# Isn't XTC great? I know!! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 20, 2008, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-xtc-great-i-know/453540 "2008-06-20T02:29:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2008, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-xtc-great-i-know/453540/21 "2008-06-20T23:19:18Z")
Love this band immensely! A friend once mentioned an album which if I recall was entitled ‘The Talented Mr. Partridge’, which was actually Andy Partridge sneaking into the studio and re-mixing ‘Drums and Wires’ until it was completely unrecognizable. Does anyone know anything about this album, or was my friend just having me on? ---
**Author:** ![krisolov](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/krisolov/32/3724_2.png) [@krisolov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/krisolov)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2008, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-xtc-great-i-know/453540/22 "2008-06-21T00:44:26Z")
much love for **English Settlement** and **Black Sea** ; they hold up really well and bring back some very fond memories. ---
**Author:** ![rikc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c57346/32.png) [@rikc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rikc)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2008, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-xtc-great-i-know/453540/23 "2008-06-21T02:49:41Z")
Strange, for some reason before this thread I’ve never really heard people talk about **Black Sea**. It’s always been **Drums and Wires, English Settlement, Skylarking and Oranges & Lemons.** Have I just had strange luck, or is it an overlooked album? ---
**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:** [June 21, 2008, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-xtc-great-i-know/453540/24 "2008-06-21T04:29:29Z")
I liked XTC from when I heard “Making Plans for Nigel” on Radio 1 as a kid. But the first album I bought was **Oranges and Lemons** - I was a junior in high school and it seemed pretty sophisticated when the other kids were buying Warrant records. I also got **Waxworks** when I joined the Columbia House record club. XTC more or less disappeared after the **O&L** follow up, **Nonsuch** , which I thought was a bit uneven. So I went backwards. I remember XTC got a lot of recognition in the U.S. with **Skylarking** but I while I like the album, it’s a bit… polished. Too much perhaps? Andy famously did not get on with producer Todd Rundgren, but he acknowledged the album was well done. The first two albums, **White Music** and **Go 2** , are a bit angular, and while I like the singles from the albums, I find them hard to listen to. **Drums and Wires** is more melodic, perhaps because Barry Andrews was replaced by Dave Gregory. The singles are awesome, and this is one album where perhaps Moulding outshined his more prolific partner Partridge - he wrote “Making Plans for Nigel,” “Life Begins at the Hop” (on the U.S. reissues) and “Ten Feet Tall.” “Reel By Reel” is a smashing song by Andy, though. It should also be noted that **D&W** was the band’s first collaboration with Steve Lillywhite and Hugh Padgham. (One or both served as engineer or producer for the **Drums and Wires, Black Sea,** and **English Settlement** albums - probably their best run of albums.) However, **Black Sea** was the first XTC album I could listen to all the way through without skipping any tracks - they’re all great. It explodes with the arguing guitars and percussive bombast of “Respectable Street,” the tuneful “Generals and Majors,” another Moulding gem in “Love at First Sight” (with one of the most interesting guitar solos in the XTC canon, as well as a catchy Linn drum line), the droning “No Language in our Lungs,” the melancholic “Towers of London” (with a cracking riff - one of the best in the XTC catalog), and the album is rounded out with “Paper and Iron,” with that loud whacking chorus. I’m less a fan of “Sgt. Rock,” but that might have to do with the fact that I read that Partridge was mortified of the lyric and felt the song is embarrassing in retrospect. The CD version has “Smokeless Zone,” which is another Moulding classic, “Don’t Lose Your Temper” (which always reminds me of Oingo Boingo for some reason), and the very atmospheric, almost spooky “The Somnambulist.” **rikc** , get yourself to a record store and bless your ears with this amazing album! My rankings of the XTC albums: 1. Black Sea 2. English Settlement 3. Oranges & Lemons 4. The Apple Venus albums 5. Drums & Wires 6. The Big Express 7. Nonsuch 8. Go 2 9. White Music I should point out the gap between 4-7 are a hair’s breadth. I also loved the boxset, **Coat of Many Cupboards,** and the BBC session compilation, **Transistor Blast**. Such a brilliant thread. Can I tell you how proud I am to be a Doper, with all of you professing your love for XTC? ---
**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:** [June 21, 2008, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-xtc-great-i-know/453540/25 "2008-06-21T05:16:38Z")
Oh, one other piece of trivia. The **Black Sea** album cover (once you remove the green bag, purists) is just a photo of the band in diving suits… but the band’s name is represented on the cover through symbols. The seagull is the “X,” the ship’s mast is the “T,” and the crescent moon is the “C.” Cool, huh? ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2008, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-xtc-great-i-know/453540/26 "2008-06-22T04:47:39Z")
[QUOTE=Hippy Hollow] Oh, one other piece of trivia. The **Black Sea** album cover (once you remove the green bag, purists) is just a photo of the band in diving suits… but the band’s name is represented on the cover through symbols. The seagull is the “X,” the ship’s mast is the “T,” and the crescent moon is the “C.” Cool, huh? [/QUOTE] Well I’ll be. Learn something new every day. Counter-trivia: the diving suit photo was taken because the album was originally going to be called Working Under Pressure, a veiled jab at their manager who had them on a constant grind of touring and recording that eventually led to Partridge’s burnout. Said manager, recognizing the criticism for what it was, insisted the album title be changed. ---
**Author:** ![Made\_in\_Macau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@Made\_in\_Macau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Made_in_Macau)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2008, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-xtc-great-i-know/453540/27 "2008-06-22T09:11:01Z")
[QUOTE=Le Ministre de l’au-delà] Love this band immensely! A friend once mentioned an album which if I recall was entitled ‘The Talented Mr. Partridge’, which was actually Andy Partridge sneaking into the studio and re-mixing ‘Drums and Wires’ until it was completely unrecognizable. Does anyone know anything about this album, or was my friend just having me on? [/QUOTE] It’s real - the title is ‘Take Away’ by the Talented Mr Partridge. It’s for the hardcore must-have-everything fan. As for the OP; - I love XTC and have said here before how the shape of my life was changed by seeing their last full live gig. Great gig too - the notion that AP suffered from stage-fright seemed ridiculous after seeing him revel in it. Anyway I came in to support the OP getting the Fuzzy Warbles. My son bought the presentation set for my birthday and not only is the music great, but it is truly inspiring to hear the variety and scope of Partridge’s genius. For me, stand out songs would be - Broomstick Rhythm I Defy You Gravity I Dont Want to Be Here Don’t Ever Call Me Chickenhead Everything Will Be Alright Goosey Goosey Snowing Angels Goodbye Humanosaurus Sonic Boom and so on. I’m just talking about new songs - the demos are fantastic and inspirational too. My wife hates XTC, largely because I played little else when we met. They are one of very few bands that you can tell by the chord structure alone. MiM ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2008, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-xtc-great-i-know/453540/28 "2008-06-22T20:03:57Z")
All these XTC fans, and yet nobody ever responded to my question in [this thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=460673) ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2008, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-xtc-great-i-know/453540/29 "2008-06-23T04:31:02Z")
[QUOTE=ArchiveGuy] All these XTC fans, and yet nobody ever responded to my question in [this thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=460673) [/QUOTE] Math is my worst subject! ---
**Author:** ![rikc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c57346/32.png) [@rikc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rikc)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2008, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-xtc-great-i-know/453540/30 "2008-06-23T05:45:32Z")
We are mayors of simpleton ☹ ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2008, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-xtc-great-i-know/453540/31 "2008-06-23T17:17:37Z")
No love for _Mummer_? XTC is one of the best pop bands ever. Their music is timeless, and pre-dated music videos by having vivid imagery, creating a built-in video in each song… ---
**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:** [June 23, 2008, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-xtc-great-i-know/453540/32 "2008-06-23T17:36:36Z")
[QUOTE=ArchiveGuy] All these XTC fans, and yet nobody ever responded to my question in [this thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=460673) [/QUOTE] “Well I don’t know how many pounds make up a ton.” - Partsy, “Mayor of Simpleton” Maybe the best coda of any song they’ve ever written. Nice one Andy. ---
**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:** [June 23, 2008, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-xtc-great-i-know/453540/33 "2008-06-23T17:41:11Z")
Did everybody else’s _Nonsuch_ come with the insert of Andy’s blurbs for all the previous XTC discs? ---
**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:** [June 23, 2008, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-xtc-great-i-know/453540/34 "2008-06-23T23:58:45Z")
I like XTC. My only complaint is the microscopic font they use for the lyrics in the CD booklets–_Skylarking_ and _English Settlement_, for example. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2008, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-xtc-great-i-know/453540/35 "2008-06-24T05:31:30Z")
[QUOTE=phungi] No love for _Mummer_? [/QUOTE] Some, but it’s my least favorite of their “mature” (read: post-Barry Andrews) work. Mostly the production I think – it just sounds flaccid and shrill. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-xtc-great-i-know/453540.md?page=1)