Take Away / The Lure of Salvage

Each track on Take Away / The Lure of Salvage is derived from a song released on the band's first three albums and related B-sides, except "Commerciality (Signal Ad)", which is a remix of the White Music outtake "Refrigeration Blues".^[1] The back cover reads:

This used to be some XTC records. It is now a collection of tracks that have been electronically processed/shattered and layered with other sounds or lyrical pieces. All initial sound by XTC. Additional sound/lyrics by Andy Partridge. Put and take by John Leckie and Andy Partridge on 10/10/79. Alan Jakoby was the tapir. Destructed/constructed at Regents Park Recording Company. If you liked Go+ then this record weighs approximately the same amount.^[2]

Partridge recruited Leckie after feeling guilty that the band had not re-hired him to produce their third album, Drums and Wires (1979). The pair worked on the remixes for a week while enjoying and deriving inspiration from late night horror films being shown in London's West End, including Alien (1979). Partridge's wife Marianne was recruited for handclaps and other noises.^[3]

Even though no other XTC member was involved in the album's making, Partridge does not personally consider it a solo effort.^[4] Virgin rejected his request to issue it under the XTC banner, as it would have counted toward their record contract.^[5]

The cover pictures on the album's back and front are taken from a post card of Jayne Mansfield in a swimming pool. The figures floating on the water are hot water bottles shaped like her, on the back cover some of which Partridge scribbled out, in order to represent the "holes" in dub music.^[3] He made the LP totally royalty-free for a cost of £2000, and asked Virgin to set the price low. Virgin sold the album with the maximum price of £3.99 (equivalent to £17 in 2025).^{[citation needed]}

Reviews of Take Away / The Lure of Salvage were generally unfavourable.^[6] However, in Japan, the record was hailed as a work of "electronic genius" and outsold all other XTC albums.^[7] Keiichi Suzuki of Moonriders cited the album as an influence, particularly on the tracks he composed for the Mother video game series.^[8]

In 1990, Take Away and The Lure of Salvage were included on the compilation Explode Together: The Dub Experiments 78-80, along with the EP Go+.

Track notes adapted from XTC: Song Stories (1998), by XTC and Neville Farmer.^[3]

• Andy Partridge and John Leckie – remixers, producers
• Alan Jakoby – tape operator