Customer Reviews

Waxworks: Singles 77-82

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With all their creative doodlings and artsy fartsy angles on New Wave, at their heart XTC were a great pop band, and this collection of singles proves that beyond a doubt.

It's a true shame that in all the years of reprinting Waxworks on CD, Virgin never took the time to produce the "Beeswax" collection of B-sides during the same period. A double CD set of Waxworks/Beeswax would have made a nice offering to the digital XTC offerings.

This collection was originally packaged with Beeswax: Some B-Sides 1977-1982 and released in November of 1982. It's basically a collection of Some Singles (ommitting No Thugs In Our House, Love At First Sight, Respectable Street and Ten Feet Tall) and unwitting rounds out the Terry Chambers/Touring/Quartet era (Terry left the band literally days after Waxworks was released). It's a nice introduction to the band to someone who is partial to New Wave and somehow does not know XTC. I lent a shoddy cassette copy to DAVEMMR years ago...I believe Drums & Wires converted him - I digress. Containing "Making Plans For Nigel", "Generals & Majors", "Senses Working Overtime", "This Is Pop" and Statue Of Liberty" which are some of the best singles released in the new wave era makes it a nice addition to any collection. The version of "Wait Till Your Boat Goes Down"(another GREAT single) included here is slightly remixed from the original single version (that version appears on the amazing Fossil Fuel collection). Half of the songs here are in their original "single edit" versions.
Beeswax: Some B-Sides was released on CD in Japan only in 1992 (the same year Waxworks was released on Geffen in the US)
Great for someone who's on the fence and just "likes" XTC.

If you're one of those people who've heard of XTC,but never really heard their stuff,or wondered what all the hullaballoo was all about,this is as good a starting place as any. Basically a compilation of early single A-sides,it contains a lot of XTC's catchiest tunes,and beloved classics. ( such as "This Is Pop!","Making Plans For Nigel",and "Senses Working Overtime" ).If you seek a larger assortment,or longer ranging selection of material,try "Fossil Fuel" or "The Uppsey Daisy Assortent". But for a first time listen,you cannot go wrong here.

XTC were (and still are, by the way) a great British band, combining great musical skills with a Pythonesque sense of humour. The non-workingmen Beatles of New Wave. This collection brings you some of their more non catchy tunes like 'Making Plans For Nigel'. Check it out!