Genre: rock
Rating: ** (2 stars)
Title: Go 2
Company: Virgin
Catalog: VI 2180
Country/State: UK
Year: 1978
Grade (cover/record): VG / VG
Comments: minor ring and edge wear; UP pressing, no bonus EP
Available: 1
GEMM Catalog ID: 5045
Price: $15.00
1978's "Go 2" found the band falling victim to the demand for quantity over quality. Clearly recorded in a rush and under considerable pressure, Partridge himself described the album as "Four weeks worth of songs, hastily scribbled on hotel notepaper and beer mats. We were living out of carrier bags and in rental vans, making nasty noises at each other and with each other. Something had to give and here it is.”), the sound wasn't radically different than the debut, offering a mix of frantic/spastic new wave moves, punk angst rounded out by occasional snatches reflecting a more mainstream sound (particular some of Colin Molding's contributions). Oh, don't forget to add in Partridge's penchant for offbeat lyrics ('Life Is Good In the Greenhouse'). Interestingly, at least to my ears the album's improved over the years. It really didn't do much or me the first couple of years I played it, but when I rediscovered XTC's earlier catalog a couple of years back I was pleasantly surprised to hear an album that was much more interesting than I remembered. There were actually quite a few highlights including the leadoff rocker 'Meccanic Dancing (Oh We Go!)', Moulding's 'Buzzcity Talking' and the should've-been-a-hits 'Are You Receiving Me?' (more below) and 'Beatown'.
For you true fanatics the original UK release came with a bonus 12" EP entitled "Go+". The EP culled a series of five songs from the album, offering them up in a dub format. Not exactly essential, but quirky. Also the US version of the album differed from the UK issue. Apparently unhappy with the absence of a clearly commercial cut, Virgin added the earlier single 'Are You Receiving Me?' to the US release.
"Go
2'" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Meccanic Dancing (Oh We Go!) (Andy Partridge) - 2:34
2.) Battery Brides (Andy Paints Brian) (Andy Partridge) - 4:35
3.) Buzzcity Talking (Colin Molding) - 2:40
4.) Crowded Room (Colin Molding) - 2:53
5.) The Rhythm (Colin Molding) - 2:58
6.) Are You
Receiving Me? (Andy Partridge) - Bob Andrews) - 3:04
7.) Red (Andy Partridge) - 3:01
(side 2)
1.) Beatown (Andy Partridge) - 4:35
2.) Life Is Good In the Greenhouse (Andy Partridge) - 4:41
3.) Jumping In Gomorrah (Andy Partridge) - 2:03
4.) My Weapon (Barry Andrews) - 2:20
5.) Supper Tuff (Andy Partridge) - 4:24
6.) I Am the Audience (Colin Moulding) - 3:38
By the way, in case you really wanted to know, here are the front and back cover liner notes:
This is a RECORD COVER. This writing is the DESIGN upon the record cover The DESIGN is to help SELL the record. We hope to draw your attention to it
and encourage you to pick it up. When you have done that maybe you'll be
persuaded to listen to the music - in this case XTC's Go 2 album. Then we
want you to BUY it. The idea being that the more of you that buy this record the more money Virgin Records, the manager Ian Reid and XTC
themselves will make. To the aforementioned this is known as PLEASURE.
A good cover DESIGN is one that attracts more buyers and gives more pleasure.
This writing is trying to pull you in much like an eye-catching picture. It is
designed to get you to READ IT. This is called luring the VICTIM, and you are the VICTIM. But if you have a free mind you should STOP READING NOW!
because all we are attempting to do is to get you to read on. Yet this is a
DOUBLE BIND because if you indeed stop you'll be doing what we tell you,
and if you read on you'll be doing what we've wanted all along. And the more
you read on the more you're falling for this simple device of telling you exactly
how a good commercial design works. They're TRICKS and this is the worst TRICK of all since it's describing the TRICK whilst trying to TRICK you, and
if you've read this far then you're TRICKED but you wouldn't have known this
unless you'd read this far. At least we're telling you directly instead of seducing
you with a beautiful or haunting visual that may never tell you. We're letting
you know that you ought to buy this record because in essence it's a
PRODUCT and PRODUCTS are to be consumed and you are a consumer
and this is a good PRODUCT. We could have written the band's name in
special lettering so that it stood out and you'd see it before you'd read any of
this writing and possibly have bought it anyway. What we are really suggesting is that you are FOOLISH to buy or not buy an album merely as a consequence of the design on its cover. This is a con because if you agree then you'll probably like this writing - which is the cover design -
and hence the album inside. But we've just warned you against that. The con
is a con. A good cover design could be considered as one that gets you to
buy the record, but that never actually happens to YOU because YOU know
it's just a design for the cover. And this is the RECORD COVER.
This is the back of a RECORD COVER. Catalogue No. V2108. This writing
is the DESIGN on the back of the cover. This design is not like that on the
FRONT. Its aim is to impart information about the RECORD and the
GATEFOLD INSERT within rather than trying to sell it by being impactful or
clever or any of those things. We have kept it in the same style so that the
entire package has a sense of IDENTITY whichever way you see it. The record
is by XTC. This is their second album. We won't attempt to describe their
music because all you have to do is play it and you can describe it for yourself.
XTC is made up of Andy Partridge, Barry Andrews, Colin Moulding and Terry
Chambers. We have shown photos of them below because this is regarded
as commercially sensible and helpful in creating their image. And if you're
curious at all you might find it interesting to see what the musicians actually
look like. And there are more pictures and words on the very colourful insert
which you can only see if you buy the whole thing.
Many people think it helpful and useful to know some details about the songs
on the record inside, so here they are: 1. Meccanik Dancing (Oh We Go!) 2.
Battery Brides (Andy Paints Brian) 3. Buzzcity Talking 4. Crowded Room 5.
The Rhythm 6. Red 7. Beatown 8. Life is Good in the Greenhouse 9. Jumping
in Gomorrah 10. My Weapon 11. Super-Tuff 12. I am the Audience. You may
also be interested to know that the record was produced and Engineered by
John Leckie with assistant engineers Haydn Bendall and Pete James at Abbey
Road, also, Andy Llewelyn and Jess Sutcliffe at Matrix and that Barry's Roots
photos were by Dave Eagle. We have to repeat the catalogue number on the
insert for bureaucratic reasons and here it is V2108. Lastly we would like to make it clear that this is a product of Virgin Records
Limited, partly because they wanted us to and partly because it is a legal
necessity. Virgin Records' head office is located at Vernon Yard, Portobello
Road, London W.11. and is (P) Virgin Records 1978 and (c) 1978 Virgin Music
(Publishers) Ltd. This sleeve was written and photographed by Hipgnosis and
printed in England by James Upton Ltd.
