Customer Reviews

Fuzzy Warbles Collector's Album

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As the primary songwriter for XTC since the mid-70's, Andy Partridge has been honing his craft for well over half his life. Around the time XTC ceased touring (1982), Andy began to spend more time capturing his songwriting efforts on home equipment. As time went on, these home demos exhibited ever-increasing sophistication and sound quality. Andy was always prolific enough with his writing that he submitted more demos for songs than XTC could use for their albums and B-sides. He always had plenty of tunes available for one-off singles, other artists, fan club cassettes, and so forth--and still left a treasure trove that was hidden from public consumption. This trend continued throughout the band's Virgin records phase and beyond; Andy kept self-recording his various ideas, songs and experiments during their "strike" against Virgin records (a 7+ year lull in newly recorded XTC output ensued from about 1992 to 1999.)

Once a settlement/agreement with Virgin was reached in the late 90's, the results were:
a) XTC were free to record/release stuff on another label, so they released two new discs "Apple Venus Volume 1" and "Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2)" within about six months of each other, plus they followed these with accompanying discs of the same songs in demo form entitled "Homegrown" and "Homespun" (and, in a bit of overkill, they even released instrumental versions of the studio songs entitled "Instruvenus" and "Waspstrumental".)
b) Virgin got XTC 's full cooperation and participation in a 2002 4 CD box set entitled "Coat of Many Cupboards" that included many previously unreleased or hard-to-find demo songs as well as hits, album cuts, live songs, alternate mixes or versions, and so forth.
c) Andy got the right to release any demos otherwise unreleased by Virgin that were recorded at any time in XTC's past, present and future. He couldn't talk the other half of XTC, Colin Moulding, into joining in on this demo-release idea (despite Colin having contributed demos on B-sides, in the box set and on "Homespun" and "Homegrown"), so the name on these discs is Andy's, not XTC's.

Andy determined early on that he had 8 discs worth of stuff he could share, so he decided to release a pair of CD's every one to two years, starting in 2002 with Fuzzy Warbles 1 and 2 ("Fuzzy Warbles" being a term that was "borrowed" from the creative language utilized in Anthony Burgess' novel "A Clockwork Orange" -it was a term used by the main character in a derogatory way to describe either bad music or poor reproduction of music). Andy avoided a chronological order to the material, deciding to spread out known/unknown songs, old/new demos, instrumental noodlings and ridiculous ramblings, songs supposedly from other bands (such fictional/alter ego acts as The Golden, The Dukes of Stratosphear and Choc Cigar Champion are represented), even Disney movie song submissions, and so forth seemingly at random over each disc with no one disc containing too many songs in any one category. By the time 2006 rolled around and the last two Warbles (7 & 8) were due, Andy came up with the idea of releasing all 8 Fuzzy Warbles disc in a handy case with some bonuses: a 9th disc containing some more demos not otherwise released (it's shorter than any full "Warbles" disc) called "Hinges", some stamps, and an essay Andy wrote tracing his history of home recording.

At present, the Amazon price for this collection is amazingly low--it comes out to less than $8 bucks a disc--way less expensive than the separate "per disc" price on Amazon or elsewhere. A bargain, but only if you actually listen to/enjoy this. So, who is this set for?

It helps greatly to be an XTC fan, but it may not be required...an ear for finely crafted songs is necessary, however. A good half or so of the songs presented are demo versions of songs on XTC albums or B-sides from the 80's or 90's. The demos from 1983-1986 or so are much more primitive and lo-fi than the more polished ones Andy began producing after some late 80's equipment upgrades. Anything from the 90's and beyond sounds essentially the same as studio quality. The demos are not always radically different than what ended up on the albums, especially the more recent ones where Andy seems to have used the demo to strictly dictate the structure ( known as "chasing the demo") once they got to the studio. Also sometimes mildly interesting are the various sound experiments or instrumental pieces scattered throughout--although a share of these are also tedious and seem to be filler. Any of the several songs using some variation of the initials MOOG is usually in this category. None of these things are the main selling point of this set for most fans.

The real treasures here are the many songs Andy wrote that never properly saw the light of day as XTC songs. It's amazing how many gems are located on every disc that count as killer material, and often would have spiced up or improved previous XTC releases. Sometimes certain rejected demos were not quite up to the standard of the accompanying XTC release, but there are way more gems than clunkers among the "new" songs. Titles like " Bumpercars", "Wonder Annual", "Sonic Boom", "End Of The Pier", even "All I Dream Of Is A Friend" (a "James and the Giant Peach" song that never was thanks to broken negotiations with Disney) and many, many more are awesome songs that deserved way better than their second-class status.

Some of the 8 Warbles discs flow together and/or have more high grade material than others, but it's remarkable that Andy could sequence over 8 hours (and twenty years' worth) of self-made, self-produced music that is, for the most part, entertaining, high-spirited, highly creative and often just plain fun. It's hard to hear all of this and not think of him as being a truly gifted musician and songwriter, as well as a goofy oddball with a delightfully sick sense of humor. (Who else but Andy would start Warbles 6 with around five minutes of the sound of him cracking up repeatedly, to the point of tears, in the studio while working on the vocals for "Omnibus" on the Nonsuch album?)

This set comes highly recommended to any fan of XTC that wants an multi-disc, alternate, behind-the-scenes view of the great gobs of music that have been conjured up over the years in the house and shed of Swindon's own Andy Partridge. Given the uncertain future of XTC, this is your best bet to get material that is XTC in all but the name for quite a while. Buy and savor this set for years to come.

Andy is in love with his shed. Partridge who founded XTC (which sadly is on hiatas if they haven't "broken up")has a recording studio in his shed where he puts together the demos of new songs for future projects. During that long period of time when Partridge was on strike with fellow XTC members Colin Moulding and Dave Gregory because of the raw deal they got from their recording company, Andy kept recording away. The result is this 8 volume "Fuzzy Warbles" collection of music with a bonus CD of demos called "Hinges" only available here. While not every track is great or perfect there are more gems than malformed lumps of coal in this marvelous set. You get 161 songs in this boxed set. Each individual CD is housed in its own jewel box with a booklet written by Partridge giving the genesis of the song, what he thinks of it and lyrics.

Volumes 1, 2, 3, 7 and 8 (all four or three star releases) are the best with less filler on them. That's not to say that volumes 4, 5 and 6 (three or two star releases)are bad--far from it. There are gems on each one of these but there are a higher proportion of gems on the other volumes. "Hinges" features only demo tracks of XTC songs that Andy recorded and never offically released. Some of these tracks were previously released on the cassettes, vinyl and CD that was available to XTC fans via the now defunct XTC newsletter ("The Little Express") and/or XTC conventions. All the tracks have been remastered. The older tracks of course betray their age a bit more and the early primiative recording equpiment they were made on. There are also a few bonafied XTC tracks here as well such as "I Don't Want to Be Here" from the Aids benefit CD and the Dukes track recorded for the MS benefit album. The only thing missing here that would have made this complete is the studio version of "Cherry in Your Tree" (we get the demo version) released on the "Carmen Santiago" CD about a decade ago. The overall set deserves four stars for the packaging as well as the music included.


Lovingly packaged in a 16x12 inch sturdy box with a plastic sleeve that slides over it, an exclusive booklet and a mini sticker sheet featuring the coves for all the "Fuzzy Warble" CDs this is the best way to get this set. It's a perfect gift for the XTC fan.

Pretty amazing box set of demos and outtakes from Andy Partridge and XTC. You've got 8 (9 including the Hinges) CDs, a sticker set, and accompanying booklet, all housed in a great box that looks like a giant book. Pretty good deal for the money, particularly if you're a diehard XTC fan. Highlights include the songs Partridge developed for a proposed soundtrack for James and the Giant Peach. Too bad that fell through, due to legal wrangling with Disney. Who better to record the soundtrack for a quirky animated film based on a quirky British children's book than the quirky Mr. Partridge? Disney went with Randy Newman instead and nothing against him, but they really dropped the ball on this one, big-time.

John Wesley Harding once wrote a wonderfully witty song called 'When the Beatles hit America,' a lyrical narrative of a dream the guitarist had, one in which the Beatles reunite and tour the US with a new album. After hearing the latest recording by the long-defunct pop-group, Harding quips, "It didn't sound a lot like P.S. I Love You... but it did sound like XTC... it sounded a LOT like XTC."

And that comparison continues to this day. Andy Partridge has been the brain trust of XTC for over twenty five years and even at this late date he shows no sign of letting up in his quest to produce muscially lush, lyrically dense pop songs, the sort we rarely hear these days. Every record the man has crafted has, in many ways, carried forward the musical inventiveness of that band to which Harding compared XTC.

Though one would not call this a proper "album," Fuzzy Warbles might as well be. Listening to this collection of richly-crafted, so-called demos is the musical equivalent of reaching into the grab bag of eternal promise with few, if any, disappointments. True, the compilation spans many years, but you wouldn't know it as the variety of the songwriting is supported by the meticulous care with which Partridge pursues his craft. Andy never shirks his duties, and even the weakest of tracks provides a unique bridge or lyric worthy of further attention.

Fun fun fun.

If so, this is a great way to go out. 150+ songs that demonstrate what an extraordinary talent Andy Partridge is. Some are full songs, others little unfinished scribbles, but underneath it all there is some great melodies, a hallmark of the XTC ouevre. Don't miss this collection!

I'll still always be hoping for another XTC album.

I had already purchased the initial 6 CDs that make up this box set over the past 3 years. I thought, well I only need volumes 7 and 8 and I will have a complete set. When I saw the box set package, with the booklet, box and bonus CD and the price, which was only a bit more than the last 2 CDs would have cost, I got it.

The packaging is great and the music runs the gamut from wonderful stuff you will want to hear again and again to noodling that is interesting but not something you would want on continuous play. Anyone who is an XTC fan will love this collection.

I understand Andy has been putting out the Fuzzy Warbles discs in pairs for about 5 years, now. Last year I downloaded FW #1, and was pleased with most of what I heard, but something was missing. I am a nut (fruit nut) when it comes to liner notes, I have been like that since I started buying records in my teens--classical, jazz, rock, whatever it may be. I guess that's what is the drawback to downloading music, one misses the info. When I saw the entire collection was available, I jumped on it and found what I was missing; Andy's wonderful, sometimes weird insights on all these songs. Example from FW #1- Who knew the song "Wonder Annual" was about female masterbation? Certainly not from the bare-naked, seemingly antiseptic disc I downloaded. But every song has a story behind it, and Andy has been so gracious to share them with us. I also like hearing the early demos to see how they developed over time. This collection is reasonably priced and very much worth it!

..........just waiting to be plundered.
Some of this stuff you would only need to listen to once but much much more remaining to go some way to make up for the fact that it looks like XTC have left the building for good.

how they were never recognised and rewarded as one of the finest bands of their era is utterly beyond me.

From the bowels of Muscle Sheds and the back cupboard of Shabby Road Andy Partridge has given his fans the most comprehensive collection of demo recordings and out-takes ever assembled in one place by one artist (Pete Townshend's "Scoop" series notwithstanding.)

This collection was released as individual CD's via Andy's APE imprint and now you can get the whole kit and caboodle in a very attractive box made to resemble a child's stamp book with a nice booklet by Andy describing his experiences in home recording.
The earliest recording dates back from "Drums & Wires" and continue all the way to the last XTC album, also included are other anomalies like Andy's outgoing phone messages made for friends, scraps of ideas for songs, completed songs for film projects and other outside projects. There is also an added CD called "Hinges" which contains more material only available with this set.

The sound quality ranges from "ok" to studio quality due to the technology that was available at the time. Some of the recordings were mastered from cassettes so do not expect hi-fi all the time but do expect many musical gems.

This is not for the occasional XTC fan; this is for the hardcore fan. Keep in mind that we are dealing with demo recordings and not necessarily finished songs. Some songs do not have any lyrics just Andy humming a melody over guitar chords or are completely different from the released recordings. Nevertheless, if you are a fan you will get this, you should get this. So, go get it.

If you are a fan of XTC/Andy Partridge/Dukes of the Stratosphear, you're going to love this release. A wonderful and well balanced collection of songs featuring Andy Partridge's unique creativity, lyrical storytelling and societal commentary. Feels like many old friends, with some bringing new friends, attending a nostalgic reunion. The printing of the package, along with the bonus postage stamps mirroring the album cover artwork, was superb in both production and design. A must have release if you're a true fan of this talented and influential artist.