XTC

[JDTURN%UMASS.BITNET@WISCVM.WISC.EDU (Joe Turner)]

"Black Sea" first?  No way, dude.

For my money, the order in which I would suggest someone buy XTC's works
is this:

"English Settlement" - The closest XTC has come to a PG3/Sgt Pepper album.
 ==================    Avoid the 'murrican single-disc version, get the
double-disc import.  This album features what I think is their best writing
to date.  The album also has a sense of continuity about it that is much
more natural than "Skylarking"s continuity.  The songs range from folky to
almost-noise, but together they give the album a "whole" feel; "English
Settlement" is their most .. hmmm .. "organic" album.  Everything about it
feels just right.

"Mummer" - Not as impressive as "English Settlement", but still worth its
 ======    salt.  It's probably XTC's mellowest album, getting into some
strange textures ("Beating of Hearts", "Me and the Wind") but still retain-
ing a strong pop sound ("Deliver Us from the Elements", "In Loving Memory
of a Name", "Funk Pop a Roll").  They're not pushing any boundaries here,
but it's still a strong entry.

"The Big Express" - More mainstream than "Mummer" is, but more mature in some
 ===============    ways.  Immaculate production only helps raise the songs
to an even higher level.  The songwriting itself is more solid than in past,
switching some of the tongue-in-cheekness for serious positing.  There's
still the sense of humor ("All You Pretty Girls") but it's balanced by
much that is not to be taken lightly ("This World Over", "The Everyday
Story of Smalltown", "I Remember the Sun").  the only complaint is that
while the songs all blend, the songs don't form into any coherent whole as
they did on "Black Sea" or "English Settlement".

"Black Sea" - The antithesis of "Mummer", this is the most rock-oriented
 =========    XTC album around.  The songs are quite weighty in terms of
content, but the effect is watered down by the band's levity.  This is
a good thing, otherwise it would have come off as pretentious.  This, more
than "Drums and Wires", is the first real glimpse of the modern XTC, in
that the attitude of the band is more mature.  The songs range from
not-so-standard love songs ("Sgt Rock (is going to help me)", "Love at First
Sight") to very political outbursts ("Generals and Majors", "Living Through
Another Cuba", "Towers of London") to slightly mystical ("Travels in
Nihilon").

"Drums and Wires" - This is the album where one could say that XTC "calmed
 ===============    down".  This, of course, is the album that had "Making
Plans for Nigel" and "Life Begins at the Hop" on it, got them noticed by
most of the public, and probably convinced Virgin Records to keep them
around..!  The album IS a departure from their earlier sound in that it's
a much tighter, more restrained sound ("Ten Feet Tall", "That Is the Way")
and in that it has more obvious (and understandable) lyrical content ("Making
Plans for Nigel", "Roads Girdle the Globe", "Millions", "Reel by Real").
I have a tape of "Drums and Wires" and "Black Sea" on it and they go together
quite well (just mentioning).

"White Music" / "Go 2" - I put both of these together because they are the
 ===========     ====    only two XTC albums that sound ANYTHING like each
other.  While "Go 2" is the better of the two in my opinion, they both share
the same qualities: steady beat, loud noisy chords, usually quick-tempoed.
There are, of course, some real gems here ("Statue of Liberty", "This is Pop",
"Battery Brides", "Buzzcity Talking", "Meccanik Dancing", "X-Wires", "Life
is Good in the Greenhouse") but nothing comes close to their work
post-"Drum and Wires".

Of course, you could ALSO buy the album "Waxworks", which has a song
from their first EP ("Science Friction"), "Statue of Liberty" and a
different mix of "This is Pop!" from "White Music", "Are You Receiving Me?"
(a single), "Life Begins at the Hop" and "Making Plans for Nigel" from
"Drums and Wires", "Generals and Majors" and "Towers of London" from "Black
Sea", and "Senses Working Overtime" and "Ball and Chain" from "English
Settlement".  It's a collection of their singles (which, as any XTC fan
can tell you, are chosen by complete idiots), but it's an impressive selec-
tion of stuff.  If you're lucky, you can also find "Beeswax", which is the
b-sides to the singles (and I think most are BETTER than the a-sides!).
"Beeswax" has: "She's So Square", "Dance Band", "Hang on to the Night",
"Heatwave", "Instant Tunes", "Pulsing Pulsing", "Don't Lose Your Temper",
"Smokeless Zone", "The Somnambulist", "Blame the Weather", "Tissue Tigers
(The Arguers)", "Punch and Judy", and "Heaven is Paved With Broken Glass".

Here's a short LP discography:

"White Music" - 1977 (Producer: John Leckie)
"Go 2" - 1978 (Producer: John Leckie)
"Drums and Wires" - 1979 (Producer: Steve Lillywhite)
"Black Sea" - 1980 (Producer: Steve Lillywhite)
"English Settlement" - 1981 (Producer: Hugh Padgham)
"Mummer" - 1983 (Producer: Steve Nye and XTC)
"The Big Express" - 1985 (Producer: David Lord and XTC)
"Skylarking" - 1986 (Producer: Todd "I'm a Bozo" Rundgren)

There's also "Take Away/The Lure of Salvage", which has to be heard to
be beleived.  Imagine a lunatic, in a studio full of recording gear of
every shape and size, holding onto all of XTC's master tapes from '77 to
'79.  Now tell him to play cut-and-paste with the tapes.  Now imagine that
lunatic is Andy Partridge, and he knows EXACTLY what he's doing.  It's
not to be listened to late at night with the lights off.

Anyway.  Hope that helped, whomever asked in the first place...

Waiting for flames from Peter E Lee,
-joe

"Fishponds and a madman's honey"