Chalkhills, Number 78

                 Sunday, 11 February 1990
Today's Topics:
                    Drums & Wires disc
             Thoughts on "Oranges and Lemons"
                      new stuff...?
                Re: English Settlment CDs

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Date: 6-FEB-1990 19:48:59.52
From: Ed Aubry <EAUBRY@eagle.wesleyan.edu>
Subject: Drums & Wires disc

Well, I finally found it.  I don't remember if this has already been mentioned
here, but there does exist a CD version of Drums and Wires that includes
Life Begins at the Hop.  This time for real.  The song order is the same
as the virgin disc, except that Life Begins at the Hop, Limelight and Chain
of Command appear between Roads Girdle the Globe and Reel by Real.  And yes,
Day In Day Out is still the third track.

This disc claims to have origins in West Germany.

Now, the question is this: having already bought this album on vinyl, and
then having bought another copy because it included printed lyrics, and then
having upgraded to CD, and then having replaced the stolen disc (it was in
the player when my stereo was lifted), should I fork over another $18 for
this album?

BTW, for those of you with any interest in this, I spotted this disc at Main
Street Records in Northampton Mass.

						-Ed

	[ The Virgin UK CD of _Drums & Wires_ is made in West Germany,
	  and claims to have "Life Begins at the Hop".  Are you sure
	  that this isn't that disc again?  If it actually does have
	  those songs on it and is different from your Virgin disc,
	  then buy it.  And please let us all know.	-- John ]

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Date: Fri, 9 Feb 90 08:14:06 PST
From: "Needless words omitted...split infinitives mended...general editing and rewriting...your one-stop editing shop right here!" <WILSON@pneuma.enet.dec.com>
Subject: Thoughts on "Oranges and Lemons"

It's been almost a year since "Oranges and Lemons" was released here in
the U.S. The date was March 1, 1989; I remember it well. I called the
record store nearest to where I work, and at lunchtime went to it and
bought "Oranges and Lemons" on both tape and CD.

I popped the tape in my car stereo and in a few moments "Garden of
Earthly Delights" came on. "Hmm...interesting anyway," I thought.
And then "Mayor of Simpleton." Yeah! Crank that one up!

In the days that followed, I played this album ceaselessly.

And, after a year, after reading all of the reviews, here's what I feel
about O & L:

It's not my favorite XTC album, but it does have its moments. "Mayor
of Simpleton" is possibly the album's best song. It's intriguing.
Here's what I mean. Andy, or the persona Andy assumes, says: "Well I
don't know how to write a big hit song..." Ironic that that song
WAS a big hit after all for them.

And many of the lyrics in the song contradict the song's ostensible
message that a simple heart and a small brain are fine, because the
power of love is more valuable than a college degree (I never thought
the two were mutually exclusive!). Still, it's the village idiot in
all of his simplicity, pleading his case in a society full of people
whose education has blinded them to what's really important.

Ironically, it is this "Mayor of Simpleton" who makes such a rational
argument for the way he thinks, that points back to the "Oranges
and Lemons" title. There's contradiction in many of these songs.
"Trying to taste the difference between the lemon and the lime" goes
the lyric in "Senses Working Overtime."

In basic terms, oranges and lemons are both citrus fruits (this is
the principle that unites them), and yet oranges and basically sweet
and lemons basically sour. Like many of the songs.

In "One of the Millions" we have ambiguity too: this man who
wants to complain about his lot out loud, yet his timidity holds
him back from doing so.

"Miniature Sun" - another contradiction (oxymoron).

"Here Comes President Kill Again" - Know who this reminds me of? Roger
Water's later stuff with Pink Floyd. I'm not so crazy about it, but
it does have Waters written all over it (intentionally or not).

I've already talked about "One of the Millions." No one's mentioned
this, but it sounds quite a bit like "Blind Faith" and "Traffic"
with another band mixed in; maybe The Beatles "Sergeant Pepper," I don't
know.

Oh yes, I just recently picked up "Drums and Wires." Comparatively, a
crude album. But there are some great songs there, nonetheless. "Reel By
Reel" has a very good guitar solo, and the choppy sound of "Helicopter"
echoes a real helicopter's sounds. Well done, lads.

Andy is becoming a master of irony and paradox. I'd look for more of
this in forthcoming material - it's his style.

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Date: 9-FEB-1990 23:02:51.13
From: Ed Aubry <EAUBRY@eagle.wesleyan.edu>
Subject: new stuff...?

Well, it's been just about a year.  Is there any word on another album in
the works?  Or are they still trying to bleed O&L's single potential dry?
Personally, I think they've already done that.  Any rumours?  The longest
gap I ever had to wait through was between Psonic Psunspot and O&L, and that
was only 18 months, so unless they've grown complacent with their increasing
popularity (a la R.E.M. and the annoyingly sporadic U2), the law of averages
would indicate that there must be something new in the works.

						-Ed

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Date: Sun, 11 Feb 1990 17:14:40 PST
From: John M. Relph <relph@presto.ig.com>
Subject: Re: English Settlment CDs

woj <woiccare@clutx.clarkson.edu> says:

> I would
>appreciate it if someone here would quickly explain the genesis from Virgin
>double-LP to Epic 10-cut LP to Geffen 15-cut CD plus any possibility of
>differing CD's, etc.

and Rich <RLANTHIE@ducair.bitnet> also says:

>Help!  I'm so confused!  I was reading rec.music.gaffa and noticed that
>a number of people were discussing how much of English Settlement was on
>the CD.  Some say all songs are on the Geffen release.  Some say there
>are less on other labels versions.  What's the truth?  I know the US
>version deleted some great tracks, but I never had that problem as I'm
>from Canada.

Ok.  XTC made an album.  It's called _English Settlement_.  Originally
it was released on Virgin Records in the U.K. as a double album set,
with textured (embossed) cover and lyrics sheets and photos.  It has
15 songs.

But when it got to the U.S. the dorks at Epic Records decided that a
double album was not desirable and wouldn't sell, so they cut it down
to a mere 10 songs.  They also changed the cover art, printed it on
glossy smooth paper, and I believe they also neglected to include any
liner notes.

A similar thing happened in France, where the album was also cut down
to 10 songs.  However, the album cover was left pretty much intact.

Then came the compact disc.  Virgin Records UK released a CD of
_English Settlement_.  But for some reason unbeknownst to us, they
omitted two songs.

Finally Geffen Records in the U.S. scored the XTC contract.  They
re-released _English Settlement_ in its original two-LP form with all
15 songs (less the original cover art) and also produced a compact
disc with the entire album.

And that's where we stand today.  Or sit.  Depending.

>To make things worse Noteworthy has a Warner
>Brothers version of the thing.

The person who insisted that this Warner Bros. CD set exists (yes, a
two-CD set, supposedly) has retracted his statement.  Geffen is a
subsidiary of Warner Bros., and WB has not released any other CD of
_English Settlement_.

Hope this clears things up.

Oh yes, and one other thing: what does "Andy Paints Brian" mean?  You
know, from "Battery Brides".  My XTC pen-pal in Colorado asks this
most important of questions.

	-- John

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