It was the spring of 1984. The author had been diagnosed with a lifelong illness. But then things got better. A lot better. Through a combination of luck, perseverance, and XTC fanaticism, Mr. Stafford was able to sit in on a series of recording sessions for XTC, one of the best, most clever, most unique, and most interesting bands in the world. The book recounts how he was there during a couple months while they were recording their album The Big Express. There are some tangents in the writing, mostly interesting though, and his memory is fuzzy about some things. He fully admits it though. [continued]
But he still got to experience what many only dream of. He got to play Dave Gregory’s guitar, for real. And helped Andy record an intro to a song. Had conversations with all three members as well as the producer. That sounds pretty sweet to me. And he does remember enough to relay some pretty interesting details. He was privy to numerous recording details and XTC’s Andy Partridge traded off on the Linn Drum (machine) with him. Heck, Andy P even played him some old XTC videos!
It’s a fairly short book and a quick and enjoyable read. Any XTC fan should buy it. And if you are not an XTC fan, they you should be. Buy at least a few of their albums, as none of them are exactly the same and overall they brilliantly cover a lot of musical ground.
More by Andrew Stafford | more by XTC
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