Five excellent albums from the 1970s you may have overlooked 

XTC - White Music

White Music is the debut album from UK band XTC. Led by Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding, they were post-punk and early new wave but also had quirky and tuneful pop songs. The album came out in 1978 and had modest success. Up to number 38 in the UK, it didn't have any real impact in the US. Even though a few of the songs would be a great fit there. 

It’s certainly in the category of being overlooked by the masses, even though music aficionados will probably nod and know it well. A couple of singles were released from the album, “Statue Of Liberty” and “This Is Pop”,  but neither hit the right end of the charts. That’s a shame as they were both worthy of success. They each had that XTC blend of guitar and keyboard with neat lyrics and a catchy, emerging punk-era beat and chorus. 

White Noise is full of great songs and energy. There’s a definite hint of bands like Blondie and the New York Dolls in there. The punk tones are there in-depth on the short blast of “Do What You Do” and “New Town Animal In A Furnished Cage”. And then there’s perhaps an unusual choice of a cover song with Bob Dylan’s “All Along The Watchtower”. It’s certainly not a bland sound-like remake. A jerky rhythm matched with bluesy harmonica makes this version quite different.

White Noise was the forerunner for many more great albums and hit songs from XTC. They developed further from this raw but fun start into poppier-sounding tunes. It’s a good starting point if you have missed out on the band and their brand of music. 

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