# Golly damn, XTC are good. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 6, 2007, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/golly-damn-xtc-are-good/418281 "2007-09-06T19:50:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2007, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/golly-damn-xtc-are-good/418281/1 "2007-09-06T19:50:46Z")
XTC are one of those bands that I’ve always known I would really like if I gave them a chance, but with their ridiculously huge catalogue (basically an album or more a year since about 1980) was always too daunting; I just had no idea where to begin and kept thinking I’d just get into them eventually. Well, I finally took the plunge and picked up _Skylarking_ and _Drums and Wires_ and just FUCKING LOVE both records. I can’t stop listening to them. Great, great, great band. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2007, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/golly-damn-xtc-are-good/418281/2 "2007-09-06T19:53:50Z")
Yes, yes they are. For me, they’re probably only second to the Beatles for sheer pop songwriting goodiness. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2007, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/golly-damn-xtc-are-good/418281/3 "2007-09-06T20:16:45Z")
If you e-mail me, I’ll send you some more stuff - I’ve got everything they’ve done (including side projects and the 8 discs of “Fuzzy Warbles”, filled with non-released and demo versions of Andy Partridge songs). If you want to buy more on your own, my recommendations for your next purchases would be _Black Sea_ and _English Settlement_. ---
**Author:** ![Kneepants\_Erasmus\_the\_Humanist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/54ee81/32.png) [@Kneepants\_Erasmus\_the\_Humanist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kneepants_Erasmus_the_Humanist)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2007, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/golly-damn-xtc-are-good/418281/4 "2007-09-06T20:38:50Z")
Interesting that those are the two albums you would pick up as I think that (almost) everything before _Skylarking_ was great, and (almost-less a tiny handful of songs) everything after was awful. _Skylarking_ and _Drums and Wires_ happen to be two of my favorite albums, and I would second the suggestion of _Black Sea_ as the next place to go. I think the first side of _English Settlement_ is great but gets kind of boring towards the end. I think this is the problem I have had with their later albums. Andy Partridge’s writing has gotten a lot more…self-indulgent, perhaps? I am not sure what it is, but a lot of his stuff has really bored me. I have always been more of a Colin Moulding fan anyway and I think that his two songs on the last album of theirs I bothered to get–_Apple Venus_–were the only songs worth listening to. I think Dave Gregory leaving also had quite a negative effect on the last few albums. I think you have the best two albums, by far. If you like fun, manic, and dumb with crazy carnival organ maybe pick up the first two albums as well (for some reason I like _White Music_ quite a bit). Very different, but enjoyable in a strange way. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2007, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/golly-damn-xtc-are-good/418281/5 "2007-09-06T20:39:01Z")
…and don’t forget their alter-ego psychedelic band, **The Dukes of Stratosphear** … _Vanishing Girl_ is one of the most perfect pop songs I’ve ever heard. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2007, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/golly-damn-xtc-are-good/418281/6 "2007-09-06T21:22:50Z")
[QUOTE=VCO3] (basically an album or more a year since about 1980) [/QUOTE] Alas, if only that were true. **Kneepants** , I must strongly disagree with your dismissal of their later albums. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2007, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/golly-damn-xtc-are-good/418281/7 "2007-09-06T22:46:22Z")
They have always been one of my touchstone bands. I saw them tour with the Police in, what, 79? I forget. \*English Settlement \*is one of a handful of 1982 albums that for a long time formed the core of my musical existence. And I still pull _Black Sea_ out pretty frequently. For a long time in the 80s I was a completist: I had every single 7", 10", and 12" ever minted, with all the sculptural packaging, everything. I’m still trying to get a jazz singer to cover “Ladybird,” one of the greatest jazz songs ever written by a non-jazz composer. And XTC’s clear influence is one of the things I like best about the Shins, whose songs always sound a bit to me like a young Andy Partridge channeling a young Brian Wilson. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2007, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/golly-damn-xtc-are-good/418281/8 "2007-09-06T23:22:11Z")
XTC remains the most powerful indictment of the induction committee [or however it’s organized] of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which has snubbed them every year since 2002, their first year of eligibility. My advice: just break down (or break your piggy bank) and get the entire album catalogue. You will in the long run anyway, and in the long run we’re all dead, so why not enjoy them sooner rather than later? Besides, Andy & co. could use the royalties. Even XTC’s least-idolized albums (the first two, plus Mummer and Apple Venus Vol.s I & II) have must-hear, must-own tracks. The mid-period Rag and Bone Buffet compilation of castoffs, demos and miscellany is well worth having, too. Even the relatively worst XTC albums and compilations beat the pants off of all but the best efforts of almost everyone else, but I’d skip over “best of/singles” compilations and get the complete album catalogue, instead. And for concert recordings, the best one-disc purchase is BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert [1980], with the best bootleg that I’ve got being Fab Foursome in Philly [1979]. I think the way to go is to buy the albums, plus the **Rag & Bone Buffet** compilation and the Dukes material, in chronological order, to better follow the twisting turns in the band’s evolution over the years. But if you would rather cherry pick as finances allow, I’d go with this order: The Dukes of Stratosphear Chips… Anthology, Black Sea, The Big Express, Oranges & Lemons, English Settlement (the landmark double album that inaugurated their acoustic sound), Mummer, Nonsuch, Go2, the Rag & Bone Buffet comp., AV Vol. 1, White Music, AV Vol. 2, BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert 1980, and only then the Fuzzy Warbles discs 1-9 (see the fan site Chalkhills for their rankings of those), the Drums and Wireless Live at the BBC compilation, the Waxworks singles compilation (with the rarity “Wait 'til Your Boat Goes Down”), and the Homespun discs. Skip the Fossil Fuel and Upsy Daisy best-of and singles comps (they’re superfluous). And if you can afford only one copy of each album, opt for the Japanese digital remastered versions of the albums if you can. They sound fantastic and recreate the original album packaging, too. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2007, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/golly-damn-xtc-are-good/418281/9 "2007-09-06T23:32:01Z")
[QUOTE=The Scrivener] And if you can afford only one copy of each album, opt for the Japanese digital remastered versions of the albums if you can. They sound fantastic and recreate the original album packaging, too. [/QUOTE] And also include some B-sides that weren’t on the original US releases, IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2007, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/golly-damn-xtc-are-good/418281/10 "2007-09-06T23:36:42Z")
**Black Sea** is interesting, if for no other reason that the first N cuts are all ironic and humorous and biting, then comes the final cut of the album (“Adventures in Nihilon”) just cuts through all the clever rhetoric and allows the band to say _exactly_ what’s on their minds. I don’t have any of their stuff at the moment, but it is fun to tap your foot to the likes of “Generals & Majors”. If you like them I’d also recommend **The Teardrop Explodes** and Julian Cope’s solo stuff. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2007, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/golly-damn-xtc-are-good/418281/11 "2007-09-06T23:39:03Z")
Two more things: **VCO3** , does your Skylarking linup include _both_ “Mermaid Smiled” and “Dear God,” [as in a recent Canadian version] or just the former [the original U.K. and Canadian release] or just the latter [the original USA release, where it was an extra track slotted in at #12, between “The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul” and “Dying”]? 'Cause if you’re missing “Mermaid” in the lineup (it should be track #11, between “Another Satellite” and “The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul,”) you can score it in the Rag & Bone Buffet comp. Also, the Mobile Fidelity limited-release 24-karat gold digital remasterings of Skylarking and Oranges and Lemons are terrific, but if you can’t find or afford them, don’t sweat it. Especially since the Mo-Fi Skylarking includes “Dear God” but not “Mermaid Smiled”. 😃 Welcome to my abyss of sheer nerdiness. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2007, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/golly-damn-xtc-are-good/418281/12 "2007-09-06T23:59:00Z")
[QUOTE=John DiFool] **Black Sea** is interesting, if for no other reason that the first N cuts are all ironic and humorous and biting, then comes the final cut of the album (“Adventures in Nihilon”) just cuts through all the clever rhetoric and allows the band to say _exactly_ what’s on their minds. I don’t have any of their stuff at the moment, but it is fun to tap your foot to the likes of “Generals & Majors”. If you like them I’d also recommend **The Teardrop Explodes** and Julian Cope’s solo stuff. [/QUOTE] When I was club DJing in Chicago, I used to throw on “Travels in Nihilon” every once in a while. Frenzy, absolute frenzy. ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/golly-damn-xtc-are-good/418281/13 "2007-09-07T00:03:25Z")
[QUOTE=The Scrivener] XTC remains the most powerful indictment of the induction committee [or however it’s organized] of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which has snubbed them every year since 2002, their first year of eligibility. [/QUOTE] Hmmm. XTC is one of my favorite bands but RR Hall of Fame - it never even occurred to me. Not that I follow it that much. Maybe it’s because they were never very big in the States. I too find that Colin Moulding’s songs have a certain quality that touches me more than a lot of Partridge’s work. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/golly-damn-xtc-are-good/418281/14 "2007-09-07T00:34:19Z")
Of course the “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame” is going to snub them. Unless you sold gazillions of gold records they wont even give you a first look. It’s a shrine to commercialism and celebrity-ism, and nothing more. I’ve criticized the Baseball HoF to death but even they usually get the right guys in there. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/golly-damn-xtc-are-good/418281/15 "2007-09-07T02:51:06Z")
Another big Dukes of Stratosphear fan here. It’s not just a great XTC album, it’s a great album, period. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/golly-damn-xtc-are-good/418281/16 "2007-09-07T02:59:28Z")
[QUOTE=John DiFool] Of course the “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame” is going to snub them. Unless you sold gazillions of gold records they wont even give you a first look. It’s a shrine to commercialism and celebrity-ism, and nothing more. [/QUOTE] Agreed. The whole enterprise is foolish. I just wanted to say that **Nonsuch** was really disappointing, in the way an album can only be disappointing to a band’s best fans. And I still think that “No Thugs in Our House” should be the temporary national anthem until the current administration is out of power. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/golly-damn-xtc-are-good/418281/17 "2007-09-07T04:08:28Z")
[QUOTE=mack] I too find that Colin Moulding’s songs have a certain quality that touches me more than a lot of Partridge’s work. [/QUOTE] Add me to that list. I love Partridge, and his “seal bark” vocals, but my favorite XTC tracks tend to be Moulding’s: Ten Feet Tall, Ball and Chain, Making Plans for Nigel, Fly on the Wall, Smokeless Zone… If there is ever an army formed to evangelize the world to the wonders of XTC, sign me up. Though I think the Drums and Wires to Mummer (or was it English Settlement?) line up of Partridge, Moulding, Gregory, and Chambers highlighted the band at their finest. Most of the stuff they did with Barry Andrews leaves me cold, though the singles on the first two albums are fab. I think outside of those allbums, Oranges and Lemons was an incredible album that should have been a monster. Virgin really handled the band terribly, and the biggest tragedy would be the contractual silencing of the band for many years in the 90s. Last time I was over on the XTC boards it sounded as if Colin and Andy have acrimoniously split. A real shame - first Dave Gregory walks off and now this! ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/golly-damn-xtc-are-good/418281/18 "2007-09-07T05:09:46Z")
[QUOTE=Hippy Hollow] I think outside of those allbums, Oranges and Lemons was an incredible album that should have been a monster. [/QUOTE] Amen, brother; _Oranges and Lemons_ is probably my second favorite, just a hair below _Skylarking_ and several hairs above _English Settlement_. My copy is the one on three 3" CDs packed in a cigarette box. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/golly-damn-xtc-are-good/418281/19 "2007-09-07T05:18:21Z")
[QUOTE=saoirse] Agreed. The whole enterprise is foolish. I just wanted to say that **Nonsuch** was really disappointing, in the way an album can only be disappointing to a band’s best fans. And I still think that “No Thugs in Our House” should be the temporary national anthem until the current administration is out of power. [/QUOTE] I thought the same about **Nonsuch** for years, especially after “The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead” was released as the first single, which is, IMHO, the worst song in the XTC canon. “The Disappointed” was a similarly weak selection, and after a couple listens I filed it away and began to wonder if the boys had lost it. But after rediscovering it within the past 5 years, I think it’s a damn solid album (still not a fan of those 2 songs, however). “Wrapped in Grey” should have been the lead-off single, and the rest of the songs touch on a number of pop styles, though in a more subdued fashion than their previous work. It’s kind of like their version of _Pet Sounds_ after _Skylarking_’s (and _Oranges & Lemons_’s) _Sgt. Pepper_. Give it another chance - there’s some excellent stuff on there. ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/golly-damn-xtc-are-good/418281/20 "2007-09-07T12:28:59Z")
Oranges and Lemons probably suffered a lot from being the album after Skylarking. Where Skylarking had a certain cohesiveness and arc to it Oranges and Lemons came off as more of a collection of songs in no particular order and with no unifying elements. Excellent songs of course, but people might have been expecting something maybe a little grander after three years. I remember seeing XTC on Letterman doing King for a Day. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/golly-damn-xtc-are-good/418281.md?page=2)