Chalkhills Digest Volume 1, Issue 116
Date: Friday, 9 November 1990
Chalkhills, Number 116
Friday, 9 November 1990
Today's Topics:
X-plaining XTC (part 1)
Virgin Limited Edition Piccy Disc
GO+
What I'd like to see...
Re: Chalkhills #115
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Date: Sun, 4 Nov 1990 17:20:21 PST
From: John M. Relph <chalkhills-request@chalkhills.org>
Subject: X-plaining XTC (part 1)
Here's most of _X-plaining XTC_ (part 1), based on an interview by
Steve Kolanjian and David Dasch, published in _Aware_, A Rock Music
Research Journal, No. 8, Winter 1981-82:
_3D-EP_: Science Friction; b/w She's So Square; Dance
Band; Goodnight, Sucker. "Science Friction" features a
sound made by a filing cabinet in Abbey Road Studios. The
short finale, "Goodnight, Sucker" is an impromptu duet
featuring Barry's celeste and Terry's vocal, and is listed
neither on the cover nor the label. All tracks are
non-LP. Promo films were made for the first three tracks
on the _3D-EP_.
_Presented Free By Record Mirror: This is not what it it
seems to be. Although it was given away by Record Mirror,
it is not a flexi-disc. It is a regularly pressed 45 RPM
EP with the standard blue Virgin labels. Also, the
version of "Traffic Light Rock" included here is not the
studio track that appears later on the 10" _Guillotine_
sampler. What we have here is a live performance of the
tune from an early concert. The other tracks on the EP
are taken from Virgin LP's released before _White Music_,
so this issue was probably in circulation before that LP
as well. Surely, this is the rarest XTC disc. Issued
without a picture sleeve.
_White Music_: The LP was originally to be tagged _Black
Music_, but this name was rejected by record company execs
who thought the title would suggest a blues or soul album.
"All Along the Watchtower" was recorded live (in the Manor
studio). The odd keyboard sounds on "I'm Bugged" were
made by two roadies who had no idea how to play a
keyboard. Outtakes include "Refrigeration Blues"
(unfinished, later used in "Commerciality (Signal Ad)" on
the _Take Away / The Lure of Salvage_ LP), "Let's Have
Fun", "Heatwave" (later released on a single), "Fireball
XL-5" (theme from the marionette TV series of the same
name -- at one time in XTC's live repertoire), and
"Traffic Light Rock" (later to appear on the sampler LP
_Guillotine_).
_Guillotine_: a 10" Virgin sampler, comprised mostly of
songs from singles. "Traffic Light Rock", an outtake
from _White Music_, is unavailable elsewhere.
_Go 2_: The album was originally to be called _Strong and
Silent_, but the band came to prefer _Go 2_ (their second
go at an album). The Brian in "Battery Brides (Andy
Paints Brian)" is Brian Eno. The song "sounded like
something Brian would do", explained Andy. The phrase
"Battery Brides" plays on "battery chickens", chickens
that are bred only for reproduction. Listen closely for a
short quote of "The Wedding March" and Andy's whispering
"Here come the brides" during the finale. The greenhouse
of "Life is Good in the Greenhouse" is down the block from
the Abbey Road studio where the LP was recorded. On the
cover of the Beatles' _Abbey Road_ album, the greenhouse
is just out of view on the left. "My Weapon" and
"Super-Tuff" are Barry Andrews' only contributions to
XTC's vinyl history [Ed: excluding "Goodnight, Sucker"].
Outtakes include "Looking for Footprints", "Sargasso Bar",
(a Barry song later rerecorded for his solo EP _Town and
Country_), "Strange Tales, Strange Tails" (this Andy tune
eventually turned up on the flip of the "Respectable
Street" 45), "Things Fall to Bits" (a Barry song for which
Andy wrote the oriental riff that was ultimately employed
in "Millions" on the _Drums and Wires_ LP. Barry objected
to the riff, a point of contention that fostered Barry's
role in the band falling to bits), and "Us Being Us"
(another Barry song).
_GO+_: These tracks are dub version of songs on _Go 2_,
respectively "Meccanik Dancing (Oh We Go!)", "Jumping in
Gomorrah", "Battery Brides (Andy Paints Brian)", "I Am the
Audiences", and "The Rhythm". In dub technique, the
original tape is reprocessed through the mixing board,
with some elements altered, some removed, and some new
ones added. "We Kill the Beast" features the sound
(inadvertently recorded) of a tape of another piece
rewinding. _GO+_ was initially issued with _Go 2_ in
Britain (and perhaps elsewhere), the LP and EP wrapped in
a poster and all three items in a plastic bag. Later,
there were sold individually by record dealers in the US.
Barry Andrews departs XTC at this point, leaving primarily
because he felt his compositions weren't being given a
fair portion of the spotlight. Curiously, as Andy pointed
out, since his break with XTC, for the most part, Barry
has played on other people's records.
However, here's a few short notes from _X-plaining XTC Part 2_:
Terry played the metal door of a microphone cupboard on
"Science Friction".
Add to the outtakes of the _White Music_ LP a dub version
of "Fireball XL-5".
More trivial that trivia: When we met the band in April
1981 they told us the greenhouse that inspired "Life Is
Good in the Greenhouse" was next to Abbey Road studios.
Er, they were joking. Sorry. The gong sounds in the
song, however, were made by two lampshades struck with a
pen.
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Date: Tue, 6 Nov 1990 20:49:17 PST
From: John M. Relph <chalkhills-request@chalkhills.org>
Subject: Virgin Limited Edition Piccy Disc
I saw this posting in rec.music.cd and thought you all might be
interested. I have also seen a set for Genesis.
-- John
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From: awrc@cs.ed.ac.uk (Al Crawford)
Newsgroups: rec.music.cd,rec.music.misc
Subject: Virgin Limited Edition Piccy Disc Boxed Sets
Date: 5 Nov 90 13:29:34 GMT
Organization: Edinburgh University CS Department
Does anyone have the full list of Limited Edition Picture Disc boxed sets
that Virgin has just released? I've seen the following in local shops...
O.M.D
Simple Minds
XTC
The one I've bought (O.M.D) has catalogue number TPAK 7, suggesting that
there's more been released. Thinking of Virgin artists, I can think of at
least three other boxed sets (China Crisis, Human League, Heaven 17) that
I'd buy if they were released in the same format.
In case anyone is interested, the sets contain the following...
O.M.D. contains
O.M.D.
Organisation
Architecture & Morality
Simple Minds contains
(can never remember the title of this one)
Reel To Real Cacophony
Empires & Dance
XTC contains
(The one with all the writing on the cover)
Drums & Wires
Black Sea
Each disc in each set is a limited edition piccy disc. Quite nice. I bought
mine for #24.99 in HMV.
Unrealistic Dream : That they'll release the first three John Foxx albums on
CD as a boxed set. BWAHAHAHAHAHA!
--
Al Crawford - INTERNET : awrc@lfcs.ed.ac.uk | "The 70 billion people of Earth -
JANET : awrc@uk.ac.ed.lfcs | Where are they?"
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Tue, 6 Nov 1990 12:23:23 CST From: GJJ5315@venus.tamu.edu To whoever asked: Go+ is absolute crap and of value only to the completist. Gary GJJ5315@Star.tamu.edu
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Wed, 7 Nov 90 12:41:41 EST From: Eyebeam@umass.bitnet Subject: What I'd like to see... Any chance of XTC being produced by Adrian Sherwood and Kieth LeBlanc? *snicker* /mk/
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Fri, 9 Nov 1990 13:51:03 PST From: John M. Relph <relph@presto.ig.com> Subject: Re: Chalkhills #115 Tom Loden <LODEN@ll.ll.mit.edu> sez: >I can't decide. Should I get "Explode Together" even though I already own >"Take Away/The Lure of Salvage" on vinyl??? Is it worth it JUST to get "Go+"? >I've been dying to get my hands on "Go+" for a while now, until Eric >posted what was on it. Now I'm not so sure. I can't say that having 20,000,000 >remixes of the same song is all that appealing. And if it was that appealing, >I think having merely TA/LS would be plenty. On the other hand, "Rag & Bone >Buffet" sounds like a "must have", even though I have "Beeswax". Ahhhhhhhhh!! _GO+_ is not five remixes of the same song. It's five remixes of different songs from _Go 2_. _TA/LS_ is definitely better than _GO+_, in any case. But it's sure nice to hear the quiet parts of _TA/LS_ without the annoying LP noise. _R&BB_, on the other other hand, is a must-have. Now, why wasn't "Goodnight, Sucker" on _R&BB_? -- John
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] For all administrative issues, such as change of address, withdrawal from the list, discography requests (last update 2 November), back issues, etc., send a message to the following address: <chalkhills-request@chalkhills.org> Your completed Chalkhills Survey should also be mailed to the above address. Make sure to set the subject of your message to "XTC SURVEY". The deadline for the survey is 1 December 1990. Any and all views expressed in Chalkhills are those of the individual contributors only.
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