It seems a little lazy to tag an XTC record as “new wave” but that’s what I found and I can’t think of anything better. Black Sea (1980) is definitely my favorite of their albums. Mary is the real XTC fan in this house, but anyone can enjoy songs like “Respectable Street” and “Generals and Majors.” Other than those my favorite is probably “Burning with Optimism’s Flames.” I’m not sure when or where she got this but it appears to be another “cut out.” Black Sea made it to No. 41 on the Billboard charts so no doubt many more were sold than returned to the label or put on sale in the cut out bins.
Track listing from Wikipedia:
All songs written by Andy Partridge, except where noted.
1. “Respectable Street” – 3:37
2. “Generals and Majors” (Colin Moulding) – 4:04
3. “Living through Another Cuba” – 4:44
4. “Love at First Sight” (Moulding) – 3:07
5. “Rocket from a Bottle” – 3:30
6. “No Language in Our Lungs” – 4:53
7. “Towers of London” – 5:24
8. “Paper and Iron (Notes and Coins)” – 4:17
9. “Burning with Optimism’s Flames” – 4:15
10. “Sgt. Rock (Is Going to Help Me)” – 3:56
11. “Travels in Nihilon” – 7:0
XTC -- English Settlement
- Artist: XTC
- Title: English Settlement
- Year: 1982
- Format: Vinyl 12 in.
- Rating (1-10): 8
- Owner: Mary
- Acquired: “Later… maybe, like, ’84… something”
- Keeper: Yes
I went to a hardcore punk throwdown last night with Double Negative, and got to meet my new buddy Kevin, singer of the band. More about that and their new album next Monday.
Today’s record is English Settlement by XTC. Regular readers of this site will know that I’m no card carrying member of the XTC fan club, but this one is better than most. Which is a good thing because it’s a double album. If you’re going to release a double album please put in the extra effort. Otherwise… the obvious. My favorite song is the first one, “Runaways.” This is Mary’s record and I defer to her on the rating.
Sorry about the slightly out of focus album jacket, but I did throw in a pic of one liner sleeve at no extra charge.
Wikipedia has more info about the album and Andy Partridge’s breakdown while touring in support of it.
XTC -- Ball and Chain
- Artist: XTC
- Title: Ball and Chain
- Year: 1982
- Format: Vinyl 10 in.
- Rating (1-10): 7
- Owner: Mary
- Acquired: ?
- Keeper: Yes
- Tracy
- What would you rate this record?
- Mary
- I think a 6 or 7.
- Tracy
- Is it a 6 or 7?
- Mary
- A 7. It’s pretty good if you like XTC. For XTC it’s a good record.
- Tracy
- OK.
- Mary
- Don’t quote me.
I prefer the first song on the flip, “No Thugs in Our House.” Printed across the top of the jacket is:
- File Under – Teen Groups
- 10″ single for the price a 7″ single
XTC -- Skylarking
- Artist: XTC
- Title: Skylarking
- Year: 1986
- Format: Vinyl 12 in.
- Rating (1-10): 5
- Owner: Mary
- Acquired: Plan 9 Records Richmond, VA
- Keeper: Maybe
Listening to music like XTC’s Skylarking reminds me that I do, in fact, have something in common with Dee Snider. I wanna rock. And this record ain’t taking me there. I’m not saying I only want to listen to crunching guitars and screeching vocals. Good classical rocks, even pop can rock, and funk is always rocking. I don’t think XTC is bad, but rarely does their music meet the need I share with Dee.
This copy of Skylarking is the first edition and doesn’t include the hit “Dear God.” More about this record.
XTC -- Dear God
- Artist: XTC
- Title: Dear God
- Year: 1986
- Format: Vinyl 7 in.
- Rating (1-10): 7
- Owner: Mary
- Acquired: 1986 – When she worked at Plan 9 Records in Richmond, VA
- Keeper: Yes
Oh man, what was I saying before? So much for redoubling my posting frequency…
XTC created some minor controversy with their single “Dear God.” It seems it was originally a b-side for another single from the album Skylarking. It became such a hit that the album was repressed to include it. As a pop song, I think it’s solid, and certainly more interesting musically than most. The flipside on this is “Big Day” which has a much more psychedelic sound, but not as cartoonish as their stuff under the pseudonym The Dukes of Stratosphear. It’s decent but kind of boring.
And that concludes this pass through the 7 inch singles. We’re all out of Ys and Zs. For the next few posts I’ll put up some new stuff.
