XTC - Us Being Us (1992)

For the fourth and final part of my trilogy of XTC posts we mop up all the tracks that didn't fit on the other three albums. The first three tracks are out-takes from 'The White Album', with 'Fireball XL5' being so tinny that I had to seriously boost the bass to make it listenable. The dub version was not as bad but also needed some editing, and I hope they now sound better than the other versions out there. 'Traffic Light Rock' from the 'Guillotine' sampler fitted better on here than on the 'Are You Receiving Us?' post, and slots in nicely before the two 'Go2' out-takes. The 'Drums And Wires' leftover 'Sleepyheads' is actually an early take of 'Looking For Footprints', but much longer than the flexi-disc version. In 1979 Colin Moulding wanted to release a solo single, and so with Andy Partridge's help he recorded 'Too Many Cooks In The Kitchen'/'I Need Protection', and released it the following year under the pseudonym of The Colonel. On the subject of pseudonyms, the band themselves released a Christmas single in 1983 under the name of The Three Wise Men, and both sides of that are here as well. In 1987 a Canadian cassette emerged featuring some of Partridge's demos, most of which later turned up on his 'Fuzzy Warbles' album, with just 'Glow' and 'Dripping Basin' not making the cut. 'Dripping Basin' was a not-that-great instrumental, but 'Glow' was much better so that is included here. We close with a few late period b-sides, a demo that was only released on a rare Japanese EP in 1992, and a classy out-take from the 'Nonsuch' album.     

Track listing

01 Let's Have Fun ('White Album' out-take 1977)
02 Fireball XL5 ('White Album' out-take 1977)
03 Fireball Dub ('White Album' out-take 1977)
04 Traffic Light Rock (from the 'Guillotine' 10" sampler album 1978)
05 Things Fall To Bits ('Go2' out-take 1978)
06 Us Being Us ('Go2' out-take 1978)
07 Sleepyheads ('Drums And Wires' out-take 1979) 
08 Too Many Cooks In The Kitchen (single by The Colonel (Colin Moulding) 1980)
09 I Need Protection (b-side of 'Too Many Cooks In The Kitchen')
10 Thanks For Christmas (single as The Three Wise Men 1983)
11 Countdown To Christmas Party Time (b-side of 'Thanks For Christmas')
12 Troubles (b-side of 'The Meeting Place' 12" 1986)
13 Glow (from the Canadian 'Jules Verne's Sketchbook' cassette 1987)
14 The World Is Full Of Angry Young Men (b-side of 'The Loving' 12" 1989)
15 Always Winter Never Christmas (b-side of 'The Ballad Of Peter Pumpkinhead' 1992)
16 Rip Van Ruben (b-side of 'Wrapped In Grey' 1992)
17 Down A Peg (from the Japanese 'Demo Tracks' EP 1992)
18 Didn't Hurt A Bit ('Nonsuch' out-take 1992)