Top Artists – XTC

English Settlement – A Sonic Tour de Force

More of the Music of XTC

This is an AMAZINGLY well-recorded album, with huge amounts of open studio space and that Tubey Magical, rich, fat, dense British Rock Sound. That sound isn’t easy to reproduce, but this copy absolutely nails it. Nothing else in our shootout came close to it!

If you have big speakers and the room to play them, this is quite the sonic tour de force. Credit Hugh Padgham, producer and engineer, who’s worked with the likes of Peter Gabriel, Genesis, The Police, Yes and Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Those bands make the kind of music that make good use of Padgham trademark sound: wall-to-wall, deep, layered, smooth, rich and stuffed to the gills. XTC with Padgham’s help have here produced a real steamroller of an album in English Settlement.

The big hit on this album is one that most audiophiles will probably know: Senses Working Overtime. Even over the radio you can hear how dense the production is. Imagine what it sounds like on an original British pressing with Hot Stampers, played on a modern audiophile rig. We can tell you: IT ROCKS. (more…)

What to Listen For on English Settlement

Hot Stamper Pressings of Arty Rock Albums Available Now

For big production rock albums such as this there are obvious problems that are heard on at least one or two sides of practically any copy of this four-sided album you might find on your turntable.

With so many heavily-produced instruments crammed into the soundfield, if the sound is at all veiled, recessed or smeared — problems common to 90+% of the records we play in our shootouts — the mix quickly becomes opaque, forcing the listener to work too hard to separate out the various elements of musical interest.

Irritation, if not exhaustion, is bound to follow.

Some general observations about the sound of the album:

  • Transparency, clarity and presence are key.
  • None of the British copies we played was thin and anemic.
  • The domestic copies are made from dubs and can’t begin to compete.
  • Almost all the copies we played had plenty of Tubey Magic and bottom end, so thankfully that was almost never a problem.
  • They did however tend to lack top end extension and transparency, and many were overly compressed.
  • There is plenty of tube compression being used in both the mixing and mastering, but most of the time it is working its magic to keep the bass big, punchy and loud. 

Speaking of Tube Compression

Robert Ludwig used humungous amounts of tube compression on another favorite album of ours, and we’re glad he did. All that massive compression is at least partly responsible for it being one of the ten best sounding rock and pop albums ever made.

The sides that had sound that jumped out of the speakers, with driving rhythmic energy, worked the best for us. They really brought this complex music to life and allowed us to make sense of it. This is yet another definition of a Hot Stamper — it’s the copy that lets the music work as music. (more…)

XTC – English Settlement

More XTC

More Arty Rock Albums

  • With outstanding Double Plus (A++) grades or close to them on all FOUR sides, these early Virgin UK import pressings will be very hard to beat – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • You won’t believe how good these records sound (particularly on sides two and three) – on a big system with lots of firepower down low, this is a sonic tour de force, a monster Demo Disc
  • Sides two and three of this copy have huge amounts of open studio space and that Tubey Magical, rich, fat, dense, bass-heavy British Rock Sound we love, and sides one and four aren’t far behind in all those areas
  • It takes us years to get this shootout going – what happened to all the clean British pressings? They have disappeared over the last five years it seems
  • 4 stars: “There are plenty of pop gems – ‘Senses Working Overtime’ stands as one of their finest songs — but the main focus seems to be the more expansive sound…the textural sound of the album is quite remarkable.”

This is an AMAZINGLY well-recorded album, with huge amounts of open studio space and that Tubey Magical, rich, fat, dense British Rock Sound. That sound isn’t easy to reproduce, but this copy absoluely nails it. Nothing else in our shootout came close to it!

If you have big speakers and the room to play to play them good and loud , this is quite the sonic tour de force.

Credit Hugh Padgham, producer and engineer, who’s worked with the likes of Peter Gabriel, Genesis, The Police, Yes and Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Those bands recorded music that makes good use of Padgham’s trademark sound: wall-to-wall, deep, layered, smooth, rich and stuffed to the gills. XTC, with Padgham’s help, have here produced a real steamroller of an album in English Settlement.

The big hit on this album is one that most audiophiles will probably know: “Senses Working Overtime.” Even over the radio you can hear how dense the production is. Imagine what it sounds like on an original British pressing with Hot Stampers, played on a modern audiophile rig. Simply put, IT ROCKS.

What We’re Listening For On English Settlement

For big production rock albums such as this there are some obvious problem areas that are often heard on at least one or two sides of practically any copy of this four-sided album.

With so many heavily-produced instruments crammed into the soundfield, if the overall sound is at all veiled, recessed or smeared — problems common to 90+% of the records we play in our shootouts — the mix quickly becomes opaque, forcing the listener to work too hard to separate out the elements of interest. Exhaustion, especially on this album, soon follows.

(more…)

XTC / Nonsuch – Reviewed in 2005

Two Virgin British Import LPs from 1992.

Playing this album I was strongly reminded of one of my all time favorites: Jellyfish’s Spilt Milk. Since that album came out a year after this one, there’s a very good chance they were influenced by this XTC record.

If you like this one you will probably like that one and vice versa.

This is an Older Review.

Most of the older reviews you see are for records that did not go through the shootout process, the revolutionary approach to finding better sounding pressings we developed in the early 2000s and have since turned into a fine art.

We found the records you see in these older listings by cleaning and playing a pressing or two of the album, which we then described and priced based on how good the sound and surfaces were. (For out Hot Stamper listings, the Sonic Grades and Vinyl Playgrades are listed separately.)

(more…)

XTC / Drums and Wires – Reviewed in 2010

This is an original Minty Virgin British Import LP that includes a bonus 7-inch single. The record plays quietly and sounds EXCELLENT! 

“The album that followed the lineup change, Drums and Wires, marks a turning point for the band, with a more subdued set of songs that reflect an increasing songwriting proficiency. The aimless energy of the first two albums is focused into a cohesive statement with a distinctive voice that retains their clever humor, quirky wordplay, and decidedly British flavor.” – AMG

This is an Older Review.

Most of the older reviews you see are for records that did not go through the shootout process, the revolutionary approach to finding better sounding pressings we developed in the early 2000s and have since turned into a fine art.

We found the records you see in these older listings by cleaning and playing a pressing or two of the album, which we then described and priced based on how good the sound and surfaces were. (For out Hot Stamper listings, the Sonic Grades and Vinyl Playgrades are listed separately.)

(more…)