No to prog, yes to totally incredible (I imagine that's 90% of the responses so far, yes?)
They seem to appeal to prog dudes, at least. In reality I think they would appeal to a pretty wide variety of music fans. How they managed to have something less than a dozen hit singles eludes me!
Hey, Colin Moulding is in the "Prog Collective," so he's officially prog.
Plus, loads of prog connections-- David Lord, Todd, Mark Isham, Mike K, Peter Blegvad...
When I first immersed myself in XTC/Dukes and bought 8 cds at once initially, one of the first thoughts I had about the level of their writing was, "Holy s**t, these guys are the 80s Beatles!".
"My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician, and to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference"
President Harry S. Truman
[And the Moodies (Your Gold Dress),]
Ehhhhh, I'm listening to it now(again) and other than some of the background vocals I don't hear much MB in this. I have to say I don't think they made a conscious effort to deliberately sound like different bands for different songs. Maybe they said "ok, for this song let's make it sound a bit like the Beatles from Sgt. Pepper" or whatever but that's probably about it.
As for XTC I'm not overly familiar with their music but would recommend them to fans of the third Peter Gabriel album at least the earlier XTC stuff.
Skylarking is the one I am most familiar with and I think it's probably one of the best alternative/pop/rock albums from the eighties. I believe it was produced by Todd Rundgren.
That, with all due respect, is about as far from a legit comparison as I can think of...sorry!Originally Posted by Digital_Man
XTC made what I think of as "intelligent pop music," with all the catchy hooks that some are denigrating on another thread here. But more coming out of the Beatles and Beach Boys (especially on Nonsuch) than anything like Gabriel.
You should check out Mummur and Big Express then.....Skylarking is great, but imo, XTC hit a streak from English Settlement onwards, not a single weak album and each one showing growth and containing some of the best material less than four minutes this side of Crowded House (another intelligent pop band, imo, along with contemporary groups like Sweet Billy Pilgrim and Field Music).
Actually there is an XTC-Gabriel connection. Guitarist Dave Gregory played on Gabriel's third album.
And producer David Lord (Security and Big Express).
Gabe included XTC ('It's Nearly Africa') on the Music & Rhythm album as well....
Yep, XTC is one of my very favorite artists of all time, and they were the complete package: songwriting, lyrics, arrangements, & performance were all top of the line.
If you ask me, Go2 and Mummer are their only weaker albums, and Mummer gets a lot better once you add in the bonus tracks. Definitely don't overlook Drums and Wires or Black Sea, and if you're into jerky New Wave junk you may really like White Music too. It's also worth mentioning that their rarities are quite amazing - the Rag & Bone Buffet comp has many choice cuts, as does the 4-disc Coat of Many Cupboards. Not to mention the 8 volumes of Partridge's home recordings that he's released lately. Have fun!
A few back months back, I went to Second Spin and got three XTC CDs(English Settlement, Skylarking, and Oranges & Lemons). I fell so in love with the songs Senses Working Overtime, Dear God, and The Mayor Of Simpleton that I couldn't decide which CD to get when I saw them in the store. So, I got all three.
Last edited by JIF; 08-14-2013 at 04:21 AM.
The eight volumes is the Fuzzy Warbles box I referred to. But are you say that Coat of Many Cupboards and Rag & Bone have things NOT on Fuzzy Warbles and as bonus tracks on the CD reissues of the XTC discography? If so, gotta find 'em! Please confirm, and thanks!
There are songs that are not on Fuzzy Warblss on Coat & Rag.
I've only heard the first 3 of the FW series. But R&BB has some first-rate cuts - "The World is Full of Angry Young Men", "Tissue Tigers", "Punch and Judy", "Blame the Weather"..I believe most of those are English Settlement/Mummer era, and it's insane that none of them made an album while "Leisure" did.
XTC - new wave, post punk, art rock
Dukes of S - pseudo-psych (just like the very first PT recordings with all the band members taking psych period names)
Yep, those are three pretty addictive songs!
I actually ended becoming more of a fan of Shriekback, Barry Andrews' band after he worked with XTC (or maybe he didn't leave?) and Fripp. I love all their albums through Go Bang! (though Go Bang! isn't the strongest) and the albums Jam Science and Oil & Gold actually come closer to prog for me than XTC does. I know that song structure wise Jam Science isn't prog, but the really inventive and atmospheric keyboards push it into prog territory for me.
[That, with all due respect, is about as far from a legit comparison as I can think of...sorry!]
What can I say. Everyone is entitled to their OPINION.
Exactly and one of the reasons I made that comment.
Hugh Padgham has worked with Genesis, Yes, XTC, and Van Der Graaf Generator. Nick Davis has worked with Genesis and XTC.
They were a pretty great live band in the early days when they were playing the first few albums. The energy of those sons really lent itself to being played live. There's an excellent set of their BBC sessions, including an entire concert from 1980, which is pretty amazing.
One of my all-time favorite bands, including the Dukes material, which is even more brilliant when you know the source influences well. When I first got into them, I went the better part of a month listening to noting else.
--
Mike |
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Great song. An interesting irony about it is that, while he says in the letter "I can't believe in you" he IS still writing a letter to God.
Anyway, Skylarking is a great album.(I edited out a whole rant about the subject. If you caught it great. Probably to OT for PE anyway)
Last edited by Squids; 08-10-2013 at 07:31 AM.
To address folks commenting on same producer and performers on Gabriel's third meaning fans of that record would likely enjoy xtc, let's break it down with other examples:
Tony Levin played on the same record, and also played on Paul Simon's One Trick Pony, Carly Simon's debut, Budt Bacharach's Futures, John Lennon's Double Fantasy, Mark Knopfler's Local Hero soundtrack, Cher's Cher and Gary Burton's Live in Concert. Does that mean fans of Gabriel's third would likely enjoy all these records (they're great, but have nothing to do with the kind of music on Gabriel's disc)?
Steve Lillywhite produced Gabriel's third, XTC's Black Sea, U2's War, Joan Amatrading's Walk Under Ladders, Dave Matthews Band's Crash, The Rolling Stones' Dirty Work, Crowded House's Dirty Work and the Thompson Twins' Big Trash. Would fans of any of these records be invested in all the others, simply because Lillywhite produced them?
My old point being that, especially in the rock/pop world, where musicians and producers often work on extremely different recordings, musically speaking, it's often almost impossible to suggest that just because you like their work with one group, you'll like it with another, unless you're such a huge fan (or student) of their work that it's them you want to hear, regardless of the context.
No disrespect intended, just saying that, IMO, just because Gabriel's third and xtc share some common musicians and producers doesn't mean fans of one would like the other. Will a hardcore xtc, for example, like fairport convention because (a) early FC drummer Dave Mattacks plays on xtc's Nonsuch and (b) FC actually cover an xtc song (Love on a Farm Boy's Wages)?
This is the closest XTC ever got to playing live post-1982... Paul Shaffer's backing band isn't exactly able support, though...
I'm wild about Skylarking. I think it's a brilliant work of art. Peculiarly enough the only song I think DOESN'T totally work is "Sacrificial Bonfire," but it's mostly because the song feels kind of unfinished, despite the orchestral additions. But in general, thanks to Rundgren's choosiness, Andy and Colin are firing on all cylinders with just about every song. It's the "Sgt. Pepper" of the eighties...every song is unique, beautiful and powerful. Plus, even though originally I didn't have "Mermaid Smiled" on my copy, I added it to the running order and it's just as good.Anyway, Skylarking is a great album.
After that, "The Big Express" and the Dukes are big favorites. Everything else hasn't aged as well for me. "Oranges and Lemons" would be okay if it weren't for horribly indulgent embarrassments like "Pink Thing" (yeah, sure, Andy, it's about a baby) and the irritating "Scarecrow People". "Nonsuch" is okay as well, though a bit bland. And Terry Chambers-era XTC is pretty much limited to the hits as far as I'm concerned, as I'm not wild about that harsh angular New Wave thing of theirs. I bought "Go 2" and it's really obnoxious, though "Drums and Wires" has some nice non-hit moments.
But "Skylarking" is like a slice of heaven. I just marvel at how gorgeous the damn thing is.
The Crowded House CD is called Time On Earth, not Dirty Work. I think that certain producers add their signature sound to the albums that they produce. To me, the first four Queen albums have a similar sound. They were produced by Roy Thomas Baker. RTB produced The Cars first two albums in the same time period that he produced Jazz by Queen, Head Games by Foreigner, Infinity and Evolution by Journey, and Fountains Of Light and Citadel by Starcastle. Those albums have a similar sound. The albums that Hugh Padgham has worked on also have a similar sound. I bought the Maroon 5 CD Hands All Over, because it was produced by "Mutt" Lang, and I recognized his signature sound all over it. I actually did buy the XTC CD English Settlement because it was produced by Hugh Padgham.
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