Once upon a time, there was a young lad in Swindon Town named Andy Partidge. Andy was a child blessed with a rare creative energy and found his calling early on. Armed with an electric guitar, Andy and his musical accomplices would develop one of the most consistently productive and experimental groups ever to succeed on both sides of the Atlantic.

XTC THE EARLY YEARS XTC began paying its dues on the Pub circuit as the Helium Kids, Clark Kent, Star Park and Stray Blues. While young and raw, Andy and his bandmates had no problem writing music, slamming beer or chasing women drawing increasing amounts of attention until A & R men from British labels decided that they were the next Beatles. The rush to develop this hot musical property was on.

Aiming to explore and expand vast musical tastes, Andy Partridge (Guitar, Vocals, Harmonica and sometimes Alto Sax) would work frantically with fellow perfectionist Colin Moulding (Bass, Vocals, and Songsmithing) to create their hallmark style and meet their destiny. With the tight drum sound of their alcohol-friendly drummer, Terry Chambers, and an ever-expanding fan base, the time was ripe for XTC to put out the "White Music" record. The album included a good dose of uptempo par for 1977 punky, edgy material (including a bizzare cover of Dylan's "Watchtower") and featured keyboardist Barry Andrews who soon founded Shriekback after a pit stop with Robert Fripp. XTC soldiered on, and entered a golden period where the aggression level and tempo cooled and their musical crafts coalesced. Partridge and Moulding played true-to-Beatles types as John and Paul on guitar and bass respectively, in the process building one of the most convincingly quirky pop acts of all time.

From 1979's Drums and Wires and Black Sea through English Settlement in 1982 the band could do no wrong. By comparison, XTC were the weird outsiders looking in; David Byrne's Talking Heads were merely simulating weirdness in a more precious manner. Partridge & Co. came by their weirdness naturally (they weren't pretending anything) when they stopped touring in 1982 it was because of nervous breakdowns and an oversupply of this strange destructive intensity- long considered a hall mark of the true greats (e.g. James Brown, Jerry Lee or Elvis). The music carefully fermented in this process incorporating elements of Reggae Dub, Fifties and Sixties Pop, Avant Garde and the surrounding Punk movement with adept lyrical take-offs on philosophic worlds, for seasoning toss in the occassional irrational scream. Nobody did it better than XTC.

Drums and Wires (Virgin) Partridge came into his own as a writer and bandleader on this disc, while Moulding presented a softening melodic force. Drums and Wires yielded the catchy British hit, "Making Plans For Nigel". A contemptous look at the English socialization of its youth into little captains of industry. The song offered the catchy hook "he has his future in the British Steel" sung in reggae of the white inflections made more popular by Sting-- who toured on the same bill with XTC during this period with The Police. The record also featured experimental ravings "Complicated Game" and "Roads Girdle The Globe" in which Partridge utters the memorable line "Hail Mother Motor, Hail Piston Rotor, Hail Wheel." A classic, 'nuff said.

Black Sea (Virgin)

The follow up, "Black Sea" offered even more memorable tunes, including "Respectable Street," "Generals and Majors," and rhythmic outlay "Paper and Iron (Notes and Coins)." The agenda had widened to social decay, failure of leadership, and disdain for institutions along with a yearning for peace and compassion. These formulae would keep Partidge and Moulding busy for several more albums as they began to experiment with the studio (Partridge took time off to record "Take Away" a worthwhile foray into dub) and shift into polyrhythmic tracks and lush ambient effects for the next decade. The compact disc offers three bonus tracks to Black Sea, including the excellent "Somnambulist" a wicked ambient sleeper.

English Settlement (Virgin)

By all rights this is XTC's greatest work. As a double album it simply contains more material (watch out for cd releases which cut off a couple of tracks-- get the vinyl if you can). "Senses Working Overtime" initiated a new round of college radio airplay for the band, while "It's Nearly Africa", "No Thugs in Our House," and "Snowman" hinted at the reserves of songwriting skill which the band harbored. No collection complete without at least one copy.

The Big Express (Virgin)

1984's Big Express held place after 1983's Mummer, which few understood Moulding's fretless bass solo on "This World Over" . provided one high point, while the angst of "Wake Up" and "Reign of Blows" recaptured some of the aggression of earlier efforts. "Seagulls Screaming Kiss Her, Kiss Her" was an audio equivalent of Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" unnervingly romantic. A band in transition, XTC was to take on the identity of the Dukes and realise commercial potential at long last.