From Library Journal
Best known in the United States for their controversial 1986 hit "Dear God," Britain's XTC ranks as one of pop music's most enigmatic and talented bands. In their own words, the three current members give a song-by-song memoir covering the band's entire career, including their upcoming album, the first in seven years. Taking an analytical approach, the book never attempts serious musical analysis, but even the most banal stories are made fresh and hilarious by the wit of XTC leader Andy Partridge. With the exception of a harrowing chapter detailing Partridge's 1982 nervous breakdown and the band's subsequent retirement from live performance, the book touches lightly on biographical information. For more details on XTC's history, refer to Chris Twomey's XTC: Chalkhills and Children (Omnibus, 1992). Essential for diehard fans but of limited broader appeal.?Lloyd Jansen, Stockton-San Joaquin Cty. P.L., CA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Booklist
One day you're the hottest thing on MTV, the next you're an episode of VH-1's Behind the Music. XTC is the pithy English band that soared in the '80s, moving Peter Gabriel to designate them "one of the great British bands." Coauthoring this recapitulation of the XTC experience with members of the band, veteran rock scribe Farmer differs from Gabriel only by limiting XTC's preeminence to within Britain. Objective or not, this is a pretty good rock-group bio that plumbs the meanings and details of every XTC lyric, tour, and squabble. That is a strategy that will best accommodate committed fans but may seem like overkill for more casual readers, although engaging reportage compensates some. XTC won fame during a now-overlooked era in rock, but its work is no less important for that unfortunate timing. Fans eager to know the inside stories and attendant brouhaha of songs like "Dear God" will be sated; the less committed will be educated in the inner workings of '80s rock fame. Mike Tribby
