XTC doing a sea chantey at some point in its career seemed more than perfectly logical -- not only did it fit in with the band's stylistic experiments, it called up a sense of Old England so often evocatively touched on elsewhere in the band's work. Thus "All You Pretty Girls" from The Big Express, with Andy Partridge starting everything off as a dramatic, windswept call complete with martial drums before turning into a swaggering, fun stompalong. Much of the song itself is comparatively restrained -- it's easy to hear Partridge singing the verses much as he would for many other songs and albums -- but it's the steady drum punch on the one hand and the kicky whistles and squeezebox on the other that gives the song its enjoyable atmosphere. As for the lyrical invocation asking the narrator's friends to bass on his best wishes to those women 'watching and waiting by the sea,' what better vision for a heterosexual sailor's heart? -- Ned Raggett (allmusic.com)