*Poll* - The Weakest Link - XTC - English Settlement - R3

*Poll* - The Weakest Link - XTC - English Settlement - R1

*Poll* - The Weakest Link - XTC - English Settlement - R2

Now can you make another two disappear before things get really competitive?

DISCUSSION QUESTION

On what formats do you have this album on?

 

Fly -- no question.

and... sheesh, this is hard. Snowman, I guess.

I had the original double-vinyl, the first Virgin CD release that did not have all the songs on it (for some silly reason) and the current CD release. Looking forward to (if they ever discover the tapes) for the inevitable Steve Wilson remaster box set!

 

Fly
Ball and chain

It starts getting very hard from here

I have the cd, i am waiting impatiently for them to find the multitracks and 5.1 it

 

The Weakest song? Is that what this is about? I'd have to go with All of a Sudden or Runaway, and only 'weak' in context of not being as strong as others but would still blow away most songs. You also left off a bunch of songs, but I wouldn't have voted for any of them as weakest. Nearly Africa, Down in the Cockpit, Melt the Guns are all winners. Fly and Snowman are great too.

 

You are obviously new to this. If you click on the links to R1 and R2 then you will understand how this works - absolutely nothing has been missed out!

 

Sorry - I should not have stuck my nose in. Carry on!

 

Went with Yacht Dance and Ball and Chain but we are already at the point where it is like ranking your (favourite) children.

DQ: The original Canadian vinyl release from 1982.

XTC was popular in Canada, therefore, we got the full 2LP set, not the truncated version.

 

Yacht and Fly at the moment but Snowman is skating on thin ice - let's see what happens overnight (it's evening here in Blighty).

 

Fly and Roundabout

Bought the CD in 1989/1990, and been enjoying it ever since. Never bought any other copies.

 

I bought the (2x)LP when it was first released.

My Mum can see the horse on the chalkhill from her house.

I love No Thigs so much I designed a t-shirt which I'll post later.

 

As with the last round, I voted for Jason and Yacht Dance. I'm pleased that Fly snuck through for another round!

I've owned three copies on CD:

- US version (missing Cockpit and Leisure). I sold it off a while ago, but I also remember the sound being pretty murky.
- UK version. By the time I acquired this, I'd grown so used to the US tracklisting that I treated the two missing songs as bonus tracks, the way Virgin stuck B-sides into the middle of various XTC albums when they were released on CD.
- 2016 remaster. By far the definitive version, and likely to remain so unless the missing multitracks pop up and Steve Wilson gets a crack at them.

 

This is starting to get painful. 'All of a Sudden' was first off - a really lovely song, but rather low wattage in the remaining company - and 'Jason and the Argonauts' for me, which was quite a wrench, but less of a wrench than anything else. I think it was because I find the "theremaybenogoldenfleecebuthumanrichesI'llrelease" bit kind of irritating.

 

Really? Yacht Dance is going to leave before Snowman? This is my only objection so far...

 

They're both great, in my opinion. 'Yacht Dance' has a gorgeous melody and arrangement, and is different from everything else on the album. Great 'breather' track. And 'Snowman' is fantastic, a song only XTC would come up with, with a weird mix of moods (Beach Boy sleigh bells, growling vocals) and one of Partridge's best lyrics: "People will always be tempted to wipe their feet / On anything with 'welcome' written on it."

 

Once again, I'm voting for "Yacht Dance" and "English Roundabout," the only two genuine clunkers on the album, IMHO, until both are gone.

Sad to see "Fly" getting so many votes - that is an awesome tune!

Discussion question: I have the UK LP and US CD.

 

I only have the 2001 CD, and like the rest of you, I can't wait for a Steve Wilson remix/remaster.