Chalkhills, Number 55

                Tuesday, 5 September 1989
Today's Topics:
                     The Big Express
                    XTC, of course...
                  Re: XTC, of course...

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Date: Sun, 3 Sep 1989 16:25:08 PDT
From: John M. Relph <relph@presto.ig.com>
Subject: The Big Express

I listened to _The Big Express_ in my car on the way home the other
night, had a wonderful drive (as wonderful as 45 minutes in a car in
traffic can be), and came up with a couple of questions.  I left out my
conjectures so I wouldn't affect other people's answers.

 1) Who or what is the liarbird?
 2) What actually is happening or has happened in "I Remember the Sun"?

	-- John

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Date:         Tue, 05 Sep 89 18:04:26 EDT
From: Mark Hessman <ST601287@brownvm.bitnet>
Subject:      XTC, of course...

Hi there!  I'm a new addition to this list, and would appreciate
hearing things from some folks out there.  I've been interested in
XTC since the time of *Skylarking*, and have subsequently listened much
to *Mummer*, *Oranges & Lemons*, *Waxworks*, and, just recently, *White
Music*.  I don't care terribly much for the Dukes of Stratosphear...
but "Vanishing Girl" remains a great song.  *Waxworks* got me very in-
terested in listening to earlier, somewhat more punk-influenced XTC --
hence the purchase (and subsequent enjoyment) of *White Music*.  What
else would anybody out there recommend?  Also, what album is "Are You
Receiving Me?" originally on?  It's one of my favorite tracks off of
*Waxworks*, in addition to... well... most of the others.  =)
   Finally, if anyone has a discography lying around somewhere that
wouldn't be too much trouble to post, I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks for everything.
                                              -- Mark

	[ I sent Mark a discography.	-- John ]

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Date: Tue, 5 Sep 1989 15:44:35 PDT
From: John M. Relph <relph@presto.ig.com>
Subject: Re: XTC, of course...

>*Waxworks* got me very in-
>terested in listening to earlier, somewhat more punk-influenced XTC --
>hence the purchase (and subsequent enjoyment) of *White Music*.  What
>else would anybody out there recommend?

The short answer is "all the XTC releases you don't have yet."

The long answer?  I would recommend _Black Sea_, the last album that
is stripped down four-piece rock, as Andy Partridge says, "the last
album made to be taken out on the road".  And then there's _The Big
Express_.  It's a lot "louder" than either _Mummer_, _English
Settlement_, and _Skylarking_.  I really like "Wake Up", and "Reign of
Blows" which has some killer distorted vocals and harmonica.  But some
of the "softer" songs are also some of the most powerful lyric-wise,
for example, "This World Over".  Andy has consistently said that _The
Big Express_ is one of his favourite XTC records.  Somewhere in an
interview he also said that "You're the Wish You Are I Had" is one of
the few songs that has come out pretty close to what he originally had
in mind when he wrote it.

>Also, what album is "Are You
>Receiving Me?" originally on?

It was hidden on _Go 2_, at least on some copies, but wasn't credited
on the liner notes.

	-- John

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