XYZ (Andy Summers album)

Untitled

XYZ is a 1987 album by Andy Summers. It is the first solo album by Summers and the only one to feature his vocals, though an uncredited vocal by Summers appears on World Gone Strange. 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 album was recorded in 1986 at Devo's studio in Los Angeles, California. The cover portrait is by Anton Corbijn.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Andy Summers except where noted

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Love is the Strangest Way"	4:20
2.	"How Many Days" (Summers/David Hentschel)	5:21
3.	"Almost There"	4:30
4.	"Eyes of a Stranger"	4:47
5.	"The Change"	2:53
6.	"Scary Voices"	4:37
7.	"Nowhere" (Summers/Hentschel)	4:35
8.	"XYZ" (Summers/Hentschel/Charlotte Caffey)	2:46
9.	"The Only Road"	3:40
10.	"Hold Me" (Summers/Hentschel)	4:48

• 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.

Personnel

• Andy Summers – guitar, bass guitar, vocals, producer
• David Hentschel – keyboards, drums, drum programming, producer
• 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 – photography