XYZ is the first solo album by Andy Summers. Released in 1987, it is to date his only album to feature him on lead vocals, though he performs a wordless vocal on his 1991 album World Gone Strange.
During his tenure with The Police, Summers had worked on a number of outside projects, including two albums of instrumental music with fellow guitarist Robert Fripp and music for films such Down and Out in Beverly Hills and 2010: The Year We Make Contact. Following the official break-up of The Police in 1986, Summers, like his bandmates Sting and Stewart Copeland, embarked on a more ambitious solo career. Summers partnered with producer and musician David Hentschel, known for his work with Genesis. Summers was the first Police member to leave A&M Records, choosing instead to work with MCA. The album was recorded in 1986 at Devo's studio in Los Angeles, California. Many of the songs had been demoed in the Police years and put forward for consideration for Sting to sing on a Police album. Summers took lead vocals himself, and played bass as well as his usual array of guitars. Drum programming was favoured over the use of real drums, a production choice popular in the mid-1980s. The title "XYZ" comes from the middle names of Summers's three children. His daughter Layla (born 1978) has the middle name 'Z', and his twin sons, Maurice and Anton, (born 1987) have the middle names 'X' and 'Y' respectively. The cover portrait is by Anton Corbijn.
"Love is the Strangest Way" was released as a single. The promotional video was inspired by the work of Maya Deren and shot as a short black and white film, with Summers and his love interest desperately trying to meet in a room full of people. Summers commented: "I didn't like any of [The Police] videos. We were always made to look bright, inoffensive and appealing. As videos progressed, they started to move away from that: they got hipper, people started using Super 8 and handheld techniques, and everything got darker and more interesting."[1]
Another track, "Carry Me Back Home" (5:04), was recorded during the XYZ sessions for the soundtrack of the film Band of the Hand and released on the B-side of the 12-inch version of the "Love is the Strangest Way" single. Charlotte Caffey, from the new-wave band the Go-Gos, did not play in the album but she co-authored the title track with Summers and Hentschel and is acknowledged for her support in the credits.
Receptionedit
Summers put together a six-piece band and toured extensively to promote the album, augmenting the set list with Police material such as "Tea in the Sahara" and "Omega Man", the latter of which had never been played live by The Police. Both the single and the album failed to chart, prompting Summers to return to the kind of instrumental music he had explored on the two albums he had recorded with Robert Fripp for most of his future career.
Track listingedit
All tracks are written by Andy Summers except where noted
^Graig Marks and Rob Tannenbaum, I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution, Dutton, New York, 2011
January 01, 1970
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources XYZ Andy Summers album news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2018 Learn how and when to remove this message XYZ is the first solo album by Andy Summers Released in 1987 it is to date his only album to feature him on lead vocals though he performs a wordless vocal on his 1991 album World Gone Strange XYZStudio album by Andy SummersReleased1987 1987 RecordedSummer 1986StudioDevo Studios Los AngelesGenrePop new waveLength42 22LabelMCAProducerDavid Hentschel Andy SummersAndy Summers chronologyBewitched 1984 XYZ 1987 Mysterious Barricades 1988 Contents 1 Background 2 Reception 3 Track listing 4 Personnel 5 ReferencesBackground editDuring his tenure with The Police Summers had worked on a number of outside projects including two albums of instrumental music with fellow guitarist Robert Fripp and music for films such Down and Out in Beverly Hills and 2010 The Year We Make Contact Following the official break up of The Police in 1986 Summers like his bandmates Sting and Stewart Copeland embarked on a more ambitious solo career Summers partnered with producer and musician David Hentschel known for his work with Genesis Summers was the first Police member to leave A amp M Records choosing instead to work with MCA The album was recorded in 1986 at Devo s studio in Los Angeles California Many of the songs had been demoed in the Police years and put forward for consideration for Sting to sing on a Police album Summers took lead vocals himself and played bass as well as his usual array of guitars Drum programming was favoured over the use of real drums a production choice popular in the mid 1980s The title XYZ comes from the middle names of Summers s three children His daughter Layla born 1978 has the middle name Z and his twin sons Maurice and Anton born 1987 have the middle names X and Y respectively The cover portrait is by Anton Corbijn Love is the Strangest Way was released as a single The promotional video was inspired by the work of Maya Deren and shot as a short black and white film with Summers and his love interest desperately trying to meet in a room full of people Summers commented I didn t like any of The Police videos We were always made to look bright inoffensive and appealing As videos progressed they started to move away from that they got hipper people started using Super 8 and handheld techniques and everything got darker and more interesting 1 Another track Carry Me Back Home 5 04 was recorded during the XYZ sessions for the soundtrack of the film Band of the Hand and released on the B side of the 12 inch version of the Love is the Strangest Way single Charlotte Caffey from the new wave band the Go Gos did not play in the album but she co authored the title track with Summers and Hentschel and is acknowledged for her support in the credits Reception editSummers put together a six piece band and toured extensively to promote the album augmenting the set list with Police material such as Tea in the Sahara and Omega Man the latter of which had never been played live by The Police Both the single and the album failed to chart prompting Summers to return to the kind of instrumental music he had explored on the two albums he had recorded with Robert Fripp for most of his future career Track listing editAll tracks are written by Andy Summers except where notedNo TitleWriter s Length1 Love is the Strangest Way 4 202 How Many Days lyrics Summers music Summers David Hentschel5 213 Almost There 4 304 Eyes of a Stranger 4 475 The Change 2 536 Scary Voices 4 377 Nowhere lyrics Summers music Summers Hentschel4 358 XYZ lyrics Summers music Summers Hentschel Charlotte Caffey2 469 The Only Road 3 4010 Hold Me lyrics Summers music Summers Hentschel4 48Personnel editAndy Summers guitar bass guitar vocals producer David Hentschel keyboards drum programming percussion production Nan Vernon vocals on Love Is the Strangest Way How Many Days and Almost There backing vocals on Eyes of a Stranger Chris Childs bass guitar on Eyes of a Stranger Rick May bass guitar on Hold Me Abraham Laboriel bass guitar on Scary Voices Michael G Fisher percussion on Nowhere Love Is the Strangest Way and Almost There Greta Gold additional backing vocals on Eyes of a Stranger Oren Julia and Maxine Waters backing vocals on Nowhere Hold Me and How Many Days Technical Bob Casale mixing and engineering Anton Corbijn photographyReferences edit Graig Marks and Rob Tannenbaum I Want My MTV The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution Dutton New York 2011 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title XYZ Andy Summers album amp oldid 1203851233, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
