Go 2

Go 2 Studio album by XTC Released 6 October 1978 Recorded August-September, 1978 at Abbey Road Studios, London, England Genre New Wave, Post-punk, Art Punk Length 40:47 Label Virgin Records Producer John Leckie XTC chronology White Music, (1978) Go 2, (1978) Drums and Wires, (1979) Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating Allmusic link Pitchfork Media (6.9/10) link Q link Robert Christgau (B-) link Go 2 is the second studio album by the English band XTC. It was 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. 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 full title is XTC's Go 2. The title was inspired by the Japanese strategy game Go and the fact that it was their second album. Go + (see Trivia) was eventually re-released on the Explode Together: The Dub Experiments 78-80 CD. Album cover edit: The album's cover was designed and executed by Hipgnosis. It consists of an essay about how album covers are used to attract buyers of the album. The essay reads: "This is a ALBUM FORMAT COVER. This writing is the DESIGN upon the album format cover. The DESIGN is to help SELL the album format. We hope to draw your attention to it and encourage you to pick it up. When you have done that maybe you'll be persuaded to listen to the music - in this case XTC's Go 2 album. Then we want you to BUY it. The idea being that the more of you that buy this album format the more money record company, the manager Ian Reid and XTC themselves will make. To the aforementioned this is known as PLEASURE. A good cover DESIGN is one that attracts more buyers and gives more pleasure. This writing is trying to pull you in much like an eye-catching picture. It is designed to get you to READ IT. This is called luring the VICTIM, and you are the VICTIM. But if you have a free mind you should STOP READING NOW! because all we are attempting to do is to get you to read on. Yet this is a DOUBLE BIND because if you indeed stop you'll be doing what we tell you, and if you read on you'll be doing what we've wanted all along. And the more you read on the more you're falling for this simple device of telling you exactly how a good commercial design works. They're TRICKS and this is the worst TRICK of all since it's describing the TRICK whilst trying to TRICK you, and if you've read this far then you're TRICKED but you wouldn't have known this unless you'd read this far. At least we're telling you directly instead of seducing you with a beautiful or haunting visual that may never tell you. We're letting you know that you ought to buy this place album format here because in essence it's a PRODUCT and PRODUCTS are to be consumed and you are a consumer and this is a good PRODUCT. We could have written the band's name in special lettering so that it stood out and you'd see it before you'd read any of this writing and possibly have bought it anyway. What we are really suggesting is that you are FOOLISH to buy or not buy an album merely as a consequence of the design on its cover. This is a con because if you agree then you'll probably like this writing - which is the cover design - and hence the album inside. But we've just warned you against that. The con is a con. A good cover design could be considered as one that gets you to buy the album format, but that never actually happens to YOU because YOU know it's just a design for the cover. And this is the ALBUM FORMAT COVER." On the actual cover artwork the labeling of the album's formats, and the record company, are used in place of the words "album format" and "record company" in the display of the essay. The essay on the LP started and ended with the words "This is a RECORD COVER", the essay on the cassette started and ended with the words "This is a CASSETTE COVER" and the essay on the CD started and ended with the words "This is a COMPACT DISC COVER". 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 beginning with "This is a RECORD LABEL". Initial pressings of the album came with a bonus disc of dub remixes entitled Go+. The subtitle "Andy Paints Brian" for the song "Battery Brides" is a reference to Brian Eno, the band's original choice as producer for the album. Eno politely turned the band down, saying they didn't need him, as they had enough good ideas of their own. Track listing edit: All songs written by Andy Partridge, except where noted. UK LP: V 2108 edit: Side A No. Title Writer(s) Length 1. "Meccanik Dancing (Oh We Go!)" 2:36 2. "Battery Brides (Andy Paints Brian)" 4:37 3. "Buzzcity Talking" Colin Moulding 2:41 4. "Crowded Room" Moulding 2:53 5. "The Rhythm" Moulding 3:00 6. "Are You Receiving Me?" -Not listed on album- 3:03 7. "Red" 3:02 Side B No. Title Writer(s) Length 1. "Beatown" 4:37 2. "Life Is Good in the Greenhouse" 4:41 3. "Jumping In Gomorrah" 2:04 4. "My Weapon" Barry Andrews 2:20 5. "Super-Tuff" Andrews 4:27 6. "I Am the Audience" Moulding 3:48 2001 Remastered CD: CDVX2108 edit: No. Title Writer(s) Length 1. "Meccanik Dancing (Oh We Go!)" 2:36 2. "Battery Brides (Andy Paints Brian)" 4:37 3. "Buzzcity Talking" Colin Moulding 2:41 4. "Crowded Room" Moulding 2:53 5. "The Rhythm" Moulding 3:00 6. "Red" 3:02 7. "Beatown" 4:37 8. "Life Is Good in the Greenhouse" 4:41 9. "Jumping In Gomorrah" 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?" 3:06 Go+ (Bonus EP included with initial LP pressings) edit: "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, Personnel edit: Andy Partridge - guitars and vocals, Colin Moulding - bass and vocals, Barry Andrews - crumar group 49 cheesy organ, farfisa organ, lawrence electric piano, wurlitzer e-piano, minimoog, clavinet, steinway grand piano, vocals and saxophone, Terry Chambers - drums and vocals, Credits edit: John Leckie - producer/engineer, Martin Rushent - associate producer - (uncredited), Haydn Bendall - assistant engineer (Abbey Road unit), Pete James - assistant engineer (Abbey Road unit), Andy Llewelyn - assistant engineer (Matrix unit), Jess Sutcliffe - assistant engineer (Matrix unit), Dave Eagle - photos, Hipgnosis - cover artwork, , v, t, e, XTC Andy Partridge, Colin Moulding, Dave Gregory, Terry Chambers, Barry Andrews, Studio albums White Music, Go 2, Drums and Wires, Black Sea, English Settlement, Mummer, The Big Express, 25 O'Clock, Skylarking, Psonic Psunspot, Oranges & Lemons, Nonsuch, Apple Venus Volume 1, Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2), EPs 3D - EP, Live albums BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert, Compilations Waxworks: Some Singles 1977-1982, Beeswax: Some B-Sides 1977-1982, The Compact XTC, Chips from the Chocolate Fireball, Explode Together: The Dub Experiments 78-80, Rag and Bone Buffet: Rare Cuts and Leftovers, Drums and Wireless: BBC Radio Sessions 77-89, Fossil Fuel: The XTC Singles 1977-92, Upsy Daisy Assortment, Transistor Blast: The Best of the BBC Sessions, Coat of Many Cupboards, Apple Box, Other albums Homespun, Homegrown, Instruvenus, Waspstrumental, Related articles Discography, The Dukes of Stratosphear

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