.  The reason Wasp Star is  not in either of our top 10 is proof enough for me.  Something is missing, and it's Dave.  The sessions were roughly the same time period.  I will say this.  The strongest songs were used for Apple Venus.  With Dave there pushing for the more orchestrated sound, it was probably what caused a split between them. Most likely Andy wanting the other record to be more stripped down.  Andy was the boss toward the end.  As I said, Colin brought no new material to the sessions.  I hate to reduce it to money...  Dave couldn't have liked being credited that way.  It was Andy pushing for all the demo albums to be released.  Which he carried on even after Colin left.  Guess Dave wasn't paid anything for those.  We'll leave it there for now.  I have to listen to more of the Fuzzy Warbles discs.  I heard all of the Coat of Many Cupboards box, and didn't buy it.  If I could find a decent price I might buy it now.  My fandom of this group continues to grow.   

[Summertime Blooz]

No hard feelings at all. My understanding of the events is that Gregory left during the recording of Apple Venus due to artistic differences with Partridge and Moulding, so when the album came out he was no longer part of XTC. I did know he played on some of it though. I agree that his absence from Wasp Star is most probably the reason it ranks so low. Even though he never contributed any songs he was obviously a strong contributor to the final result (and a huge Todd Rundgren fan- it was his idea to hire Todd as a producer).

As for my affection for White Music, I can only say that it was the First Time I heard an XTC LP, and don't we all feel something special towards the first time we experience an artist that we really grow to love? I do think you're right that some of their best songs from the period were their singles (A and B sides). Adding  Heatwave, Hang On To the Night, She's So Square, Science Friction, and Instant Tunes to the CD version made this a pretty damn good CD and might even push it up a rank or two for me. Of course that's cheating. The songs aren't on the original LP so that's how I ranked it

[feelsflow]

We can only go forward.  I'm glad for all the records Dave did contribute to.  I ordered the Drums and Wires Blu-ray, hope to have it by this week-end.  The Nonsvch Blu-ray is extraordinary.  Hearing the music in DTS is hard to explain other than it's all around you.  It's better than vinyl, there is no better soundstage to me.  the music floats in the room.  I'm gonna get whatever they put out in this form.  I don't know how often I'll get to the different added attractions of the DVD, but it will give me a feeling for the times after hearing it once.  Want to give the first four records more of my time in general.   This period was when I looked at them as a singles group, and I can't seem to get it out of my system.  I didn't hear an album by them until Drums and Wires (so that was my first "album experience"), but I want to see 1978 as more of an album period.  By the time I heard White Music and Go2 - I think it was even after Black Sea.    krabklaw, I didn't get the 3D 45, it was 1979 before I bought my first xtc single.  Missed some the later ones too.  The 12" 45s were hard to find, even back then.  You had a head start on me.  We must be about the same age.

I'm finding some great songs on youtube showing me they could hit greatness on record and live when they were getting started.  I need to get better sources for the first two albums, something that I can play on my turntable or theater system.  I have to travel a bit to find places that sell vinyl, but that might be what I do.  I doubt it would even be that hard to find the old American albums.  The early stuff would surely sound better on vinyl.  I don't expect Andy to try and put anything before Drums and Wires out anytime soon.  Since I owned the first two back in the early 80's, I know how it felt back then to hear them as an album.  I had trouble with the end of side 2 of Go2.  I'm having the most fun watching some of, make that, plenty of the film footage I'm seeing for the first time.  It's making me more of a fan.  As I said earlier,I don't have a lot of their CDs or vinyl before 1980.  Mostly just the singles.  Wish I had bought "Jump" - too late to regret it, they would be hard to find in good shape now.  I miss the old days when you could inspect what you're buying.  It's a sore spot having to deal with folks through the mail.  I probably would be a bigger fan of the period if I just had it to listen to.  Spotify and youtube do only so much.  That's why I keep saying I want more of the videos - get them in better sound and on a big screen.  Some of the concert footage is definitely worth releasing.  Can Andy get the rights?  Does he talk about trying to get the clearances he needs to add them to the Blu-rays?  He didn't do it for Drums and Wires.  If anyone sees him talking about it, post a link to it here.  

Andy has been a great promoter of xtc all these years.  Kept some of us interested in the group.  There is excitement with the Blu-ray releases.  One of the best is up soon.  Oranges&Lemons is the Dukes of Stratosphear's  mainstream album.  Rock, folk, psychedelic and pastiche...this had it all.  They had just gotten so good at making records.  Even toured to an extent.  Lots to choose from to add to this one.  So much tape and film exists.  Again left in the dark on the details.  Post a link if you see  a rundown on what will be on the discs.  I'll keep an eye out too, but I don't live in xtc land everyday.  

I've pondered the "cheating" scenario...  For now, I'm cheating.  I've been listening to the re-masters too long not to think of the extra tracks as part of the album.  It's all part of the period.  And 25 O'Clock deserves to be in my top ten album list even though it's an EP - I can name many records that are very short.    Just kidding.  I can think of them stopping at the proper place - but only quickly in my mind - before the first bonus track begins and destroys the illusion.  Bubbly was talking about how nice "Red Brick Dream" sounded after "Train Running Low on Soul Coal" the other day - I agree.  You couldn't get that unless you're playing it on CD.  You could do that by putting on the 45 after side two fades out, if you have it, but I don't have that one.  So the Cd serves that purpose for me.  Except for a few, never play the vinyl versions of albums.  Vinyl has a magic on the Dukes' records, and English Settlement especially sounds bigger.  It's beating a dead horse though.  Vinyl is a different experience.  I do it sometimes.  Cd has become so much easier to deal with.  When I play vinyl, more than anything else it's usually a 45 or something that wasn't mastered well for Cd - there's many records like that.  For analogue to sound good in digital a lot of work has to be put into it.  The market isn't big enough to do that for many records, so the vinyl ends up being the best source.  We know that from being Beach Boys fans.  Anyway hope Andy gives The Big Express the Deluxe treatment next.

Keep playing the music in some form.  The best next step when undecided.

[alf wiedersehen]

Ill be back to write more sometime later, but I wanted to mention, in response to your post, that Andy has said there are more than 50 extras they scrounged up for the forthcoming deluxe Oranges and Lemons. Really looking forward to it.

[feelsflow]

Thanks Josh.  Can't wait to see the list.  Did he go into any detail at all?  I've got to go look at the twitter link you gave me again.  I decided not to join twitter to ask him questions.  Tied in enough with social media groups.  Facebook is a pain - I only joined it for my family to communicate, and youtube is always spamming my e-mail inbox with channels,themes and links I'm not interested in.  Once someone has your e-mail addy, they abuse the privilege.

If you find more important stuff, put a link up.

One thing I noticed in the last two days trying to post in the middle of the night (as always having trouble with daylight saving time), is after I'm done I find mistakes to correct which keeps me up even later.

[feelsflow]

Checked out the Clubmen site this morning - I like the posted video:

http://www.sturowe.com/dev/?page_id=78 

[feelsflow]

Although I found that site by looking for the Clubmen...only one song, with video, could be found.  So I guess we're waiting on what Andy is to do with that.  The site does have some great videos and information.

I found a video Andy did with Peter Blegvad.  First time to hear anything by them.  Very cool, with beautiful music by Andy in the vein of Apple Venus Volume 1.  "From Germ to Gem" - would love to hear the backing track isolated from the poem.

George Wilding was very good and is worth a moment of your time.  Found in link:  projects -> current.

Super SquareCloud - great song, had a beautiful video.  Found in link:  projects -> 2014.

Swindon -> hot lava bed of music production.

I didn't care for Jen Olive's solo track, but you might.  Did like Stu's About Stu video.  Learned that he was part of Future Sounds of London's side project amorphous androgynous in 2006, on the album Alice in Ultraland.  Forgot to write down the link...one of the better tracks I watched from the album was "All is Harvest" - they have a mini-concert on youtube.  Will post the link later.  I was familiar with this group.  They play psychedelic ambient music.

wait...the door bell is ringing.  Guess what?  My Drums and Wires Blu-ray just got here!  Cancel TV for the night.  Looks like I'll be doing a special mid-week listening session.

gotta go

[feelsflow]

xtc:   the xtc place

It's Easter in Swindon - Everybody's up and looking for an egg...

"Easter Theatre":

https://youtu.be/PO8nT3tuJVY

[feelsflow]

xtc:   the xtc place

I'm going to start my reviews with one that didn't make my Top 10.  Ground Rule #1:  All of the songs are by Andy.  They did a cover here and there, so those will get a (credit).  That only leaves Colin.  His songs will be labeled (M), for Menace - he'd like that.  So far that's the only rule I can come up with.

Drums and Wires    Blu-ray DVD    Released 17 August 1979  Reached #34 in the UK.  #176 U.S.A. Billboard

I haven't listened to the redbook Cd yet.  The Blu-ray I've played 4 times since 18 March.  Really for the fist time since the late 90's, other than spins on youtube - another casualty of my move to the East.  Bubbly calls this a box set on one disc.  I agree.

The Blu-ray is an Eye-Opener!  It just didn't sound like this in 1979.  Listening on vinyl was/is a whole different experience.  Some of the tracks I thought were weak back then are given a new life.  Also enjoying the record more with each listen.

let's float.

"Making Plans for Nigel" (M) - Colin got the idea for the song from a newspaper headline, but the lyrics owe all to his Dad's hounding him to cut his hair and stay in school.  Colin was expelled by a Headmaster for long hair...I remember those days too.  Where I grew up you could only let your hair grow in the summer - had to be "above your ears" for Fall.  And that was even in 1969 (my senior year) - you would laugh if you saw any of my school yearbooks!  Colin says:  "On looking back, I think my Dad saw playing with "Andy Partridge's mob" as a bad influence.  I think he's proud of me, although he would never let on, he's that kind of bloke."  So yeah, it's biographical more than political.  English friends of mine at the time played up the political angle, but the song is not about Nigel Lawson.  I've tried to find the front page newspaper headline he saw, but failed.  I do think I have it figured out tho.  Lawson was part of Thatcher's Thrasher, tearing down towns, de-regulating, and ripping up the floor-boards under the working man's feet.  In the song, Colin makes a reference to British Steel.  This had played out a game in the British steel industry since the late 1940's when The Labour Party (committed to Socialism) took hold in 1945 and nationalized it.  The Conservative's reversed it in 1952.  Then Labour nationalized it again in 1967, which by that time British Steel was in a deep mess in the world market.  The Labour Party did it's best in the crazy 1970's to keep folks working, even running it all in the red.  British Steel was very important in the depressed regions.  Thatcher really came to power as Leader of the Opposition in 1975.  Then of course she gained complete power in 1979, becoming Prime Minister.  That caused the already rebelling youth to a war of sorts, or leave the country.  She thought it her goal in life to destroy the Trade Unions, working hand-in-hand with America's very similar Ronnie in the 80's.  She made billions of dollars, but left commoners out in the cold.  Literally.  In 1979 Nigel Lawson was made Financial Secretary to the Treasury.  That must have been the "plan" Colin was reading about.  And that plans were being made for him to join her cabinet.  By 1983 Lawson was in her cabinet, becoming the Chancellor of the Exchequer (in America that's like the Secretary of the Treasury) - in the UK that's Big, Right-Hand Man territory.  He over-saw the "Big Bang" in the financial markets in 1986.  Luckily he was a back-bencher again by 1989.  The "bloom" coming from his corner of the room was not an English Rose.  Just get out your history books, names like Mr. Heath and Mr. Wilson were much more than the Beatles name-checking them in "Taxman."    - I love this song, but it's not my favorite on the album.  I bought this as a Single.  I only bought their Singles until 1980, though I did hear the record in 1979.  The 5.1 mix has instruments flying in from everywhere, with the lead vocal in the center of the room - the choruses in all five, the whispers in the back only.  What a mix!

"Helicopter" - The 5.1 mix is incredible.  The vocals are coming from all the speakers, and somehow Wilson puts some of them on top of the stack - like Andy's singing above you.  At the end the helicopter takes off in the back left and circles around to the right front, and up.  It's very credible.  Andy is a much better writer than I was giving him credit for in my earlier posts.  He was developing well in 1979.

"Day In Day Out" (M) - Andy agreed to play this one in a calm way - a day off from whatever was speeding him up.  He calls his guitar "grinding" - but this is in a mellow frame-work, where "Friday is Heaven."  The song is about  the monotony of working in a factory, so he thought it needed a mechanical feel.  He also thinks this is Colin's best song on the record.  I don't, but as Donovan said, "dig the slowness."  This was not a favorite back then, it is now.  Wish I could write and write discribing how these mixes are bouncing around the room, but I keep wanting to put down my notebook and just listen.

"When You're Near Me I Have Difficulty" - Andy remembering the effects of a teenage crush.  He just about breaks into a Country number.  I love it!  A few more of these and it would be in my Top 10.  May get there once I get to hear the others in Blu-ray.  What I'm doing is very much a re-evaluation of all their music.  This is one of my very favorite Andy songs here.  Every so often they throw in a bit of a vocal line or instrumental bit to show their love for prog.  On this there is a vocal bit from Brian Auger's A Better Land.  Sure it was very deliberate.  In the tag Wilson puts Andy's vocal only in the back speakers, just music in the fronts.  It so changes the mood of the original stereo mix.

"Ten Feet Tall" (M) - This is my favorite version of the song.  I was humming it when I was out on Easter.  Made me feel good.  Colin's songs do that to me.  He's like a ghost knocking at your back door - great at writing a commoner's song.  It was their first pastoral track.  They were worried how it would go over with the Oi! fans, and made an electric version to release as a Single in America.  But that was released in the UK as well, on a green flexi.

"Roads Girdle the Globe" - The backing track here is fantastic.  Is there a live video showing who plays what?  I thought this was Andy's first pastoral song, but boy does he have a different take on it.  Andy calls this a hymn to "religion of cars" - never really noticed that.  It is a first sounding of his Black Sea style.  He says it's the nearest they ever got to Beefheart's Magic Band.  I know he was a big fan of Trout Mask Replica, but I never saw the connection on any of xtc's music.  Maybe I will when I study the first two records more.  He's calling it clashing and clanging, like the steel chassis' of cars in a pile-up.  Better pull out Safe as Milk and check the Captain.

"Real by Reel" - Andy must have liked this, he put it in the live sets often.  It was the choppy beat I wanted them to move away from, sorta Ska/Disco.  Another song I used to think was weak, not anymore.  Now I look at it as more Andy does Roxy, firmly under the sway of "Dance Away" - lots of folks were influenced by Roxy's Manifesto in 1979.  The International Feel - Viva xtc!  Andy singles out Dave's lead as one of his best on the record.

"Millions" - Andy has an interesting story on this in the booklet.  Says it goes back to a song by Barry during the GO2 sessions that wasn't used.  Took his guitar figure from it and wrote this song about China.  Nice we have these notes.  China?  I think this opens with the swirling sound of "Eight Miles High" then off to Arabia, with another pass on "Eight Miles High" in the instrumental break.  I'm writing these notes before I read the booklet (first time tonight).  One of those notes was me wondering what Andy thought of middle period Cat Stevens - Foreigner or the Chocolate Box album.  Andy is very carefree.  Very similar to what he was going for on "Jump" - This is my favorite Andy song on the record.

"That is the Way" (M) - And this is my favorite Colin song here.  I can't believe Colin's notes on the song, they go along with mine.  He too thinks this the best song on the record!  Honestly, reading these notes for the first time tonight as I'm writing this.  I'll tap them in.  Colin says:  "I had no idea how this one would turn out.  I was merely following some chord progression.  I had the merest hint of a lyric about parental control (a heavily used theme for me at the time) and how these rantings and ravings would sound put together one after the other - and only that.  But what had everyone raving was when Dick Cuthell's horn was put on to such luxurious effect.  The thing really came alive.  It was moments like this that made D&W so lovely and exciting to do as the script was buried sometimes.  In a way, it is my favourite on the whole album.  The vitality of the horn lines, like some Bacharach and David tune or something - who knows."  Well, I'll also mention that I'm swept away to Hawaii by the guitar.  Pastoral xtc at their best.

"Outside World" - Country Andy filtered thru the New Wave.  So a bit too fast.  I like it more now than I used to - it was always a favorite.  The demo sounds nothing like this.  He developed this to death.  Bless 'em for keeping at it.  Andy says:  Listening today, I'm reminded that this song musically owes more than a little to the tight R&B chop of Dr. Feelgood, of whom we were fans."  Good old English Country Pub Rock!

"Scissor Man" - In this 5.1 mix I now like this better than the live version.  This has a Country heart as well.  Steve Wilson pulls a Bass sound out in the mix I've never heard before.  Andy's doing Elvis in the step-it-up tag.

"Complicated Game" - This was originally written for the GO2 album.  Andy held on to it thinking the time wasn't right.  Glad it got out.  Andy in Velvet's mode.  xtc spent their early days dressing up in Glam and doing covers.  This also has a Bowie feel.  He was another very influential artist, especially in England.  Nobody ever talks about it, but McCartney was influenced by Glam too.  I would have loved to hear McCartney do this song on one of his covers albums.  Andy is filtering Paul too.  Unusual for him at the time.  He often tried to do John, but this sounds like Paul.  Confused by all my mentions of different influences on this track?  It's all over the place.  xtc's usual perfect album closer.  Again, Andy was becoming an extraordinary writer.  Or was already.  I've got to get to checking out the two early albums more.

Have to get to the Singles in my next post.  It's late and I need a break from tapping.