Continuity in Gaffa

[drukman%UMASS.BITNET@wiscvm.wisc.edu (Jonathan S. Drukman)]

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Another note in reference to the various stabs at the continuity theme that
Todd Rundgren incorporated into XTC's album.  Every band/musician with any
amount of creativity does a theme album at some point in their career.
What do you think the Ninth Wave is on side two of Hounds of Love???  Look
at Pink Floyd's The Wall, The Beatles Abbey Road (side two).  It's a variation
on the old record-a-track-move-on-to-the-next convention.  Besides, I doubt
that Todd held XTC at gun point and made them do it this way.  Even if it
was his idea, they surely had some creative input into it and could have
done a conventional album if they wanted.
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You may be surprised to learn that, indeed, they had very little artistic
control over the album!!  My devout XTC-fan-friends tell me that apparently
the band had written enough material for four albums, and Rundgren imposed
this arbitrary course on their material, trying to force it to fit into
his mold, rather than in the case of The Ninth Wave for example, where Kate
wrote the music to fit the theme, and not vice-versa.  Also, apparently,
XTC had little control over the mixing of the tracks.  They would record
the tracks, Rundgren would begin to mix them and tolerated very little inte
interference from the band.  This apprarently frustrated XTC muchly.  But
can you blame them?  Anyway, most people I speak to are of the opinion that
"Skylarking" is a great Todd Rundgren album, but only a mediocre XTC
album.

--Jon Drukman
"Your sickening smile, your social style, it's such a...
 ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-choke...."