Main menu
Fretplay home Submit tabs

XTC
XTC tabs XTC discography

Channels
Guitar channel Bass channel Guitar videos Reviews

Message Forum
Guitar forum Bass forum Bands and artists Promote your band Recent discussions All categories

Fretplay.com

XTC guitar tabs

CD reviews

Rag 'N' Bone Buffet

XTC - Rag 'N' Bone Buffet Audio CD

A fair review of the XTC "Rag 'N' Bone Buffet" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all XTC reviews here, or go back to the XTC tabs.

Band: XTC
Title: Rag 'N' Bone Buffet
Rating:

Release Date: 1996-03-19
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Extrovert 2: Ten Feet Tall 3: Mermaid Smiled 4: Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen 5: Respectable Street 6: Looking for Footprints 7: Over Rusty Water 8: Heaven Is Paved with Broken Glass 9: World Is Full of Angry Young Men 10: Punch and Judy 11: Thanks for Christmas 12: Tissue Tigers (The Arguers) 13: I Need Protection 14: Another Satellite 15: Strange Tales, Strange Tails 16: Officer Blue 17: Scissor Man 18: Cockpit Dance Mixture 19: Pulsing Pulsing 20: Happy Families 21: Countdown to Christmas Party Time 22: Blame the Weather 23: Take This Town 24: History of Rock & Roll

2nd Rate Stuff from a 1st Rate Band
These are odds and ends. . yeh, ok, rags and bones. . . of the greatest unknown pop band on the planet. Have had a cassette copy of this for years, great to finally have it on CD. For those who don't know XTC, my advice is to pick up either Drums and Wires or Nonsuch, then move on to Skylarking and the Apple Venus volumes. . . this collection is more for confirmed fans. Many of these tracks might confuse new listeners.

Rarities collection.
Truthfully, XTC's leftover pieces are superior to most band's best material, but in a lot of cases, it's pretty clear why this material is leftover. XTC's "Rag & Bone Buffet" is a collection of single-only a-sides, b-sides, compilation contributions, soundtrack pieces and unused songs.

When it's good though, it's great-- opener "Extrovert", a leftover from "Skylarking", is a slice of funk-tinged rock, with popping guitar and funk horns (although it clearly wouldn't've fit in on "Skylarking"), "Mermaid Smiled", while less relevent since the reissue of "Skylarking", was cut off that album to make room for "Dear God" and is presented here, a smattering of acoustic guitars, vibes, and a fantastic lead vocal from Andy Partridge. Moving towards the older material in the band's catalog, "Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen" (originally issued under the title the Colonel) is a jaunty ska thing by Colin Moulding that, while not exactly fantastic, is rather catchy and highly entertaining and soundtrack recording "Happy Families" is a pretty (albeit underarranged) ballad and among the more unusual recordings is "Over Rusty Water", recorded as part of the dub experiments of the late '70s, it somehow ends up being a fantatsic little ambient track. Also of note is a BBC recording of "Another Satellite", one of the real standouts from "Skylarking", which gets an energetic and delicate reading that really allows the piece to shine. I should also note Moulding's "The World is Full of Angry Young Men", a piano-driven blues and Partridge's jaunty and goofy "Punch & Judy", neither of which I found particularly intriguing, but which seem to be loved by a number of XTC fans.

Like any leftover collection, there's a number of pieces that don't offer much-- the electric recording of "Ten Feet Tall" sounds pretty much the same only a bit more lifeless, the original version of "Respectable Street" has such a minor vocal adjustment that it can't be noticed, and the live version of "Scissor Man" really doesn't add much. And finally, there's a pile of duds that, while I'm happy they're here to save me from seeking them out, are virtually unlistenable ("Officer Blue", "Cockpit Dance Mixture").

Another complaint-- when the XTC catalog got remastered, this got skipped. Sonically, it's noticably inferior to the band's albums in their current issue. This actually caused me to rate this two stars (I was waffling between 2 and 3) because it's irritating when listening to it alongside other material by the band.

Truth to be told, "Rag & Bone Buffet" is what it is-- newcomers to the band should start with one of the later albums (my personal favorite is "Oranges & Lemons", but "Skylarking" is a bit easier to digest), this compilation is better left for the converted.

Two great albums on one leftovers compilation!
Initailly issued as a stop-gap release (along with Explode Together: The Dub Experiments 78-80) between O&L and Nonsuch
it contains various singles, b-sides, c-sides and the like. The amount of material amassed here is enough to delight any XTC fan.
"Cockpit Dance Mixture" is humourously un-danceable mix of "Down In The Cockpit" and is one of six b-sides included here from the English Settlement sessions. Which incidently all rock.
"Looking For Footprints" (later known as "Sleepyheads"),
"Officer Blue" and The Colonel's "Too Many Cooks" are all giddy, fun Moulding material. The Christmas Single is a mini-hoot.
The rocking "Take This Town" single, the rather odd Nigel B-side "Pulsing Pulsing" and "Blame The Weather" are all GREAT XTC songs. If you're on the fence - this is a great comp. A much better leftovers compilation that most bands would ever have.
All in all : a fun, full listen!.

Rag 'N' Bone Buffet

This is when you've bought all the major releases, and they are just not enough. This is when you are truly addicted. You are thoroughly hooked, you have just found out there are more songs by Moulding & Partridge that you haven't heard, and you have to have them. And then you find out this just tips the surface, and a full, comprehensive XTC overview would take more than Coat of Many Cupboards and Fuzzy Warbles combined can accomplish. Rag 'N' Bone set out to do this quietly, offering the XTC fan some rarely heard B-sides and alternate versions of XTC material released between 1977 and 1989. Rag 'N' Bone should have been the first XTC boxset, as it barely dips into the vaults, but what it brings up in that first handful are some pretty valuable gems and trinkets.

One of its shiniest, and must have gems, is Colin Moulding's 'The World Is Full of Angry Young Men', which was recorded duing Mummer (1983). Why this song was left off of that LP, no one can say, because it is truly one of the best things he ever wrote. In its demo form (you'll have to hunt), . . . Angry is a good song and idea, but in this version it is absolutely beautiful. It belongs on Mummer. Another bright spot is Moulding's 'Blame The Weather', left off of English Settlement. Both of these songs deserved placement on those aforementioned albums. I can't tell you why they weren't. I just don't know.

Partridge's 'Extrovert' is the album opener, and it is very un-Skylarking (when it was recorded), but a great song nonetheless. It almost sounds more like a Big Express tune, or something you'd find on 'Black Sea'. That 4 other Skylarking leftovers, Terrorism, Let's Make A Den, Find the Fox, and The Troubles were left off of 'Rag' seems unfair, but they were finally re-released on 'Coat of Many Cupboards'. Like I said, a full comprehensive boxset of XTc will probably never see the light of day, because there is just too much material onhand and available. Partridge is just too prolific, and Moulding just keeps saving his best songs for another day, you just have to wait for them to surface eventually.

There are just too many songs to comment on on this collection that I grew to enjoy as much as the 'official' XTC catalogue. I wish someone would remaster the original version of 'Heaven Is Paved With Broken Glass' which had a lot of interesting things in it, and maybe a little better than the version offered here. Partridge's Punch and Judy is a highlight as well, ANOTHER English Settlement leftover, which has yet another version that I daresay is better than this one which is included on Coat of Many Cupboards. There's just too much on offer in the XTC catalogue. And one of the shortest songs 'Pulsing Pulsing' is one of my favourites of all XTC songs. XTC funk. It's like James Brown met Captain Beefheart and had a short meal and a drink.

Moulding's 'Officer Blue' I can't hear what he didn't like about it. And 'I Need Protection' is just near perfection, a distant cousin of Partridge's 'Travels in Nihilon' (on Black Sea). XTC could have easily issued 2 or 3 albums a year if touring wasn't a necessity,the amount of songs at their disposal, and the quality of them, just do not one album make.

Definitely go for the Buffet. It is worth it, but be familiar with the 'official' side of XTC first, and then you'll realise how much they actually offer in that second sitting.

As good as any of the regular albums
It has enough different tracks from the regular albums to make this a must for any XTC collection. This is a great mix of familiar and rare XTC songs. Some of the highlights include Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen, Heaven is Paved with Broken Glass, Tissue Tigers, and Punch and Judy.

Great to have all of this on one CD too.

You can see a complete list of all XTC discography, or go back to the XTC tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.