Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A thrillingly brilliant paradigm of songwriting brilliance., 16 May 2002
By A Customer
This record is every XTC single, in chronological order, on a double CD. And a worthy addition to ANYONE'S collection.
As one wanders throught this parade of fruitful excellence, one can spot not one weak track, one flaw. This is a celebration of XTC, one of the greatest bands ever, perhaps, THE greatest, yet, for some almost unbelievable reason, a commercial flop. Every second this waits on the shelf is a second lost to the laughably bad spectacle of purely commercial pop, commercial acts which are made to look almost funnily bad by XTC, Swindon's answer to Beatles; yes, I would go as far as comparing them with the Beatles, the Stones - and this contains every single song ever to grace the charts from the pens and instruments of messyrs Partridge and Moulding- a must buy!
From the scratchy and unpolished yet still excellent 'Science Friction', through absolute gems such as 'Making Plans For Nigel', 'Sgt Rock (is going to help me)' and the amazing 'Senses Working Overtime' to the subtler delights of disc two, such as 'Great Fire', 'Wonderland' and 'Dear God', this album, and indeed XTC, from Drums and Wires to Wasp Star, radiate a musical joy second to none.
The big mistake with this album would be to listen only to disc one and their greater chart successes, instead of also tapping into the second disc, which, although disturbingly devoid of chart hits, is littered with spectacular musical sucesses from start to finish.
Although the highlights, being such hits as 'Senses Working Overtime' and 'Making Plans For Nigel' demand listening time, reject the other songs at your peril, especially the feel good 'Ten Feet Tall', the uplifting 'Great Fire', the charming yet fiery 'Dear God', the melodic and brooding 'Wait 'till Your boat goes down' and the gloriously romantic 'Love on a farmboy's wages'.
All in all, a fitting tribute to the most criminally unsuccessful yet criminally good bands ever, XTC.
|
|
|
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
XTC - Under rated genius!, 7 Oct 2005
When you mention XTC to the casual member of the public, they'll probably tell you they were one hit wonders, or that they remember 2 songs at best.
These are probably 'Making Plans For Nigel' or 'Senses Working Overtime'. They only hit no 10 and 17 respectively, yet were XTCs biggest hits in the UK. A real shame.Anyway, most people looking to buy anything by XTC are greater informed of their skills and great music. This CD covers everything from their beginnings, right up until 'Nonsuch'. All singles released from 1977-1992 are included, though only 7 made the top 40. There's no duff material here, but personally the jewel in this crown is 'The Disappointed', a song for the disenfranchised, which very nearly won a Ivor Novello award. It's easily their best ever song in my eyes.....and yet again it was a chart flop at number 33. The mere fact that the crash test dummies (remember them?) can have a hit with a straight clone of 'The Ballad Of Peter Pumpkinhead' says it all really. XTC were never fashionable, nor did they ever have great success, yet they still kept making great music for 15 years. Buy this album, some of the best money you could ever spend. There's no band more deserving of record sales than XTC.
|
|
|
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Marvellous, 4 Mar 2001
By A Customer
The eccentricity, cleverness and sheer catchiness of XTC's songwriting begs the question ; how the hell are they such commercial failures?! The marvellous melodies of "The Mayor of Simpleton" and "Senses Working Overtime" are complemented by the bizarre new wave of their earlier classics, "Science Friction" and "This Is Pop." A band that deserves a lot more than it gets! Magnificent!
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
~ XTC
~ XTC
~ The Beat
~ XTC
