XTC-where to start?

In a desert island situation where I was only allotted a certain number of discs I would easily take Mummer over White Music, Go 2, The Big Express, or Nonsuch - but as far as I'm concerned there's no truly bad XTC, they're so important to me as to have formed part of my worldview and personality.

 

I love the cheekiness of the White Music cover, and I sort of have a soft spot for the Drums & Wire cover, but yeah, none of the rest really jump out at me.

 

This is a GREAT cover, isn’t it?

 

I like the English Settlement and Drums and Wires covers the best (excepting the first Dukes cover -it rules!). Edit: and of course the wonderful Oranges and Lemons cover!

 

My first XTC purchase was the double album (two single albums marketed and wrapped together). Waxworks and Beeswax. An excellent introduction to the band that came out just after English Settlement (which I bought a few weeks later).


Beeswax is very hard to find on CD at a reasonable price.

 

I think this is a good suggestion, in that it conveys how stylistically varied XTC were and hits many of the high points. (My own starting point, which I wore out, was the first compilation, Waxworks, many years ago . . . ). It's hard to pick a single album as a starting point because, as others have noted, XTC were in some respects two bands - the band that made quirky, angular pop, and the band that produced a string of gorgeous, pastoral songs like "Love on a Farmboy's Wages." Also - and I say this as a fan - many of the albums are of uneven quality. For example, Mummer and The Big Express contain some exceptional music, but there are duds along the way. To me there are probably three absolutely essential XTC albums that collectively give a good sense of how extraordinary this band was: Black Sea, English Settlement and Skylarking. (Maybe four - Drums and Wires is great too.) Each of these is a masterpiece. There are many other excellent albums in the catalogue, but none of them quite have the consistent, sustained excellence of these three. A compilation is essential, though, to ensure that you cherry-pick the many gems on the other albums. There are also some great live performances on record. Check this out:

 

Luckily, you can reconstruct the album from other CDs; most of the cuts appeared as bonus tracks on the 1978-1980 albums, and the rest are on Rag & Bone Buffet.

 

I like the concept of the Oranges and Lemons cover, but the colors are like too bright or something. They are striking, and not really in a good way, IMO.

I probably agree with this. Even the XTC album I adore the most, English Settlement, has a couple of duds (Leisure and Melt the Guns). Skylarking is pretty consistent in that I don't think anything is worth chucking, although a few songs near the end do not really stand up on their own (but sound good within the flow).

 

Had to quote this again to say that I have listened to all of those b-sides now. And I am very impressed. Heaven Is Paved With Broken Glass is really great, Blame the Weather is very good, and I like The World Is Full of Angry Young Men quite a bit as well. Punch & Judy is okay, but I will take 3 out of 4! Thanks for those recommendations!!

 

Black Sea

 

This one has grown on me big time. I like it at first, but thought just about everything else after it was better, but I find that I listen to Black Sea about as much as any XTC these days. I love the sound of it and love the energy and vibe of all of the songs.

 

Weed Buzz

...this fella is posting some live XTC gigs if one is interested in how damn good they were as a touring act! search through his vids....most are audio only.

 

BTW, FYI:

Inspiration: XTC and Milton Glaser

 

Just wanted to bump this to say that lately I have been totally obsessed with both Omnibus and Wrapped in Grey. Incredible songs, both musically and lyrically.

 

Can I just say...HOLY SMOKES.

I was not prepared for the awesomeness of some of those songs on Psonic Psunsport.

Little Littlehouse was stuck in my head all day at work the other day.

You're a Good Man Albert Brown is cheeky fun, and that video is so good.

And...Pale and Precious. After listening to it for the like 18th time in the last few days today in the car, I literally laughed out loud to myself at how ridiculously awesome that middle section is. It is so Beach Boys and so wonderful.

What a marvelous band.

 

In a perfect world, I'd love to hear the Hollies (with Nash) take on "Vanishing Girl." But they'd have to EXACTLY follow the Dukes' flawless arrangement. I really like "Collideascope" too.

Apparently Dave Gregory was upset with Andy for including "Pale and Precious" on a "joke" project like the Dukes instead of saving it for a proper XTC album. But I think Andy made up for it with "Chalkhills and Children" on the next "real" XTC album.

 

Damn, I forgot to mention Collideascope! I love that one as well. So damn catchy, and that bass line is killer. And lots of mellotron!

Well, we fans got 'em both, so we can't complain too much, right? Chalkhills and Children has slowly climbed to the top of my list of favorite songs from O&L, along with Scarecrow People.

 

"Miniature Sun" is one of my favorites. There's a drastic shift in tone in the middle that carries across with no change in tempo or melody. Great use of metaphor, with the sun first as the benevolent bestower of light and life, and then as the burning destroyer. Andy Partridge is a breathtakingly gifted lyricist.

 

Absolutely. I have been a big XTC fan for only a few months now and would already call him one of my favorite lyricists. Very clever wordplay more often than not.

I heard an interview he did a few years ago where he said he was stronger at lyrics, while Colin was stronger at melody, and I think Andy is really selling himself short. Colin was great at writing catchy songs, for sure, and definitely wrote some really strong melodies, but Andy was far more prolific and wrote countless melodies that are pure gems.

 

Feels like a struggle to get this thread going again , but I have to say that, aside from the first three albums (none of which appeal to me very much), The Big Express and Wasp Star are definitely the least best two records from Black Sea forward. There are songs I like from each, but neither is very consistent. But that's okay, because Black Sea, English Settlement, both Dukes records, Skylarking, Nonmuch and Apple Venus Part 1 are all stellar, and Mummer and Oranges and Lemons are both quite good as well. What a journey this has been!

 

So I reached out to Dave Gregory and got a really kind and prompt reply... I had asked him stuff about guitar ("Was listening to Earn Enough for us" tonight and love the chime-y guitars , what were you playing?" DG- " rickenbacker 12 string double tracked and a Gibson es335 playing rhythm parts"---I also asked if he ever sees AP and CM , ( not for a long time but has seen Terry C more recently) and whether he had favourite XTC albums - or if like a parent he "loved all his kids, differently..." For him DG listed Nonsuch, Black Sea, Skylarking and Steven Wilson remix of Orange and Lemons are his favourites, and lastly I asked about how Dave G ended up as the bass player on Martin Phillipps one chills album ( lack of visas sent the rest of the band -back to NZ - and the producer connected with DG)
So cool to get a personal response. I have often wondered what bands think of their catalogs, for me I love English Settlement, Nonsuch, Oranges, Drums and Wires etc.

 

Thanks for the great post! It is amazing that we can reach out to our musical heroes and get a response. Some here thought Nonesuch was a curious start to the reissue campaign and a substandard XTC album, It's great to DG give it such a high ranking. I think it's their most consistent collection of songs, an album of songs where Andy's didn't sabotage them by trying to be too clever as his dad liked to say.

 

I only wish I had asked him more about the Dukes...

 

If you use twitter, you can chat with Andy.

XTC (@xtcfans) | Twitter