XTC - WHITE MUSIC - 1978 - Virgin International VI 2095 - US Original

$

25

Purchased BRAND NEW in a record store and stored in a plastic bag since ownership, this album HAS BEEN PLAYED ONLY ONCE IF AT ALL. My felllow record collector friend was a HUGE XTC fan and I believe he recorded it to tape for me off of his collection before I even acquired the album. He did that a lot.
Cover has a "pressure crease" on the front cover top right (see picture) from top edge into Barry Andrews head. Front top left corner is slightly "rumpled" (see picture). There are a few tiny white spots on the front left side by spline (see picture).Front bottom right corner showing some wear (see picture). Spline is good with lettering close to being centered. Couple of small indents along album access edge (see picture).
Inner paper sleeve is plain white and has some wrinkling and creasing (see pictures) but no rops, splits or tears.
Album vinyl is LIKE BRAND NEW with PLAYED ONCE IF AT ALL. I always used a Shure M91ED stylus and cartridge tracking at 1 gram. I believe My XTC buddy put this on tape for me previously. Labels are great with no visible spindle marks.
Side One: Radios in Motion - X Wires - This is Pop - Do What You Do - Statue of Liberty - All Along the Watch Tower Side Two: Atom Age - Set Myself on Fire - I'm Bugged - New Town Animal - Spinning Top - Neon Shuffle
XTC were an English rock band formed in Swindon in 1972. Fronted by songwriters Andy Partridge (vocals, guitars) and Colin Moulding (vocals, bass), the band gained popularity during the rise of punk and new wave in the 1970s, later playing in a variety of styles that ranged from angular guitar riffs to elaborately arranged pop. Partly because the group did not fit into contemporary trends, they achieved only sporadic commercial success in the UK and US, but attracted a considerable cult following. They have since been recognized for their influence on post-punk, Britpop and later power pop acts. In August 1977, XTC made their first commercially released studio recordings with producer John Leckie at Abbey Road, which appeared on their debut release 3D EP in October.Their first full-length record, White Music, was then recorded in less than two weeks, and released for January 1978. Partridge characterized the album as "Captain Beefheart meets the Archies" shrouded in 1950s-style retrofuturism. He reflected that the album was the sum of everything the band enjoyed, including the Beatles, Sun Ra, and Atomic Rooster, but dismissed the contents as premature songs "built around this electric wordplay stuff". White Music reached number 38 on the UK Albums Chart. Although the album was well received by the press (Melody Maker, NME, Sounds, and Record Mirror all gave positive reviews), none of its singles managed to chart. They rerecorded "This is Pop" as a lead single. Its follow-up, "Statue of Liberty", was banned on BBC Radio due to the lyric "I sail beneath her skirt". With each member placed on a £25 weekly salary, the band toured for the next five years. By August 1978, XTC were prepared to record their next album. The band had contacted Brian Eno to produce after they learned that he was a fan, but he declined, telling them that they were good enough to produce themselves. Virgin rejected Eno's advice, and the group instead returned to Abbey Road with Leckie. Andrews appeared at the sessions with several original songs, but Partridge did not feel they were right for the band. He began taking Moulding and Chambers out for drinks without inviting Partridge, allegedly in an attempt to take over the group. After most of Andrews' songs were dropped from the final track list, the keyboardist told journalists that he foresaw the band "exploding pretty soon". Go 2, a more experimental venture, was released in October to positive reviews and a number 21 chart peak. Like White Music, it was given praise in Sounds, Melody Maker, and the NME. One of the tracks, "Battery Brides (Andy Paints Brian)", was written in tribute to Eno.The album also included a bonus EP, Go+, which consisted of five dub remixes of XTC songs.

The album's title was chosen in reference to the board game Go in order to continue the black-and-white colour scheme from White Music. The "2" was added by Andrews. Its cover was designed and executed byHipgnosis.  It consists of an essay about how album covers are used to attract buyers of the album. On the first British pressings of the LP version of the Go 2 album the track listing on the vinyl disc label mimicked the type style of the cover art. The label is crammed full of text. In some non-English speaking countries, the group shot that was featured on the album's inner sleeve in the UK was used instead as the album cover. The French 13-track album, including the bonus track "Are You Receiving Me?", was one of the releases that featured this sleeve. Yugoslavia was another country that issued this version of the sleeve.

The essay would change depending on the medium (vinyl or CD) and label (Virgin, Epic or Geffen) the album was released on. A separate essay was prepared for cassette editions in the UK.