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"English Settlement" was perhaps the work that put Andy Partridge on the same song-writing level as Elvis Costello. Colin Moulding, too, the group's bassist and other song-writer, holds his own here as well. There's literally been no one like them before or since.

No matter what mood I'm in or where I am, if someone suggests putting this on the CD player, I never say, "No."

If you love XTC, this CD will be uppermost in your collection. If you're just starting out, after you've sampled "Upsy Daisy Assortment", try "English Settlement". You'll be enchanted; you'll be hooked; you'll wonder why the hell you're listening to anyone else.

The world needs more XTC.


The best album NOT in your collection.   February 16, 2001
 12 out of 13 found this review helpful

This is the seminal XTC album: the one that came after Andy Partridge got an acoustic guitar but before he had his nervous breakdown. It's a truly amazing piece of work that belongs in the collection of anyone who likes any kind of rock music.

Songs range from mellow and pensive ("All Of A Sudden (It's Too Late)") to kick-out-the-stops, rock the house ("No Thugs In Our House"), from pure pop mastery ("Senses Working Overtime") to a melding of worldwide influences ("It's Nearly Africa," "English Roundabout").

"Snowman" will have you crying in your beer, cursing that woman that we've all known and tried to love.

Buy it. Buy it now.


Early 80's XTC   August 26, 2003
 9 out of 10 found this review helpful

Ahhh the 80's....clover cigs (they were awful), embarrassing haircuts (ditto), foul smelling clubs well...they're still around. So is this fine document. It's a closing chapter in XTC's history. This was the last album the band toured behind; this was the last album to feature drummer Terry Chambers as a full time member (he quit while recording Mummer); this was the last album to feature the band's quirky "new wave" sound.

Senses Working Overtime was the perfect single to close out the first phase of the band's career; it features everything that was so marvelous about the band's first 5 albums. Andy Partridge's stunted mini-melodies and odd lyrical pharsing had become something of a trademark (as had Colin Moulding's catchy 3 minute singles...something that main songwriter Partridge was occasionally jealous about).

This double album (on 1 CD) features the original artwork and replicas of the original LP sleeves. Just about every song is a classic. While the sound and production are a bit stark (and, in fact, prefigure Hugh Padgham's work on Phil Collins Face Value and echo his engineering work on XTC's previous album Black Sea), the strong songs carry the day for the band.

This was an uncertain time for the band. They were poised to make a major breakthrough due to a catchy, quirky single and MTV video. Touring had just about killed Partridge and reduced him to a mess at the end (he had horrible stage fright). This album still opened a lot of doors some of which would be closed (most of radio). Luckily, those that did close their doors were forced to open them again when Dear God became an unexpected hit single (relatively speaking--it never broke the top 50 in the US but garnered much attention and airplay due to its topic).

While English Settlement sounds unfinished to some of the former band members (Dave Gregory's opinion if I recall correctly), it also acts as a perfect snapshot of the band as they were poised to make the breakthrough to success just as The Police had. It probably never would have happened. Partridge's energy and artistic nature meant he would never compromise the way Sting did. Still it's a fine album that captures your heart and attention.


A heartbreaking work of staggering genius   December 31, 2000
 8 out of 9 found this review helpful

Bitter waves of regret tug at my soul whenever I listen to this record and imagine what it could have done for XTC had an overstressed and fatigued Andy Partidge not been struck by stage fright shortly after its release in 1982. If ever you wanted a concrete example of how unfair life can be, look no further than the double album that is "English Settlement". After years of slogging their guts out on tour and producing a series of quirky yet deeply flawed records, the quartet that was XTC headed into 1982 in sore need of a breakthrough work. "English Settlement" -- which despite its weak spots also includes perhaps the finest song written in the last quarter century -- was the album that should have turned XTC into a super group. It was released 18 years ago and nothing I have heard since remotely comes close to equalling it in power, intelligence and musical proficiency. As an indictment of the sheer emptiness, mindlessness and nastiness eating away at the innards of modern English society, this work of art stands unparallelled. But what still surprises me about "English Settlement" is how fantastically well constructed it is and just what good musicians these four young men were. Not a chord misplaced, nary a sloppy drumbeat, every song a crystal-clear masterpiece of production to be cherished, every song a seemingly simple silver spoon which on further inspection turns out to be covered in incredibly detailed filigree. Some of these tracks are worth listening to just for the pleasure of finding an unexpected guitar riff or fleeting keyboard solo hidden somewhere in the background. This said, we need to be honest. Of the 15 songs on this record, there are only eight you can listen to easily. Andy Partridge seems to have been allergic to the concept of commercialisation and every early XTC work included a few tracks which charitably could be described as challenging. His writing on "English Settlement" ranges wildly from the inspired to the embarrassing ("Life is like a firework, you're only lit once", I mean for heaven's sake, how trite) and a few tracks are best just skipped. But when he hits the right seam, this man mines the best coal you'll ever burn. What I love about the best XTC songs is their sheer exuberance, the twists and turns, the knowledge that you're in the hands of a musical master possessed by an extraordinary muse who has been let loose in a studio and allowed to do what he wants. The overall tone of this work is both troubled and troubling, dark, nervously inquiring, puzzled, imploring, occasionally upbeat and always full of unsettled energy. Even shorn of its best song, "English Settlement" is a solid contender for one of the Top 200 albums of all time. That gives you an idea of this record's underlying strength. What propels it into the stratosphere is the fantastic, the miraculous, the chillingly extraordinary "Senses Working Overtime", a barely suppressed cry of pain from an oversensitive soul marvelling at the earth's cruel beauty which comes closer to uncovering the core of the human spirit than any other I have ever heard. Many, many years ago I remember watching a televised soccer match between Belgium and Scotland when, out of nothing, a Scottish player scored one of the finest goals ever seen in the sport's history. On the channel I was watching all you could hear was an awe-struck commentator saying "Aaaaahhhhhh" and that's how I feel every time I listen to "Senses Working Overtime". If I were a songwriter and heard that song for the first time, I would snap my pencils, shut the piano lid and change careers. And yet despite all this XTC remained in the musical shadows, hamstrung by their failure to tour live and build on the initial success of "English Settlement". Other interesting and worthwhile works followed, notably "Skylarking", but to my mind the mainspring had already been snapped. Other XTC fans will disagree with me, I know, but to my mind the band never again produced anything remotely as revolutionary or interesting as "English Settlement".


Out of the Waxworks   October 28, 1999
 7 out of 7 found this review helpful

After Andy Partridge's battle with stage fright caused the band to suspend touring permanently, XTC walked back into the studio for the fifth time... and for the first time, they created an album that doesn't rely on simplicity, or noise, or catchy pop rhythms and lyrics. They bought new instruments and defined a new sound. English Settlement ends what some XTC fans refer to as the "Waxworks" era; Partridge and company molded themselves to the studio act flawlessly, and this album represents some of their best songwriting. Anti-violence themes permeate the recording, while non-Western rhythms and uncanny instrumentational variety give this album the richest, most appealing sound of any XTC work to date. English Settlement is a carefree march through the flower bed of pop culture; a must-have for any 80's rock fan.