ARTIST: XTC
TITLE: Go 2
YEAR RELEASED: 1978
CHART ACTION: #21 UK
SINGLES: Are You Receiving Me
OTHER SONGS YOU MAY KNOW: I doubt it, unless you’re in the cult.
LINEUP: Andy Partridge, Colin Moulding, Barry Andrews, Terry Chambers
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT: Less-than-stellar follow-up is a case of “I’ve heard this record before…”
SOME WORDS, PHRASES AND CLAUSES ABOUT THIS RECORD: Listening to Go 2, you get a sense of déjà vu. The style and songcraft is very much the same as XTC’s debut – all hyper and jittery. This time, though, except for a few exceptions, the songwriting isn’t as good.
They didn’t wait long to write and record this record after their first album, which shows here. It seems they’re the leftovers. There’s melodies, yes, and some charm, but they’re hidden by the quirks here.
This would only be a detour, but it did curtail the interest in XTC in the states a bit (it took another year for their catalog to be released here).
NOTES & MINUTIAE: The album title was a reference to the board game Go.
IS THERE A DELUXE VERSION: It all depends – some pressings have the single (and best tune) “Are You Receiving Me?” Some don’t.
GRADE: B-: It’s not a total failure, and has some charms, but it’s really too similar to their debut to stand out.