Record Collector, May 2001

At the end of May, Virgin finally treat XTC's catalogue with the gravity it deserves.

On the big express: Paul Sutton-Reeves

A few facts are widely known about XTC: they come from Swindon; they had some hits in the early 80's then disappeared from the public gaze - Here are two more. 1) Guitarist and singer-songwriter, Andy Partridge, is the quintessential eccentric pop genius; 2) He and XTC are criminally underrated.

Partridge has a teeming imagination. His songs bristle with ideas, he has conceived the single and album covers for almost every release by the band and also dreamt up a thousand alternative bands. The core of XTC - Partridge plus bassist and fellow singer-songwriter, Colin Moulding - is still in fine working order after a quarter of a century, so this reissue of their Virgin back catalogue allows for a timely re-appraisal of their standing.

In the past, Virgin has displayed a cavalier approach to the XTC canon. When the catalogue was last reissued the company didn't even take the trouble to remaster the tapes. To check the necessity, listen to any of the previously issued CDs and compare them with the remastered tracks on "Fossil Fuel: The XTC Singles 1977-92". Worse still, the bonus tracks were dumped at random in the middle of the original running order, forcing the more mature fan to learn how to use the 'programme' button on their CD player. These shortcomings have been addressed on the current reissues. All ten albums have been repackaged (excluding various single, remix and rarity packages, but including the Dukes of Stratosphear compilation), initially in the Japanese card 5" sleeves in which EMI released the Genesis, Roxy, Queen, and solo McCartney catalogues. Bonus tracks are included on all but the three most recent of these releases.

The Partridge-Moulding partnership was never a Lennon-McCartney affair; they have always written separately. The mixture of songwriting duties on any given album varies around a basic recipe of five-sevenths Partridge to two-sevenths Moulding. Keyboard player Barry Andrews and drummer Terry Chambers completed the line-up.

XTC arguably recorded the finest sequence of albums of any British band over the decade from 1981 to 1991. With lesser lights, one significant work usually stands out - not so with XTC. It's like choosing between "Revolver", "The Beatles", and "Abbey Road". But which is XTC's best?

Their debut, "White Music" (CDVX 2095), is all very '77 - the discordant arrangements, Partridge's sneering yelp coming over like the mongrel pup of Hugh Cornwall and Bill Nelson (two other acts toying with punk). Yet already the band was displaying a musical sophistication and compositional ability that their punk peers could not match. This would lead their detractors to label them 'the punk band for Genesis fans'. The reference points are East Coast new wave - Talking Heads and Television. Though XTC would evolve into an entirely different beast, the genetic blueprint is here - quirky yet melodic, intelligent and witty. "Go 2" (CDVX 2108) followed in a similar vein in 1978, the only one of their albums to feature the compositions of another band member. Andrews' efforts sit oddly with those of Partridge and Moulding. Both of these albums are diverting but have no claim to greatness.

Shortly after, Andrews ran off clutching his organ, partly in frustration at the lack of attention his songs were receiving. However if you compare his subsequent work with Shriekback, you can easily see who got the quality control right. Following his departure, the quiet multi-instrumentalist Dave Gregory came in for the remainder of the Virgin releases.

With the release of "Drums and Wires" (CDVX 2129) in 1980, XTC were audibly maturing. It features their first Top 20 hit, Moulding marvelous "Making Plans For Nigel", and a whole heap of discordant beauty. It was 1981's Black Sea (CDVX 2173) that saw XTC truly come of age. This is a power pop ,masterpiece, containing such gems as "Respectable Street", "Towers of London" and the big hit, "Sgt. Rock (Is Going To Help Me)", Partridge comfortably played Field-Marshal Pop here to glorious effect.

1982 saw XTC attain the peak of their British popularity. "English Settlement" (CDVX 2223) reached No. 5 in the album charts and contained their only Top 10 single, the brilliant "Senses Working Overtime". Never had so many reviewers featured the word 'whimsical' since the golden days of Caravan, a full decade earlier. The album was a classic - no CD collection should be without it. Moulding's contributions were at their strongest - "Ball and Chain" and "English Roundabout" (in 5/4 time!) are as good as the very finest Partridge moments, of which there are many. "Knuckle Down", "Yacht Dance" and "All Of A Sudden" stand out by country miles. The album marked XTC's first foray into the English song tradition - the pastoral was prominent, lending the album a stylistic unity. Their British profile would never rise so high again.

XTC have had their fair share of disasters. Their career could even be described as one long Poseidon Adventure. First to strike was Partridge's growing stagefright and subsequent illness, bringing their touring days to an end, shunting the band into the sidings. XTC would never again have a Top 40 single in the U.K. and many probably assumed that they split up after "English Settlement". Their inability to tour the album would see their fanbase dwindle and their finances nosedive. To add to this unhappy situation, shortly into recording the follow-up album, . Terry Chambers quit. His rough'n'ready Wiltshire laddery was becoming increasingly out -of-step with the pastoral direction the band's music was taking. He swapped hemispheres, playing briefly with Antipodean rock band, Dragon. A series of venerable session players stepped into the breach.

Even the weakest links in the chain 1983's "Mummer" (CDVX 2264) and 1984's "The Big Express" (CDVX 2325) contain plenty to admire. "Mummer" saw XTC rambling deeper into pastoral territory, leaving much of their audience at the stile, but picking up a few new listeners along the way (Radio 2's DJs aside , who dug the bucolic single, "Love on a Farmboy's Wages"?). XTC were out of step. "Mummer" was frankly a rather patchy affair, but did possess Partridge's meditation on the slave trade, "Human Alchemy". "The Big Express" was stronger but lacked consistency. The splendid single "All You Pretty Girls", failed to set the charts alight, sea-shanties not being in vogue that year.

In 1986, XTC returned to tremendous form with "Skylarking" (CDVX 2399, the album that finally established them in the America, selling over 250,000 copies. Produced by another maverick pop genius, Todd Rundgren, many claim this to be their finest. The influence of The Beatles, never far from the surface, is particularly marked. The bonus track "Dear God" is also the best, included on the original US version, but not the British. This stateside success continued with the next two albums.

1989's "Oranges and Lemons" (CDVX 2581) was critically well received and contains some fine pop moments. While the last four tracks are as fine as any the band has recorded, it is uneven compared to their best. Moulding's compositions in particular are at their weakest. The ghost of Brian Wilson haunts the fabulous "Chalkhills and Children" which Dave Gregory believes to be the song for which XTC will be remembered.

Being XTC, the disasters continued. A long-running legal dispute with former manager Ian Reid consumed most of their earnings from the most profitable releases ("I Bought Myself A Liarbird" on "The Big Express" gives Partridge's account"). Then followed the dispute with Virgin. The label would not grant the band a more favourable deal, nor would it release a compilation featuring their alter-egos such as Anonymous Bosch.

So XTC went on strike, and released no new music between 1992 and 1999 (no sense in working overtime lads). That Virgin should decide to remaster XTC's albums after interest rekindled by their triumphant return with "Apple Venus Volume 1" and "Wasp Star" on their new label, Cooking Vinyl smacks somewhat of opportunism. Perhaps the tracks of "The Big Express" were the only kind that Virgin felt competent to operate.

Also reissued is 1987's "Chips from the Chocolate Fireball" (COMCDX 11), collecting together the work of their psych-tastic alter-ego, The Dukes of Stratosphear, replete with aliases and cosmic disguises for the band. The group's zany humour is perfectly showcased on these recordings. The period detail is uncanny (not that surprising, given that one of Dave Gregory's hobbies is re-creating the works of the old masters in his recording studio).

1992's "Nonsuch" (CDVX 2699) is the mature work of craftsmen. It sums up XTC's virtues: the lyrics are both thoughtful and amusing, the arrangements and harmonies gorgeous, the musicianship accomplished. "Books are Burning" provides a rare opportunity to compare the styles of Partridge and Gregory's guitar work. "Rook" and "Madam Barnum" are the other shimmering high points.

XTC are a national treasure. Best album? It's between "Black Sea", "English Settlement", "Skylarking" and "Nonsuch", but I really can't decide. In the meantime, before new material rumoured to be surfacing later this year, you'll just have to buy them all and make up your own mind.

All original work is acknowledged as being the copyright of the originator.