Senses Working Overtime: XTC and Dukes of Stratosphear Song-by-song

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Lance LaSalle, Dec 25, 2021.

  1. BigManRestless

    BigManRestless Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    I love Life Is Good Is The Greenhouse - I think it's my second favourite track after Meccanik Dancing. It's kind of discordant but I think it works really well, and sounds great on headphones - especially those 'bong' noises. 5/5
     
  2. chrism1971

    chrism1971 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Glos, UK
    Er.....no.

    Greenhouse - agree with most of the above commentators, though the main melody is at least memorable. It's another 'OK but not bothered' track I'm afraid. Also - greenhouse seems an odd (human) analogy for being in one's bubble - you'd get a bit overheated -- Andy's spent most of the past 30 years in his shed. They could already write much better songs, which makes this album a bit of a mystery. 2/5
     
  3. HitAndRun

    HitAndRun Forum Resident

    Life Is Good In The Greenhouse

    I think this is an interesting song both musically and lyrically. A song from the point of view of a plant - good.

    The arrangement is interesting, and Andy sings it well.

    3.7/5
     
  4. shakti

    shakti Senior Member

    Location:
    Ramnes, Norway
    Life Is Good in the Greenhouse - well, seeing as Beatown is my favourite track on the album, I have listened to Greenhouse many times, coming right after Beatown. And there is something interesting about it - has that eerie quality perhaps like Millions on D&W. And the lyrics are also engaging («do you wonder why I look so fresh? Do you wonder why I look so tall?). The Mickey Mouse reference is just awkward though. Musically, it plods along and quickly spends the few interesting bits it has to offer, so even if it’s not a track I actively dislike, I can’t rate it higher than 2/5.
     
  5. intv7

    intv7 Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston, MA, USA
    "Life Is Good in the Greenhouse" -- 1.5/5

    I dismissed Go 2 for many, many years -- my brain was incorrectly remembering the album as being 40 minutes of...this. And it's not. It's mostly great, but I feel like "Greenhouse" is something of a dud. It doesn't come close to reaching "All Along The Watchtower" levels of disdain from me, but it's probably the track on this album I get the least enjoyment from. It's plodding, and the marriage of music, melody & lyrics lacks Andy's usual finesse. They seem to be kind of shoehorned in together here.

    Side 2 of this record is maybe the most unconventionally XTC sounding album side they ever put together, for several reasons. The big swing and miss on this side of the album for me is the astonishing lack of a truly great Andy Partridge song. Your mileage may vary, of course -- I know "Beatown" has its fans -- but the big blemish on Go 2 for me is that (IMO) Andy somewhat checks out after the halfway point.
     
  6. brownie61

    brownie61 Forum Resident

    Life Is Good in the Greenhouse

    This song really plods along, doesn’t it? :laugh: But in spite of that, I like the lyrics - they are very typical of Andy, I think. And his voice here is the Andy I know and love. If this had different production and was sped up a bit, I think it would be quite good.

    3/5
     
  7. Tristero

    Tristero In possession of the future tense

    Location:
    MI
    This time, I have to go along with the consensus: Coming after two vividly engaging tracks from Andy, "Greenhouse" is indeed plodding and the "ha-ha-ha-ha" chant grates. There's some interesting ambience going on in the background with Barry, but the song itself just doesn't hold my interest. This is the point for me where Go2 starts to go awry after a very solid start.

    2/5
     
  8. dthomas850

    dthomas850 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cleveland, Ohio
    Life is Good in the Greenhouse: Another song I really love, quite different from anything else they've done to this point. The song has kind of a pulse to it, which is very cool. I love the final chorus with the octave effect, making Andy sound like a warped Mickey Mouse. Awesome track! 4.75/5
     
  9. eeglug

    eeglug Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago, IL, USA
    Life Is Good in The Greenhouse. A bit reggae/dub-ish, I like the laid back groove of it. This is just another in a long line of slightly silly Andy songs. Andy is nothing but insecure/self-conscious about cliches and tropes and I imagine the ha-ha riff was something he wanted to be in the song but sounded too serious if played by an instrument. So he defuses it deliberately by singing the ha-ha. Barry is surprisingly minimal in his solo. Not the best track maybe but I find it enjoyable.
     
  10. hvgrace

    hvgrace Senior Member

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
    Recently I saw that Rick Beato called it the "Genesis chord" in his "What Makes This Song Great" YouTube examination of "Dance On A Volcano". Robin Guthrie, Stereolab, Joni Mitchell. Once you start looking....
     
  11. prymel

    prymel Forum Resident

    Location:
    Houston
    Life Is Good In The Greenhouse

    With XTC I’m noticing that their songs often straddle the fine line between energetic/fun and annoying. “Life Is Good” lands on the very annoying side. The “ha ha ha ha”s are insufferable, and there isn’t enough going on elsewhere to offset it. 1/5
     
  12. Jamsterdammer

    Jamsterdammer The Great CD in the Sky

    Location:
    Málaga, Spain
    "Life Is Good In The Greenhouse"

    What really surprises me since this thread was started is how often people use the word "annoying" to describe a perfectly nice XTC song. Tastes differ of course, but the last word I would apply to any XTC song is "annoying" (OK, perhaps for a couple or so). I really enjoy this song and it works well between the two upbeat songs. It's definitely not a masterpiece, but it has a nice laid-back groove and I actually do like the ha-ha-ha-ha chant. Reminds me of Joe Jackson. I guess early XTC is just not for everyone.
     
  13. hvgrace

    hvgrace Senior Member

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
    "Life Is Good In The Greenhouse" is a slowburn with teeth. The "Ha-ha-ha-ha" hook calls forward to many a rueful future Partridge brushstroke, as Terry slowly bounces along with the snare not quite on the beat you'd expect. Along with the strange lampshade gongs, the ethereal keyboard touches, the stark bass notes, what's dirge-like also becomes hypnotic and disorienting, lending Andy's potentially petulant ballad of self-protection an air of metaphysical dread. I like it more than I remembered. 2/5
     
    Last edited: Jan 26, 2022
  14. Arthur Pewty

    Arthur Pewty Always crashing in the same car

    Life is Good: perhaps the perfect example of a “plodding “ rhythm ever put to wax. No, it’s not that bad, but it’s certainly the album’s low point so far, and surprisingly for me, Barry’s keyboard touches are the most interesting thing about the song, musically. 2/5
     
  15. Shriner

    Shriner Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ann Arbor, MI, USA
    Greenhouse -- one of the few 1/5 songs in the catalog and certainly the low point in the album.
     
  16. hvgrace

    hvgrace Senior Member

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY


    I discovered this recently uploaded show from September 1979 when I was looking for the best version of "Set Myself On Fire" from the Live And More EP to post a couple of weeks ago. I keep returning to it. DRUMS AND WIRES had just been released a few weeks earlier so it's mainly full of songs from WHITE MUSIC and GO2 (14 out of the 21 tracks). At 48:33 there's good version of "Life Is Good in The Greenhouse", with Dave Gregory reinterpreting things on Korg MS-20 synth and guitar (at the same time!) and Andy's relishing the moment, giving it some distinct DRUMS/BLACK SEA vibes while staying true to the arrangement. The whole thing is good way to hear how the next iteration sounded playing a lot of the stuff we've been listening to from 1978.

    01 Beatown 0:25 02 Real by Reel 3:53 03 The Rhythm 7:42 04 Roads Girdle the Globe 11:05 05 Science Friction 15:58 06 Life Begins at the Hop 19:48 07 Helicopter 23:37 08 Battery Brides (Andy Paints Brian) 27:16 09 Making Plans for Nigel 34:21 10 Scissor Man 38:21 11 Instant Tunes 43:00 12 Outside World 45:30 13 Life Is Good in the Greenhouse 48:33 14 Crowded Room 53:41 15 Radios in Motion 56:22 16 Are You Receiving Me? 59:27 17 I’ll Set Myself on Fire 1:02:16 18 Meccanik Dancing (Oh We Go!) 1:07:42 19 This Is Pop 1:10:08 20 Dance Band 1:12:49 21 Statue of Liberty 1:16:03
     
  17. DaverJ

    DaverJ Forum Resident

    Location:
    East Tennessee
    Life Is Good In the Greenhouse - I was looking forward to this one! When I think of Go 2, this is the song that pops into mind. I hated it when I first heard it (and probably second, third, etc.), but for some reason I eventually grew to "love-hate" it. Andy's dreadful, seemingly purposely annoying chorus gets locked in my brain, and that's not unwelcome. Even though this is probably a bad song, I like that it exists -- it's a very odd "grower" (ha).

    But what rating do it give it? As a song, it's barely a 2/5, and that's being very generous. It probably should be left on the demo tape. However, I'm going to give it a 4/5 -- just to raise the curve for this charming little oddball song.
     
  18. hvgrace

    hvgrace Senior Member

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
    I love this reaction.
     
  19. plentyofjamjars67

    plentyofjamjars67 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Michigan
    Life Is Good In The Greenhouse: I could never call this one a favorite, but I have always liked it ok. I do appreciate the laid back vibe after what's come so far. Normally I might give a two but .. have you ever tried singing the verses along with Andy? 3/5
     
  20. redmedicine

    redmedicine Pop Punk Psych Prog

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    I do wonder why you look so dull Andy. I literally was thinking "This isn't annoying, it's just a bit ... " when he finished the sentence for me. 2/5
     
  21. TheDailyBuzzherd

    TheDailyBuzzherd Forum Resident

    Location:
    Northeast USA
    GREAT alias band. Got both releases.
     
    Lance LaSalle likes this.
  22. jimbutsu

    jimbutsu WATCH YÖUR STEPPE

    There's just enough here to make me hear wisps of what's coming, but not enough to make me willing to accept this as anything other than overly long.

    2.4/5
     
  23. Will Harris

    Will Harris Forum Resident

    First off, when I saw your mention of Todd as I posted mine right below it, I was surprised and immediately began to quote yours and post about the "Todd chord".
    Should have been proof-reading my post. Ouch. That line in mine should have said, "Both xtc and The Jam got better when they slowed down the aggressiveness."

    I have the Complicated Game book but haven't read it for years. Had forgotten that "Beatown" was one of the songs discussed. I gave that entry a fresh read this
    morning. I must have subconsciously remembered that bit about the organ, how "it just swirls throughout the entire song." But I was also referencing a Todd song
    which does the same thing. Much of Barry's work on Go2 reminds me of music you might hear at a carnival. Didn't follow Barry's music after he left the group to see
    how he developed. Guess I should, because I have been enjoying what I am hearing. Might end up buying Go2 again. Will continue to consider that as I re-listen to
    these songs from side two for the first time since the early '80s. Enjoying the record more than I remembered so far.

    As for Andy, we should realize something about him that you point out. On page 69 he says, "...that was of no importance to me at the time, because I was in Beatle
    denial!" when talking about recording in Abbey Road Studio 2, the Beatle room. He can say that, but what we hear or read is still floating around somewhere in our
    heads - that goes for his Rundgren denial after working with Todd in 1986. It was the "Beatown" entry where Andy mentions a type of chord that Utopia might use.
    The song I referenced was before that, in 1972 from Something/Anything?. I'm fairly sure he had heard "The Night the Carousel Burned Down", as well. Of note, by
    the time of the interviews with Bernhardt for the book he had become less antagonistic towards Todd. That's good, because admit it or not, Todd was an influence on
    Dave, Colin, and Andy. And Barry, too - at least on "Beatown".
     
  24. Summer of Malcontent

    Summer of Malcontent Forum Resident

    I agree. Not a great song by any means, but, like 'Battery Brides' it's an interesting production and arrangement and it does look vaguely forward to later epics like 'Complicated Game' and 'Travels in Nihilon,' so I regard it as an important part of the bigger XTC story.
     
    hvgrace, brownie61, ARL and 2 others like this.
  25. 13DoW

    13DoW A concoction of conjecture and whimsy

    Not the greatest XTC song but it could be an anthem for climate change deniers :)
     

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