Andy Partridge:
Fuzzy Warbles 1-9 (3 sets):
Ape:
3xCD (3 volumes):
Out Now:
Fuzzy Warbles was originally comprised of eight separate discs released across a four year period in the previous decade. Ten years later and with renewed interest in all matters XTC (plenty of reissues and a fab explorative book), it's a pertinent time to unwrap these heartfelt, personal and occasionally primitive little vignettes, particularly as the aforementioned tome Complicated Game, deals with the construction/deconstruction of thirty Partridgean gems from the band's expansive catalogue.
You'll find a few of the book's inclusions included here in all their naked demoed glory - and it makes for fascinating listening - but the real finds on these new triple-CD versions are the abundant unreleased and unfinished originals that never saw the light of day or night on any XTC album. Some are playful animated theme-songs overlooked for kids' films and adverts, others are clunky pre/post-Dukes psychedelia that buzz from ear to ear and back again and a few are gems. Multi-faceted gems that when gathered together on a single playlist, make for an enjoyable faultless listening experience. Or a great vinyl double-album. How about it, Andy?
If you crave some 'new' XTC action, even when it isn't XTC per se - it's Partridge all the way, save for a few found noises sampled whizz-bangs - then pretty much all three of these compendiums might require your immediate attention.
On the first set, containing FW 1-3 you can jig about to Dame Fortune's energetic and gamely skiffle, swing your denims to the rousing raffish roustabout I Don't Want To Be Here or merely reflect upon your lot with the sad-face This is the End, which manages to cram a tear-duct tickling swollen synth hook to fade out with.
4-6 (set 2) boasts the bouncy Bumpercars, the quite fabulous shuffle that is I Defy You Gravity and the exemplary Tiny Circus of Life while 7-9 (set 3) features the very pretty ballad I'm Unbecome (more recently recorded for an album by Partridge's love Erica Wexler), the epic prog-jazz musings of Through Electric Gardens and the bonus Hinges album which came with the elaborate box-set issued in 2006 to house the eight discs.
Songs from the XTC catalogue include Ballet For a Rainy Day, Beating of Hearts, Merely a Man, Chain of Command and the Dukes' Little Lighthouse, mostly recorded on basic equipment in Andy's shed or small studio. You'd be hard-pressed to grumble about some of the material on here and its source but for the most part, Fuzzy Warbles is a great place to hear some favourites as you've rarely heard them before.
It's a shame the original and very entertaining sleeve-notes have been omitted for these issues but I'd recommend the Complicated Game book to satiate the need to know the ins and outs of Britain's most expressive and descriptive songwriters.
Buy all three CDs in a bundle here -> Fuzzy Warbles Bundle
★★★★★★★★☆☆
Fuzzy Warbles 1-9 (3 sets):
Ape:
3xCD (3 volumes):
Out Now:
You'll find a few of the book's inclusions included here in all their naked demoed glory - and it makes for fascinating listening - but the real finds on these new triple-CD versions are the abundant unreleased and unfinished originals that never saw the light of day or night on any XTC album. Some are playful animated theme-songs overlooked for kids' films and adverts, others are clunky pre/post-Dukes psychedelia that buzz from ear to ear and back again and a few are gems. Multi-faceted gems that when gathered together on a single playlist, make for an enjoyable faultless listening experience. Or a great vinyl double-album. How about it, Andy?
If you crave some 'new' XTC action, even when it isn't XTC per se - it's Partridge all the way, save for a few found noises sampled whizz-bangs - then pretty much all three of these compendiums might require your immediate attention.
On the first set, containing FW 1-3 you can jig about to Dame Fortune's energetic and gamely skiffle, swing your denims to the rousing raffish roustabout I Don't Want To Be Here or merely reflect upon your lot with the sad-face This is the End, which manages to cram a tear-duct tickling swollen synth hook to fade out with.
4-6 (set 2) boasts the bouncy Bumpercars, the quite fabulous shuffle that is I Defy You Gravity and the exemplary Tiny Circus of Life while 7-9 (set 3) features the very pretty ballad I'm Unbecome (more recently recorded for an album by Partridge's love Erica Wexler), the epic prog-jazz musings of Through Electric Gardens and the bonus Hinges album which came with the elaborate box-set issued in 2006 to house the eight discs.
Songs from the XTC catalogue include Ballet For a Rainy Day, Beating of Hearts, Merely a Man, Chain of Command and the Dukes' Little Lighthouse, mostly recorded on basic equipment in Andy's shed or small studio. You'd be hard-pressed to grumble about some of the material on here and its source but for the most part, Fuzzy Warbles is a great place to hear some favourites as you've rarely heard them before.
It's a shame the original and very entertaining sleeve-notes have been omitted for these issues but I'd recommend the Complicated Game book to satiate the need to know the ins and outs of Britain's most expressive and descriptive songwriters.
Buy all three CDs in a bundle here -> Fuzzy Warbles Bundle
★★★★★★★★☆☆