XTC - Nonsuch
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Free Music Notes for Nonsuch
Free Music Review: XTC : a great band forever
Hit: 5 Stars
I've been a great fan of XTC in the 80's, when I was about 20 years younger than now (you do your own math). Short after entering the active life, I so much dedicated me to work and family life that I forgot to follow up on my student's life favorite bands.
I'm just rediscovering, by chance, what XTC has produced since "Skylarking". Amongst all their albums of the 90's and above, I must say that "Non Such" is a shock to me, as was "English Settlement" when released (in Vinyl that I still have !).
Not being a native English speaker person, I certainly miss most of the interest of the lyrics, but the music and melody are sufficient enough to love the band.
Non Such : definitely a great XTC album !
Free Music Review: Classic XTC
Hit: 5 Stars
This is the first XTC album that I heard, so when I think of classic XTC, this is what I think of. But for long time fans and newcomers alike, this is essential XTC. You get classic XTC pop brilliance with the first few tracks, mixed with the beautiful oddity of songs like "Crocodile," "That Wave," "Then She Appeared," and "Ugly Underneath." And then there are the wonderful ballads like "Wrapped in Grey" and "Books are Burning." In case you care, my personal favorites are "Ugly Underneath" and "Wrapped in Grey." There are a couple of weak tracks here too, notably Colin Moulding's epically repetitive and sucktastic "War Dance," but the length and strength of the rest of the album make up for it. If you do get this, and you probably should, you will be listening to it for a very long time, especially if you have enjoyed anything else that XTC has ever done. Free Music Review: A TRUE MASTERPIECE!
Hit: 5 Stars
One or two weak songs, but a great album nevertheless. Why oh why did they make Apple Venus after this? They should have just folded the band after this album and they'd be legendary. i won;t dwell on th garbage that is Apple Venus 1 & 2. I have the original pressing. This album has been remastered and it probably sounds even better. Buy it!Free Music Review: One of the best XTC albums
Hit: 3 Stars
This is a cd with some great songs on it but the three songs that stand out are "The ballad of peter pumpkinhead" "War dance" and "Books are burning". These songs alone are worth the buy.Many years have gone buy since this cd came out but its just as good now as it was back then.Give it a listen.Free Music Review: Without Equal
Hit: 5 Stars
5+ stars
XTC's singer/guitarist, Andy Partridge, claims to have a brain "like an exotic dog which needs walking occasionally. The result of letting him out for his most recent run is the batch of 13 songs he's written for "Nonsuch" the band's long awaited tenth album. (bassist/singer, Colin Moulding contributes a further four tracks) Some of XTC's best ideas come from the remains of old records and Partridge will go too great lengths to fillet out promising scraps. The outside world is dreadful and wonderful says Partridge. When I cut it into bite-size chunks and make it personal, I 'm usually rather happy with it." From a 1992 BBC interview.
My best friend introduced me to "Nonsuch", one of his favorite CDs. He, the knowledgeable person about all music, tells me it is one of the best produced CD's. The producer, Gus Dudgeon forbade the band to record any more than the bare necessities, so what you have is a simpler sound and relatively straight forward production with XTC's trademark of a sardonic and celebratory nature.
The CD "Nonsuch" may also be called "Nonesvch". This is caused by XTC's decision to give the album cover a medieval look. The cover picture is a detail from a 1611 map of Surry and on the back each song is represented by a piece of that period' typical clip art.
XTC was formed in the town of Swindon, Wiltshire, where the band is still based today. They came onto the scene in 1977 at the height of the punk explosion. The band impressed both critics and audiences with its humor, sharp intelligence, and vitality as well as it innovative rhythms and melodic twists. That is exactly what grabbed me, the melody, the harmony, the intelligent lyrics, the most wonderful guitars, bass and drums; and the combination of it all. It is a CD that wants you to think about your world, your life and the environs around you.
"Nonsuch" contains many beautiful songs that just delight me and the sharp, funny lyrics entertain my mind. The seventeen songs are perfect, just perfect, and need to be listened to over and over again.
"The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead" is my friend's favorite song. Is it about every hero, every politician, and every religious leader who is far too good to be true? Is Peter Pumpkinhead Jesus or Buddha?
"Peter Pumpkinhead was too good
Had him nailed to a chunk of wood
He died grinning on TV
Hanging there he looked a lot like you
And an awful lot like me!
"My Bird Performs "A happy song." The best melody that Paul Simon never wrote." Says Andy Partridge.
"Dear Madame Barnum": "a folk rock song about love gone wrong.A man scorned.
"Humble Daisy": "A poem to the person and the weed. There's a wonderful field where Andy walks his dog and overnight these big daisies came up. So the song's in praise of that glorious weed.
"The Smartest Monkeys": A piece of sarcasm- the human race can send a man to the moon but it's not able to put food in stomachs and roofs over heads.
"The Disappointed": My favorite song, lyrically and musically. "It's about people who've been neglected in affairs of the heart, and they band together to form an organization of the disappointed. Then they all congregate round this guy's house and declare him their king. It's in memory of morose teenage incapacity with the opposite sex." Says Andy Partridge
"Holly Up On Poppy" : "Andy Partridge praise for his daughter and her rocking horse Poppy."
"Crocodile": "The most basic thing on the album -- a noisy song about jealousy. It's about putting a shape to an emotion that we've all felt, the shape of a crocodile. The croc comes to live with you, and then devours you if you're not careful.
"Rook": "Andy Partridge had writers block and this song suddenly came out. He said" I was really frightened. I mean, I couldn't even finish the demo because I was in tears. It felt like seeing yourself in a mirror and recognizing your mortality.
"Omnibus": In praise of women. Lovely sexual lyrics.
"That Wave": Falling in love. Love too is frightening - and marvelous.
"War Dance": "The words were originally prompted by the Falklands War in 1982. But it was too much on one piece of history. Then along came the Persian Gulf War and I put the revised lyrics to a new piece of music. It was time to bring war out of the closet again." says Colin.O
Wrapped in Grey" Life doesn't have to be grey. If you tap into your own emotions, you can experience a rainbow..
"The Ugly Underneath" Be prepared to take off the mask. You must see the ugly to be beautiful.
"Bungalow": "Very seaside and cheesy organ, like something a cruddy trio in holiday camp might play." Says Colin.
"Books are Burning "I'm intensely proud of this song. I love books, they're sacred objects, and anyone who destroys them is scum. Usually it's frightened regimes, their way of saying we're in control. But what they stand for doesn't have a hope in hell. To destroy thoughts, dreams, and an attempt to communicate is a crime." Andy's thoughts and reflects my own thinking.
This is a CD to be loved and savored. Andy Partridge says" We don't want to be praised and idolized, we want our songs to be well-regarded. Love our songs, don't love us." We can and will do both. So, wonderfully written. so harmoniously sung and played and so Very Highly Recommended. Thank you sweetie for giving me such pleasure. prisrob 7-25-06