REVIEW: XTC, Homespun (TVT)
- Wes Long
When his nearly debilitating bout of stage fright derailed the incessantly touring bullet train that was XTC in the early 80's, Andy Partridge happily resigned himself to the role of studio wizard. Content to mimic Oz's man behind the curtain, Andy would be the first to tell you to pay him no attention, it's the music, not the man that matters. This was ever evident when the lads from Swindon returned from a somewhat self imposed seven year musical hiatus with Apple Venus Volume 1, a sparkling release chock-full of courage, heart and brains that easily found a home on the short list of 1999's better recordings.
While the promise of Apple Venus Volume 2 looms on the horizon, slated for a spring 2000 release date, the duo (trio minus longtime guitar guru Dave Gregory) have released a quick fix to stave off the ensuing withdrawal symptoms in their piranha rabid fan base. Homespun offers the fans a glimpse at AV1 in its original 8-track home demo form. With identical track sequence, Homespun contains extensive liner notes for each song written by Andy and bassist Colin Moulding as well as hand written lyrics complete with furious scratch marks and corrections. The packaging couldn't be nicer, and in keeping with the title and idea of the disc the cover art is a cross-stitch version of the peacock feathered AV1 cover.
In the words of Mr. Partridge: "We put together Homespun because everyone likes to be voyeuristic, and XTC admirers more than anyone else seem to have a voyeuristic streak. So we thought we'd treat them to a look at our sketches for AV1 - though most fans probably already have them in tenth-generation bootlegged cassettes. The spooky thing is it doesn't sound all that different from the finished product. Does this mean that we are 8-track demogods?" Yes Andy, judging by the quality of the demos, it does.
Homespun is a must have for any fan of the band, and surprisingly not a bad place to start for the XTC novice. Though they gilded the lily a bit by hiring a producer to clean up and master their original demos, what you get here is XTC stripped down to the bare minimum, and that's something not heard since the early days of the band.
XTC fans have come to expect the unexpected over the twenty something year career of the band that rarely records and refuses to tour. That XTC could survive a period of more than two decades having dangerously little commercial success is a tribute to their music. Homespun is a tribute to their fans.
