Drums and Wires

Drums and Wires
Studio album by XTC
Released	17 August 1979
Recorded	June–July 1979 at The Town House, London
Genre	New wave
Length	46:57
Label	Virgin Records
Producer	Steve Lillywhite
XTC chronology
Go 2 (1978) Drums and Wires (1979) Black Sea (1980)
Singles from Drums and Wires
"Making Plans for Nigel" Released: September 1979

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	A− [2]
Rolling Stone	(favourable) [3]
Smash Hits	9/10[4]

Drums and Wires is the third studio album by the English band XTC, released on 17 August 1979. It reached No. 34 on the UK album chart, and No. 176 on the U.S. Billboard album charts. It contained the successful single "Making Plans for Nigel", which was released on 14 September 1979, and reached No. 17 on the UK singles chart. It also contained the original recording of "Ten Feet Tall", a re-recorded version of which was released in March 1980 in the U.S. only, as their first American single, designed to coincide with the band's first American tour. Certain versions of the album also include "Life Begins at the Hop", which was released on 27 April 1979, and reached No. 54 on the UK singles chart.

The album was rated #38 on Pitchfork Media's The Top Albums of the 1970s list.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Andy Partridge, except where noted. 

The first 20,000 copies of the LP were bundled with a free 7" single, "Chain of Command" / "Limelight". The song "Life Begins at the Hop" (Moulding), released as a 7" single before the original LP's release, appears on some international versions of the album, either as an insertion or a substitution. All three songs were later included on CD reissues starting in 1989.

UK and Canadian vinyl editions came with an insert featuring lyrics to all the songs on Drums and Wires as well as XTC's previous albums, Go 2 and White Music, although it didn't list which album each song came from.

The 2001 reissue CD was digitally remastered by Ian Cooper at Metropolis Mastering.

The final song from this LP, "Complicated Game", made its way onto television in 2014 as non-diegetic source music in the premier episode of AMC's Halt and Catch Fire, which aired June 1, 2014.

The album was reissued on CD and Blu-ray in October 2014, boasting a new stereo and 5.1 Surround Sound mix of the album from renowned remixer Steven Wilson as well as new liner notes from liner notes by Partridge, Moulding and Gregory, alternate mixes and nearly 40 demo and rehearsal tracks. Andy Partridge said of the new mix; “It's so good it’s upped my opinion of the album”.

Personnel

• Andy Partridge - vocals, guitars, synthesizers
• Colin Moulding - vocals, bass
• Dave Gregory - guitars, keyboards, background vocals
• Terry Chambers - drums, percussion, background vocals

with:

• Andy Partridge, Colin Moulding, Dave Gregory, Terry Chambers, Steve Warren, Hugh Padgham, Al Clark, Jumbo Van Reinen - Vernon Yard Male Voice Choir on "Roads Girdle the Globe"
• Dick Cuthell - trumpet on "That is the Way"
• Steve Lillywhite - producer
• Hugh Padgham - engineer

Cover versions

"Making Plans for Nigel" and "Scissor Man" have both been covered by Primus on their EPs Miscellaneous Debris and Rhinoplasty, respectively. "Making Plans for Nigel" has also been covered by Robbie Williams on his single Old Before I Die, by The Rembrandts on the tribute album A Testimonial Dinner: The Songs of XTC, by Nouvelle Vague on their self-titled debut album, by Burning Heads on their self-titled debut album and by Pitchshifter on their single Genius. The Nigel character was later referenced by The Enemy in the 2009 song "Be Somebody".

References