ARTIST: XTC
TITLE: White Music
YEAR RELEASED: 1978
CHART ACTION: #38 UK
SINGLES: Statue of Liberty, This is Pop
OTHER SONGS YOU MAY KNOW: They cover All Along the Watchtower
LINEUP: Andy Partridge, Colin Moulding, Barry Andrews, Terry Chambers
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT: A manic, almost too manic, debut album which shows some of their gifts of melody and pop goodness.
SOME WORDS, PHRASES AND CLAUSES ABOUT THIS RECORD: After an EP containing the wonderful “Science Friction”, XTC released this album which straddled the punk side a little too much. They had energy, but the energy took away from the songs and overwhelmed what the band was trying to do.
Most of these problems were on Colin Moulding songs (which is ironic because he became the first of the songwriters in the group to get UK hits, but that was later…). On the really fast ones, XTC really needed to take a breath and relax.
“This Is Pop”, “Into the Atom Age”, and “Statue of Liberty” are the memorable cuts. Others are OK, but the faster they are, the less you can relish.
NOTES & MINUTIAE: The BBC banned “Statue of Liberty” because of the line “sail beneath your skirt”. That’s a shame, because it really could have been a big hit.
IS THERE A DELUXE VERSION: Yes, their debut EP 3D is appended (with “Science Friction”) and other b-sides as well are added.
GRADE: B-: There’s some good stuff here, but some I exiled.