Big Al

Daaaaaaaaaaaamn straight!!!!

Both!!! I think Higgins is particularly inspired, whereas Spaulding sounds like he's trying to blow all the wax outta his alto. I'll grant you that his flute playing on the second track (name escapes me) is sublime. But beyond that, he sounds like he's trying to out-Ornette Ornette! Me wrong? Man, that's the first time this hour!

Man, you and I is in COMPLETE disagreement on this one!

I need to check out those two new ones. I just remember hearing "Stupidly Happy" on the radio when Volume 2 came out, and was so put off by it, that I didn't bother pursuing it any further.

I love this session, but could do without James Spaulding's alto squeals.

I just tried to send you a PM about the Sweets. E-mail me at acrearick@hotmail.com if you didn't get it, or if you did and are interested!

Did you get that at CD Source a few weeks ago? I saw it there on a Friday night, passed it up cuz I figured I'd get the Mosaic Select, but then thought better of it and went back on Saturday to find it was gone. 'Taint the first time I've kicked myself outta that place for doing something that dumb......

No kidding!

Naaaaaaaaah!!!!!

Welcome home, Rooster!

316!!!

Where do I find an empty browser window?

So THAT'S why I received 3 PMs from you! Uh...from me?! Oops! No sweat, my friend! Made an otherwise dreary day quite interesting! B)

So THAT'S why I received 3 PMs from you!

Drat! Oh well, it was still worth paying full price!

Well, if they’re anything like a couple of EPs I have (“The Meeting Place” and “Mayor of Simpleton”), then maybe there’s something there worth hearing. But then, I got those EPs at a time when I wanted EVERYTHING recorded by the guys, even if it was Partdridge sneezing on Colin’s fretless just to hear the feedback thru the Dukes old tubes! Still, the demos on the b-sides of those EPs are worth hearing. I particularly like “Living in a Haunted Heart” and “The Good Things.” Pity they weren’t taken any further past their demo stage, but then again they sound just fine the way they are. Heck, their B-sides and unreleased stuff are just as nice as the released stuff: how ‘bout those B-sides from the English Settlement era? Crank it up to “Heaven is Paved with Broken Glass” as a good example! For my monet, I always enjoyed Beeswax over Waxworks any day of the week!

Bev's back! Bev's back! Bev's back! Bev's back! Bev's back!!!!!!! I knew all it would take to get him back here would be to start a thread about one of his favorite bands! So, what is this Fuzzy Warble stuff? Is that collections of demos or something?

Glad we cleared that up! I totally agree. As to the question of if "Dear God" is representative of the XTC sound, I would say "no." At that time, they were wearing their Beatles influence proudly on their sleeve, so it differs greatly from pretty much anything they had done to that point. With that in mind, if you like that sound (I know I do!), by all means get SKYLARKING. For me, any album between DRUMS AND WIRES and ORANGES AND LEMONS (with the exception of EXPRESS) will likely satisfy your curiosity, but be forewarned: no two albums sound alike. DRUMS and BLACK SEA rock hard; ENGLISH SETTLEMENT is heavy on the 12-string guitar and fretless bass; MUMMER is lush and pastoral while remaining stripped-down; if SKYLARKING is their SGT. PEPPER, then ORANGES is their "white album." It's hard to have an XTC thread without discussing "Dear God," and I dno't want to sidetrack this thread too far onto one song, but I would like to briefly say why I don't care for the song by itself, apart from it's mistaken inclusion on SKYLARKING. Only problem is, I've been trying to verbalize why I don't like "Dear God" now for the last 30 minutes, and it's all been coming out as the usual flowery mumbo-jumbo pseudo-religious BS that I guess, in the end, Partridge is railing against. So, I'll just be honest and quit BSing you guys: the song makes me sad. While I agree with his sentiments against "organized religion" (an oxymoron if there ever was one), it makes me sad whenever one gives up and blames God for it all. Not that I don't understand why it happens or deny that it happens; it just makes me sad is all. (In the interest of keeping this thread focused on the band, as opposed to just one song, I would love to discuss this song in private with anyone interested. Just PM me or e-mail me. Thanks.)

Defintely agree about Big Express. In fact, there really isn't ANY song on the album I can listen to all the way through. But I understand what you're saying in this context: ....because this is my favorite period of XTC, and it has everything to do with Terry Chambers. So, naturally, we heartily disagree on this one! I really enjoy it when these guys rock it out, especially on "Life Begins at the Hop" and "Respectable Street." Seriously, though, I think Chambers helped define the sound of the band, and when he left, so did a lot of their thunder. BUT, at the same time, a new band was born from these ashes, a more pastoral reflective band, and I hear you indicating this in your thoughts. Which is to say that I love Skylarking as much as any of their albums. In fact, I can still remember that first rush of joy I felt when I heard those first four songs, thinking with each passing song, "Can it get any better than this?" With that in mind.... I haven't heard the Virgin reissue, and it's been over ten years since I heard the old Geffen CD of the album, so I really couldn't tell you if the Caroline sounds better than the Virgin (boy, that sure sounded psychedelic, like it could've been a lyric outta a song by the Dukes!). I can tell you that it sounds phenomenal to these ears, anyway! And I'm glad I waited for the original issue to hit the CD. I always hated the way "Dear God" just stuck out like a sore thumb in an otherwise brilliant song cycle. As for the Fuzzy Warbles, who they?

We may not work for 'em, but we sure seem to be phenomenally good at emptying each others wallets into the coffers of one record company or another!

I wish! I live in culturally-deprived DFW, TX! -_- Ah well, the records are good enough for now!

Probably. Or maybe it was at AAJ. I dunno, but I coulda swore it was here. So I guess me & Eric are the only fans? B)

I have GOT to get that set!

That's cool; and there's a lot to what you say that I can appreciate, foremost being the desire to hear (through the artist's playing) how the artist's mind/creative process works. It can definitely be fascinating! As for me & XTC, what can I say? Their bass player convinced me to rip the frets outta my own bass! B)

Guess I really shouldn't question others' desire to grab as much of their favorite artist as possible: I just walked outta the CD store the other day with 4 XTC remasters. B) indeed! I just wonder about the companies putting out the material, slapping the Hendrix name on a product in hopes of making a fast buck. Not that there's anything new about that; but I've always felt that there is such a thing as oversaturation, which IMHO diminishes the importance of the original work. Then again, Hendrix's playing really could be that special. I know I remain mesmerized whenever I watch his performance at Woodstock!