shout out for my favorite songs from the underrated 2nd album 'go2':

My Weapon
Jumping in Gomorrah
Meccanic Dancing
Battery Brides

Not sure if anyone has posted a link to this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIcO2R8YFXA
Its the first clip of some show called: 'At the Manor', and shows XTC (re)recording the song "Towers of London" over the course of a weekend at R. Branson's Mansion. Really cool stuff for XTC fans.
The entire show is on youtube.

warmowski wrote:Based on the period spanning Drums and Wires, Black Sea and English Settlement, one of the three best bands ever to record.

Maybe the best ever in the singles category.

I can usually write sentences, but not describing this band. All my brain does is resonate with songs. Runaways Respectable Roundabout Majors of London Of A Suddencopter At The Hop In Our House Ten Feet Ball and Chain You're Near Me I Have No Language In Our Plans for Nigel Terry Chambers Terry Chambers Terry Chambers Working Overtime the best the best

That period of which Rob speaks. Oh my gawd. Is there a thread for best 3-album stretch in recorded history? DIW, BS and ES would be right up there for me.

Terry. Chambers.

Oh. Yes.

I don't think the band ever got back to where they were during that that glorious period in terms of ensemble rock band action. But they kept cranking out very fine songs and many fine albums.

Too bad Partridge seems to be kind of a dick and a head case...such a great writer and criminally overlooked PLAYER. I mean find some less than "ringer" playing on an xtc album. Dave Gregory didn't play ALL the cool parts.

Anyway.

Dr. O' Nothing wrote:Not sure if anyone has posted a link to this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIcO2R8YFXA
Its the first clip of some show called: 'At the Manor', and shows XTC (re)recording the song "Towers of London" over the course of a weekend at R. Branson's Mansion. Really cool stuff for XTC fans.
The entire show is on youtube.

awesome, thanks. (edit: apparently it's a fake recording session, but still)

it blows my mind reading about a lot of old records.. i see the producer's name on the sleeve and sort of build up an image in my head of them; older, George Martin-type classical engineer or whatever. then they show Steve Lillywhite and he looks like the goddamn intern. the label spends 100,000 dollars or whatever and sends a well established band into a top dollar studio with a 25 year old producer.. unbelievable.

it worked though because 'Black Sea' and especially 'English Settlement' sound enormous.