XTC Legendary Guitarist Talks Remix Of Classic Album, "The Big Express"
#xtc #guitarist #classicalbum #remixalbum #thebigexpress
“‘The Big Express’ is the closest we ever came to recording a ‘concept’ album. It’s full of Swindon and deep seams of life there, that run through myself, Colin, and Dave, (Terry too of course). It’s populated by members of our families, our hopes and dreams. The things we wished for, or feared, a stew of memories.” – Andy Partridge – excerpted from the book “Popartery”, 2023
XTC’s seventh album, “The Big Express” was virtually ignored on release, much as its immediate predecessor “Mummer” had been. If “Mummer” was XTC’s quiet album, this was its polar opposite: bright, brash, noisy – even cluttered on occasion if the song demanded it – as it became a concept album of sorts, a partly autobiographical reflection on growing up in an industrial town, Swindon, with its history of engineering and railway accomplishments.
Perhaps in keeping with that tradition of technical innovation, the album also made extensive use of (at the time) new technology with Linn-Drum programming (alongside drummer Peter Phipps), E-mu Emulator and other synths claiming space among the more traditional guitars, bass and drums mix under-pinning the vocals. This technology was juxtaposed with technology of a slightly earlier pop/rock era as phasing, backwards tapes and the inclusion of a mellotron hinted at a psychedelic influence that would move more center-stage with the band’s next project – “The Dukes of Stratosphear”.With XTC no longer touring, the sound radically different to any previous XTC album, in a musical climate where the upper end of the charts reflected national radio, producing the most mainstream result for years: Lionel Richie, Sade, Spandau Ballet, Howard Jones, Tina Turner, Queen – Frank Sinatra’s final solo studio album… the space for a metallic, post-punk concept album about growing up amidst the ghosts of Swindon’s industrial heritage proved non-existent.
Purchase: https://burningshed.com/xtc_the-big-express_cd_blu-ray
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