XTC PART ONE: NONSVCH (Nonsuch)

Andy Partridge, Colin Moulding, and Dave Gregory make up the band XTC.  This was the 1992 version of the group. This is the time for me that I became a more devout XTC fan.  Hearing this album and video for the single "The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead" firmed my belief that this band was one of the best Alternative Rock icons.  Still one of my favorite bands ever too. I have all albums and ep's and even music they did while under the moniker Dukes of Stratosphear which is XTC trying and succeeding as a classic Psychedelic Rock band from the 1960's while putting the album out in the 80's.

My renewed interest in XTC came by the way of the single "Balled... and when I heard that I went back to the 80's catalog and dove in.  I already liked their music hearing Mayor of Simpleton three years previously I knew I liked their catchy tongue and cheek lyrics and cool musical hooks.  This is at the time I joined one of those record clubs.  I saw Nonesuch and just had to get it.  I had a few other CD's of theirs and having their newest made me, in some ways, feel a bit hip with the music.  The other reason was I was done jumping on any Classic Rock of the time.  I was out of High School and just needed to start musically fresh as it were.  I'm in college I need music to match what I was educationally, and new was good for me.

Far from jamming out to Led Zeppelin on the radio I moved the radio dial to the left where all the cool radio stations were.  I already knew about these and now instead of being the casual listener, now I was the everyday listener.  XTC was played often and I knew I stepped into a very good band.  I only had their later output and the radio was not only played the new stuff they heavily focused on the early music.  Beside having Nonesuch I went to the used CD store and picked up the odd and ends compilation Rag and Bone Buffet. I was thrilled to see that this album was full of music.  Almost an hour and twenty minutes of it too.  I played this CD all the time and then decided to explore the early stuff.  This will be mentioned in a future blog, but the music was just as fun and fresh as Nonesuch was and lively as Orange & Lemons.  

I realized that XTC has always been this way.  They were full of humor not only in their titles of their songs as well as the music for it.  There is a song on Nonesuch called "That Wave" if you listen to the song the opening has this feel like your on a boat with the ocean wave rocking you back and fourth.  It's quite catchy.  Allmusic called them the smartest and most original pop bands of their time.  You know they are that and can quickly change their music to fit any kind of mood or style.  XTC's lack of commercial success isn't because their music isn't accessible -- their bright, occasionally melancholy, melodies flow with more grace than most bands -- it has more to do with the group constantly being out of step with the times. However, the band has left behind a remarkably rich and varied series of albums that make a convincing argument that XTC is the great lost pop band.(AM)

If this was any indication of XTC winding down their career they did not show it.  Each song and their are seventeen of them are fresh, unique and show the great writing of Andy Partridge.  From "The Disappointed" to "That Wave" they are unique with twists and turns that are XTC.  That's what XTC fans live for.  Myself being a huge XTC fan I really did not get the lyrics or meanings until I got older, but once I did, I laughed and laughed.  Hearing Andy talk about his songwriting are well explained in a book called Complicated Game: Inside The Songs of XTC by Todd Bernhardt really help open my mind and I'm sure a huge bunch of XTC fans into the mind of the music and mind of Andy.  XTC is just intelligent Pop music for those elitist like myself.  

XTC should be savored.  Their music deserves repeated listenings and maybe like myself you will finally get their in jokes to their observations of the world around them.  John Peel the BBC Radio1 DJ loved their music.  He played them all the time and talked about them often.  The other day someone picked up on the XTC shirt I was wearing and I got a compliment from them.  I told him that us XTC fans are few and far between. I totally agree with that.  The title of my post gives you a clue that I will add another post about XTC in the future, but not sure what album to go to.  Their catalog is full of great albums.  Nonesuch no doubt is one of their later gems and you too should check out this and their others.  Enjoy!