Go 2
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Robert Christgau | B-[2] |
| Pitchfork | 6.9/10[3] |
| Q | [4] |
Go 2 is the second studio album by the English band XTC, released on 6 October 1978.
The United Kingdom version contained no singles, but the American and Canadian versions included the single "Are You Receiving Me?" (released 27 October 1978, the same month as the album's release). A promotional video was also made for the song.
Content
An earlier version of "Are You Receiving Me?" was recorded during the Go 2 sessions and was later released on the Coat of Many Cupboards box-set. Other outtakes from Go 2 include "Sargasso Bar", "Us Being Us", "Instant Tunes", "Looking for Footprints", "Things Fall to Bits" and "Strange Tales, Strange Tails".
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.[5] The "2" was added by keyboardist Barry Andrews.[6] Its cover was designed and executed by Hipgnosis. 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.
Release
The initial 15,000 UK pressings of the album came with a bonus disc of dub remixes entitled Go+. Go+ was eventually re-released on the Explode Together: The Dub Experiments 78-80 CD.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Meccanik Dancing (Oh We Go!)" | Andy Partridge | 2:36 |
| 2. | "Battery Brides (Andy Paints Brian)" | Partridge | 4:37 |
| 3. | "Buzzcity Talking" | Colin Moulding | 2:41 |
| 4. | "Crowded Room" | Moulding | 2:53 |
| 5. | "The Rhythm" | Moulding | 3:00 |
| 6. | "Red" | Partridge | 3:02 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Beatown" | Partridge | 4:37 |
| 2. | "Life Is Good in the Greenhouse" | Partridge | 4:41 |
| 3. | "Jumping In Gomorrah" | Partridge | 2:04 |
| 4. | "My Weapon" | Barry Andrews | 2:20 |
| 5. | "Super-Tuff" | Andrews | 4:27 |
| 6. | "I Am the Audience" | Moulding | 3:48 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Meccanik Dancing (Oh We Go!)" | Partridge | 2:36 |
| 2. | "Battery Brides (Andy Paints Brian)" | Partridge | 4:37 |
| 3. | "Buzzcity Talking" | Moulding | 2:41 |
| 4. | "Crowded Room" | Moulding | 2:53 |
| 5. | "The Rhythm" | Moulding | 3:00 |
| 6. | "Red" | Partridge | 3:02 |
| 7. | "Beatown" | Partridge | 4:37 |
| 8. | "Life Is Good in the Greenhouse" | Partridge | 4:41 |
| 9. | "Jumping In Gomorrah" | Partridge | 2:04 |
| 10. | "My Weapon" | Barry Andrews | 2:20 |
| 11. | "Super-Tuff" | Andrews | 4:27 |
| 12. | "I Am the Audience" | Moulding | 3:48 |
| 13. | "Are You Receiving Me?" | Partridge | 3:06 |
- Go+ (Bonus EP included with initial LP pressings)
- "Dance With Me, Germany" [dub version of "Meccanic Dancing (Oh We Go!)"] – 3:17
- "Beat the Bible" [dub version of "Jumping in Gomorrah"] – 2:06
- "A Dictionary of Modern Marriage" [dub version of "Battery Brides (Andy Paints Brian)"] – 2:27
- "Clap Clap Clap" [dub version of "I am the Audience"] (Moulding) – 2:17
- "We Kill the Beast" [dub version of "The Rhythm"] (Moulding) – 2:05
All these tracks appear on the compilation Explode Together: The Dub Experiments 78-80.
Personnel
- XTC
- Andy Partridge – guitars and vocals
- Colin Moulding – bass and vocals
- Barry Andrews – crumar organ, farfisa organ, wurlitzer electric piano, minimoog, clavinet, grand piano, vocals and saxophone
- Terry Chambers – drums and vocals
- Additional personnel
- John Leckie – production/engineering
- Martin Rushent – associate production (uncredited)
- Haydn Bendall – engineering assistance (Abbey Road unit)
- Pete James – assistant engineer (Abbey Road unit)
- Andy Llewelyn – engineering assistance (Matrix unit)
- Jess Sutcliffe – engineering assistance (Matrix unit)
- Dave Eagle – photography
- Hipgnosis – cover artwork
References
- ^ Woodstra, Chris. "Go 2". Allmusic. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
- ^ Christgau, Robert. "XTC". Robert Christgau.com. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
- ^ Dahlen, Chris (9 July 2002). "XTC: Go 2". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
- ^ columnist (July 2001). Q: 139.
{{cite journal}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|journal=(help); Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ "XTC on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
- ^ "XTC on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 18 December 2015.