''The Big Express'' is the seventh
studio album by English
rock band
XTC
XTC were an English rock band formed in Swindon in 1972. Fronted by songwriters Andy Partridge (guitars, vocals) and Colin Moulding (bass, vocals), the band gained popularity during the rise of punk and new wave in the 1970s, later playing in ...
, released on 15 October 1984 by
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), Tom Newman. It ...
. It is an autobiographical
concept album inspired by the band's hometown of
Swindon and its railway system, the
Swindon Works
Swindon railway works was opened by the Great Western Railway in 1843 in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. It served as the principal west England maintenance centre until closed in 1986.
History
In 1835 Parliament approved the construction of the ...
. In comparison to its predecessor ''
Mummer
Mummers' plays are folk plays performed by troupes of amateur actors, traditionally all male, known as mummers or guisers (also by local names such as ''rhymers'', ''pace-eggers'', ''soulers'', ''tipteerers'', ''wrenboys'', and ''galoshins''). ...
'' (1983), which had a modest, pastoral approach to production, the album features a bright, uptempo sound marked by studio experimentation and denser arrangements, setting a template that they further developed on subsequent albums.
XTC produced the album with Crescent Studios owner
David Lord on a budget exceeding £75,000 (equivalent to £ in ). Like ''Mummer'',
the Glitter Band
The Glitter Band are a glam rock band from England, who initially worked as Gary Glitter's backing band under that name from 1973, when they then began releasing records of their own. They were unofficially known as the Glittermen on the first f ...
's
Pete Phipps was hired as a session drummer for the band. They continued extending their use of exotic
colors
Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associa ...
, incorporating instruments such as
LinnDrum
The LinnDrum, also referred to as the LM-2, is a drum machine manufactured by Linn Electronics between 1982 and 1985. About 5,000 units were sold.
Its high-quality samples, flexibility and affordability made the LinnDrum popular; it sold far m ...
,
euphonium
The euphonium is a medium-sized, 3 or 4-valve, often compensating, conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument that derives its name from the Ancient Greek word ''euphōnos'', meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced" ( ''eu'' means "well" o ...
, and
E-mu Emulator
The Emulator is a series of digital sampling synthesizers using floppy disk storage, manufactured by E-mu Systems from 1981 until 2002. Though not the first commercial sampler, the Emulator was among the first to find wide use among ordinary mu ...
for the first time in their work. Much of the album showcased the band's
psychedelic influences through its reliance on
Mellotron, a tape-based sampling keyboard popular in the 1960s and 1970s, and effects such as
reverse echo and
phasing
A phaser is an electronic sound processor used to filter a signal, and it has a series of troughs in its frequency-attenutation graph. The position (in Hz) of the peaks and troughs are typically modulated by an internal low-frequency oscil ...
. The title refers to
express train
An express train is a type of passenger train that makes a small number of stops between its origin and destination stations, usually major destinations, allowing faster service than local trains that stop at most or all of the stations alo ...
s and artistic expression.
Lead single "
All You Pretty Girls" peaked at number 55 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
and its music video cost £33,000 to produce. ''The Big Express'' received little critical notice and sold fewer copies than ''Mummer''. It reached number 38 on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
and number 178 on the US
Billboard 200
The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of ar ...
. Some critics suggested that its music suffered from
overproduction
In economics, overproduction, oversupply, excess of supply or glut refers to excess of supply over demand of products being offered to the market. This leads to lower prices and/or unsold goods along with the possibility of unemployment.
The d ...
and a lack of
dynamics. In later years, the record has been described as "hugely influential".
Japanese rock band
Seagull Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her
Seagull Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her is a Japanese band formed by guitarist Aiha Higurashi in 1992. Beginning as a two-girl band in New York City with her friend Sachiko Ito, it was not until after they had played a few shows that the band got it ...
derived their name from the
album track of similar title.
Background
![XTC UK (cropped) (no terry)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/XTC_UK_%28cropped%29_%28no_terry%29.jpg)
XTC's previous album ''
Mummer
Mummers' plays are folk plays performed by troupes of amateur actors, traditionally all male, known as mummers or guisers (also by local names such as ''rhymers'', ''pace-eggers'', ''soulers'', ''tipteerers'', ''wrenboys'', and ''galoshins''). ...
'' was their first work after resigning from live performances in 1982. It was released in August 1983 after several months of delays due to the band's creative difference with producer
Steve Nye and
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), Tom Newman. It ...
and became the group's lowest-charting album to date.
Virtually every contemporary review of the album accused the band of falling out of touch with the contemporary music climate. Bassist
Colin Moulding
Colin Ivor Moulding (born 17 August 1955) is an English bassist, singer, and songwriter who was one of the core members of the rock band XTC. Though he was less prolific a songwriter than his bandmate Andy Partridge, Moulding wrote their first t ...
thought that "when we came back from America after our aborted tour of 1982 ... people like
Spandau Ballet
Spandau Ballet () were an English new wave band formed in Islington, London, in 1979. Inspired by the capital's post-punk underground dance scene, they emerged at the start of the 1980s as the house band for the Blitz Kids, playing "European D ...
had moved onto the scene; new groups were coming up and there was no place for us."
Dissatisfied with the downturn in their career, drummer
Terry Chambers
Terry Peter Chambers (born 18 July 1955) is an English drummer who was a member of the band XTC from 1972 to 1982 and the popular Australian-New Zealand group Dragon between 1983-5. He appears on all of XTC's albums between ''White Music'' (197 ...
quit the group early in the ''Mummer'' sessions to take care of his wife and newborn child in Australia.
In the meantime, guitarist and principal songwriter
Andy Partridge
Andrew John Partridge (born 11 November 1953) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer who founded the rock music, rock band XTC. He and Colin Moulding each acted as a songwriter and frontman for XTC, with Partridge writi ...
produced
Peter Blegvad
Peter Blegvad (born August 14, 1951) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, writer, and cartoonist. He was a founding member of German/English avant-pop band Slapp Happy, which later merged briefly with Henry Cow, and has released many sol ...
's album ''The Naked Shakespeare'' (1983).
Partridge said that his services were requested partly because Blegvad heard a rumour that he had died in 1982.
He summarized his feelings at the time: "We're about to make another
lbumthat probably won't sell very well, and Virgin are getting fed up with us and starting to grumble about potentially not carrying on with us ... I was ''really'' confused about what I was supposed to be doing."
Immediately after ''Mummer'', he stated that he thought the next album would have a more
R&B sound and that the band were "conscious of wanting to get away from the" style of their previous two albums, and said that "I don't think you'll hear any acoustic guitars this time, or any particularly multilayered things."
Years later, he reflected that "Funk Pop a Roll" from ''Mummer'' could be considered "the first ''Big Express'' track".
In late 1983, XTC released the holiday single "
Thanks for Christmas" under the pseudonym Three Wise Men. It was produced by David Lord, owner of
Crescent Studios
David Lord (born 1944) is an English composer and record producer, known for his work with Peter Gabriel, the Korgis and XTC.
Career
Lord was born in 1944 in Oxford, England and educated at the Royal Academy of Music, under Richard Rodney Ben ...
in Bath, who impressed the band with the story that he had turned down an offer to arrange
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
' "
She's Leaving Home
"She's Leaving Home" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon, and released on their 1967 album ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. Paul McCartney wrote and sang the verse and John Lennon ...
" (1967). He met Partridge while working as an engineer on ''The Naked Shakespeare''. According to biographer
Neville Farmer, Lord was "a world's away from XTC", having turned down the Beatles offer because he believed the Beatles were not
serious music
Art music (alternatively called classical music, cultivated music, serious music, and canonic music) is music considered to be of high phonoaesthetic value. It typically implies advanced structural and theoretical considerationsJacques Siron, ...
ians, and "made a deep
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." Moulding was not as effused and said he was unable to relate to Lord on a musical level. XTC subsequently negotiated a deal that allowed them to work as much as they want on their next album at his studio.
In April 1984, about a month into the new album sessions, the group learned that ex-manager
Ian Reid Ian Reid may refer to:
* Ian Reid (skateboarder) (born 1977)
* Ian Reid (Alberta politician) (born 1931), former member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
* Ian Reid (Scottish clergyman), leader of the Iona Community 1967–1974
* Ian Reid ...
had incurred them an outstanding
value-added tax
A value-added tax (VAT), known in some countries as a goods and services tax (GST), is a type of tax that is assessed incrementally. It is levied on the price of a product or service at each stage of production, distribution, or sale to the end ...
bill of several hundred thousand pounds, and they immediately pursued litigation that would last for the next five years.
Concept and production
![Swindon 3 Loco Works 2088334 f3fad217](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Swindon_3_Loco_Works_2088334_f3fad217.jpg)
The intention for ''The Big Express'' was to "let the music have a more boisterous feel" and for the lyrics to be more worldly. 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
Swindon railway works was opened by the Great Western Railway in 1843 in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. It served as the principal west England maintenance centre until closed in 1986.
History
In 1835 Parliament approved the construction of the ...
. Working titles included ''Coalface'', ''Head of Steam'', ''Shaking Skin House'', ''Bastard Son of Hard Blue Rayhead'', ''The Known World'', ''Bull with the Golden Guts'', ''Mindless Sax and Violins'', and ''Under the Rusting North Star''. ''The Big Express'' was chosen for its double meaning, referring to
express train
An express train is a type of passenger train that makes a small number of stops between its origin and destination stations, usually major destinations, allowing faster service than local trains that stop at most or all of the stations alo ...
s and artistic expression. 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.'"
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.
Two were of a political bent ("This World Over" and "Reign of Blows"). The majority of Partridge's songs were composed on an
open E-tuned guitar
with a broken E string.
![Linn LM-1 Drum Computer large](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Linn_LM-1_Drum_Computer_large.jpg)
''The Big Express'' was recorded on a budget of £75,000 or £90,000 (equivalent to £ or £ in ) and on 24-track tape.
Sessions began in March 1984. As was the case for ''Mummer'',
the Glitter Band
The Glitter Band are a glam rock band from England, who initially worked as Gary Glitter's backing band under that name from 1973, when they then began releasing records of their own. They were unofficially known as the Glittermen on the first f ...
's
Pete Phipps was hired as a
session drummer for the band,
and the group continued making more use of exotic instrumentation, such as the
Mellotron they had purchased for that album.
Other keyboard instruments included a
Prophet-5
The Prophet-5 is an analog synthesizer manufactured by the American company Sequential (company), Sequential. It was designed by Dave Smith (engineer), Dave Smith and John S. Bowen (sound designer), John Bowen in 1977, who used Microprocessor, m ...
, a
Yamaha CP-80
The Yamaha CP-70 is an electric piano manufactured by Yamaha Corporation between 1976 and 1985. The instrument was based on earlier electric piano technology, but took advantage of improved pickups along with the company's longstanding experience ...
, and a
Roland JX-3P
The Roland JX-3P is a synthesizer produced by Roland Corporation of Japan from 1983-1985. The "3P" in its name refers to "Programmable Preset Polyphonic". It is notable as one of the company's first synthesizers (along with the Jupiter-6) to inc ...
owned by guitarist
Dave Gregory.
Some of ''The Big Express'' was recorded using a
Linn LM-1 Drum Computer and extensive time was spent on its programming.
Moulding played a
Wal
WAL or Wal may refer to:
Places
* Wał, Lublin Voivodeship, village in eastern Poland
* Wał, Masovian Voivodeship, village in east-central Poland
* Wales, constituent nation of the United Kingdom
* Wallonia, Walloon Region of Belgium
* Wallops F ...
bass that was one of the first guitars built with an active circuit, a component which boosts treble at the cost of bass, which was popular among 1980s musicians.
He used the bass on about four tracks and said that it provided a "middley, borpy sound I was after."
Tears for Fears
Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in Bath, England, in 1981 by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, Tears for Fears were associated with the new wav ...
, who were recording ''
Songs from the Big Chair
''Songs from the Big Chair'' is the second studio album by English pop rock band Tears for Fears, released on 25 February 1985 by Phonogram Records. The album peaked at number two in the UK and at number one in the US, becoming a multi-platinum s ...
'' (1985) at a nearby studio in the area, loaned the group an
E-mu Emulator
The Emulator is a series of digital sampling synthesizers using floppy disk storage, manufactured by E-mu Systems from 1981 until 2002. Though not the first commercial sampler, the Emulator was among the first to find wide use among ordinary mu ...
.
Session musician Stuart Gordon was brought in as violinist. Some overdubs were recorded at
Odyssey Studios
Odyssey Studios was a recording studio based near Marble Arch in London and opened in 1979. It was set up by Wayne Bickerton as an extension of State Records, the label he had set up with Tony Waddington (songwriter), Tony Waddington and John Frui ...
in London. Mixing was completed in early August by producer
Phil Thornalley
Philip Thornalley (born 5 January 1960) is an English songwriter-producer who has worked in the music industry since 1978. He is perhaps best known for co-writing (with Scott Cutler and Anne Preven) the song " Torn" (made famous by Natalie Imbr ...
at RAK Studio Two; Lord left the project a month earlier to fulfill a contract with
the Europeans
''The Europeans: A sketch'' is a short novel by Henry James, published in 1878. It is essentially a comedy contrasting the behaviour and attitudes of two visitors from Europe with those of their relatives living in the "new" world of New England ...
, a British band.
The end result returned the group to a brighter and uptempo sound
with arrangements denser than on any previous XTC album.
Gregory reflected: "we were thinking, 'What else can we put on this track' - even if it didn't need anything adding. David Lord was as bad as Andy for tarting things up when they didn't need tarting up." He remembered "a whole afternoon I spent trying to find the right hi-hat sound. It was stupid and the album lacks energy because of it!" Moulding felt the recording was not an enjoyable experience: "It was just too analytical. Andy tends to analyse down to the minutest detail. We'd be listening to bass drums all fuckin' day to see if they had any feel!" He described it as "the LinnDrum album" and added they had stopped "playing as a band" due to the reliance on overdubs. Partridge jokingly referred to some parts of the album as the only time the group were befallen with stereotypical 1980s-style production.
In Partridge's view, the group's
psychedelic influences were "leaking out" through the use of Mellotron,
phasing
A phaser is an electronic sound processor used to filter a signal, and it has a series of troughs in its frequency-attenutation graph. The position (in Hz) of the peaks and troughs are typically modulated by an internal low-frequency oscil ...
, and "backwards so-and-so".
One of the songs he wrote around this time was "Your Gold Dress", something he felt could possibly be worked into a 1960s psychedelic style, an idea that XTC would soon explore with
the Dukes of Stratosphear
The Dukes of Stratosphear were an English rock music, rock band formed in 1984 by Andy Partridge, Colin Moulding, Dave Gregory (musician), Dave Gregory, and Ian Gregory. Modelled after psychedelic pop groups from the 1960s, the Dukes were initi ...
side project.
Moulding offered the song "Shiny Cage", but it was rejected by the band, Partridge said, "because it was too stupidly Beatley - it was everything from ''
Revolver
A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...
'' all smashed into one song."
Songs
Side one
"Wake Up"
Partridge wrote all the songs on ''The Big Express'', except for "
Wake Up" and "I Remember the Sun", which were written by Moulding. "Wake Up" opens the album with guitars and piano followed by a chorus lyric that proclaims "who cares, you might be dead".
Dave Gregory commented: "We love confusing intros: records that start with a naked riff with no drum beat. And then when the drums come in, or the band comes in, it throws you completely."
To write the song, Moulding started with a three-note piano figure, which he then overdubbed with two guitar riffs: "The track didn't really happen until David Lord got hold of it. A local girl came in and sang the 'choir', tracked up a load of times."
"All You Pretty Girls"
"
All You Pretty Girls" is a kind of
sea shanty
A sea shanty, chantey, or chanty () is a genre of traditional Folk music, folk song that was once commonly sung as a work song to accompany rhythmical labor aboard large Merchant vessel, merchant Sailing ship, sailing vessels. The term ''shanty ...
centred on females.
According to Partridge, the song came about while he was "dicking around, playing some
Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
. ... I was just playing this little two-note, quasi-Hendrix thing, and I liked the inherent melody in it. It felt like a really archaic old folk melody."
With the exception of the opening, all the drum sounds in the recording were made with the LinnDrum, while the choir sounds were a Mellotron sample played out of a speaker inside a fire bucket.
Of the song's lyrics, he said that although they were "not quite autobiographical, it's me fantasizing about being my father, about being in the Navy."
"Shake You Donkey Up"
"Shake You Donkey Up" is a
hoedown
A hoedown is a type of American folk dance or square dance in duple meter, and also the musical form associated with it.
Overview
The most popular sense of the term is associated with Americans in rural or southeastern parts of the country, par ...
whose narrator is portrayed as a jilted lover.
Although the lyrics appear nonsensical, they are an autobiographical rumination on "unenlightened attitudes about women ... as mothers to be bullied or girlfriends who are going to get drunk and attack you." Partridge instructed Moulding to have the bass sound like the 1972
Jimmy Castor Bunch
James Walter Castor (January 23, 1940 – January 16, 2012) was an American funk, R&B, and soul musician. He is credited with vocals, saxophone and composition. He is best known for songs such as "It's Just Begun", "The Bertha Butt Boogie", and ...
song "
Troglodyte (Cave Man)
"Troglodyte (Cave Man)", originally released as "Troglodite", is a 1972 novelty funk song by the Jimmy Castor Bunch. In the US, it peaked at No. 4 on the R&B chart and No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100. ''Billboard'' ranked it ...
", "a great crunching bass line. So it's a homage to Jimmy, a sort of memory lift."
He also cited
Captain Beefheart
Don Van Vliet (; born Don Glen Vliet; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as Th ...
's "
Sure 'Nuff 'n' Yes I Do" (1967) as an influence. Phipps played a drum kit consisting of buckets and trays.
"Seagulls Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her"
"
Seagulls Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her
"Seagulls Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her" is a song written by Andy Partridge of the English rock band XTC, released on their 1984 album ''The Big Express''. Composed on a Mellotron using only three fingers, it was the first song he wrote on a keyboa ...
" marked another seaside-themed song.
It germinated from a piano riff found during the 1981 sessions for ''
English Settlement
''English Settlement'' is the fifth studio album and first double album by the English rock band XTC, released 12 February 1982 on Virgin Records. It marked a turn towards the more pastoral pop songs that would dominate later XTC releases, wit ...
''
and later composed on the band's Mellotron using only three fingers. Partridge commented on its unusual "dream"-like structure and recalled having the 1971
Joe Cocker
John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of son ...
song "
Marjorine
"Marjorine" is the ninth episode in the ninth season of the American animated television series '' South Park''. The 134th episode of the series overall, it originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on October 26, 2005.
Plot
Cartm ...
" in mind when he wrote it. He said that his lyrics to "Seagulls" were likely about
Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Fox Lichtenstein (; October 27, 1923 – September 29, 1997) was an American pop artist. During the 1960s, along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, and James Rosenquist among others, he became a leading figure in the new art movement. Hi ...
's then-girlfriend Erica Wexler, who would later become Partridge's wife.
Partridge met Wexler at the US premiere of the 1980 film ''
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...
'' and remembered: "I didn't want to think of it as love at first sight, because I'd only been married for something like six months, so it was a bit painful, you know? It was like, "'Shit! I'm ''married''!"
Steve Saunders, known for his work with
Michael Nyman
Michael Laurence Nyman, Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 23 March 1944) is an English composer, pianist, libretto, librettist, musicologist, and filmmaker. He is known for numerous film soundtrack, scores (many written during his length ...
, played the song's
euphonium
The euphonium is a medium-sized, 3 or 4-valve, often compensating, conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument that derives its name from the Ancient Greek word ''euphōnos'', meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced" ( ''eu'' means "well" o ...
solo.
"This World Over"
"This World Over" is a song protesting the use of
nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...
s
as a reaction to recent speeches by
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
, which instigated Partridge's fears of another
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
. Accordingly, "My first child was on the way and
just thought that, if I survived, how terrible it would be to have to tell her what life used to be like, that there was once a place called London and it was a fantastic place but it's not there anymore." One of the guitar parts is a slew of sustained feedback notes played through a Marshall amplifier. The "high stratospheric squeaking noises in the last verse", Partridge said, are
viola
The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...
harmonics played by session musician Stuart Gordon, who "saws the bow over at a harmonic point, very whistly, and that was put into a
olandChorus Echo. Glorious, reminiscent of birds and ... grand things."
All of the drums were samples. The guitar chords in this song are the same as those in "Complicated Game", from their earlier
Drums and Wires
''Drums and Wires'' is the third studio album by the English rock band XTC, released in 1979 on Virgin Records. It is a more pop-orientated affair than the band's previous, ''Go 2'' (1978), and was named for its emphasis on guitars ("wires") an ...
record.
Side two
"The Everyday Story of Smalltown"
![Bus DSC00893 (16198003067)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/Bus_DSC00893_%2816198003067%29.jpg)
"The Everyday Story of Smalltown" introduces side two with the sounds of
kazoo
The kazoo is an American musical instrument that adds a "buzzing" timbral quality to a player's voice when the player vocalizes into it. It is a type of '' mirliton'' (which itself is a membranophone), one of a class of instruments which modifi ...
and drums.
Partridge described the Swindon-inspired song as "all autobiographical", including the mention of a milkman who "lift
dhis foot off
heaccelerator. It woke me up one morning and I thought, That's got to go into a bloody song." Its sampled brass band marked the band's first use of an E-mu Emulator.
One of the guitar lines was taken from the Beatles' "
Fixing a Hole
"Fixing a Hole" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1967 album '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney.
Writing
In a 1968 interview, McCartney said th ...
" (1967). Gregory was enthused with the song and hoped it would have been released as a single, later opining that it was "twatted by a lousy mix". He said: "The big finale of the song features one of Andy's soon-to-be-favourite production techniques-- the over-layering of earlier vocal and instrumental themes as a counterpoint to the main chorus. It clatters off in jubilant canonic style, neatly cross-fading into the languid guitar introduction to 'I Bought Myself A Liarbird' -- a nice moment."
"I Bought Myself a Liarbird"
"I Bought Myself a Liarbird" is about Ian Reid, the band's former manager. The title is a pun on "
lyrebird
A lyrebird is either of two species of ground-dwelling Australian birds that compose the genus ''Menura'', and the family Menuridae. They are most notable for their impressive ability to mimic natural and artificial sounds from their environ ...
".
In the 1998 XTC biography ''Song Stories'', the song's entry simply states: "Due to a legal arrangement with their former management, XTC is unable to discuss the lyrical content of this song!"
"Reign of Blows"
"Reign of Blows", according to Partridge, "is about violent regimes," and so he decided to distort his vocals through an amplifier "to sound violent". The effect was disliked by Moulding and Gregory, and Virgin was against including the track on the album. Gregory surmised this was because the lyrics could be perceived as "anti-American".
Instrumentation included distorted guitar and harmonica, an open-E tuned guitar played in the style of
Keith Richards
Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...
, and a number of violin overdubs.
"You're the Wish You Are I Had"
"You're the Wish You Are I Had" features lyrics that may be about a character "going off his head" over a woman, possibly as part of an affair.
It was another song about Wexler, "and also probably some previous girlfriends as well," Partridge said. He likened the chorus to one of
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
's songs on ''
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' (1967): "I was still struggling at the time with this Beatle influence, which was getting bigger and bigger in me, and I was refusing to acknowledge it."
In a 1984 interview, he did acknowledge a fondness for "things with pounding piano, everything from
Velvet Underground
Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric
Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabri ...
's '
I'm Waiting for My Man', to things that people like the Beatles or
the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
did at any time -- I just love banana-fingers piano."
Gregory said that it was difficult to work out the keyboard part, which includes a "really weird" verse with a "
Cmaj7 sort of chord to it".
Farmer wrote: "The snare plays the hi-hat part, the bass plays a countermelody, the guitar solo twists and bends like
Adrian Belew
Robert Steven "Adrian" Belew (born December 23, 1949) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. A multi-instrumentalist primarily known as a guitarist and singer, he is noted for his unusual and impressionistic approach to ...
in a blender, and the piano chunkalunks like a pub
pianola."
"I Remember the Sun"
"I Remember the Sun" is of a more relaxed mood when compared to the rest of the album. It was inspired by Moulding's memory of a bully from his youth, Chrissy Orral, who believed that
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
s were planning to invade Swindon. Partridge said it "was about the fields that
olin Olin may refer to:
People
Organizations
* OLIN, American landscape architecture firm
* Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis
* Olin College, an undergraduate engineering college in Massachusetts
* Olin Corporation, a chemica ...
and I used to play over, next to the
Penhill
Penhill ( high at the trig point, at Height of Hazely) is a prominent hill, south west of Leyburn, in the Pennines, North Yorkshire, England. It forms a ridge that commands the southern side of Wensleydale and the northern side of Coverdale ...
council estate
Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council estates, council housing, or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011 when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in so ...
."
Moulding elaborated: "That piece of wasteland was immensely evocative in my imagination. My mum hated me getting wet, so I remember the sun because
was only allowed out when it was sunny. The sun was king." He originally conceived the song to be more rock-oriented, but because he was unsure of what direction the arrangement should go in, the final track came out "jazzy", which Partridge characterised as "the place you go when you're searching,"
"Train Running Low on Soul Coal"
"Train Running Low on Soul Coal" was the first song Partridge wrote for the album. He denied that he was inspired by
the Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm ...
' "
Last of the Steam-Powered Trains" (1968), explaining that the song was actually inspired by
the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
' "
Can't You Hear Me Knocking
"Can't You Hear Me Knocking" is a track by English rock band the Rolling Stones from their 1971 album ''Sticky Fingers''. The track is over seven minutes long, and begins with a Keith Richards open-G tuned guitar intro. The main song lasts ...
" (1971), and that he did not listen to any Kinks albums until several years later. Partridge called "Train Running Low" "possibly one of the most autobiographical songs I've ever written. I'm the train and I'm worried about losing my inspiration, I'm worried about losing my steam for the whole thing -- the whole XTC creative process."
The lyric states: "I'm a thirty year old puppy doing what I'm told and I'm told there's no more coal for the older engines".
The line "couple of empty carriages" is a possible reference to Moulding and Gregory.
Backwards echo and three 12-string guitars were used for the track.
The album ends with sounds that resemble a train falling apart.
Leftover
Other songs were produced but left off the album. "Thanks for Christmas" was a novelty song recorded to test Lord's potential as a producer for the band a few weeks before sessions commenced. According to Partridge, "I like the idea of anonymous music, and I thought I'd put together a song and then find an act to do it."
It is the only instance in the band's catalog where Partridge and Moulding share lead vocals. Originally, the group wanted to call themselves "the Virgin Marys", but the label objected. Another song, "Countdown to Christmas Party Time", was recorded to be its B-side. He described the song as "all-out stupid funky" and "ersatz
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
or something". Erica Wexler contributed backing vocals and David Lord is credited as "The Good Lord" on the record sleeve.
Three outtakes were relegated as B-sides to the album's singles. "Red Brick Dream" is an original poem about the
Great Western Railworks. Partridge set it to music after he was commissioned to write a song for a documentary about Swindon. In the film, he is shown performing the song at Crescent. "Washaway" was another Moulding song about growing up at Pen Hill and the first he wrote on a keyboard. He said: "'This is looking at people going about their business but not being where
should be—not being in school." "Blue Overall" saw Partridge drawing on
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
's reconfiguration of
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
music as originally played by black musicians. The lyrics are a commentary on critics who criticize "white boys" for singing the blues "and the rip-off sharks who infest music's murky waters".
Release
![Hugh Llewelyn 4003 (5368245926)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Hugh_Llewelyn_4003_%285368245926%29.jpg)
Virgin invested £33,000 into a music video for lead single "All You Pretty Girls",
which peaked at number 55 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
. ''The Big Express'' was released on 15 October 1984. First pressings of the vinyl were contained in a circular record sleeve as an homage to
the Small Faces
Small Faces were an English rock band from London, founded in 1965. The group originally consisted of Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston, with Ian McLagan replacing Winston as the band's keyboardist in 1966. The ...
' ''
Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake
''Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake'' is the third studio album, and only concept album by the English rock band Small Faces. Released on 24 May 1968, the LP peaked at number one on the UK Album Charts on 29 June, where it remained for a total of six we ...
'' (1968). For the inner sleeve, the members were photographed in
GWR outfits on the footplate of the ''
Lode Star'' train at the Swindon Railway Museum. XTC appeared on
Channel Four
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service i ...
's ''
Play at Home'' programme performing an acoustic version of "Train Running Low on Soul Coal".
Although the LP reached a higher chart position than ''Mummer'',
it sold a lesser number of copies.
The album spent two weeks on the UK charts, reaching number 38.
In the US, the album spent 7 weeks on the ''
Billboard 200
The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of ar ...
'' album charts and reached its peak position of number 178 in December 1984.
Within weeks of the album's release, the band's finances were depleted and further payments of advancements and royalties were frozen on account of the Reid litigation, forcing the group to subsist on short-term loans from Virgin. Partridge then conceived of a cheaply-budgeted project in which the group adopted pseudonyms and recorded several songs faithful to the style of 1960s psychedelia. The end product, ''
25 O'Clock'' (1985), was publicised as a collection of recordings by an older band called "the Dukes of Stratosphear".
''25 O'Clock'' ultimately sold twice as many copies as ''The Big Express'', even before the Dukes' identity was made public.
The second and last Dukes album, ''
Psonic Psunspot
''Psonic Psunspot'' is the second album by English rock band the Dukes of Stratosphear, released in 1987. Also counted as XTC's tenth studio album, it is a follow-up to '' 25 O'Clock'' (1985).
In 2002, the website ''Pitchfork'' listed the a ...
'' (1987), included "Shiny Cage", the Moulding song previously rejected for ''The Big Express''.
Critical reception
Contemporary
''The Big Express'' was met with little critical notice,
especially in the US. A reviewer for ''
CMJ New Music Report
CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...
'' wrote that the album was "mostly brilliant" and expressed hope that the band would gain the success and recognition they "fully deserv
. Ken Richardson of ''
Stereo Review
''Sound & Vision'' is an American magazine, purchased by AVTech Media Ltd. (UK) in March 2018, covering home theater, audio, video and multimedia consumer products. Before 2000, it had been published for most of its history as ''Stereo Review''. ...
'' described the album as a "neglected masterwork". Rick Miller of ''The Spectator'' raved in a full-page review that it was "the most exciting record I've heard in years, and I don't recommend it to anyone." He suggested that in the year 2084, XTC would be as widely acclaimed as the Beatles.
Writing for ''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...
'',
Robert Christgau
Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...
awarded the album a B score and recommended that the group write a
musical
Musical is the adjective of music.
Musical may also refer to:
* Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance
* Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
, "Which would keep them working at the proper scale and be the best thing for steam-powered trains
since Ray Davies."
Bernward Meier of the German ''
Musik Express
A Music Express is an amusement ride based on the original Caterpillar (ride), Caterpillar rides of Germany. Several near-identical ride designs are also produced by other companies: Musik Express by Italian company Bertazzon and US Majesti ...
'' awarded the album a perfect score and praised the music as a skillful balance between children's songs, "hard blues", syncopated melodies and psychedelia, highlighting "This World Over" as its "most beautiful" song. In the magazine ''
Smash Hits
''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...
'', guest writer
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then ...
penned a review of the follow-up single, "This World Over", that stated "XTC have stepped back from music industry machinations and are making better records."
Erica Wexler, then a reviewer for ''
Musician
A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...
'' magazine, suggested that "XTC is never short of ideas; their only real flaw is a propensity for crowding together too many. But in this day of pop cliché, I'd take XTC's
senses-working-overtime anytime. I just hope they're still not too far ahead of their time." In 1987, musician and writer
Dave Bidini
Dave Bidini (born September 11, 1963) is a Canadian musician and writer. Originally from Etobicoke, Ontario, he was a founding member of the rock band Rheostatics, and currently performs with Bidiniband. In addition, he has published several b ...
dubbed it perhaps "XTC's most humorless album - a sort of no-fun answer to the half-serious question asked on ''English Settlement''. ... Colin Moulding gets philosophy-weird and Andy Partridge sounds depressed; the direction of the band seems blurred."
Retrospective
In later years, Partridge said "I love that album and nobody ever mentions it. That and ''Mummer'' are the two ignored discs." Moulding viewed the album less favourably.
According to a ''
Mojo
Mojo may refer to:
* Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo
Arts, entertainment and media Film and television
* MOJO HD, an American television network
* ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film
* ' ...
'' journalist, the tedium of programming the LinnDrum patterns "sapped Colin and Dave's enthusiasm and it was years before Dave could bear to listen to the elaborately noisy result."
Gregory recalled that his immediate reaction to hearing "Smalltown" decades later was "Damn, this needs mixing!" He explained: "There is a lot of musical and verbal detail in the track, though much of it is buried and blurred, creating a flat, un-dynamic listening experience."
Reviewing ''The Big Express'' for
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
, Chris Woodstra said that XTC created "their most painstakingly detailed, multi-layered, sonically dynamic" work to that point, resulting in "a thoroughly consistent and enjoyable album beginning to end."
He also lamented that the 1986 follow-up ''
Skylarking
''Skylarking'' is the ninth studio album by the English rock band XTC, released 27 October 1986 on Virgin Records. Produced by American musician Todd Rundgren, it is a loose concept album about a nonspecific cycle, such as a day, a year, the s ...
'' "gets much more glory" whereas "this one was virtually ignored".
Dave Jennings of ''
Louder Than War
''Louder Than War'' is a music and culture website and magazine focusing on mainly alternative arts news, reviews, and features. The site is an editorially independent publication that was started by journalist John Robb in 2010 and is now ru ...
'' dubbed it a "masterpiece ... in a string of classic, innovative and hugely influential albums," highlighting the track "Seagulls" as "reason enough to label this album as 'classic'."
The song inspired the name of the Japanese
noise rock
Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...
band
Seagull Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her
Seagull Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her is a Japanese band formed by guitarist Aiha Higurashi in 1992. Beginning as a two-girl band in New York City with her friend Sachiko Ito, it was not until after they had played a few shows that the band got it ...
.
According to the ''
Chicago Reader
The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. It was founded by a ...
''s J.R. Jones, the album's songs rank "with the band's best work, but as a recording it's weighed down by the leaden drums".
''
Q''s Andrew Harrison described the record as "
overproduced" and "LinnDrum-plagued", while the ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
''s
Greg Kot
Greg Kot (born March 3, 1957) is an American music journalist and author. From 1990 until 2020, Kot was the rock music critic at the ''Chicago Tribune'', where he covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and busines ...
said it was "XTC at its most cynical and grating".
In a 2016 interview, ''Skylarking'' producer
Todd Rundgren
Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, multimedia artist, sound engineer and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the band Ut ...
said he also took issue with the lack of dynamics on ''Big Express'', which he believed came from Partridge's tendency to fill arrangements with as many ideas as possible. Music journalist
Alexis Petridis
Alexis Petridis ( el, Αλέξης Πετρίδης; born 13 September 1971) is a British journalist, head rock and pop critic for the UK newspaper ''The Guardian'', as well as a regular contributor to the magazine '' GQ''. In addition to his mus ...
referred to aborted tracks from
Blur's ''
Modern Life Is Rubbish
''Modern Life Is Rubbish'' is the second album by English alternative rock band Blur, released in May 1993. Although their debut album ''Leisure'' (1991) had been commercially successful, Blur faced a severe media backlash soon after its releas ...
'' (1993) as a disappointment for anyone "excited to hear
heir
Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...
abandoned sessions with XTC's Andy Partridge ... they sound exactly as you would expect ... like the XTC of An Everyday Story of Smalltown".
Demos, BBC Radio and Surround Sound edition
XTC compilations that feature previously unreleased tracks related to the album include ''
Drums and Wireless'' (versions of "Seagulls" and "Wish" recorded in 1984 for
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...
) and ''
Coat of Many Cupboards
''Coat of Many Cupboards'' is a box set by English rock band XTC, released in 2002. It acts as an anthology of their 15 years on Virgin Records. It is their first compilation of any kind to include tracks by their alter-ego, the Dukes of Strato ...
'' (home demos of "All You Pretty Girls" and "Wake Up"). Partridge's ''
Fuzzy Warbles
Fuzzy or Fuzzies may refer to:
Music
* Fuzzy (band), a 1990s Boston indie pop band
* Fuzzy (composer) (born 1939), Danish composer Jens Vilhelm Pedersen
* Fuzzy (album), ''Fuzzy'' (album), 1993 debut album by the Los Angeles rock group Grant Lee ...
'' series included home demos of "Liarbird" (
volume one), "Wish" (
volume two), "Countdown to Christmas" (
volume four), "Smalltown" (
volume five Volume Five, Volume 5, Volume V can represent:
* '' Volume 5: Anatomic''
* ''Volume Five'', an album published by ''Volume'' magazine
*Jock Jams, Volume 5
''Jock Jams, Volume 5'' is the fifth album in the ''Jock Jams'' compilation album series.
...
), "Seagulls" (
volume seven), "Shake You Donkey Up" and "Reign of Blows" (both ''
Hinges
A hinge is a mechanical bearing that connects two solid objects, typically allowing only a limited angle of rotation between them. Two objects connected by an ideal hinge rotate relative to each other about a fixed axis of rotation: all other ...
'').
Throughout the 2010s, the band's catalog was reissued, one album at a time, in the form of deluxe packages centred on new stereo and
surround sound
Surround sound is a technique for enriching the fidelity and depth of sound reproduction by using multiple audio channels from speakers that surround the listener ( surround channels). Its first application was in movie theaters. Prior to sur ...
mixes by
Steven Wilson
Steven John Wilson (born 3 November 1967) is an English musician. He is the founder, guitarist, lead vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Porcupine Tree, as well as being a member of several other bands, including Blackfield, Storm Corrosio ...
.
In 2022 the Big Express multi track tapes previously thought to be missing were located and the album is due to be next in the series with a projected late 2023 release.
Track listing
Note
*CD issues prior to 2001 placed the bonus tracks between the original sides one and two of the album.
*Original release information for bonus tracks sourced from ''Chalkhills and Children'' (1992), by Chris Twomey.
Personnel
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.
XTC
*
Andy Partridge
Andrew John Partridge (born 11 November 1953) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer who founded the rock music, rock band XTC. He and Colin Moulding each acted as a songwriter and frontman for XTC, with Partridge writi ...
– vocals, guitar,
LinnDrum
The LinnDrum, also referred to as the LM-2, is a drum machine manufactured by Linn Electronics between 1982 and 1985. About 5,000 units were sold.
Its high-quality samples, flexibility and affordability made the LinnDrum popular; it sold far m ...
, harmonica, sleeve design
*
Colin Moulding
Colin Ivor Moulding (born 17 August 1955) is an English bassist, singer, and songwriter who was one of the core members of the rock band XTC. Though he was less prolific a songwriter than his bandmate Andy Partridge, Moulding wrote their first t ...
– vocals, bass
*
Dave Gregory – guitar, piano,
Mellotron, synthesizer
Additional personnel
*
Peter Phipps – drums
*
Stuart Gordon
Stuart Alan Gordon (August 11, 1947 – March 24, 2020) was an American filmmaker, theatre director, screenwriter, and playwright. Initially recognized for his provocative and frequently controversial work in experimental theatre, Gordon is perh ...
–
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
,
viola
The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...
* Annie Huchrak – female choir voice on "Wake Up"
* Steve Saunders –
euphonium
The euphonium is a medium-sized, 3 or 4-valve, often compensating, conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument that derives its name from the Ancient Greek word ''euphōnos'', meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced" ( ''eu'' means "well" o ...
on "Seagulls Screaming Kiss Her, Kiss Her"
Technical
*
David Lord – production (except "Red Brick Dream"), engineering, mixing, choir arrangement on "Wake Up"
*XTC – production, mixing
*Glenn Tommey – additional engineering
*
Phil Thornalley
Philip Thornalley (born 5 January 1960) is an English songwriter-producer who has worked in the music industry since 1978. He is perhaps best known for co-writing (with Scott Cutler and Anne Preven) the song " Torn" (made famous by Natalie Imbr ...
– mixing
*Matt Barry – mixing assistant
*Gavin Cochrane – sleeve photography
*Ken Ansell – sleeve design
*The Design Clinic – sleeve assembly
Charts
References
Bibliography
*
*
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Big Express
Big Express, The
Big Express, The
Virgin Records albums
Concept albums
Progressive pop albums