XTC: 1978 - 1982

 

XTC were an English rock band formed in Swindon in 1972. Fronted by songwriters Andy Partridge

(vocals, guitars) and Colin Moulding (vocals, bass), the band gained popularity during the rise of punk and new wave in the 1970s, later playing in a variety of styles that ranged from angular guitar riffs to elaborately arranged pop. Partly because the group did not fit into contemporary trends, they achieved only sporadic commercial success in the UK and US, but attracted a considerable cult following. They have since been recognised for their influence on post-punk, Britpop and later power pop acts.
                

  
Partridge, Moulding, and drummer Terry Chambers formed the first version of the band in Swindon,

Wiltshire around 1976, calling themselves Star Park. As punk rock took off in 1977, the group changed their name to Helium Kidz and added keyboardist Barry Andrews. After being turned down by CBS Records, the band changed their name to XTC and secured a record contract with Virgin; they released their first EP, 3-D, in October of 1977.
                        

The group debuted on Virgin Records and were subsequently noted for their energetic live

performances and their refusal to play conventional punk rock, instead synthesising influences from ska, 1960s pop, dub music and avant-garde. The single "Making Plans for Nigel" (1979) marked their commercial breakthrough and heralded the reverberating drum sound associated with 1980s popular music.
           

Between 1979 and 1992, XTC had a total of 10 albums and 6 singles that reached the UK top 40,

including "Sgt. Rock (Is Going to Help Me)" (1980) and "Senses Working Overtime" (1982). After 1982's English Settlement, the band stopped concert touring and became a studio-based project centred on Partridge, Moulding and guitarist Dave Gregory. A spin-off group, the Dukes of Stratosphear, was invented as a one-off excursion into 1960s-style psychedelia, but as XTC's music evolved, the distinctions between the two bands lessened.
                      

XTC's lack of commercial success isn't because their music isn't accessible -- their bright, occasionally

melancholy, melodies flow with more grace than most bands -- it has more to do with the group constantly being out of step with the times. However, the band has left behind a remarkably rich and varied series of albums that make a convincing argument that XTC is the great lost pop band.
                           

XTC - WHITE MUSIC 1978

                    

White Music is the debut studio album by the English rock band XTC, released on 20 January 1978. It

was the follow-up to their debut, 3D EP, released three months earlier. White Music reached No. 38 in the UK Albums Chart and spawned the single "Statue of Liberty", which was banned by BBC Radio 1 for the lyric "In my fantasy I sail beneath your skirt". In April 1978, the group rerecorded "This Is Pop" as their third single.
Originally titled Black Music, referring to black comedy, the title was changed at the suggestion of both Virgin Records and the band's manager. The resultant title, White Music, refers to white noise.

XTC – White Music
Label: Virgin – CDVM 2095
Format: CD, Album, Reissue 1987
Country: Canada
Released: 1978    
Genre: Rock
Style: New Wave, Post-Punk, Pop Rock

TRACKS

                

01. Radios In Motion    2:52
02. Cross Wires    2:03
03. This Is Pop    2:38
04. Do What You Do    1:14
05. Statue Of Liberty    2:52
06. All Along The Watchtower  (Written-By – Bob Dylan)   5:40
07. Into The Atom Age    2:32
08. I'll Set Myself On Fire    3:00
09. I'm Bugged    3:59
10. New Town Animal In A Furnished Cage    1:51
11. Spinning Top    2:38
12. Neon Shuffle    4:25
13. Science Friction    3:12
14. She's So Square    3:06
15. Dance Band    2:40
16. Hang On To The Night    2:06
17. Heatwave  (Producer – Robert John Lange)   2:08
18. Traffic Light Rock    1:40
19. Instant Tunes    2:28

LINE - UP

Bass, Vocals – Colin Moulding
Drums – Terry Chambers
Guitar, Vocals – Andy Partridge
Piano [Steam Piano], Organ [Clapped Out Organs] – Barry Andrews
Written-By – Andy Partridge (tracks: 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 to 19), Colin Moulding (tracks: 2, 4, 9, 11, 13, 15)

NOTES

Originally released in 1978.
Original LP: tracks 1 to 6 & 14 to 19. Tracks 7 to 9 previously released on 3D E.P.. Tracks 10, 11 & 13 released as B-sides of "Statue of Liberty", "This is Pop" & "Are You Receiving" singles respectively. Track 12 released on 10" sampler LP "Guillotine".

Flac Size: 310 MB

XTC - GO 2 1978

                     

Go 2 is the second studio album by the English band XTC, released 6 October 1978 on Virgin Records.

The United Kingdom version contained no singles, but the American and Canadian versions included the single "Are You Receiving Me?" released on 27 October 1978 along with a music video produced for the song. It is the final album to feature keyboardist Barry Andrews.

 

 

 

XTC – Go 2
Label: Virgin – CDV 2108
Format:    CD, Album,Reissue 1985
Country: UK
Released: 1978
Genre: Rock
Style: New Wave

TRACKS

    

01. Meccanic Dancing (Oh We Go!)    2:35
02. Battery Brides (Andy Paints Brian)    4:30
03. Buzzcity Talking    2:45
04. Crowded Room    3:05
05. The Rhythm    3:00
06. Red    3:00
07. Beatown    4:34
08. Life Is Good In The Greenhouse    4:45
09. Jumping In Gomorrah    2:00
10. My Weapon    2:18
11. Super-Tuff    4:25
12. I Am The Audience    3:40
13. Are You Receiving Me?    3:03

LINE - UP

Andy Partridge – guitars and vocals
Colin Moulding – bass and vocals
Barry Andrews – Crumar organ, Farfisa organ, Wurlitzer electric piano, Minimoog, Clavinet, grand piano, vocals and saxophone
Terry Chambers – drums and vocals

Flac Size: 385 MB

XTC - DRUMS AND WIRES 1979

              

Drums and Wires is the third studio album by the English rock band XTC, released in 1979 on Virgin

Records. It is a more pop-orientated affair than the band's previous, Go 2 (1978), and was named for its emphasis on guitars ("wires") and expansive-sounding drums. The album was their first issued in the United States and their first recorded with guitarist Dave Gregory, who had replaced keyboardist Barry Andrews earlier in 1979. It features a mix of pop, art rock, new wave and punk styles with much rhythmic interplay between XTC's two guitarists.

XTC – Drums And Wires
Label: Geffen Records – GEFD-4034, Virgin – GEFD-4034
Format:    CD, Album, Reissue 1991
Country: US    US
Released: 1979    
Genre: Rock
Style: New Wave, Pop Rock

TRACKS

                       

01. Making Plans For Nigel   4:13
02. Helicopter   3:54
03. Day In Day Out   3:07
04. When You're Near Me I Have Difficulty   3:22
05. Ten Feet Tall    3:12
06. Roads Girdle The Globe   4:49
07. Real By Reel   3:46
08. Millions   5:35
09. That Is The Way   2:56
10. Outside World   2:40
11. Scissor Man   3:59
12. Complicated Game   4:53
13. Life Begins At The Hop   3:49
14. Chain Of Command   2:32
15. Limelight   2:25

LINE - UP

Andy Partridge – vocals, guitar, synthesizer, percussion, sleeve design
Colin Moulding – vocals, bass
Dave Gregory – guitar, background vocals
Terry Chambers – drums

Flac Size: 392 MB

XTC - BLACK SEA 1980

             

Black Sea is the fourth studio album by the English rock band XTC, released 12 September 1980 on

Virgin Records. It is the follow-up to the previous year's Drums and Wires, building upon its focus on guitars and expansive-sounding drums, but with more economical arrangements written with the band's subsequent concert performances in mind, avoiding overdubs unless they could be performed live.

 

 

XTC – Black Sea
Label: Ape House – APEBD104
Series: The Surround Sound Series
Format:    CD, Album, Reissue, Remastered Nov 24, 2017
Country: UK
Released: 1980    
Genre: Rock
Style: New Wave, Pop Rock

2017 STEREO MIX

                

01. Respectable Street    3:39
02. Generals And Majors    4:08
03. Living Through Another Cuba    4:53
04. Love At First Sight    3:12
05. Rocket From A Bottle    3:37
06. No Language In Our Lungs    4:53
07. Towers Of London    5:27
08. Paper And Iron (Notes And Coins)    4:20
09. Burning With Optimism's Flames    4:22
10. Sgt. Rock (Is Going To Help Me)    4:03
11. Travels In Nihilon    7:16

ADDITIONAL 2017 STEREO MIXES

                  

  
12. Respectable Street (Single Version)    3:08
13. Smokeless Zone    3:50
14. Don't Lose Your Temper    2:32
15. Take This Town    4:09
16. Ban The Bomb    2:40
17. Towers Of London (Early Version)    6:11
18. The Somnambulist    4:38
19. Andy Partridge – History Of Rock 'N' Roll    0:21

LINE - UP

Andy Partridge – vocals, guitar, synth
Colin Moulding – vocals, Epiphone Newport bass
Dave Gregory – guitars, synth, piano, vox humana
Terry Chambers – Tama drums, Tama Snyper drum synthesiser, free form vocals

Flac Size: 512 MB

XTC - ENGLISH SETTLEMENT (LIMITED EDITION) 1982

                   

English Settlement is the fifth studio album and first double album by the English rock band XTC,

released 12 February 1982 on Virgin Records. It marked a turn towards the more pastoral pop songs that would dominate later XTC releases, with an emphasis on acoustic guitar, 12-string electric guitar and fretless bass. In some countries, the album was released as a single LP with five tracks deleted. The title refers to the Uffington White Horse depicted on the cover, to the "settlement" of viewpoints, and to the Englishness that the band felt they "settled" into the record.

XTC – English Settlement
Label: Virgin – CDVX2223, Virgin – 724385066023
Series: XTC Original Paper Sleeve Collection
Format: CD, Album, Limited Edition, Reissue, Remastered 2001
Released: 1980    
Country: Europe
Genre: Rock
Style: New Wave

TRACKS

               

01. Runaways   4:34
02. Ball And Chain   4:32
03. Senses Working Overtime   4:50
04. Jason And The Argonauts   6:07
05. No Thugs In Our House   5:09
06. Yacht Dance   3:56
07. All Of A Sudden (It's Too Late)    5:21
08. Melt The Guns   6:34
09. Leisure   5:02
10. It's Nearly Africa   3:55
11. Knuckle Down   4:28
12. Fly On The Wall   3:19
13. Down In The Cockpit   5:27
14. English Roundabout   3:59
15. Snowman   5:03

LINE - UP

Colin Moulding – lead vocals, backing vocals, fretless bass, Fender bass, mini-Korg synthesizer, piano, percussion
Andy Partridge – lead vocals, backing vocals, electric guitar, semi-acoustic electric 12-string guitar, semi-acoustic electric guitar, acoustic guitar, mini-Korg synthesizer, Prophet V synthesizer, anklung, alto saxophone, percussion, frog noises
Dave Gregory – Prophet V synthesizer, electric 12-string guitar, mini-Korg synthesizer, backing vocals, percussion, electric guitar, nylon-string Spanish guitar, fuzz-boxed 12-string guitar, semi-acoustic electric 12-string guitar, piano
Terry Chambers – drums, electronic drums, percussion, backing vocals

ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL

Hugh Padgham – backing vocals on "Ball and Chain"
Hans de Vente – backing vocals on "It's Nearly Africa"

Flac Size: 482 MB