How do I install basic gnome or xfce?

[Bryan Shelton]

I'm new to Ubuntu.  I've used Redhat and FreeBSD in the past.  I  
installed 6.06 server no problem.  I was able to get all the services  
I wanted up and running, and really enjoyed the apt system I've  
always heard a lot about.  I would, however, like to install a basic  
X desktop, gnome or XFCE.  I found that you can install the package  
xubuntu-desktop, but that comes with gimp and AbiWord and  
thunderbird, and all that stuff.  Is there a package that just  
installs the desktop, without the GUI user apps?  I have some custom  
GUI configurators and things that we've collected over the years that  
I would like to use.  Mainly we need X so we can forward it via SSH  
and run a few programs, nothing fancy at all.  I would rather not bog  
my system's disk down with all the user tools if I don't have to.

Thanks in advance,
Bryan