"If Mummer was a gentle chug through the countryside, then The Big Express is a loco derailing itself in the rusty goods yard. An altogether more industrial affair. Slashing electric guitars, sheets of steel bass and diesel oil drums. An iron opera, steam powered and brick encased."

(Andy Partridge)

That description couldn't be more perfect, actually. Thanks Andy! Now, the songs:

"Wake Up" is a fantastic opener (love the syncopated riff); part of it wants to chop yer ears off, part of it wants you to dance.

"Shake You Donkey Up" is a raucous hoe-down; like three brits in overalls, drenched in pig slop. Country-Blues guitar riffs, loud "yeee-hawww"'s, and even a fiddle! What more could you ask for?

Other highlights on the first side include the bubblegum sea chanty "All You Pretty Girls", the poignant post-nuclear holocaust ballad "This World Over", and "Seagulls Screaming Kiss Her, Kiss Her", a sort of seafoam-molasses psychedelic reggae shuffle (loaded with lots of eerie synthesizer effects and great lyrics)

Side B opens with the insanely catchy "Small Town", pure brit-pop, ten years before Blur made it popular again.

Then, there's "I Bought Myself a Liarbird" (a nice little slam-dunk to a greedy manager), "Reign of Blows" (an awesome caterwauling mess of blues, pop, and rock with tons of reverb and other cool effects), "You're the Wish You Are I Had" (cocktail jazz + dream pop chorus), "I Remember the Sun" (wistful, Steely Dan like jazz rock), and the deranged, tempo-shifting closer "Train Running Low on Soul Coal".

There's also a few bonus songs at the end (or, in the middle if you have the earlier version). "Red Brick Dream" is the best of the crop - a hazy brew of pea-soup thick dreamy psychedelia.

Don't give up after one listen. It's loud, yes. But there's lots of great hooks buried in this thing. One of XTC's most rewarding and best albums.

Best Songs: Seagulls Screaming.., I Bought Myself a Liarbird, Reign of Blows, You're the Wish You Are I Had, Train Running Low on Soul Coal.

I'm pretty sure this was the second album I purchased by XTC, after I found out that Oranges & Lemons was absolutely brilliant. I liked the cover of Big Express - it just looked interesting.

Now by most reviews, XTC fans have a hard time with this one (good thing I rarely listen to the fans either), because after I heard The Big Express, I had to own everything they ever put out, and I mean everything. I was absolutely caught, hook line and sinker. For one, its producer David Lord, produced one of my all time favourite 80's albums by one of my all time favourite artists, Peter Gabriel. So XTC had one thumbs up from me just on that. But more importantly, it was the songs that stood out on how very very good they were, how much they said and did in 4 or 5 minutes, and how it left you feeling. Like you discovered the band that should have been held up there like The Beatles, but never did. The Band That Time Forgot, XTC.

First off, I'm not saying Moulding and Partridge will suit everyone's tastes. Their singing style might turn some off, but after you get used to it, you realise they are actually perfectly suited for their own compositions. When other artists have covered them, it just doesn't sound right (except for Ruben Blades cover version of . . . . ), and probably the 'sweetest on the ear' is Moulding. And on Big Express he writes two fantastic songs, 'Wake Up' and 'I Remember The Sun'. (Ok, I'm a Moulding fan by proxy, but he's a great songwriter, no more no less than Partridge is). And on The Big Express, what Moulding started doing on Mummer starts picking up steam (sorry!). He starts changing his sound and song topic, each suiting eachother, never moreso than on 'I Remember The Sun'. It is an awesome piece of songwriting, and I think probably the best song on this album (if we're talking 'best' ????) 'I Remember The Sun' is worthy of any Beatles or Kinks album. In some instances, its much better.

The XTC comparisons to McCartney (though they cite him as a major influence) fall apart when you get to XTC lyrics. There is no possible way McCartney writes lyrics like Moulding or Partridge, their style suiting Ray Davies of the Kinks much better and closer. They are storytellers, and their songs are as visually precise as they are literally. The album is about hometown life and growing older, and they paint this picture much richer and with more emotion than 'Penny Lane' offers.

From Partridge you get tales of smalltowns and unspoken love. Of a world destroyed by human destruction, and the sad tale of why. About ex-managers and fame, and certain men who treat women in a way that will get them kicked. Each Partridge song lends itself to an illustration to accompany it, they are so visual in their characterisation of human foible and success.

Though this is a noisy album, and some songs get a little buried by the barrage of electronics, it still doesn't hide the actual song and what it has to say. On 'Train Running Low On Soul Coal' all those whistles and stops tell the tale just as much as the words, and though some may feel this could have been done just as easily without electronics and gadgets, The Big Express is what it is, and what it says it is. The small little grasshopper than can be found on the front cover (about to be rolled over by this big wheel) is just as much an accidental metaphor for what was happening to XTC at the time, and this album captures it in every sound, every groove, pretty much every note.

There are tons of songs left off of this album that Partridge's Fuzzy Warbles project is seeking to release, and one of my favourites has always been 'Work'. No one else in the band liked it, but I would have been pushing for that one had I been around to lend a hand.

while we all are entitled to our opinions, i'm having difficulty understanding why this classic release would leave people scratching their heads. after all, this isn't 'ascension' by john coltrane or 'zero tolerance for silence' by pat metheny or something highly dissonant like those recordings. in my opinion, there are few albums that are as creatively, tunefully, and beautifully crafted as 'the big express'. from start to finish, it flows as one complete artistic statement, while each individual track has plenty to offer in and of itself. and contrary to other reviews, i would venture to say that 'mummer' and 'skylarking' are the weaker recordings (particularly 'mummer', although there are certainly great songs on it), with 'the big express' the superior, overlooked one sandwiched in between. a desert-island disc that i never tire of - HIGHLY recommended.

Every bit the equal of the classic album that followed it, The Big Express is certainly one of XTC's finest accomplishments. This remaster puts the previously issued version to shame! The sound is crisp, sharp and has none of the analog artifacts that made the previous CD sound so poor. The albums original running order has been restored with the b side single bonus tracks added at the end of the CD. The location of the b sides in the middle of the previous CD never bothered me that much as this is one of the few albums where the b sides were for the most part every bit the equal of the album tracks.

The limited edition CD version of this album resembles the original vinyl right down to the round album cover. Although not the band's most accessible work (Skylarking and Oranges & Lemons both belong in that category), BE is one of the richest XTC albums the band produced. Coming after the uneven but interesting Mummer, BE was a fine return to form.

I am a bit disappointed that no demos are included on this CD (I suppose Virgin is saving those for their boxed set coming out later this year). Regardless, the sound quality alone makes this worth paying the extra money for. Drums & Wires, Black Sea, The Big Express and Skylarking all outclass the original CD releases in terms of sound quality and packaging.

This album took a little while to grow on me, but when I finally got it, it was absolutely life-changing. It is my favorite XTC album among many strong contenders and one of my favorite albums all-time. The mystery of this album is the fact that those of us who get it have little luck trying to convey its majesty to those who don't. To those folks I say keep trying, you will be amply rewarded. "Wake Up" and "Train Running Low on Soul Coal" are tracks beyond description. With encroaching age, I feel the pull and power of the latter track more every year. Consider this an album to grow up and old with - gracefully!