Customer Reviews

Upsy Daisy Assortment

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As great as this Best Of is, and it IS great, if you are really interested in hearing ALL the best stuff, you owe it to yourself to pick up the Fossil Fuel 2CD set via import. It has every song present here, plus more that are quite indispensable. I did buy this CD, and loved it. Then I heard people talking about the import 2CD version, and decided to lay down the sheckles for it. What I found was perfection! There are SO many songs as good as or better than what is present on Upsy Daisy. So measure your desire to hear all the best that XTC has to offer, and don't be surprised if you buy this and end up trading up to the superior Fossil Fuel 2CD set!

XTC's music is full of great writing, arranging, playing, witty lyrics, and pristine production. Pop music with an attitude. This "sweetest hits" collection, drawing from eight studio releases between 1979 and 1992, would be a good introduction if you don't want to buy (my opinion) their essential studio albums ("White Music", "English Settlement", "Skylarking", "Oranges and Lemons"). The issues I have with this release is there is not one song represented from their first two releases, and like any fan, the songs selected are not exactly what I would pick.

Previous reviewers have pointed out, the lyrics to "Respectable Street" on this disc are altered. The words changed were... abortion to absorption, contraception to child perfection?, and sex position to proposition. If these words are so offensive, another tune should have been selected so the artist's lyrics stay intact. Why butcher the artist's vision? It's puzzling that the bold lyrics of "Dear God" were not changed, but the lyrics above were. Nevertheless, this is a fair compilation from an awesome band.

I've come to XTC late, but, since being turned onto them a couple of months ago, I can say I'm not only hooked, I'm obsessed. As a result, I've been buying up every CD they've ever made, including this one, "Upsy Daisy Assortment." So far, in all my purchases, I have yet to be disappointed.

"Upsy" is a perfect CD for the beginning XTC lover. It takes the listener over the pop "transistor" hits ("Making Plans For Nigel", the scaled-down version of "Respectible Street" - for its original lyrics, see their album "Black Sea"), then introduces the ear to some of their more Beatle-esque works, which are equally brilliant ("Love On A Farmboy's Wages", "Grass"). In between are the controversial ("Dear God"), the flat-out rockers ("No Thugs In Our House") the sad and dreamy, exquisitely-crafted ballads ("This World Over") and the just plain "I've-Never-Heard-Anything-Like-This-Before" ("Seagulls Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her").

If you like this CD - and I can't see how you could fail to, particularly if you're as sick of what passes for well-crafted pop music these days as I am - move along to "Drums and Wires" and "Black Sea". And - of course - "English Settlement". Once you've gotten those under your belt, go exploring through the group's new boxed set, "Coat of Many Cupboards", which features 40+ alternate, rejected and rehersal versions of a broad spectrum of this band's musical legacy.

The world needs more XTC.

Boy oh boy, can't you feel the anticipation for the next XTC tour...since we've all been waiting -years- for the label dispute to be over. Until then, pick up Upsy-Daisy, because it's an honestly Best Of album.

Plus, the recordings are really good-clean and scratch free. The levels are all even too, making the bass and treble balance perfect (essential in songs like Seagulls Screaming...).

It's a shame that XTC got a bit of blacklisting from people misunderstanding their USA wide-release of Dear God-some people don't really think about lyrics anymore. They are a fantastic pop/rock band, bubblegum that actually sticks, guilt-free listening on every track. Again, another album that rewards you for actually thinking about life. And then it rewards you for just having fun.

This is one of two strong compilations of XTC, although I had to get it used on Amazon. Geffen has apparently lost the rights to the XTC catalog (and it has trickled out on Caroline), so this great collection is likely going to drift into oblivion. Get it now, because more so than the recently reissued "The Compact XTC," "Upsy Daisy Assortment" delivers XTC's maturation into a first class melodic pop band.

"UDA" bypasses the first two arty albums to focus on XTC's first major statement, the biting but catchy "Drums and Wires" album. The rough edges had been smoothed over to allow for the wittier songs to subversively insinuate themselves, like the brilliant tale of "Making Plans For Nigel." In a distinctly British scenario, our lad Nigel is a boy who "likes to speak and he loves to be spoken to." It laid the groundwork for such delightful political rants like "Generals and Majors" (which would have been a hit if American radio hadn't been terrified of new wave and the RSO original release of "Black Sea" hadn't been still-born by the record company's collapse). After all, the Beach Boys 'oo wee oo' of "Respectable Street" permits a goofy litany of suburban snootiness to skim by and a line like "Saturday I saw him retching over our fence" to breeze through like a perfect pop moment should.

Shortly afterwards, Andy Partridge's disdain for and strain from touring left him physically exhausted, so he abandoned the road to work on music and start a family. The album that preceded the stoppage shows that perhaps he was feeling tired of the pop rat race, as "English Settlement" held psychedelic overtones and a more rustic feel. The hit UK single "Sense Working Overtime" sums that train of thought up best, but the anti-racist "No Thugs In Our House" still packs serious wallop. By "Mummer," though, that bite began to taste bitter, and "Funk Pop a Roll" snarls at what must have been their early distaste for Geffen records ("big money selling you stuff that you really do not need"). Just the same, "Love On a Farmboy's Wages" could easily be the most beautiful song the band ever recorded.

The following record. "The Big Express," finds the band floundering to maintain a sound; "The World Over" was probably the best song on it. It took Todd Rundgren to come in (and the trippy Dukes of Stratosphere side project) to make the band deliver a rejuvenated album. "Skylarking" was easily the most coherent disc in the XTC library. Rundgren's Beatlesque production flourishes and musical linking of songs into mini-suite arrangements brought XTC to a brand new audience, and the bitter anti-hymn "Dear God" got them headlines. But the delightful double-meaning of "Grass" and the production scope of "Earn Enough For Us" also allowed the band to expand on their huge field of ideas. This all finally paid off when the first single from "Oranges and Lemons" became XTC's first major American hit and the album became a success. "The Mayor Of Simpleton" tossed of buoyant hooks with an easy to swallow story lyric, as did "King For A Day." The final gasp of XTC's decade, "Nonsuch," found them fighting with their label (who originally declined the album) and was another modest success. "The Disappointed" is a wistful look at fading loves, as dreamy as "Chalkhills and Children's" nostalgia.

It is at this point that XTC basically went on strike, not releasing any new music till 2000's "Apple Venus." I really can't give "UDA" the five stars I might have because of omissions like "Wonderland," "This Is Pop" or "Sgt Rock." As such, it is still a wonderful tasty assortment of candied goodies. Get it while there's still stock.

As with all collections, there will be "what's here and what's not" arguments, but overall this is a great bunch of "XTC" songs for any fan. It includes the early tracks "Generals and Majors", "Senses Working Overtime", and "Making Plans For Nigel", which "Primus" covered on "Miscellaneous Debris". Plus the later tracks "Mayor Of Simpleton", "King For A Day", and "Ballad Of Peter Pumpkinhead", which "Crash Test Dummies" covered on the "Dumb And Dumber" soundtrack. Also here is "Dear God", which turns up alot on 80's radio. If you enjoy smart alt-pop, or someone like "Elvis Costello", you'll enjoy "Upsy Daisy Assortment".

you can argue the inclusion (or exclusion) of this track or that- i most certainly would not have included "the disappointed" off Nonesuch. Why quibble? These songs are among the best ever written. so enjoy, you XTC novice, you. your life will now be worthwhile.

This is the album that introduced me to the wonder that is XTC, and it could easily do the same for someone else. All of the greatest hits from the Dave Gregory years (i.e., Drums and Wires through Nonsuch) are here, from "Making Plans For Nigel" (not the first track on here, but the band's first real hit) through "The Ballad Of Peter Pumpkinhead." Someone not very familiar with the band can get a good overview of their style, which ranges from the rocking ("Funk Pop A Roll" and "Respectable Street") to the chaotic ("Seagulls Screaming Kiss Her, Kiss Her") to the just plain beautiful ("Senses Working Overtime"). The problem with this album is that, if you decide to get XTC's regular albums, this collection won't be all that useful to you anymore, as there isn't anything here that isn't on the studio albums, and the songs are almost always better in context. Also, it is a shame that the makers of this compilation decided to use the single versions of "Respectable Street" and "Senses Working Overtime," rather than the superior album versions. Still, these are minor complaints. If you don't know much about XTC, use this album to find out what all the fuss is about.

Let's be honest--if you're an XTC fan you have all this stuff already, so I'll assume you're just diving in to the XTC black sea. As a collection, UDA represents their work fairly well with key album tracks and singles from 1979 on. Among the stellar tracks, "Seagulls screaming kiss her, kiss her", "Making plans for Nigel", "Respectable street" and "Senses working overtime". Additionally, this cd has the best songs from one of their weaker(but still interesting)albums ORANGES AND LEMONS.

What's missing is anything from their first two albums and first handful of singles. While some of these tracks are far from perfection, they represent where the band came from and are quite good in their own right. The import collection FOSSIL FUEL is a better representation of the band. It features all the tracks from WAXWORKS and most of the songs from this cd as well.

A fine compilation that could have been better with early tracks, as well as, some rare b sides. By the way, Andy, love the cover. A little bit of sarcasm buried in the imagery, isn't there?

This is an excellent compilation. But the running order of the tracks is different from that listed on the cd cover. The correct running order is:

MAKING PLANS FOR NIGEL, LIFE BEGINS AT THE HOP, THIS WORLD OVER, SEAGULLS SCREAMING KISS HER KISS HER, GENERALS & MAJORS, RESPECTABLE STREET, SENSES WORKING OVERTIME, NO THUGS IN OUR HOUSE, BALL AND CHAIN, LOVE ON A FARMBOYS WAGES, FUNK POP A ROLL, DEAR GOD, GRASS, EARN ENOUGH FOR US, THE MAYOR OF SIMPLETON, CHALKHILLS AND CHILDREN, KING FOR A DAY, THE BALLAD OF PETER PUMPKINHEAD, THE DISAPPOINTED.

When I first played this cd, I thought I'd pressed the "Random" button by mistake. Perhaps this is only a problem with later pressings?