XTC

[FULIGIN%UMASS.BITNET@WISCVM.WISC.EDU (Peter E. Lee)]

     Which XTC LP to buy next if you liked 'Skylarking...'  Hmmm...
     Well, each of XTC's albums has a very distinct sound, even to the point
where it is almost hard to believe that they were done by the same group.
     'Skylarking' is probably their most homogenous album to date, having,
thanks to producer Todd Rundgren's 'continuity concept,' far less range of
tone and subject matter than any of their other albums.  The closest probably
to it would be 'Mummer,' which, like all of their albums, I would recommend
highly.
     As to which is their 'Sgt. Pepper' or 'The Dreaming,' I think every fan
would give a different answer, but most would site 'English Settlement,'
'Black Sea,' or 'Drums and Wires.'  I'm torn between 'The Big Express' and
'English Settlement' myself.  If you do buy 'English Settlement,' be sure to
buy the two record set version (domestically on Geffen, or on import on
Virgin).  The original US versions were only one disk and trimmed something
like 5 tracks, and the CD loses two.
     While I am highly impressed by the music of Ms. Bush, especially
'The Dreaming,' XTC's musical range and brilliant lyrics have made them my
single favourite band for something like 6 years now.
     Anyway, if you liked 'Skylarking,' you might want to get the rest of
their albums in this order : 'Mummer,' 'English Settlement,'
'The Big Express,' 'Black Sea,' 'Drums And Wires,' 'Go 2,' and finally
'White Music.'  There are also a CD singles collection, an 'early' singles
collection ('Waxworks'), the accompanying B-sides collection ('Beeswax'),
a wonderful EP of 60's tributes/parodies released under the psuedonym of
'The Dukes Of Stratosphear' called "25 O'Clock."  There are also gobs of
singles by the band, many with b-sides as good or better than anything on the
respective albums, and two collections of VERY BIZZARRE remixes, called 'Go+'
and 'Mr. Partridge Take Away'/'The Lure of Salvage.'  These last two sound
more like the Residents than XTC, and are probably only for the fanatically
devoted.
     Hope this helps.
                                           XTC fan at large,
                                                  -Peter Lee
Fuligin%UMass.bitnet@wiscvm.wisc.edu