Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Last of the good ones?, 21 Sep 2003
Bought this Warble before Vols 1,2 & 4, and enjoyed it greatly as a privileged tour of Prof Partridge's laboratory. There aren't any legendary lost songs on Vol 3, which perhaps has disappointed some, when Vols 1 & 2 were littered, as I soon found out, with alternative classics such as "Ship Trapped In The Ice", "Wonder Annual" and the Giant Peach tracks.But "My Train Is Coming", "Lightheaded" and "When We Get To England" are all amiable, lower-to-middle-ranking XTC numbers; the demo of "Train Running Low..." is a terrific studiomeister showing off his ability to craft sound as well as song when very possibly sitting at a kitchen table rather than a 48-track mixing desk; and personally I love the Shanghai techno of "You Like Me". There are a few doodles and forgivable padding. But this would have made a fine last volume in a trilogy of Warbles. However, seems like there's no stopping the Prof now he's flung open his doors, though I'm steering clear of Vol 4 and probably the rest, unless there's some obvious gold in among the radio jingles and other primitive art which is in danger of swamping the quality with quantity. Love the Prof to pieces, but some dusty nooks and crannies are best left unexplored.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A warble too far, 16 Jul 2003
By A Customer
Having enjoyed the first two volumes of 'Fuzzy Warbles', I was intrigued how the series would progress. Nagging doubts in my mind made me feel that perhaps Andy was showing too much of the songwriting process. Hints that Colin Moulding had withdrawn support for the series also set alarum bells clanging, but I still soldiered on.And how I wish I hadn't. This collection, along with volume 4, add nothing to the XTC/Andy Partridge discography. Unlike 'Coat Of Many Cupboards', the songs here are half baked, poorly produced efforts, detracting from the genius of Andy and the brilliance of XTC. Like a first draft from an author, all these serve to show us is that Andy has good ideas and has to start somewhere. This is a real shame, as I was hoping for a few gems. Only 'When We Get To England', with its Edwardian/Jules Verne feel and satirical lyrics raise the compilation above the poor and warrant the two stars. Andy, I still love you and the band, but perhaps we can have a 'proper' album now? As it stands, buy this, listen once, then file away, safe in the knowledge that Andy will probably issue his school reports on CD in the near future. I feel sad...
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Andy Strikes Again!, 16 Jul 2003
For many (yours truly included!) XTC are like a drug, and the event of a new outing has the same effect as a glass of fresh, cold spring water on a hot summer night (Italy is nearly Africa these days). The stunning quality of these demos is not a revelation to those who already own FW vol. 1 & 2, the songs are as good as those you find in the albums, and furthermore Andy
surprises us with some odd tracks too. Just listen to "My train
is coming", (vintage early sixties beat), "Lightheaded","You like me?" (a techno etno disco number). "When we get to England" and "Autumn comes around" were contenders for inclusion in Skylarking and you could say that by putting together all the outtakes that can be found in the Fuzzy warbles series along with the demos on the flip of "The meeting place" single you could easily make a "double" Skylarking cd.
Well, what are you waiting for?
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~ Andy Partridge
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