#51
February 29 1980
Mr. Partridge
Take Away/The Lure of Salvage
Genre: The Self-Importance Boredom Factory
2.25 out of 5
I had no idea this was a thing that existed. I know of XTC. I know Dukes of Stratosphere. I didn’t know there was a minimalist experimental art wave record that Andy Partridge put out. Am I the only one?
Sadly, I like this about as much as I did Go2.
The back cover reads: “This used to be some XTC records. It is now a collection of tracks that have been electronically processed/shattered and layered with other sounds or lyrical pieces. All initial sound by XTC.
Additional sound/lyrics by Andy Partridge. Put and take by John Leckie and Andy Partridge on 10/10/79. Alan Jakoby was the tapir. Destructed/constructed at Regents Park Recording Company.
If you liked Go+ then this record weighs approximately the same amount.”
As I said, I didn’t like Go2.
However. There is a gentleness to the digital music here. It’s devoid of joy, even snarky joy ala Xex but, when was Andy Partridge ever accused of being joyful?
If you were someone who did not like being in front of many people and preferred to make your music in a studio and release it to people with whom you never have to come into contact with, this is the album you make.
That said, sometimes it reminds me of Kid A. And I imagine Thom and the boys heard this thing. Or the simplicity of The Postal Service.
But, these are often not songs. They are studio musings. Take, for instance, “The Forgotten Language of Light”, which is digital tribal music with singing in tongues mouth sounds. Do we need it? I think Andy did. For catharsis. No one else, though.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcROh-CfnCY&list=PLlvn8uktX5Ltk5rgHbzwb9TDa3tu1EBOm
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