Complicated Game: Inside the Songs of XTC (Jawbone) Review | Under the Radar Magazine Under the Radar | Music Blog for the Indie Music Magazine
Sunday, April 28th, 2024  
Subscribe

Andy Partridge and Todd Bernhardt

Complicated Game: Inside the Songs of XTC

Published by Jawbone

Apr 18, 2016 Web Exclusive By Hays Davis Bookmark and Share


Few bands have enjoyed the level of fan devotion directed at XTC, and Complicated Game certainly speaks directly to those people. But thanks to the tone of its author, XTC founder/singer/songwriter/guitarist Andy Partridge (along with Todd Bernhardt), those with even a casual interest in the band will still find themselves entertained.

Partridge has a reputation as a highly amusing interview subject, and here he pores over the details of 30 XTC songs. He can be hilariously self-deprecating, referring to his syntax in 1979’s “Roads Girdle the Globe” as “Like badly-translated Italian Futurist manifestos!” There are countless anecdotes and bits of minutiae stretching throughout their recordings, along with occasional detours, as when the mention of one XTC single instantly prompts a discussion of the band Be-Bop Deluxe.

Fans will also enjoy a section that includes reprints of artwork ideas and handwritten lyrics, including a section of lines from “Dear God” that were crossed out with “Urgh!” written below. (www.jawbonepress.com/complicated-game/)

Author rating: 8/10

Rate this book
Average reader rating: 3/10



Comments

Submit your comment

Name Required

Email Required, will not be published

URL

Remember my personal information
Notify me of follow-up comments?

Please enter the word you see in the image below:

There are no comments for this entry yet.

Current Issue

Issue #72

Apr 19, 2024 Issue #72 - The ‘90s Issue with The Cardigans and Thurston Moore

Most Recent