XTC

The Big Express BURNING SHED

JEREMY ALLEN

Neglected 80s progressive pop gem gets the Wilson treatment. In 1984, seven albums deep into their career, things weren’t quite going XTC’s way. Having been chastened by the indifference that greeted 1983’s Mummer, the Wiltshire progressive art-rockers stubbornly sought to up the ante with follow-up The Big Express, a concept record largely influenced by their hometown Swindon and its famous railway shed, Swindon Works. “A stubbornly baroque album with a wilful lack of restraint.” Train Running Low On Soul Coal became the spring from which the songs would flow, with chief songwriter Andy Partridge exploring his existential tribulations through the titular metaphor over a chugging, industrial sample. It wasn’t all insular parochialism – This World Over addresses geopolitics, and in particular the oh-so-80s topic of the proliferation of nuclear warheads…

You're reading a preview of

Prog Italia (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 144

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.