XTC "Coat of Many Cupboards" boxset

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This is pretty much as close to an "I can die happy now" box-set for ultra XTC geeks. This includes fans of the really early stuff as well as the later prettier stuff. Here's the tracklisting:

Disc 1:
1. Science Friction (CBS Demo)
2. Spinning Top (Live @ Eric's, Liverpool - 1977)
3. Traffic Light Rock (Live @ Eric's, Liverpool - 1977)
4. Radios In Motion (From White Music)
5. Let's Have Fun (White Music out take)
6. Fireball XL5/Fireball Dub (White Music out take)
7. Heatwave Mk.2 Deluxe (White Music out take)
8. This Is Pop (Single version)
9. Are You Receiving Me? (Go 2 out take)
10. Things Fall To Bits (Go 2 out take)
11. Us Being Us (Go 2 out take)
12. Life Begins At The Hop (First rehearsal - extract)
13. Life Begins At The Hop (First recording, unused)
14. Making Plans For Nigel (Demo from Swindon Town Hall)
15. Ten Feet Tall (From Drums and Wires)
16. Sleepyheads (Drums and Wires out take)

Disc 2:
1. Meccanik Dancing (Live @ The Marconi Club, Sydney,1979)
2. Atom Age/Hang Onto The Night/Neon Shuffle (medley) (Live @ The Marconi Club, Sydney,1979)
3. Life Begins At The Hop (Unused US single recording)
4. Reel By Real (Unused single recording)
5. When You're Near Me I Have Difficulty (Unused single recording)
6. Helicopter (DJM version) Unused US single recording)
7. Towers of London (Rejected single recording)
8. Generals and Majors (Rehearsal tape)
9. No Language In Our Lungs (From Black Sea)
10. Sgt. Rock Is Going To Help Me (From Black Sea)
11. Paper and Iron (Live @ The Lyceum, London, 1980)
12. Crowded Room (Live @ The Lyceum. London, 1980)
13. Senses Working Overtime (Early work tape)=20
14. Snowman (Live @ The Hammersmith Odeon, 1981)
15. Ball and Chain (Unused single recording)

Disc 3:
1. Punch and Judy (Unused single recording)
2. Fly On The Wall (From English Settlement)
3. Yacht Dance (Live on The Old Grey Whistle Test,1982)
4. Jason and The Argonauts (From English Settlement)
5. Love On A Farmboy's Wages (Demo)
6. Wonderland (Home demo)
7. Ladybird (From Mummer)
8. All You Pretty Girls (Home demo)
9. Wake Up (Home demo)
10. The Everyday Story Of Smalltown (From The Big Express)
11. Grass (Demo)
12. Let's Make A Den (Home demo)
13. The Meeting Place (Home demo)
14. Dear God (Band demo)

Disc 4:
1. Brainiac's Daughter (from Psonic Psunspot version)
2. Vanishing Girl (from Psonic Psunspot version)
3. Terrorism (Home demo)=20
4. Find The Fox (Home demo)
5. Season Cycle (From Skylarking)
6. The Troubles (Home demo)
7. Mayor Of Simpleton (Early work tape)
8. King For A Day (Home demo)
9. Chalkhills And Children (From Oranges & Lemons)
10. The Ballad Of Peter Pumpkinhead (Early home demo)
11. Omnibus (From Nonsuch)
12. The Disappointed (Home demo)
13. Bungalow (From Nonsuch)
14. Didn't Hurt A Bit (Nonsuch out take)
15. Books Are Burning (Live on the BBC's The Late Show, 1992

...

Just started listening to it now... Ooooooh yeah.

― donut bitch (donut), Sunday, 6 April 2003 02:14 (twenty-two years ago)

It's amazing. I had to trade back 12 used cds and $6 to buy it last summer, but I'm glad I did.

― paul cox (paul cox), Sunday, 6 April 2003 02:26 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm kinda excited because I finally get to hear the two of the other songs written by Barry Andrews for the "Go 2" album. (The story goes.. Barry decided to start writing songs for XTC and wanted to steer the band in his direction. Andy of course declared war, and soon enough, Barry booked after "Go 2". They're both friends now, but wrote hilarious liner notes regarding their feelings for each other then..)

― donut bitch (donut), Sunday, 6 April 2003 02:29 (twenty-two years ago)

I like this set but I was disappointed that it didn't have more unreleased material. Or more live recordings. In terms of bootleg XTC stuff, "this is my shitty acoustic demo recording of a song that I completely nailed on the real album" tracks are my least favorite, and there was a lot of that here.

For that reason, my favorite XTC box remains the Transistor Blast set - 2 CDs of BBC in-studio live recordings, and 2 concert CDs. Amazing stuff. And the Fuzzy Warbles set is looking great so far. Some of Partridge's never-released-in-any-form demos are unbelievable; I started finding them online last year and was just totally floored. "Young Cleopatra"? "Rip Van Ruben"? I can't wait 'til he gets to those.

Nice all-purposes box though. The liner notes are great.

― Chris Dahlen (Chris Dahlen), Sunday, 6 April 2003 13:31 (twenty-two years ago)

I have the first two Fuzzy Warbles, they're grand -- how many of them so far?

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 6 April 2003 13:47 (twenty-two years ago)

They just announced the track-listing for 3 and 4 (start here for all news and updates, and here you can find the tracklistings for those two). I think there'll be something like ten or more when he's done.

― Chris Dahlen (Chris Dahlen), Sunday, 6 April 2003 15:47 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, it's great. Although does anyone else have this problem with boxsets: Because it doesn't slot in with your CD's (`cos, y'know, it's in a big box better suited to a bookshelf or a coffee table) that you forget you have it and, thusly, don't play it so often?

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Sunday, 6 April 2003 15:53 (twenty-two years ago)

I totally agree with you, Alex. That's why I like box sets like Nick Drake's Five Leaves Left, because it's the height of CDs so I can put it in with the rest of my collection, but my other sets that come in boxes, sit beside my collection collecting dust.

― Jonathan, Monday, 7 April 2003 00:51 (twenty-two years ago)

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