Editorial Reviews Music Review:
Music Review
I'm Still in Love With You [Import]
Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No. 8 In C Minor, Op. 65
Dvorak: Les deux derniers quatuors
Chopin: The Four Ballades, Berceuse, Barcarolle, Scherzo No. 4
Amazon.com essential recording
Most Americans' first taste of XTC came from this CD, originally released in 1979. The band's first full-length without cofounder Barry Andrews, it was a cavalcade of Andy Partridge's neuroses and paranoias. Although it contained two quirky bona fide pop songs--the calling card "Making Plans for Nigel" and the breezy "Life Begins at the Hop"--the music as a whole was as jagged as Partridge's attitude. "Complicated Game" and "Scissor Man" have the singer's haunting howl echoing and whispering throughout like a Fun House operator gone mad, while "Real by Reel," another pop standout, might be the most conventional song on the CD. Drums and Wires is a must-have for anybody who is only discovering the band. Skylarking and the collected singles are the only other releases that come close to capturing the band's early and earnest dementia. --Steve Gdula