Gifted with great chops and a fine ear for melody, XTC was and remains one of my favorite bands to come out of England in the mid-70s. Too poppy for punk and too quirky and smart for the mainstream, XTC stood apart from most everything going on around them. At a time when hard angles and rough energy dominated the London and NYC scenes, the lads from Swindon seemed to be on a Beatles and Kinks high. Kind of like the Buzzcocks with visions of grandeur. The tunes catchier than hell and the lyrics dipped in candy- colored psychedelia.

1. “Respectable Street”
2. “Towers of London”
3. “Runaways”
4. “Jason and the Argonauts”
5. “Burning With Optimism’s Flames”
6. “Snowman”
7. “Ball And Chain”
8. “Sgt. Rock (Is Going to Help Me)”
9. “No Thugs In Our House”
10. “Senses Working Overtime”
11. “Making Plans For Nigel”
12. “Living Through Another Cuba”
13. “Generals and Majors”
14. “Real By Reel”
15. “Life Begins At The Hop”

XTC performs for ‘Rockpalast’ on German TV in 1982. The performance lacks the delicacies of XTC on record, but it is very fine none-the-less.