Best XTC album for beginners

[M-K]

Skylarking!

I'm quite nosy how the Atmos mix (released this Friday) will sound.

 

[Kenneth Burns]

My intro was the "Senses Working Overtime" video on MTV ca. 1982. I was 11. It thrilled me. That was the brief early period when MTV played lots of British post-punk. I didn't buy any XTC music then, but I always remembered the clip.

A few years later, in ninth grade, I picked up "Mummer" on vinyl in a used record store. I was hooked. Why did I choose "Mummer"? No idea. Probably I liked the cover, and maybe I'd heard "Love on a Farmboy's Wages" on college radio. (Thank you, Vanderbilt's WRVU.)

"Skylarking" came out not long after that and I was enchanted. I snapped up everything XTC that I could. Still have several of those cool 12" singles.

 

[JediJoker]

That leaves "Drums and Wires" and "Black Sea." On "Black Sea" we see signs of the ambitious concepts to come, so it's tempting. But in the end I choose "Drums and Wires." There's something really pure about it, the songcraft, the lingering punk energy, the spare production. It's a wonderful collection of tunes and great place to start.

Plus, "Making Plans For Nigel" is one of the few songs an uninitiated XTC listener might be familiar with, or at least recognize.

And to that point, I'd actually recommend starting with the compilation Fossil Fuel. It collects all the singles from the band's formation through the Nonsuch era, providing an excellent overview of the diverse styles and evolution of their music. It was my self-imposed introduction to XTC once the Steven Wilson remixes were announced, and it immediately turned me into big fan.

If it must be an album proper, after having thoroughly digested all the albums Wilson has remixed save for The Big Express, my choice would be Black Sea. It rocks hard from the start and mostly throughout, remains fairly accessible till the closing track, and is more sophisticated than Drums and Wires but is still chock full of catchy tunes: "Respectable Street," "Generals and Majors," "Love At First Sight," "Towers of London," "Burning With Optimism's Flames," "Sgt. Rock Is Going To Help Me..." No wonder it spawned more singles than any other XTC album with five out of its eleven tracks. Of the albums I've heard, it's tied with Skylarking as my favorite. And as a bonus, the cover art is fun to look at:

 

[Albert Dagger]

Plus, "Making Plans For Nigel" is one of the few songs an uninitiated XTC listener might be familiar with, or at least recognize.

And to that point, I'd actually recommend starting with the compilation Fossil Fuel. It collects all the singles from the band's formation through the Nonsuch era, providing an excellent overview of the diverse styles and evolution of their music. It was my self-imposed introduction to XTC once the Steven Wilson remixes were announced, and it immediately turned me into big fan.

I agree. Starting with a compilation might be the best choice since it's difficult to predict which song will eventually lead to that 'click' in your mind. I remember listening to In the Court of the Crimson King many years ago, but I didn't like it. Then, I tried Discipline a few years later, and it clicked. Now KC is my favourite band ever. I know every detail of the studio albums, as well as many live performances, but this would have never happened without starting with the right album (right for me).

 

[benfolds5]

Three choices:
If you are more into wave: Drums & Wires
if you are more into pop: Skylarking
If you want both: English Settlement

I'm also an XTC newbie.
Up until now I only known "Making Plans for Nigel" and "Senses Working Overtime". Never heard a full XCT album.
I tried all three today, in that order.
For me "English Settlement" hits the spot. Really enjoyed that one.

 

[popshop]

Drums and Wires, then chronological, IMO. The growth!

 

[Kenneth Burns]

I'm also an XTC newbie.
Up until now I only known "Making Plans for Nigel" and "Senses Working Overtime". Never heard a full XCT album.
I tried all three today, in that order.
For me "English Settlement" hits the spot. Really enjoyed that one.

I love "English Settlement" so much! My favorite favorite.

 

[Rhinojack]

I've wondered, what is the deal with an "English Settlement" surround sound series release from Ape House like the others that have been released. Anyone know why it hasn't been released in multichannel?

 

[privateuniverse]

I've wondered, what is the deal with an "English Settlement" surround sound series release from Ape House like the others that have been released. Anyone know why it hasn't been released in multichannel?

Sadly they haven't been able to locate the multitrack master tapes for some of that album.

 

[JediJoker]

Sadly they haven't been able to locate the multitrack master tapes for some of that album.

Much of it, if I recall correctly, perhaps even a whole side or two.* Given that we're already getting re-releases from the Surround Series in Atmos (Skylarking), it seems somewhat doubtful that any of the remaining albums—White Music, Go 2, English Settlement, Mummer, and both Apple Venus volumes—will ever get the multichannel treatment. Some or all multitracks for that half of the discography are missing.

*See below: they have only located four songs.

 

[sjcorne]

https://immersiveaudioalbum.com/qa-...ng-the-grateful-dead-in-dolby-atmos-and-more/

Circling back to XTC, last we spoke it seemed like the series was over–but then the tapes for 1984’s The Big Express suddenly turned up. Has there been any further success in recovering the multitracks for English Settlement (1982), Mummer (1983), or any of the other albums?

We’ve got half of White Music (1978), half of Mummer, and four tracks from English Settlement, but Andy isn’t really interested in moving forward unless we can do the full albums–which is understandable.

I suppose one way to proceed would be a Three Piece Suite-style reissue, but XTC were constantly reinventing themselves between albums. With Gentle Giant, there wasn’t a huge difference between the debut album, Acquiring The Taste (1971), and Three Friends (1972)–it sounds like the same band. The difference between White Music and English Settlement on the other hand is massive, so I can’t really imagine putting tracks from both those albums on the same program.

I’m not sure what we're going to do next, but we're still looking for tapes. We found The Big Express, so who knows what might turn up next?

Another option could be a massive box set covering the entire discography–something in the vein of Gentle Giant’s Buried Treasure or Van Der Graaf Generator’s The Charisma Years–as a big way of capping off the series. These leftover songs from the incomplete albums could go on a "bonus disc" of sorts, so they wouldn't be the main focus of the reissue.

Yeah, maybe. That would also be a good opportunity to do Atmos mixes of all the other records, like we talked about earlier. I think there are still possibilities for the XTC catalog, even if we don’t find any more tapes. Rest assured I don’t think The Big Express will be the last release.

 

[Beistovin]

I'm also an XTC newbie.
Up until now I only known "Making Plans for Nigel" and "Senses Working Overtime". Never heard a full XCT album.
I tried all three today, in that order.
For me "English Settlement" hits the spot. Really enjoyed that one.

English Settlement was my album introduction to XTC! In the states it was a single record. I loved it! Mummer came out and lost me. Then years later I heard Skylarking and now I love it all! Not equally. Anyone here part of the old message board from oh 20 years ago?

 

[humprof]

I'll jump on the OP's "obvious choice" bandwagon and vote for Skylarking. That's where I started--belatedly, only about five years ago, and well into middle age--and it was a jaw-dropping "How in god's name did I miss this band and where have they been all my life?" moment. At that point I had to obsessively explore the whole catalog, forward and backward. To my ears, the first four albums are interesting archaeological digs, full of clues about the evolution of the sound that hooked me. I like-don't-love 'em--sort of like the pre-Yes Album Yes albums--but I don't listen to them much. (Even Drums and Wires and, to a lesser extent, Black Sea--undeniably fine outings with some great tracks--are still suffused with a kind of pogo-sticking, post-punk/New Wave/ska-revival energy that I just don't find as interesting as the broader sonic palette they adopted starting with English Settlement. By the same token, on those earlier albums Partridge's vocal & compositional eccentricities seem affectedly spiky, whereas by the later ones they've grown genuinely, endearingly quirky.)

I also really like both of the final albums, which I think are still generally underrated, especially Wasp Star. That said, English Settlement is still hands-down my favorite XTC album.

FWIW: the other night I put on Skylarking and a visiting friend, just a couple of years younger than me (and whose musical tastes don't overlap all that much with mine), pricked up her ears and asked, clearly bewitched, Who is this? This is really good!