XTC – Drums And Wires

I listened to this a lot around the time it came out but of course I have no recollection now of how the record *sounded*. But this 2020 Ape House remaster sounds terrific to my elderly ears. The artwork is first rate, the poly-lined promo inner liner is of high quality and over all you have the feeling that this is a reissue done by someone who knows what they want and cares about the product. I shall almost certainly buy others in the Ape House reissue series -- kudos to Andy Partridge!

a terribly overlooked artifact of the new wave era. this remaster is great too.

I haven’t heard any prior or subsequent reissues, and I was dying to have an older copy of this record at some point and couldn’t help but score one in a record store that was $16 with the sleeve in ~ G+ condition and the media in ~ VG+ condition. But I must say that this sounds absolutely PHENOMENAL. A soaring 3D soundstage with heavy bass, clear vocals and guitars, and thunderous drums. It’s also cut hot and is meant to be played loud and proud. Sounds unreal in the headphones.

And the vinyl itself, for being manufactured in the 1980s, is thin but is of very good quality; a very low noise floor, warp free, and near pop and crackle free record that puts a lot of modern pressings in my collection to shame.

Yes the exclusion of Nigel and Day in Day Out is quite a bummer…but I like how life begins at the hop is on here and the track list is very faithful to the original and not out of order like some of the other US issues.

I’ll upgrade at some point or get a companion copy but I am more than happy to own this. It’s a real stunner and one of the highlights in my collection. And I have to reiterate the sound quality; it sounds like it could have been made yesterday. What a masterpiece.

I have possibly a german misprint of the title tracks listed on the back sleeve cover. Day in day out is printed instead of Life begins at the hop, which is pressed on vinyl instead of Day in day out. Day in day out is pressed on the UK-Version. Life begins at the hop was a 7"Single in UK so far I know. Funny! Anyone out there, who have the same misprint?
The quality of this german pressing is really good, also after 45 years of playing...

This pressing was very well mastered to vinyl: zero sibilance with super detailed highs and the low end slams with no mud. I agree with mhrobbins25, tons of energy and is cut hot (loud, tons of presence). I have only heard a few of these tracks previously and everything that I know of XTC is there with loads of power pop and punk (I was Oranges & Apples + Apple Venus listener in college, no one else liked XTC around me so I quit lol). LOVE it!

My copy is flat, centered, & super quiet.

In it's 45th year and I still dote on every second of this album and single. The playing, recording, mixing, mastering and pressing are all stunning. Knocks the Ape House reissues into a cocked hat. Worth every penny of however much you need to get a well loved and cared for copy these days.

What a fantastic sounding record. Just absolutely perfect all the way around.

Nicely done repress. While my 2020 black copy was non filled excessively my copy of this repress has come out better. Flat and silent. Now the superb mastering can truly shine! Im sure theres plenty of good black copies out there but im jist happy i have good one at all now!

Stunning in all respects, ‘Complicated Game’ blows me away every time I play it

Canadian pressing is clear and punchy, to my ears on my system, very close in sound quality to the UK pressings I have. This Canadian version DOES include Life Begins At The Hop which my UK pressings do not. Recommended pressing and normally not too $$$.