The Partridge Playlist Archive
Talking about his Monkees fandom online,  Andy Partridge (pictured here in Rolling Stone) explains the XTC connection with at least one song – and further back in time, to his fondness for one Understones song in the NME. One from the Partridge Playlist archives. (Below @TheMonkees).

The Monkees
From Goldmine Magazine: “They had a style and a way of singing and playing that is very recognizable and delightful…They were a great template for me. No Monkees means no XTC.”

 

Pisces, Aquarius, Monkees, Star Collector
“My favorite of The Monkees albums was Pisces, Aquarius… which is about as far out as they got. Loved that record and still do.  Also,  Daily Nightly and Star Collector are great little psyche “lite” numbers.”

Pleasant Valley Sunday
“Great song, delivered with spunk, great guitar riff and harmonies, wonderful production… and I loved that ending where everything was pushed deep into the reverb chamber. A trick I “borrowed” for the end of the XTC number Great Fire.”

Last Train to Clarksville
” Man, that guitar intro. I still can’t play that quite right. Oh, Zor and Zam was another goodie. Actually, all in all Randy Scouse Git is probably my all-out fave …Too many, too many.”

The Undertones – It’s Going to Happen!
Portrait of the Artist as a Consumer (NME) references “The brass on It’s Going to Happen by The Undertones. And – “The opening chords on Hello Goodbye.” Not forgetting,  the Egyptian organ solo on the electric Roadrunner by Jonathan Richman. Something for any XTC fan to dig out or discover? The archived Andy Partridge playlist also includes Sonny Rollins and The Who.