Big Al

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!

I think it might've been Bev Stapleton. He's a bigger fan than I am. Maybe he deleted it when he left?

Did it get swallowed up in the crash? Oh well, at the risk of doubling threads, I'll start it back up again, because I was fortunate enough to stumble upon Caroline remasters of the following: Drums and Wires Black Sea English Settlement Skylarking I'd certainly forgotten how powerful Drums and Black Sea were, and the remastering brings out the explosiveness that is Terry CHambers like no other issue I've heard! I have the old Geffen CD Of ES, but will soon be selling it, as this remaster blows that one out of the water. This is the first time I've owned Skylarking on CD, just because I've been waiting for this album to come out on CD in its originally intended form: with "Mermaid Smiled," and without "Dear God." My, what a heavenly sound this disc has! A summer day blowing the clouds away from the dark dreary afternoon that hovered over the Metroplex today. "On graaaaaaaaaaaaaasssssssssss........."

B)

Thanks for the link, Ghost! I feel kinda silly, getting all caught up in my excitement and not doing a search first. Oh well; guess you can't have too many Television threads. Can't decide which album I like better: MM or Adventure. Each one has it's redeeming merits, but those vocal harmonies on "Glory" and "Days" just make me tingle! So sweet! But then, life doesn't get much better than when "Venus de Milo," "Friction," "Marquee Moon," and "Prove It" are blaring through the speakers (and for my money, "MM" could've gone on for another 60 minutes and I still woulda loved it!) That live album keeps getting more appealing the more you guys talk about it!

Shameless Exploitation in the Pursuit of the Common Good by Paul Newman and A.E. Hotchner. It's about the history of the "Newman's Own" line of products, and is funny as hell! Also just started Never Mind the Pollacks. Only through about three pages or so, but this one is also cracking me up!

While you're waiting for that, feast your ears on J.J.'s Broadway. I'm listening to it right now for the 3rd time in a row, and J.J.'s trombone section arrangements are flooring me. A very worthy album. Like the man said: Get it !!!

Yet another reason why Rhino is truly the greatest thing to happen to music since Al Lion landed on the shores. I've always been curious about this group, but never had the nerve to actually plop down the money for their albums. I just figured that Marquee Moon was just another critics darling, overrated as most critical darling albums are. I am happy to admit that, once again, I was wrong! The Fort Worth public library inexplicably has the remastered versions of MM and Adventure, and I will be purchasing these albums posthaste (or at least asking them for my birthday coming up in a few weeks! ). Now I understand where groups like Talking Heads, Sonic Youth, R.E.M., U2, etc got all their ideas. That guitar interplay is nothing short of telepathic. Plus, I love it that they originally wanted to record their first album at Van Gelder's studio. How cool is that? Rhino Handmade is offering a live album by these guys that I'm contemplating getting. Figure if MM is any indication, these guys musta KILLED live! Anybody here remember when their albums came out? Or seen 'em live? Ah, another happy discovery in the vast array of good undiscovered (by me, anyway) music!

HELLYEAH!!! I didn't think this would get listed! Hell, it's a Noel Redding song, but they STILL tear it up!!! Other two: Crosstown Traffic I Don't Live Today Dolly Dagger (hiding from the Hulkster!)

I saw a 2-CD set today called Axis Outtakes. Apparently, this set contains all the outtakes from the Axis sessions. I guess there's a market for this; I guess I'm just curious as to how much Hendrix does one need in one's life? I mean, there's certainly no shortage of Hendrix ANYTHING out there: live sessions, studio sessions, outtakes, alternate takes, etc etc etc etc. I know this guy laid down a lot of material, but I have to wonder were Hendrix alive today, how much of this stuff would he allow to see the light of day? It seems like every few years or so, the Hendrix tapes fall into the hands of a different owner, who "remasters" the first three albums, puts out a "greatest hits" package, then tries to reconstruct that elusive fourth and/or fifth albums. And yet, it seems to be wildly successful. I don't get it. How many versions of Axis: Bold as Love does one need? Just wonderin.......