The Big Express

Product Information

a b c d e f Bernhardt, Todd; Partridge, Andy (8 July 2007). "Andy discusses 'Seagulls Screaming Kiss Her, Kiss Her' ". Chalkhills. The heart of "The Big Express" lies in its captivating storytelling and autobiographical elements, reflecting the hopes, dreams, and memories of the band members. Join Andy Partridge, Colin Moulding, and Dave Gregory as they invite listeners into their world through a vibrant post-punk soundscape.

s Apple Venus was originally intended to follow in 2020, but the project was ultimately canceled due to the source material being woefully incomplete. a b c d e f g h i j k l m Jennings, Dave (18 October 2014). "XTC: The Big Express – A Thirtieth Anniversary Celebration – album reappraisal". Louder Than War . Retrieved 24 October 2018. Fuzzy Warbles Collector's Edition (liner). Andy Partridge. Ape Records. 2006. {{ cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) ( link)There's always one isn't there? But I think I can line up the world's underground army of XTC fans and find that the majority of them would find some form of agreement with that statement here. Exactly how they would explain it would vary, as for some it would be the tough rewarding one, and others would see it as a fussy messy dud. Certainly at the time in 1984 the critical opinion was like the latter, and the commercial opinion was that it sold poorly. In both regards this mirrored Mummer's fate before it, though the two albums are really very different. Honestly I still can't really figure out why people have anything against poor little Mummer. But Big Express? Aw, this time I get it. a b Bernhardt, Todd; Partridge, Andy (4 March 2007). "Andy discusses 'All You Pretty Girls' ". Chalkhills.

After listening to the new 5.1 & Dolby Atmos mixes, it becomes abundantly clear that a traditional two-channel stereo soundstage was simply not enough to accurately express the band’s grandiose vision for this album. Though it’s obviously a retrofit surround sound experience, The Big Express translates so seamlessly into these immersive formats that it almost sounds like it was recorded with multichannel reproduction in mind.

The intention for The Big Express was to "let the music have a more boisterous feel" and for the lyrics to be more worldly. [15] For the album title, Partridge wanting something that was reminiscent of his hometown Swindon, which was well-known for its railway repair workshop, the Swindon Works. [16] Working titles included Coalface, Head of Steam, Shaking Skin House, Bastard Son of Hard Blue Rayhead, The Known World, Bull with the Golden Guts, [17] Mindless Sax and Violins, and Under the Rusting North Star. [18] The Big Express was chosen for its double meaning, referring to express trains and artistic expression. [19] Partridge envisioned the record as "industrial pop. We come from a railway town, and I was like, 'Well, let's wallow in that; in the imagery and the sounds. Let's make an album that's riveted together and a bit rusty around the edges and is sort of like broken Victorian massive machinery.'" [20] He said that the record "might be a concept album by stealth" since most, if not all of the songs he and Moulding wrote were autobiographical to some extent. [21] Two were of a political bent (" This World Over" and "Reign of Blows"). [22] The majority of Partridge's songs were composed on an open E-tuned guitar [23] with a broken E string. [24] LinnDrum samples are a prominent feature of the album a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Gregory, Dave; Moulding, Colin; Partridge, Andy (November 1984). "Recording The Big Express". One Two Testing (16). Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrateded.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p.344. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. impression on Andy. He hadn't had a musical guru before now. David Lord could hold his own in any musical conversation and piqued Andy's interests in unexplored musical areas." [12] Moulding was not as effused and said he was unable to relate to Lord on a musical level. [13] XTC subsequently negotiated a deal that allowed them to work as much as they want on their next album at his studio. [8] In April 1984, about a month into the new album sessions, the group learned that ex-manager Ian Reid had incurred them an outstanding value-added tax bill of several hundred thousand pounds, and they immediately pursued litigation that would last for the next five years. [14] David Lord adds: "This story about me turning down the Beatles as 'not serious musicians' is nonsense! I think it grew from something I told Andy once - as a music student in the days when 'Sargeant Pepper' was being recorded, a number of us were invited to be part of the cheering crowd at Abbey Road; sadly I was already committed elsewhere and couldn't make it! That's all!" Though I’d long considered 1989’s Oranges & Lemons as the band’s most densely-layered LP, The Big Express is definitely a close second. There's a mechanical ‘coldness’ to the album, characterized by heavy use of LinnDrum synthesizers in conjunction with Dave Gregory’s trademark jagged guitar lines. In elements such as the staccato guitar riffs to “Wake Up” and “Shake Up Donkey Up,” one can easily conjure up a visual image of gears rotating inside a massive steampunk machine.

I Bought Myself A Liarbird is an odd foray into suburban jazz, slight and more than a little bitter, for once the arrangement seems at odds with Partridge's biting lyrics whilst his ode to Pepper era Beatles on You're The Wish You Are I Had seems to be a strange detour, not the greatest song to begin with it jars and feels even weaker when placed before Colin's much superior I Remember The Sun. a b c Bernhardt, Todd; Gregory, Dave (24 February 2008). "Dave remembers 'Smalltown' ". Chalkhills. The Big Express (liner notes). XTC. Virgin Records. 1984. {{ cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) ( link) a b Bernhardt, Todd; Partridge, Andy (11 August 2008). "Andy discusses 'You're the Wish You Are I Had' ". Chalkhills. By the standards he had set for himself over the preceding three albums, Colin wasn't on top form for Mummer. Even though he only gets two credits here, he more than makes up for it. "I Remember The Sun" inverts the theme of his English Settlement b-side "Blame The Weather" in brilliant fashion. Andy does many thing's better than his partner in rhyme but Colin is, I think, the master of nostalgia. He also pens the explosive opener, one of his best singles, which employs a choir to rub the sleep from the eyes of the listener and set them up for the rest of the record.XTC in 1984 were not the chart-busting force they had been from 1978-1982 when their brand of angular but highly infectious pop regularly graced the charts. What many critics consider their finest album, the excellent English Settlement, had been released two years previously but since then there had been a few changes. Seagulls Screaming Kiss Her, Kiss Her is without doubt one of XTC weirdest songs of their entire career, built around an odd off kilter melody line played on a Euphonium, Andy's tale of lost chances never seems to go anywhere and circles around itself in a perfect echo of the characters hesitation, only once side stepping to glimpse what could be, it's a simply brilliant but wonderfully odd piece of music and incredibly underrated by the bands legion of fans. Equally strong but less challenging is the sorrowful sigh of This World Over's post apocalypse, again lyrical content, arrangement and production combine to perfection.

Bernhardt, Todd; Partridge, Andy (19 August 2007). "Andy discusses "All of a Sudden (It's Too Late)" ". Chalkhills. Dave Gregory – guitar, Yamaha CP-80 electric grand piano, Mellotron, Prophet-5 and Roland JX-3P synthesizers, E-mu Emulator Bernhardt, Todd; Partridge, Andy (16 March 2008). "Andy discusses 'River of Orchids' ". Chalkhills . Retrieved 29 October 2018.a b Bernhardt, Todd; Partridge, Andy (17 February 2008). "Andy discusses 'The Everyday Story of Smalltown' ". Chalkhills. The Big Express is quite possibly XTC's most polarizing LP, unlike much of their work from that dreaded decade the 80's The Big Express actually sounds like a quintessential 80's album, all fairlight synths and Linn drum machines, yet it also remains quintessentially XTC, however it's harsh, metallic, abstract production manages to make it sound fairly unique when compared to other records made in 1985, the album seems to be a celebration of the industrial age and more pertinently the passing of the steam train that Swindon, their home town, existed for and the subsequent loss of income and personality that would engulf such a place due to it's passing. This 80s sound puts off a lot of fans but dig deeper and The Big Express reveals itself as one of XTC deepest albums. If Mummer had been a tentative step towards experimental studio based recordings The Big Express is a full on aural assault. Bernhardt, Todd; Partridge, Andy (11 May 2008). "Andy discusses 'Rook' ". Chalkhills . Retrieved 30 October 2018. Partridge, Andy; Bernhardt, Todd (2016). Complicated Game: Inside the Songs of XTC. Jawbone Press. ISBN 978-1-908279-78-1. Album and Additional Mixes by Steven Wilson [Dolby Atmos TrueHD 7.1, DTS HD-MA 5.1, and 24/96 LPCMStereo], 2023 Instrumental Mix [24/96 LPCM Stereo] [00:54:18] + [00:53:57]