I am right this minute listening to English Settlement by XTC. I love this band. I would pay $1,000,000 dollars to see XTC (mostly Andy) perform in concert. But woe is me, Andy Partridge (AP) has stage fright and stopped touring eons ago. I read an interview with AP and the AV in The Onion. I was so sad to hear him feeling that he has vomited up all the music he has, that he suffers from Tinnitus, that his relationship with Colin Moulding is failing.
http://www.avclub.com/content/node/58367
It is definately worth a read if you are a fan.
But his music is so crisp, with soulful lyrics and incredible melodies. If I could impart one thing to AP, this fan loves to listen to old and new XTC.
I had found a review of The Futureheads and listened to them thru iTunes. The Futureheads say that they have been influenced by XTC (and others), but to listen to them...It only made me revisit all of my older, more original, XTC cd's.
My Trusted MOGs
I have a fair amount of XTC, but not this CD. Thanks for posting. There is a demo version of this song on the "Fuzzy Warbles" box set (9 CDs of Andy Partridge home demos - around $65 at notlame.com). Although there's a lot of chaff on there, the real gems make it worth purchasing.
Not sure that I care if Colin Moulding is producing music any more, as I see Andy as the engine of XTC. Read that Onion interview but doubt that Andy will stop making music.
I think my collection of XTC is tempered by the fact that the early punk-inspired stuff is not to my taste - I find it pretty unlistenable, while I love the later stuff. I may have to work my way backwards until I find that tipping point.
My Trusted MOGs
Kinda my fave XTC album (other than Skylarking), and right now, "All of a Sudden" is the song that I tend to choose off the collection when I'm only gonna listen to one. And I can say, in sincerity, that they are one of my all-times. By the way, Mr. Partridge is not completely off the radar. He just co-authored a track - "Dawn Treader" - with ex-Ash guitarist Charlotte Hatherley, one of my current faves, for her wonderful sophomore solo album The Deep Blue. Check her videos out on YouTube. Tres cool - and in most cases, directed by her boyfriend Edgar Wright of "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz" fame.
My Trusted MOGs
I am a big "Shaun of the Dead" fan. I saw it before it hit the states, while visiting Scotland. I just watched it the other night with my family. Good stuff.