XTC was a band that was never too keen on making a spectacle of itself. And by the time the group had moved from harsh, punk-inspired sounds to beautiful power-pop, its band members seemed just happy to have shaken some of the attention off their collective backs. No matter! Those who know and cherish the group’s music, mostly critics with trimmed facial hair, recognise XTC as one of the greatest alternative bands of all time.

But why isn’t the band’s music on the radio, or on many punk and power-pop playlists? And, just why did you hear Rick Beato rave about the group?

Here’s just what I think happened! These are the 10 greatest songs by XTC.

Greatest 10 Songs by XTC

10. “Statue of Liberty”

Was early XTC just a punk-rock band inferior to its numerous contemporaries? Could they just not hack it as Sex Pistols wannabes? No, just one that didn’t quite understand its assignment.

Instead of making angry, lad rock as bands like Sham 69 were doing, XTC is already bringing smart traces of pop and soul to a pretty stunning debut album, of which “Statue of Liberty” is the undisputed highlight.

9. “Grass”

It shouldn’t have worked out this way! XTC had already made, arguably, two perfect albums by the time of 1986’s “Skylarking.” This should’ve been the band’s cue to start taking it easy.

And while the music suggests that the group is not very interested in being loud and abrasive, the compositions themselves are exceptional.

“Grass” is an easy-breezy, Paul McCartney-like single. It’s a great first introduction to the band. And the fact that this was not a hit upon initial release just shows you how screwed up the world really is.

8. “Then She Appeared”

Spend enough time playing an instrument, and the chances are that you’ll get better at it. That’s what many of the punk-rockers who stuck with music found out.

Of course, XTC’s band members did more than just noodle around their instruments of choice since the band had started. By 1992’s “Nonsuch,” they’d developed into a sophisticated pop outfit.

But it wasn’t like the group was eager to score any more hits. The album was a restrained affair. Still, the folk-rock of “Then She Appeared” is just luminous, albeit in an understated way. Terrifically penned song, I reckon!

7. “Respectable Street”

Class divide has, and always will remain, an issue in Britain. And even would-be rockstars were feeling it.

Freed from the shackles of punk and able now to channel a loud, resonant sound at will, 1980s “Respectable Street” was one more example of why XTC was one of the cleverest bands of this period.

6. “That’s Really Super, Supergirl”

Much like Elvis Costello, another brain disguising himself as a dangerous punk, XTC eventually drifted toward trying to write the perfect pop song.

The band get awfully close to achieving just that with “That’s Really Super, Supergirl,” a cheeky love song where melody and dissonance find ways of working things out for the benefit of the listening public.

5. “Senses Working Overtime”

Frank Zappa, the fraud that he was, once called musicians “people off the street, who’d been given instruments.” Well, if that was true (and in some ways, yeah, it was), XTC’s musicians had taken the time to learn to play theirs.

“Senses Working Overtime” is a glorious five-minute piece of music. And, sadly, it’s something that neither crusty jazz-rockers nor most punks ever managed to equal.

Exceptionally orchestrated, played, for the most part, acoustically, and equipped with a sensational hook, “Senses Working Overtime” gave XTC a hit and the ability to choose just how much or little they wanted to reveal themselves to the public. I think that it’s a sensational song!

4. “When You’re Near Me I Have Difficulty”

“Be yourself, everybody else is taken,” Oscar Wilde remarked when, supposedly, having a vision of a future music group called XTC.

While the group’s first two albums didn’t quite nail the band’s vision, “Drums and Wires” was a bona fide masterpiece. I’ve chosen this as one of the greatest albums in alternative albums music history.

Tense, musically complex, and still immensely fun, songs like “When You’re Near Me I Have Difficulty” proved that, against expectations, had developed into a great band.

3. “Dear God”

Trust has never been high on the agenda of Andy Patridge. Figures of authority are usually lurking in the shadows of XTC’s songs.

Religion is the main culprit on “Dear God,” otherwise, one of the band’s best melancholy-tinged pop songs.

While the lyrics accuse organised religion of wrongdoings, rather than a deity per se, “Dear God” earned the group the dubious distinction of being threatened with bodily harm in the U.S., where the song was an unexpected hit.

2. “Mayor of Simpleton”

A power-pop on level with Big Star or Cheap Trick! Who would’ve thought that was a possibility for XTC, a British band started in the wake of punk-rock?

But while Andy Partridge (or rather the main character of the song) might claim that they can’t get their head around a Beatles song, that’s clearly wrong.

This is a brilliantly written love song, and a genuine minor hit for XTC in the U.K., something that unexpectedly prolonged the band’s run.

1. “Making Plans for Nigel”

Fun and quirky! That’s what I thought. And how right I was.

Yet, of course, that’s far from telling the whole story abou t XTC or their early punk-rock interests. By 1979’s epochal “Drums and Wires,” XTC is a highly competent rock band, and angry to have to share their gifts with the dirty music industry.

Seen as something of a masterpiece, “Drums and Wires” scored an unlikely hit. “Making Plans for Nigel” is, in some ways, very much of its age. It’s a song about overcontrolling parents and kids, possibly, going insane from the pressure.

Angry, disjointed, and kind of fun to dance to, “Making Plans for Nigel” is the shining moment for this artsy punk band, for the sophisticated anarchists of XTC.