Has anyone else seen Mojo magazine's two-page guide on how to buy XTC? It's not long out.

Anyway here are a few observations on the ten best XTC purchases, in my humble opinion.

Number one is Skylarking: No surprise there.

Number two is Drums and Wires: A major surprise in my book. A brilliant record but the band made several more that topped their 1979 magnum opus.

Apple Venus is at No.3. But Andy will be choking on his almond tea by the comment that Colin's Frivolous Tonight steals the show. WHAT? Next to River of Orchids, Easter Theatre, Greenman and the like?! Shurely shum mishtake, m'lud!

Nonsuch is a lowly seventh. Unfair I think. Surely it's an album that's easy on the passing lughole of non-devotees.

Oranges and Lemons is at number four, probably because it makes the most noise and won't stand in the corner when it's told.

No surprise: Mummer and Big Express are given a bodyswerve. Absolute classics to my XTC-hardened ears, but I suspect too oblique and/or difficult for beginners.

No show for Wasp Star either, which I still think tramples all over Black Sea and White Music which are both featured here.

Fossil Fuel and Chips from the Chocolate Fireball get a mention two. Quite right.

English Settlement is at a relatively lowly five considering most people know of this iconic XTC record. Probably cos it's a tad challenging and a long listen.

I'd be interested to read other fans' observations on the list.

Perhaps AP is willing to offer his thoughts....

Well I made my predcitions on the backporch when mags alerted us to the fact it was a coming. I had it diffferent to that. To be honest, one shoudl always recognise that XTC were two bands. White Music to English settlement ( andmaybe wasp star) is one; Mummer to Apple venus 1 is the other. If you love band 2, band 1 might not be to your taste and vice versa. All my english friends who love the singles just dont get post settlement XTC, apart from Farmboy.

MOJO= cunt-jo in my world right now. VERY bad natured/researched/opinionated/uninformed/biased/incorrect/late review and lack of respect,but what were you hoping for? These fuck rats never EVER supported us in any way,now or then. Typical. I hurted for 5 minutes then said.....what could you expect?

Yikes! When I wondered what Andy's thoughts were about the Mojo list I didn't expect that response!

The hurt clearly runs deep. Although I do remember Apple Venus Vol 1 featuring at number seven (I think) in Mojo's end-of-year round-up way back in ’99. But I do recall a major piece on the band (the main feature on the magazine that month) only for Mojo to plonk Marvin Gaye as the main image on the front cover... with XTC in the postage stamp corner

Hopefully this will brighten your day a bit, Boss:

http://www.wordmagazine.co.uk/content/xtcs...g-vinyl-rebirth

And this guy doesn't have all the facts right, but he does a heck of a job describing the sonic improvements for not being a recording engineer:

http://www.hometechtell.com/hometechnology...-new-turntable/

....and breath....there....relaxing,calming down now. These magazines give me the shits,and this one is especially low in my regard after the "award" debacle. It's all sarcasm and disregard,we will NEVER be respected by them.
Jeffro,yes that was a nice review from that vinyl fellow. Hooray!

This is the intro blurb from Mojo's online site.

We last heard from XTC in 2005, but now it seems Swindon's greatest band really are no more. This is rotten news, but there's a fantastic and rewarding back catalogue there to assuage the woe. Always connoisseurs of the finest in Fabs-Kinks-and-beyond British music, main men Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding - and don't forget Dave Gregory - smartly advanced from their new wave roots and became dependable, field-of-one cultivators of gem-like pop of the kind they weren't supposed to make any more



Sounds like a lot of respect in that to me!

Different writer, I'll bet.

Go on, Andy. Bet you can give us, in order, your 1 to 12 list of XTC's studio albums. I know it's a bit like choosing your favourite child, and we all know which records are in your top three or four... but , just for the record in Top of the Pops style (cue Led Zep's Whole Lotta Love) what exactly is your XTC top 12?

There's a serious XTC debate raging on the Mojo website. Dozens of readers are revealing their personal XTC favourites and more besides.

Someone then posted Andy's anti-Mojo comments from this thread which has provoked even more reaction. Check it out.

I read the article in W H Smiths, I don't/won't buy music mags anymore. Anyway it seemed OK to me.

You know what, just popped out at lunchtime to pick this up. £4.bleedin 50 that cost me.

What a load of dribbling donkey bollocks. And the smell from the mag ain't too clever either.

Lost the love of Mojo long time ago. Only so much a man can read about Beatles, Dylan, Stones, Broooce et al. How about a front page 20 page spectestecular on JoBoxers? or Moby Grape. Anything. A world of music out there. Tell me about it.

Still, s'pose that's what the web is for.

Is that bad?