Disco de XTC: “English Settlement”

I have no idea why Andy Partridge belittles Terry Chamber's contributions to the band these days but the evidence is in sound. Except for "Beating of Hearts" on Murmur, the rhythm that defined early XTC is lost. Though most fans came in during Skylarking which featured more guitar centered music and Dave Gregory, I prefer the early music because the Moulding-Chambers rhythm section was one of the most advanced and ground breaking elements that turned many of us early listeners on to this band.

Colin was also an incredible song writer for the brief moments between Drums and Wires to this album. Runaways, Fly on the Wall, English Round-a-bout (referencial to English Settlement in opposition) and Ball and Chain are among his best lyrically and musically and his vocals were much better back then. Colin and Andy have more vocal presence in each other's songs with them trading vocal lines often here as in Snowman, Leisure and Jason and the Argonauts.

Back then, Andy's photo was not sprayed all over the place as on later albums. They were still considered a band (with all of them in equal placement in band photos) and the arrangements sound more like band arrangements. And this is what made them XTC and not Andy and the boys.

Which comes to why this is the best XTC recording and why they will never top it. It is Terry Chambers and Colin Moulding in top form. Just listen to "It's Nearly Africa" at the complex drum beat that suddenly gets tranformed into another rhythm by the simple aplication of the Bass. There are so many textures as the guitars take a back seat (as in most of this album, the guitars become a textural backdrop rather than a solo vehicle). The first side alone (first 4 tracks for you CD newbies) are the best song arrangements ever and a great display of both Partridge and Moulding in the height of song writing creativity.

As Partridge actually get's better as a song writer, the band sinks. His lyrics were more awkward back then but the energy of the band and the off-kilter but in the pocket rhythms pulled them through. Meanwhile Colin starts to lose his smoothness and writes less and less after this album and he no longer plays bass in the same surreal way. He gets more like McCartney and less like the totally undescribable original that he was. This will be the last time XTC will explore rhythm as the central aspect of their band.

This is XTC's only full excursion into the level of rhythmic and textural complexity mixed with good song writing that they hinted at in Black Sea and Drums and Wires. It is interesting that the best songs in later lamer albums like Oranges and Lemons are jut bad rewrites of early classics like Yacht Dance and Ten Feet Tall.

Ahhh the 80's....clover cigs (they were awful), embarrassing haircuts (ditto), foul smelling clubs well...they're still around. So is this fine document. It's a closing chapter in XTC's history. This was the last album the band toured behind; this was the last album to feature drummer Terry Chambers as a full time member (he quit while recording Mummer); this was the last album to feature the band's quirky "new wave" sound.

Senses Working Overtime was the perfect single to close out the first phase of the band's career; it features everything that was so marvelous about the band's first 5 albums. Andy Partridge's stunted mini-melodies and odd lyrical pharsing had become something of a trademark (as had Colin Moulding's catchy 3 minute singles...something that main songwriter Partridge was occasionally jealous about).

This double album (on 1 CD) features the original artwork and replicas of the original LP sleeves. Just about every song is a classic. While the sound and production are a bit stark (and, in fact, prefigure Hugh Padgham's work on Phil Collins Face Value and echo his engineering work on XTC's previous album Black Sea), the strong songs carry the day for the band.

This was an uncertain time for the band. They were poised to make a major breakthrough due to a catchy, quirky single and MTV video. Touring had just about killed Partridge and reduced him to a mess at the end (he had horrible stage fright). This album still opened a lot of doors some of which would be closed (most of radio). Luckily, those that did close their doors were forced to open them again when Dear God became an unexpected hit single (relatively speaking--it never broke the top 50 in the US but garnered much attention and airplay due to its topic).

While English Settlement sounds unfinished to some of the former band members (Dave Gregory's opinion if I recall correctly), it also acts as a perfect snapshot of the band as they were poised to make the breakthrough to success just as The Police had. It probably never would have happened. Partridge's energy and artistic nature meant he would never compromise the way Sting did. Still it's a fine album that captures your heart and attention.

After Andy Partridge's battle with stage fright caused the band to suspend touring permanently, XTC walked back into the studio for the fifth time... and for the first time, they created an album that doesn't rely on simplicity, or noise, or catchy pop rhythms and lyrics. They bought new instruments and defined a new sound. English Settlement ends what some XTC fans refer to as the "Waxworks" era; Partridge and company molded themselves to the studio act flawlessly, and this album represents some of their best songwriting. Anti-violence themes permeate the recording, while non-Western rhythms and uncanny instrumentational variety give this album the richest, most appealing sound of any XTC work to date. English Settlement is a carefree march through the flower bed of pop culture; a must-have for any 80's rock fan.

What is it about English bands and double albums?

An American band releases a double LP and you get--well, just think of Grand Funk Railroad and you'll understand where I'm going with this.

Enlgish bands retreat from the stage for a few months and drop two-LP bombs on you like the Beatles WHITE ALBUM, the Clash LONDON CALLING, the Stones EXILE ON MAIN STREET, and XTC's ENGLISH SETTLEMENT.

Yes, I do dare compare this LP to those classics.

Andy Partridge was a wit from XTCs first LP, but his lyrics, sharpened by the release of BLACK SEA, are razors-edge cutting on ENGLISH SETTLEMENT.

There are several great, GREAT tracks here, which deserve to be considered with some of rocks timeless records. "Senses Working Overtime," "Jason and The Argonauts", and "All of A Sudden (It's Too Late)" are downright cinamatic, stories that fly round the world--"And all the world is biscuit shaped, it's just for me to feed my face, and I can see hear smell touch taste--that I've got one two three four five senses working overtime"--it's sesame street lyric illuminating an adult world.

For the uninitiated, XTC is a more British-sounding Beatles, to my ear. They are the Kinks during their most melodic phase, but with a more energetic and disciplined rhythm section.

The fact that American radio turned a deaf ear to this LP is beyond belief, by the way. Released in 1982, ENGLISH SETTLEMENT was left in the hopper by America's radio geniuses, who were bent on making Dexy's Midnight Runners, Huey Lewis & The News, and that gawdawful "Oh Ricki You're So Fine" record, hits.

There's a reason talk radio became popular, y'know?

Anyway, take the plunge. This is a masterful LP.

This album has aged incredibly well and deserves its spot among the finest albums of all time. English Settlement fits so well in the pantheon of great British albums, yet its integrity, ingenuity and consistent thematic scope makes it perhaps the better of them. Even the title & the packaging, every aspect of this album is nearly perfect.

Each song is unique from one another yet weaves together a tale of the modern world so well depicted that I can't think of any other album that compares. From the loss of human agency in the industrial world in "Leisure" to the congestion and pollution of the automobile in "English Roundabout", XTC blend perfect pop with biting social critiques. From "Ball & Chain", where XTC lament urban planning in the name of "Progress" to the mesmerizing "Melt the Guns", where XTC make clear the madness of military aggression. "Fly on the Wall" presents the modern fear of Big Brother, with computers tracking our every move. Domestic social commentary can be found in the haunting "Runaways" and the biting "No Thugs in our House".

XTC are even able to pull off adding several songs that add just the right touch of Western adventure and mystery with songs like "Jason & the Argonauts" and "Yacht Dance".

English Settlement is a complete album in every sense and should be considered on of the finest albums of all time.