Alternative Rock
Blues
Children's
Christian & Gospel
Classic Rock
Country
Dance & DJ
Folk
Hard Rock & Metal
International
Jazz
Miscellaneous
New Age
Pop
R&B
Rap & Hip-Hop
Rock
|
|
Label: Caroline
Release Date: 2002-08-06
List Price: $15.98
Buy Now: $7.47 - $13.99
|
|
(Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered)
Additional Info: Tracks Reviews
fun, clever, sharp (4 stars)
Drums & Wires was my first introduction to XTC, "Helicopter" specifically. Who were these guys with their excessively energetic, snappy, and clever songs? Some of the songs on the album didn't sit well with me at first listen, but I could tell they bore repeated listening.
Today the album still smarts. "Life Begins at the Hop" is a great pop song, "Complicated Game" is still powerful, and most of the rest of the tracks still resonate well. XTC was my favorite band from Drums and Wires through the end of the 80s.
Drums and Wires was one of those albums that had a few different configurations, depending on whether you had the UK release, the US release, or something else like one of the later CD releases (Geffen, e.g.). I think the current version finally gets this right. "Chain of Command," and "Limelight" were originally released as a limited bonus 45 with the album, along with the single "Life Begins at the Hop." The songs were later inserted as CDs accommodated more tracks, haphazardly in the middle at first (i.e. between "front" and "back" sides of the CD). This was a problem with all of the original Virgin CD releases. Thankfully, the bonus tracks have been moved to the end.
This album marked the departure of keyboardist Barry Andrews, and thus XTC's new emphasis on guitars (wires). |  | | | My 1st. taste of XTC--"Drums and Wires" (1979) (5 stars)
The first time I ever heard of XTC was back in 1979 when I saw their videos for "Life Begins at the Hop" and "Making Plans for Nigel" on a late-night TV music show; soon after that, the local college station started playing "Making Plans for Nigel" as well as my favorite cut off "Drums and Wires": the frentically manic romp, "Helicopter", which even now, some 29 yrs. later, is still one of my most favorite XTC songs that I play pretty often. Anybody who enjoys XTC's later material or more specifically, Andy Partridge's superb songwriting abilities definitely should have "Drums and Wires" in their collection--in fact, I need to replace my old copy pretty soon myself!
Around the time the college station was frequently playing "Making Plans for Nigel" and "When You're Near Me I Have Difficulty", I bought an import 45 of "Nigel" I found at a Musicsmith outside Hartford, CT. However, I soon found myself playing the 2 songs on the B-side that weren't included on "Drums and Wires" more often that not, particularily the 2nd. track, "Pulsing Pulsing": a short 1 minute 36 second reggae flavored bit of infectious bass-laden boogie that to this day I've only found once or twice as a track on some import box set. Too bad it never was used as a track on XTC's subsequent albums--it's really a great little tune that begs more notice, sounding somewhat like "Living Through Another Cuba" which is another great piece of reggae-styled funk I truly enjoy.
| | | | Make Plans to Buy This! (5 stars)
The departure of quirky keyboardist Barry Andrews after only two XTC albums, may have signalled the early death knell of the band. Andrews improvised and manic approach had been one of XTC's unique claims. But the arrival of guitarist and multi instrumentalist Dave Gregory for their third album "Drums and Wires" in fact had a liberating effect on the band. XTC's sound began to broaden and harden with his arrival and the song writing moved from the juvenilia of comic books and science-fiction to socio/cultural topics such as job opportunities, surveillance culture and environmental issues to name but three. The social satire reaches its peak on the hypnotic, persuasive and majestic lead single "Making Plans For Nigel". XTC's first major UK hit and the beginning of a dominant song writing spell for bassist Colin Moulding that would eventually lead to his own solo project. Moulding also pens the delightfully breezy and spacious "Ten Feet Tall", a single Virgin believed would break the band in the US. Partridge's song writing also excels, but his compositions at this time still remain quirky, experimental and at times awkward. Nevertheless "Reel by Real" hints at the very commercial songs that were too follow from Partridge. The album has a beautifully sparse production quality thanks to Steve Lillywhite and with its distinctive cover design helped it become their biggest selling record up to that point and one of their most cohesive and enjoyable recordings.
This digitally re-mastered version presents the album in its best sound quality to date and also includes three bonus tracks in the shape of "Life Begins at the Hop", "Chain of Command" and "Limelight", the latter two tracks are especially precious little gems and are presented for the first time re-mastered and sounding great. | | | | A step forward. (3 stars)
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. | | | | Zany and brainy (5 stars)
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. | | | |
|
|
|
Buy $7.47 - $13.99
Artist's Music
Artist's Memorabilia
Artist's Discography
Music Downloads
MP3 Players
iPod Accessories
Music Posters
Concert Tickets
Internet Radio
Satellite Radio
|