Customer Reviews

Drums & Wires

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3 star:		(1)
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On their third album it's bye bye Barry Andrews and organ and hello Dave Gregory and XTC achieve their "classic sound", ie one that lasted through Black Sea and English Settlement. On Drums And Wires Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding really came into their own as songwriters and Terry Chambers first displayed his peculiar and inimitable THUD WHACK drumming style. The freneticism of the first two albums was tempered by a growing and unique musical sophistication, yet there's an economy of style that reflects that these songs were supposed to be played live in front of actual people. Andy Partridges' crippling stage fright was still several years off and the complex arrangements of Skylarking even farther. My introduction to XTC was the second album Go2 and so when Barry Andrews was kicked out I didn't know what to expect. Well what I got was one of the nuttiest and finest albums these clever pop hooligans ever made. From Colin Mouldings' early hit Making Plans For Nigel to Andy Partridges' most loopy song Helicopter, it's sheer mad genius.

I first heard this one during a very intense, shall we say "chemically altered" state of mind in my impressionable teens. To this day Complicated Game still frightens me a little.

This is a terrific album, one that spotlights XTC at the height of their oddball inventiveness. Sadly, the more Beefheartian aspects of their creativity would soon give way to more traditional song structure, and a tendency to overwork and overproduce their sound. I'm afraid they'll never record anything as twisted and brilliant as Roads Girdle the Globe or Millions again.

Drums & Wires (1979) is a fine album by XTC. I first heard of this band back in 1983 when they released English Settlement and their single Senses Working Overtime. This band doesn't really strive hard for hit songs. Instead, they just put out albums that are solid throughout. I like to think of them as a band that gives some and takes some. What I mean by that is they have influenced and inspired other artists (such as The Police, for example) with their unique sound that blends pop, punk, new wave, funk, and even reggae, but at the same time THEY have been influenced by other artists. But, everybody out there is influenced by something. Still, XTC has a sound that's really like no other pop or new wave band. Their music is like a tossed salad - everything is thrown in, it seems. Drums & Wires is a good example of this.

My favorite songs on this album are Ten Feet Tall, Complicated Game, and Millions. I find Andy Partridge's vocals on Complicated Game amusing but above all, different.

I recommend this album as a good starter album if you're just getting into XTC.

Drums and Wires is an exciting, eccentric album full of pounding riddims and jangling guitars. Only XTC could have made this recording. The goofy music belies the messages of love, paranoia, futility, and caution in the lyrics. A brilliant lead-in to 1980's masterpiece, Black Sea.

[DW]

A huge leap forward in terms of songwriting and arrangement, XTC's "Drums and Wires" is a new beginning for the band, not the least of which due to the personnel changes that occured in the band-- keyboardist Barry Andrews departed, evidentally due to an arguement about songwriting contributions with principle songwriter and guitarist Andy Partridge. Left as a trio, Partridge, bassist/songwriter Colin Moulding, and drummer Terry Chambers recruited guitarist/keyboardists Dave Gregory. With Gregory, the band began exploring concepts of texture in more detail. Looking at the albums over 25 years later without any sentimental attachment to the early material (I was about 18 months old when "Drums and Wires" was released), it's clear that Andrews' buzzing organ sounds were a limitation on both Partridge and Moulding as songwriters, and with Gregory they began exploring more.

Perhaps the most immediately noticable improvement in songwriting comes in Colin Moulding-- whereas on the previous two albums his contributions felt underdeveloped at best, here pretty much all the standouts are his and they benefit from an extraordinary sense of arrangement. Opener "Making Plans for Nigel" features a pulsing rhythm section and out-of-phase guitars chugging along over which Moulding paints his picture of planning your child's life in a calm and developed voice. Really, it's the kind of thing that based on the first couple records, you'd never dream Moulding had in him. Likewise, the spiralling acoustic guitars of "Ten Feet Tall" and the churning excitement of the near psychedelic "This is the Way" grab your attention.

Partridge, for his part, sticks to his guns with the ska/punk new wave stuff, although there's a distinct improvement, both in the confidence of his vocals ("Helicopter") and composition (the goofy "When You're Near Me I Have Difficulty"-- check the two guitar lines bouncing in and out of skanks and lines).

The real problem is that the album seems to fizzle as it goes on, and the second half features a bunch of totally unmemorable tracks ("Outside World", "Reel By Reel"). Throughout, there's also some examples of forced melodrama that just comes off horribly (the reciting of the title of "Complicated Game", although the fierce guitar solo and Partridge's frantic, shouted vocal pretty well absolves this, "Road Girdle the Globe")

This reissue provides remastered sound, presenting the album crisp and clean and allowing its textures to shine. It also adds three bonus tracks-- Moulding's goofy "Life Begins at the Hop" was one of the early songs with Dave Gregory and while structurally, it sounds more like the stuff on their earlier records, it maintains a sense of maturity in the vocals and the arrangements that allows it to sit comfortably alongside the best material on the album, although the other two bonus tracks aren't nearly as memorable (neither is particularly bad... kind of like much of the record).

All in all, "Drums and Wires" is a huge step forward and far and away the best thing XTC had done until now. They'd go on to bigger and better things as they became more overt about their love of '60s rock and psychedelia, but this one is worth investigating.

After the departure of keyboardist Barry Andrews (who added those irritating, high pitched organs in the background), XTC hired a second guitarist, Dave Gregory. This album is the result, and it showcases a giant step forward in songwriting ability from their previous two works, "White Music" and "Go 2" (especially the Colin Moulding songs).

The album opens with one of XTC's biggest hits (in the UK at least), "Making Plans For Nigel". This is a Colin Moulding song, and it's quite amazing considering a couple years prior, he was writing herky-jerky crap like "Crosswires". It's a pretty straightforward pop/rock tune, not unlike something The Police would've done.

The frantic new-wave/pop of "Helicopter" sounds more like something off the first couple XTC releases, but it has a really strong melody, making it a lot more memorable than anything on those aforementioned albums except for maybe "This Is Pop".

"Day In Day Out" combines mellow rock with somewhat off-key caterwauling to great results. The electric/accoustic jangly pop of "Ten Feet Tall" is also quite memorable. It's a more subdued sound compared to the unrelenting energy of earlier XTC, showing a sign of things to come.

"When You're Near Me I Have Difficulty" is one of Andy Patridge's greatest songs, a sophisticated mix of balladry and energy to create effervescent new wave pop. The omnious, epic vibes of "Roads Girdle the Globe" is another great Partridge masterpiece.

"That Is the Way" has a dreamy pop feel to it, and features some class trumpet work in the bridge (courtesy of Dick Cuthell). "Outside World" is a catchy slice of pop/punk, very reminiscent of The Clash.

The album closes with "Complicated Game", one of Andy Partridge's most monolithic songs. It slowly builds from a hush whisper to tense yelling in its 5 minute course.

Other great songs include the Costello-esque "Reel by Reel", the oriental tinged epic "Millions", and the acerbic quirkyness of "Scissor Man".

There's also 3 bonus tracks, most noteworthy is the single, "Life Begins At the Hop", another great pop song from Colin Moulding. The other two are decent.

If you're new to XTC, this is the best place to start if you want a good early period album. It's also the first of many essentials from the band..pretty much everything from this album until the present.

Best Songs: Making Plans For Nigel, Helicopter, When You're Near Me I Have Difficulty, Roads Girdle the Globe, Millions.

I first bought 'Drums And Wires' back in the early 80s. I love the artwork as well as the music on the album. To this day it's one of my all time favorites along with its follow up, 'Black Sea'.

All the songs on Drums And Wires are excellent...there isn't a bad track on here. But some standouts for me are -

Making Plans For Nigel
Life Begins At The Hop
Reel By Reel
Millions
Scissor Man
Outside World
When You're Near Me I Have Difficulty
That Is The Way That It's Done

As you can see, I've listed over half the cd...it's that great an album.

The guitar playing is incredible on the entire album and quite unique on some songs. Listen to the chunky picked solos on 'Making Plans For Nigel' and 'Life Begins At The Hop'.
The ska influenced 'Helicopter', 'Reel By Reel' and the frantic 'Outside World' are straight out rockers.
'Millions' features a hypnotic bass line, and the lyrics warning the Kings Of The East to stay East...as far away as East will let them be.
No need to explain all of the songs. Buy the cd and see for yourself.
This especially is a must have for all Britpop fans. XTC have made some of the most British sounding pop of all time in my opinion.
Get Drums And Wires...you won't be sorry.

This is a fabulous album which I've only just discovered. I'd always heard the name XTC dropped about under influences, but until now didn't realise just how much modern bands like The Rapture, The Futureheads and Hot Hot Heat depend on XTC for their sound. This stuff is way ahead of its time - slightly angular, poppy, punk-funk with tuneful bounce and excellent production. Album standout 'When You're Near Me I Have Difficulty' typifies this, boasting great rhythm, guitar lines and fabulous production - a perfectly written pop song. Elsewhere, the breezy, relaxed 'Ten Feet Tall' is very hummable and has some nice harmonies and almost Spanish guitar work, and, in a completely different style, 'Complicated Game' adds a slightly darker, more sinister element with its scratchy post-punk and out-of-control vocals. Through the album off-kilter guitar lines adorn fast, catchy melodies like 'Helicopter' to add a really quirky, slightly cute sound. There's actually not one bad track: everything on here is enjoyable and adds a slightly new dimension. If, like I was, you are wondering if XTC justify the hype - they do. Buy Drums and Wires - its an essential purchase for any fan of the kind of music it has inspired.

XTC were, and still are, essential to anyone interested in quality songs and yet they still rock. The follow-up to this, Black Sea, was heavier and its successor, English Settlement, may be the all-time favorite of many XTC fans; however it is this, their third LP, that has my vote. A little dark and muddy in spite of its poppiness, I think this gives it an edge lacking in every other XTC release. I cannot believe this came out in 1979. It still sounds fresh. Buy it and learn something!

Drums and Wires was a purchase that I held off on for a long time, and I don't know why, because it's absolutely brilliant. After getting hooked on English Settlement, Black Sea and Skylarking, I perhaps thought that it wouldn't be easy to adapt to their earlier sound. I was wrong, because this album is much more toned down compared to their first two releases, White Music and Go 2, which are extremely new waveish and punkish. Drums and Wires has the new wave and punk sounds, but is more "tuneish." The album starts with a song that isn't exactly the best to kick off with--Making Plans for Nigel. While it's a classic, and a great song, it somehow doesn't fit into the first slot very well. The second song, (Helicopter) would've been a better starter. What I like most about this album is its catchy choruses and overall simplicity. Dave Gregory joined the band after Barry Andrews departed, and the songs immediately had more texture and depth. This is a great album to start your collection with. Standout tracks include MAKING PLANS FOR NIGEL, HELICOPTER, DAY IN DAY OUT (guitars sound a lot like Black Flag), TEN FEET TALL, ROADS GIRDLE THE GLOBE, REEL BY REEL (sort of sounds like the Rolling Stones), MILLIONS (my favorite track on the album) THAT IS THE WAY and COMPLICATED GAME. The guys were in top form for this one........you won't be disappointed. In fact, all 15 songs are stellar!!! 10/10