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XTC, that is. Despite a nice little accumulation of their LPs, I'm a relative newcomer to the band. I bought a minty UK copy of "Wasp Star" a couple of years back based on the rantings of Art Dudley in Listener and got myself hooked on their excellent songwriting and musicianship. I've subsequently snatched up every clean UK title I find at Amoeba (see all the pretty yellow price tags?) and I've discovered what seems to be a consistent pattern in my appreciation of their music:The older it is, the less I like it (somewhere around '85 seems to be my cutoff point)
and, within that constraint:
I like most everything by Andy Partridge, while Colin Moulding's songwriting and solo vocals do nothing for me ("Standing in for Joe;" what the hell is that?), though fortunately for me, the latter are comparatively scarce.
The two bottom rows are more or less my favs, while the stuff on top I can pretty much take or leave, though I haven't given all of the older albums a second listen yet.
What happened to turn the band around? I know that at some point Partridge lost his nerve and quit performing live; was that part of it? The early MTV-flavored New Wave 4/4 pounding and Talking Heads style frenetic vocal work really gets on my nerves, whereas I love their lush, complex, introspective, and occasionally dissonant and challenging songs like "Knights in Shining Karma," "Your Dictionary," "You And The Clouds Will Still Be Beautiful," "Greenman," "River of Orchids," etc.
How do other XTC fans feel about the music? Given my preferences, can anyone make some recommendations?
BTW; oranges, lemons, apples...what's with all the fruit anyway?
Edits: 09/12/07Follow Ups:
Give Drums and Wires and Black Sea a fair chance. You won't regret it. Make sure to read the lyrics. Brilliant stuff. I agree with another poster that gave Nonesuch the top rating, though. Good luck finding it on vinyl.
Once you've got the LP's , then you can start on the 45's. Fun!
RickMac
I appreciate the suggestion. So far, those two albums aren't doing it for me, though I do like one or two songs here and there, but I'll keep spinning em. Reading the lyrics is a good idea. I usually save that to fill in the comprehension gaps after I've grown familiar with the music, but I like their lyrics in general, so that may be the ticket.
I did follow Johntoste's suggestion and brought "Mummer" into the current rotation and I really like that one. Not sure how it ended up in my "eh" bin.
"Nonsuch" is on my want list, but I'll try to find the vinyl first. Seems like everything washes up on Amoeba's shores eventually.
Thanks!
Okay, I've put together a list based on your suggestions and I'll make a bee-line straight to the XTC bin on my next bi-weekly trip to Amoeba. In the mean time, I'll spin up the LPs that have been collecting proverbial dust and try to open my ears real wide. Based on your enthusiasm, there's gotta be gold in those grooves that I've yet to unearth.
...if you get my drift.
After tormenting and being tormented by my fellow VA waxheads for over six years, an occasional sabbatical helps to clear the grunge outta the mental grooves. : )
As someone else said, get Nonsuch. And move Mummer into heavier rotaion.
I did! I like it! What I can't figure out is how it fell out of favor in the first place. Just stoopid, I guess.
Thanks!
I have a few of those on LP and some on CD & cassette.
My faves are "Black Sea", "Oranges & Lemons", "Go2" and "Drums & Wires". But they're all pretty great.
Cheers,
Bobbo :-)
By the way, the Mayan goddess equal to Venus is named Wasp Star..
I did not know that, and I've climbed the pyramids in Chichen itsa, Tikal, and Uxmal, among others. Shame on me!
This band has clever and interesting lyrics, near-beatles quality melodies in some of their songs - these are master craftsmen of pop music.
You're right about their maturing over time -- I like everthing from Skylarking and after. Also like a few songs before Skylarking, like Senses Working Overtime.
Re: fruit obsession, I don't know, but it appears they name each album by using a phrase from a song in the previous album.
On Skylarking: Orange and lemon, Raincoats roll and tumble, Together, just liked fruit tipped from a tray
On Oranges and Lemons: I'm skating over thin ice, upon blunted blades of metal soft. I'm skating over thin ice, while some nonesuch net holds me aloft.
On Nonesuch: Then she appeared, apple venus on a half open shell
etc.
Bought it years ago on CD and never listened to it much because I thought it sounded terrible. Pulled it out recently for a try and it's great. 3 or 4 really great tunes and not a bad sounding CD. Never heard the vinyl.
Tom
Hey Fretless, glad to see you turned on to XTC.
'White Music' and 'Go 2' were the first two LP's, but in '79 Organist Barry Andrews left to team up with Robert Fripp in League of Gentlemen.
Dave Gregory joined, and with Alan Partridge XTC's music switched to a more tuneful English pop bard style. Then came Drums and Wires, Black Sea, English Settlement, etc.,
Although I like English Settlement and Skylarking (who said the '80's were a music wasteland ...), my fav XTC are still the first 2 LP's.
There is a singles compilation (1977-92) on CD called Fossil Fuel that might be of interest to you.
Regarding post-XTC, one of the more interesting off-shoot bands was Shriekback: Barry Andrews, Dave Allen, Carl Marsh and Martyn Barker. Check out the 'Oil And Gold' LP, it's a sinister funk and experimental electronic mix.
Btw, I saw Shriekback live in Montreal in 1987 playing at a university gig. I interviewed Barry Andrews and Dave Allen for a campus/community radio station, got an interesting view on the 'falling out' with Alan Partridge 10 years previous.
Cheers Brian
Hi Brian, thanks for the info. I'll certainly test the waters you've mentioned.
One of my favorite bands of all time. In fact, there was a time I didn't even listen to music, but I heard "Senses working Overtime" on the radio and it just turned me around. The Dukes albums are really fun, it's like playing "spot the influence" and there are many, from Beach Boys to early Pink Floyd. Great stuff.
Like you, the early punk is from what I call their annoying period. Some is great, some not so. Oranges and Lemons...Apples and Oranges??
And the vinyl of Skylarking and Oranges just have to be some of the best sounding vinyl in my collection.
but what you don't have are the Dukes of Stratosphear LPs "25 O'clock" and "Psionic Sunspot", which are XTC's tribute to psychedelia (under an assumed band name). IMHO, actually as good as or better than the real thing, in many ways.
You can still get both LPs on a CD titled Chips from the Chocolate Fireball.
If you like Oranges and Lemons, you'll probably like these as well. I never tire of "The Dukes".
There's also a partner album to the "beeswax" album, which is a collection of their singles. It has a similar cover but it is blue in colour.
Cheerswelly
I went to a restaurant that serves "breakfast at any time". So I ordered French Toast during the Renaissance.
Thanks, Newdreams. While I've heard of the Dukes of the Stratosphear (not Stratosph ere , right?), the connection with XTC was right off my radar.
I'll definitely keep a sharp eye out.
From the Chalkhills XTC web pages--see link below.
BTW my favorite XTC LPs are
Drums & Wires
Oranges & Lemons
Skylarking
plus there's a wild version of "All Along the Watchtower" on White Music.
"A cult classic of raw punk pop, XTC's debut album charts in the U.K. Top 30. An off-kilter homage to the confection that is pop (i.e., "white") music, the album jumps with virtually live-in-the-studio energy."
I've noticed that "Drums and Wires" seems to be a favorite around here, so I played it back to back with my personal fav "Homespun," and my wife and I agreed that they're in completely different worlds musically.
"Drums and Wires" pounding punk pop is well played - these guys have chops that most punkers can only dream about...if they cared about chops - but aside from one or two cuts, it pretty much went in one ear and out the other (which is easy with me, as I have very little between the ears to impede the propagation of sound waves), but I'll keep spinning it and the rest of what I have in the hope that it all clicks with me eventually.
Thanks again.
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