XTC, Drums and Wires (side A)

Drums and Wires, from 1979, contains some great examples of XTC's timeless songwriting, including "Life Begins at the Hop" and "When You're Near Me I Have Difficulty". It also features some dated production moves courtesy of Steve Lilywhite and Hugh Padgham—the bass lacks low-end impact and everything is compressed with fast VCAs that drain a bit of life from the performances. It definitely sounds like it's from 1979! Creative and original uses of the studio poke out to keep the overly-slick mixes interesting, and XTC were clearly at the top of their form as a live band. The iconic cover art is cool, too.