Disco de XTC: “Big Express”

...sort of. They haven't progressed to making the shiny, flawless pop that would be shown on their later albums, but instead pounded out an abrasive, messy album that brings to mind a studio-based version of "Black Sea". And it RULES. The singles "Wake Up" and the gorgeous "This World Over" are two of my favorite XTC songs, and there's also some clunky, kickbutt material in "Seagulls Screaming," "Shake You Donkey Up," and the magnificent closer "Train Running Low On Soul Coal." The bonus tracks this time around are pretty weak, and most of the album doesn't gel at all, but I don't really care, because it RULES. Out of the 11 songs that make up the actual album, not one is a duffer, and all are nearly perfect. Buy it, even though no one else seems to like this one as much as I do.

The fact that this album ranks 11,565 on the Amazon list is a crime. Although the album has a couple of minor flaws, THE BIG EXPRESS is a snapshot of the band at their prime. The irony was, no one was listening, or buying their albums. This album bears the same relationship to SKYLARKING as RUBBER SOUL does to REVOLVER: the great building was complete, but here some of the scaffolding and tools were still visible.

Both Partridge and Moulding demonstrate a boundless creative ability on this disc. David Lord's production(finished by the band when the production schedule was exceeded)is nearly flawless. One of the few producers who understood the XTC universe(along with Lilywhite & Rundgren), Lord provides a solid classical anchor so that Partridge and Moulding can frolic in the musicial water without fear of losing sight of the boat.

Highly underrated and misunderstood, THE BIG EXPRESS captured the elements that made early XTC so stellar and became a roadmap for the band's excursions to other vistas.

As with any composition, people will either love it or hate it. This XTC album is no different. Some people think it's a masterpiece; some think it's a flop. Who do you believe? Don't ask me...ask yourself. You're the one listening. But let me clarify some things. First of all, THERE ARE NO BAD XTC COMPOSITIONS! Period. Some are just better than others. Second, there is no such thing as an "overproduced" song. It can be underproduced, but saying XTC overproduces its songs is like saying George Martin overproduced the Beatles.

Now, as far as I'm concerned, because even XTC fans dislike this album, I must say that it is definitely their most underappreciated album. I can only assume that because the lads incorporated new styles this time around (a preview of things to come) this has made some uncomfortable. XTC has always been evolving, from their Go 2 days, to Drums & Wires and Black Sea, to ...Settlement, and now this. Why are XTC fans so shocked about their evolving sound? They probably don't like "This World Over" (a poignant song showing maturity and Andy's never-ending stabs at global machinations). They might hate "Youre the Wish..", and "I Remember the Sun" (too much jazz...XTC doesn't play jazz). BTW, "I Remember the Sun" has the most chilling lyrics in any of Colin's compositions.

I'm glad that XTC doesn't listen to anyone other than their own collective conscious when they compose. If they listened to some fans, they would have made 12 "English Settlement" albums, or 12 "Black Sea" albums. And that's why XTC is a great band. Because Andy and Colin are polished composers who aren't afraid of stepping outside what people expect. You can't predict what they'll sound like next and that is where genius begins.

You do what you want to do...I'm gonna give "The Big Express" another listen!

how drastically my opinions about xtc clash with everyone elses. ive been a musician/composer for 12 years, maybe thats why. if youre a serious musician too maybe this will help you out. for one thing disregard 98% of the reviews above us here. in my opinion this is their best record. if not their best(which is a pretty ridiculous statement i guess)its as good as whatever your favorite is right now, be it skylarking, black sea, whatever. i detest drum machines and im telling you, you will not notice synthetic drums on this record unless you go out of your way to. it does not affect the brilliance of these songs at all(im having a hard time sympathizing with these people saying the drums 'swallow the songs whole'). as far as the bonus tunes, theyre the highlights for me. and just to make the old school fans really disregard my opinion-blue overall is the best song on the album. thats right. it rocks beyond belief, its odd meter, and andy screams alot. thats enough for me. i love the pretty stuff, but theres not enough straight up rocking on the next generation of albums(i.e. ugly underneath, no language in our lungs, etc.)and it abounds here. the perfect mix of kickass rock and the beautiful/strange stuff that xtc are masters of. also it opens with colins best song ever(well, tied with the world is full of angry young men). there you have it. if youre unable to choose between english settlement and this, make the smart decision and buy english settlement later.

I've been enamoured with XTC since, oh, the early 1980s sometime, so folks may consider me biased. The Beatles of the '80s some used to describe them as, and that's not an entirely off-center remark, especially given the obvious influence on The Big Express (more compositionally, less sonically). I began listening to the Big Express again about six months ago - it had dropped out of rotation for years because there is so much music to listen to (old jazz, new electronica, other XTC records, etc). Playing it now, I feel as if I never properly listened to it. If you aren't familiar with XTC, this might not be the best of their repertoire to begin with - unless you have an expansive pallet (it can be edgy and irritable sounding). I know that critics of the band complain of Andy Partridge's somewhat nasal voice - so be warned that he is not Eddie Vetter (sp?), Ian McCullcoh, Elvis Costello, etc. but I like it, and he is a good vocalist with unusual intonations.

TBE is an odd work, familiar as pop because of the basic song structures (3-4 minutes, mostly verse chorus etc., but no leads\soloing to speak of), yet unusual in its mixture of sounds and instrumentation (horns, tympany, reverse reverb used on the guitar, symphonic bits and pieces, harmonica, quick-strummed jangly quitar...)and rather unusual lyrical subject matter(as compared to most pop, but not XTC). It can sound goofy ("The Every Day Story of Small Town), evocative ("I Remember the Sun"), and frenetic ("Shake You Donkey Up"). It's a little challenging, perhaps not immediately "accessible", but musically rich and varied. One of XTC's strengths is that they are musically onomatopoeic - that is, their music sounds like what they're singing about. This album doesn't quite reveal this quality as much as others (listen to Mummur), but rather, the various states of mind and emotions as expressed in the lyrics are well reflected in the music. Other reviewers describe it as a weak effort from the band (and still give it four stars? that's dogmatic fandom!). I think it's good as anything they've done.