Black Sea (XTC album)

Black Sea
Studio album by XTC
Released 12 September 1980
Recorded June – July 1980
Studio Townhouse Studios, London
Genre Post-punk[1]
Length 48:56
Label Virgin
Producer Steve Lillywhite
XTC chronology
Drums and Wires
(1979)		 Black Sea
(1980)		 English Settlement
(1982)
Singles from Black Sea
  1. "Generals and Majors"
    Released: 9 August 1980
  2. "Towers of London"
    Released: 10 October 1980
  3. "Sgt. Rock (Is Going to Help Me)"
    Released: 5 December 1980
  4. "Love at First Sight"
    Released: 23 January 1981 (Canada only)
  5. "Respectable Street"
    Released: March 1981
Alternative cover
US outer cover

Black Sea is the fourth studio album by the English band XTC, released on 12 September 1980. The album received positive reviews and spawned three UK top 40 singles: "Generals and Majors", "Towers of London", and "Sgt. Rock (Is Going to Help Me)". A fourth single, "Love at First Sight", was released exclusively to Canada. And a fifth single, "Respectable Street", was banned from BBC radio due to its references to abortion and a "Sony Entertainment Centre".[2] The album itself remains XTC's second-highest charting British album, placing at number 16,[3] and the most successful American album of their career, peaking at number 41 on the Billboard 200.[4] Early copies of the album came with the sleeve enclosed in a lime-green paper bag.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Chicago Tribune[6]
Christgau's Record GuideB+[7]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[8]
Pitchfork9.2/10[9]
Q[10]
Rolling Stone[11]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[12]
Smash Hits9/10[13]

Black Sea spent 7 weeks on the UK album charts, reaching No. 16.[3] In the US, the album spent 24 weeks on the Billboard 200 album charts and reached its peak position of No. 41 in February 1981.[14] The album made No. 1 on the New Zealand album chart.

The album received positive reviews from critics.[15] In an AllMusic review, Chris Woodstra called it XTC's most consistent album yet, both in terms of its full arrangements and unsubtle political commentary.[5] Writing for Rolling Stone, Don Shewey also found the album to be consistent over all—with the exception of "Travels in Nihilon", which he says "strays from the intersection of punk and pop where XTC are most at home".[11] Similarly, David Sinclair, in an overview of XTC's early albums for Q, determined that the arrangements of Black Sea, while complex, were much cleaner than earlier arrangements, such as those found on their debut, White Music.[10] Robert Christgau was impressed by the album's pacing and eclecticism, despite delving into excessively "embellishing herkyjerk whozis" and over-intellect.[7]

In a Pitchfork review revisiting Black Sea, along with Go 2 and English Settlement following their remastered CD release in 2002, Chris Dahlen discusses the strengths of Black Sea. In particular, Dalen emphasizes "Sgt. Rock", "Rocket From a Bottle", and "Travels in Nihilon". Dalen also appreciated the placement of the bonus tracks on the CD, following the original track listing of the album.[9] Previous reissues placed the tracks in the middle of the album, interrupting the "flow".[5][9]

A live version of "Respectable Street" appears in the music documentary Urgh! A Music War.[16]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Andy Partridge, except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Respectable Street" 3:38
2."Generals and Majors"Colin Moulding4:05
3."Living Through Another Cuba" 4:44
4."Love at First Sight"Moulding3:08
5."Rocket from a Bottle" 3:30
6."No Language in Our Lungs" 4:53
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Towers of London"5:24
2."Paper and Iron (Notes and Coins)"4:17
3."Burning with Optimism's Flames"4:16
4."Sgt. Rock (Is Going to Help Me)"3:57
5."Travels in Nihilon"7:04

Personnel

XTC
Technical

Charts

Album

Year Chart Position Citation
1980 UK Official Charts 16 [3]
1981 US Billboard 200 41 [14]

References

  1. ↑ Schabe, Patrick (27 October 2006). "The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul". PopMatters. 1980's Black Sea sold well on the album charts on the strength of its solid post-punk tracks, including "Respectable Street", "Towers of London", and "Generals and Majors".
  2. ↑ Bernhardt, Todd (26 February 2007). "Andy discusses 'Respectable Street'". Chalkhills.
  3. 1 2 3 "XTC". Official Charts. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  4. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "XTC". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 Woodstra, Chris. "Black Sea – XTC". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
  6. ↑ Kot, Greg (3 May 1992). "The XTC Legacy: An Appraisal". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  7. 1 2 Christgau, Robert (1990). "XTC: Black Sea". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-679-73015-X. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
  8. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-85712-595-8.
  9. 1 2 3 Dahlen, Chris. "XTC: Go 2 / Black Sea / English Settlement". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 4 June 2003. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
  10. 1 2 "XTC: Black Sea". Q (178): 139. July 2001.
  11. 1 2 Shewey, Don (5 February 1981). "XTC: Black Sea". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 12 April 2009. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
  12. ↑ Frere-Jones, Sasha (2004). "XTC". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian. The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. pp. 890–92. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  13. ↑ Cranna, Ian (18 September – 1 October 1980). "XTC: Black Sea". Smash Hits: 35.
  14. 1 2 "Billboard 200: XTC". Billboard. 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  15. ↑ Ingham, Chris (March 1999). "XTC - 'Til Death Do Us Part". Mojo.
  16. ↑ <https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0138902/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast>
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