XTC Album by Album Thread

...and, PART THREE:

 

I can probably help with that, at least with the early years, since I recently tried to sort all that stuff out (variant mixes etc.)

 

Ok, postponed the Shriekback/Barry
stuff 'til next week .

Instead of posting each volume
of FW, here is the box set up for
discussion, a treasure trove of
wonderment imho .

 

Fuzzy Warbles.....

Love the artwork and much of the content. Some favorites include Dame Fortune, I Gave My Suitcase Away, Born Out of Your Mouth, Everything, I Don't Want To Be Here (probably XTC's hardest rocking song), Ship Trapped in the Ice and many others. I am not a huge fan of the XTC songs here in demo form, but prefer the non-previously released material.

 

Got to get them all, and all were ordered from Idea Records so came defaced by Andy including the box, there must be a few people with a complete set of signatures ?

 

Such gorgeous packaging on the box, and I loved the idea of 'Hinges' as a bonus disc.

I've got nearly a full set of signatures. I forgot that Andy was signing them and rashly bought two editions in a store when I was on holiday and they'd just come out, then got home and realized they were the only two un-defaced ones. Still, it's not as if I'm running low on Andy Partridge signatures! Soul coal, maybe.

 

I had two problems with Fuzzy

1) The mastering was atrocious
2) The way Andy split it up demos, instrumentals and originals not recorded by the band. I would have divided it up (and did for my playlist purposes) 1) a Demos of songs recorded by the band 2) Demos that the band didn't choose to do and/or fished recordings (I.e., "I Don't Wantto be Here","Strawberry Fields Forever") and instrumental pieces. I didn't like the way Andy mixed these up personally but I am glad they are out there.

The packaging is certainly nice (although my box recently began to fall apart).

 

Love the box set - well, about 2/3 of it. I made CD-Rs of the tracks I really like and ended up with six discs of material.

 

Morning, I just discovered this thread, so sorry for commenting out of chronological order but a few bits and pieces I'd like to quickly add having just read the last few pages.

This week I actually discovered my friend's battered original vinyl copy of 'Psonic Psunspot' in the spare bedroom, wow! I used to have 'Chips From The Chocolate Fireball' but lost it years ago, so you can imagine the joy I felt on coming across this little beauty. Despite looking slightly knackered I cleaned it up and gave it a spin, and what an absolute joy, despite the surface noise. As good as I remembered and perhaps my favourite XTC record. Ditto '25 O'Clock.' The Dukes were the icing on the cakes of XTC's career.

Elsewhere yes, 'Oranges and Lemons' is not good, poor production, weak songs, I have it on vinyl and never play it.

'Nonsuch' suffers from a lack of editing. At 45-50 minutes it could have been a stormer but ends up a textbook example of why the CD format doesn't always work for prolific songwriters like Partridge. It houses classic XTC material but unfortunately Colin's stuff, with the exception of My Bird Performs, is way below the quality mark.

'Apple Venus Volume 1' has some impressively conceived pieces but I remember thinking when it was released.... well these guys are really past it now, I'm afraid. If Partridge had ripped up the rule book, and produced a whole album of orchestral pieces a la River Of Orchids, it may have been the return to past glories we were all hoping for.

'Skylarking....' I have the remastered CD, and like everyone else would probably concur this is their high watermark, played it to death when the original first came out, must play it again sometime. Rundgren's input was obviously critical. Shows just what a strong producer can do, if only they'd've hired him for 'Nonsuch.'

Finally, 'Mummer....' I've always loved it. Beating Of Hearts, Great Fire, Love On A FarmBoy's Wages, Human Alchemy and Ladybird are pinnacles in the Partridge songbook.

And hats off for 'Fossil Fuel.'

 

Apart from the tape drag on 'Generals And Majors' (which doesn't happen on any other release) and the incorrect use of the album version of 'Statue Of Liberty'.

 

I don't get the hate for
O&L, it's a brilliant album !

 

I'm in the middle on this one. I love much of it, but feel several songs are just really bad. The good outweighs the bad for me.

 

It uses the album version of 'No Thugs' instead of the single edit as well.

 

Like many double albums, it could do with a bit of editing, but I agree that there's plenty to love here. The production is crisp and clean and the recent Wilson 5.1 helped to give me deeper appreciation for the arrangements here.

 

With the indulgence of Scope J, let's see how far we can get with Barry Andrews' post-XTC projects:


BARRY ANDREWS



The Town and Country EP (1979):

Me and My Mate Can Sing / Bring on the Alligators / Mousetrap / Sargasso Bar



Rossmore Road / Win a Night Out with a Well-Known Paranoiac (1980) – a remixed and extended version of the A-side was reissued in 1981 with a different b-side (see below).


RESTAURANT FOR DOGS



Rossmore Road reissue: Pages of My Love (1981)


OFF THE CUFF: LIVE AT THE 101 (1981)

Three tracks: Pages of My Love / Fruit / Mice


This phase of Andrews’ career is the only bit that sounds much like his songs from Go2. Virgin evidently saw some potential there and wanted more of the same. The debut EP is the result, and it’s little more than a curio. Sargasso Bar is probably the best of the bunch, but there’s not much here that indicated where Andrews would go in the 1980s.

‘Rossmore Road’ is a huge improvement, and Andrews’ first really good song, a moody noir-jazz pop song that builds to a Beatlesque bridge and chiming chorus. The original b-side, ‘Win a Night Out with a Well-Known Paranoiac’ is a long free-associating fever dream (“. . . and I’m just about to order scampi, in an Elizabethan basket, when. . .”) which is actually pretty entertaining, but it’s spinning its wheels in his earlier style.

The single was rereleased a year later in remixed form, with an extended fade and with a new b-side by Andrews’ new, short-lived, band Restaurant for Dogs. They also contributed a few tracks to a live compilation. Basically they were just a rowdier, odder version of what Andrews was already doing, though ‘Fruit’ is a rhythmic, exotic thing that vaguely points in the general direction of Shriekback, and the band did include Carlo Asciutti, who contributed memorably eccentric vocals to a few early Shriekback tracks.

During the 1980-81 period, Andrews was also a member of Robert Fripp’s The League of Gentlemen. In a nifty historical irony, the bassist of the band was Sara Lee, who would go on to join the Gang of Four, replacing Dave Allen, who would soon co-found Barry Andrews’ new band.

 

And, assuming that not too many people will have heard those early singles, let's kick off the Shriekback discography as well.

SHRIEKBACK



TENCH (Y Records, 1982) MINI-LP

Accretions
Mothloop
Here Comes My Hand-Clap
Sexthinkone
A Kind of Fascination
All the Greek Boys (Do the Handwalk)

N.B. The recent CD reissue substitutes incorrect mixes, so this mini-LP has never been released on CD in its original form.


1982 SINGLES:



Sexthinkone (7” remix) / Here Comes My Hand-Clap (album version) – 7”
Sexthinkone (12” remix) / Sexthinkone (7” Remix) / Here Comes My Hand-Clap (album version) – 12”



My Spine (Is the Bassline) (7” edit) / Tiny Birds – 7”
My Spine (Is the Bassline) (full length version) / Tiny Birds / Feelers – 12”


UNIQUE COMPILATION TRACKS:

Despite Dense Weed – BIRTH OF THE Y, 1982
Mothloop II – RACKET PACKET, 1983 (completely new recording and arrangement, not a remix)


A great debut and a whole new sound for Andrews. Dave Allen, from Gang of Four, was a gifted bassist with a nice sense of funk, and the band became much more interested with experimentation in their sound, particularly with clattering percussion, bizarre vocal timbres, and a dub / ambient sense of space. The overall vibe is swampy and sinister and pretty distinctive in the post-punk landscape. ‘My Spine’ is a classic standalone single, danceable and weirdly quasi-commercial, and probably the best indication yet of where the band was headed.

 

Well, this is unsurprisingly quiet, so let's press on and see if we can find some records people have actually heard, or heard of:



CARE (Y Records, 1983)


Lined Up
Clear Trails
Hapax Legomena
Petulant
Lines from the Library

Brink of Collapse
Sway
Into Method
Evaporation
In: Amongst

- UK cassette adds: My Spine (Is the Bassline) and Accretions (remix)
- US LP has reshuffled track list including Accretions (Tench version) and My Spine but losing Hapax Legomena and In: Amongst.

1983 SINGLES:



Lined Up (original 7” mix) / Hapax Legomena (album version) – 7”
Lined Up (Disco Mix) / Lined Up (InstruMENTAL Mix) / Hapax Legomena (album version) – 12”



Working on the Ground (7” edit) / Closework* - 7”
Working on the Ground (full length version) / Nightwork* - 12”
(* = remixes of Working on the Ground)



Lined Up (7” remix) / My Spine (Is the Bassline) (7” edit) – 7”
Accretions (Monstrous Dance Mix) / Into Method (Planet Mix) / Lined Up (Sinuous Dance Mix) / My Spine (Is the Bassline) (full length version) – 12”


A formidable first full-length album, ranging from sinister funk to Gonzo avant-garde to ambient (‘In: Amongst’ is nothing more than the sound of a whole lot of tiny sticks whipping around very fast). ‘Lined Up’ is a great single, and exists in a bewildering number of different, but all basically similar, mixes (same overall sound, but very slightly remixed, or extended, or with instrumental sections replacing verses or choruses).

 

I know Shriekback have a reputation but they're not a band I've listened to. But I have heard of them!

 

Well that's a start!

Here's 'Lined Up':


(This sounds to me like the 'Sinuous Dance Mix' from the rereleased single)

 

Nice bass line!

 

There are a lot more of those where that came from:

 

Moving right along to 1984:

JAM SCIENCE (Y Records, 1984)



An early version of the album, released without the band’s permission in Europe. Includes two unique songs among stripped back and alternative versions.

Under the Lights
Building Up a New Home
Hand on My Heart
International

Putting on the Pressure
Party Line
My Careful Hands
Midnight Maps

A second mini-album called Knowledge, Power, Truth and Sex was issued in Europe later in the year, including all the songs that debuted on the Arista version of the album along with a couple of b-sides (no unique tracks).


JAM SCIENCE (Arista, 1984)



Hand on My Heart
Newhome
Achtung
Partyline
Midnight Maps

Mercy Dash
Under the Lights
My Careful Hands
Suck
Hubris

1984 SINGLES:


Hand on My Heart / Nerve – 7”
Hand on My Heart (extended mix) / Suck (album version) / Nerve – 12”
Hand on My Heart (Jumping on the Ribcage with the Digital Rasta) / Nerve / Cloud of Nails (Pump Up a Storm)* / Mistah Linn He Dead* - 12”
(* = remixes of Hand on My Heart)


Mercy Dash (Ready for This) / Gated Joy – 7”
Mercy Dash (Ready for This) (extended mix) / Gated Joy / Bricks and Whistles – 12”


The band’s second full length album had a troubled genesis, getting prematurely released by their old label and then glossily revamped by their new one. I don’t think either version is all that great, but I prefer the generally underproduced original. ‘Hand on My Heart’, the strongest song and lead single, is hushed and eerie in its original version, whereas the rerecording is brasher and much more commercial. The overall sound of the Arista album, with its combination of brashness (‘Mercy Dash’), skewed funk (‘Achtung’) and silky atmospherics (‘Hubris’) provided the template for the celebrated Oil and Gold, but the songs for the follow-up were much stronger.

The band’s most enduring song of this era, in terms of its persistence in their live sets, turned out to be the b-side ‘Nerve’, a great song well worth tracking down.


THE INFINITE (Kaz, 1984)



This 1984 compilation compiles tracks from the band’s first two albums on Y and related singles, including a couple of new remixes. Here are the sources, as far as I can tell:

Lined Up – Sinuous Dance Mix from rereleased 12” single
Clear Trails – album version
Accretions – previously unreleased remix
Sway – album version
Madness Into Method – previously unreleased remix

My Spine (Is the Bassline) – full length version from 12” single
Mothloop – album version
Sexthinkone – 7” remix
Evaporation – album version
A Kind of Fascination – album version
Working on the Ground – 7” edit

 

OIL AND GOLD (Arista, 1985)



Malaria
Everything That Rises Must Converge
Fish Below the Ice
This Big Hush
Faded Flowers

Nemesis
Only Thing That Shines
Health and Knowledge and Wealth and Power
Hammerheads
Coelocanth


1985 SINGLES:



Nemesis (album version) / Suck (live) – 7”
Nemesis (album version) / Suck (Live) / Mothloop (live) / Feelers (live) – 2 x 7”
Nemesis (extended) / Suck (live) – 12”
Nemesis (Arch-Deviant Mix) / Nemesis (7” version = album version) / Suck (live)



Fish Below the Ice (remix) / Coelocanth (album version) – 7”
Fish Below the Ice (The Plankton Enriched Mix) / Coelocanth (album version) – 12”
Fish Below the Ice (Dance Mix) – promo 12”


Although I still prefer the Y Records material, this is really the definitive Shriekback album: dark, glossy, varied, full of sinister whispery bits and shoutalong choruses. It was the ‘Nemesis’ single (a bigger hit in New Zealand than anywhere else) that caught my attention as a teenager, with its 2000 A.D. references (including a fleeting appearance of the eponymous character in the video). I already knew ‘Lined Up’ from late night radio a couple of years before, but didn’t realize it was by the same band. My brother and I bought a cassette of this album and played it to death.

Typically for the mid-eighties, singles were promoted with limited edition 12”s, doublepacks etc. I’ve limited the list above to the formats with exclusive content.

 

Well, it looks like there's not much interest in discussing Andrews or Shriekback, but I'll press on until the band initially broke up in 1992.

BIG NIGHT MUSIC (Island, 1986)



Black Light Trap
Gunning for the Buddha
Running on the Rocks
The Shining Path
Pretty Little Things

Underwaterboys
Exquisite
The Reptiles and I
Sticky Jazz
Cradle Song

1986 SINGLES:

Gunning for the Buddha (album version) / Bludgeoned – 7”
Gunning for the Buddha (album version) / Bludgeoned / Black Light Trap (remix) – 12”

Running on the Rocks (album version) / Bludgeoned (By the Chairleg of the Truth) / On a Razor’s Edge (live) / Hammerheads (live) – 12” (New Zealand only)


Kind of Oil and Gold Lite. A decent album based on that one’s template, but the single ‘Gunning for the Buddha’ was the poppiest they’d yet released – not a particularly powerful statement of intent, and where ‘This Big Hush’ was moody and atmospheric, ‘Cradle Song’ is just kinda syrupy. Carl Marsh had left by this point, but I’d always found his songwriting generally weaker than Andrews anyway, and the band sound remains intact even without him. The next personnel loss would be much more serious.