XTC - Skylarking
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Free Music Notes for Skylarking
Free Music Review: XTC's Best with a 'little' help from Rundgren
Hit: 5 Stars
This must be a classic album, otherwise why would I possess five versions of it on CD? There's the original UK and US presses, the Gold Ultradisc CD, the Japanese paper sleeve edition (remastered) and this latest remastered edition. The original album as it appeared back in 1986 (it sure doesn't sound like an 80s album) does not include Dear God which was actually a B-side to the Grass single. Dear God became a college radio hit in the U.S. and that resulted in it being included in the U.S. album at the expense of Mermaid Smiled. The initial UK and US CD releases reflect this difference, with the Gold Ultradisc following the latter's track listing. It is only after remastering, that the latest releases (Japanese paper sleeve and this one) contain both songs with Dear God being tagged on at the end (the Japanese paper sleeve edition does not list the track). Sequence-wise, I prefer the latest incarnation as it offers the best of both worlds and generally sound better after the remastering (the Gold CD stills sounds superior but lacks Mermaid Smiled).
XTC play quirky and intelligent pop with shades of Squeeze and the Beatles. Early XTC sounded a little different, having more punk and new wave elements in them. The best albums pre-Skylarking include Black Sea and Drums & Wires. Notable post-Skylarking releases include Oranges & Lemons and their last studio album Wasp Star (Apple Venus Vol. 2). Skylarking stands out from all their other albums in that it follows a concept - pastoral meditation on the cycle of life and death. It is quite likely that this is down largely to Todd Rundgren's production and vision. If you study his other work (including his own albums) as well as other artistes he has produced (prime example being Hall & Oates' War Babies), you will see that unity and flow are the twin pillars of his production technique. This however should not detract from the writing skills of Partridge and Moulding, which turn up many gems here including Grass, Ballet For A Rainy Day and Dear God. Of course, there was the inevitable clash of egos between Partridge and Rundgren (an example being Partridge's annoyance that Rundgren chose almost, if not all of Moulding's offerings for the album - other XTC albums feature about 3 songs from Moulding; Skylarking has 5).
Reluctant concept album? XTC's Sgt. Pepper? Whatever the label, this is one fine album that has to be listened to from start to finish and then back again. It is another one of those 'cyclical' albums that deserve a wider audience, much like Love's Forever Changes and The Byrd's Notorious Byrd Brothers.
Free Music Review: Dear Who???
Hit: 5 Stars
Yeah, this album is quite amazing. I was in the record store looking for a Christmas gift for my sister, and I picked up Skylarking at the suggestion of the clerk. Pheww! Thank God she had good taste. It was one of the first albums I bought with my own money. I'm not really going to add my two cents to the merits of this fine work of musical genius. One thing that did bug me though is that at the time I purchased this album ('86), Dear God wasn't even on it! It was added a few years later....So I had to go out and buy the entire album again, just to get that one song. Anybody out there know if the first issue (w/o Dear God) is worth any money to a collector?Free Music Review: XTC, who took the beatles mantle
Hit: 5 Stars
Skylarking is not just one of the great British albums of the 1980`s, it is an all time great album. As many of the great albums it was made under great pressure with Todd Rundgren, producing and managing to upset the Partridge ego and have Colin Moulding quit briefly. In the end Partridge went home and missed the final mixing, Rundgren did it and there was born Skylarking. The songs which flow together beautifully leave one with an almost summers day languidness. The album actually takes you outdoors on a summers day on grass with a picnic and a loved one, a bottle of Riesling and thou. Oops sorry got carried away!! The music is brilliant with so much happening, its all here, Black Sea quirkiness,(Thats really super, Supergirl)English Settlement pop (The Meeting Place) and of course the acoustic brilliance of Dear God. So many ideas, so much talent so little reward. XTC the princes of Brit Pop.Free Music Review: Listen to this album again!
Hit: 5 Stars
I put this CD after not listening to it for a few years, and I was amazed to hear again how great these songs really are. I know the album is mainly known for "Dear God," but I'm much more partial to "Supergirl" and "Earn Enough For Us" myself. Each song here is pure polished pop, and it sounds great to the ears. The song cycle about life makes them stand out even more, and brings it into a really great package. This is one of those fabulous rock albums that defines the art, and it won't be long until I listen again. Pick it up!Free Music Review: Drowning Here In XTC
Hit: 5 Stars
Everyone, when discussing "Skylarking", bring up the arguing between Rundgren and Partridge like it's a huge problem.To this I say, they obviously came to some compromise that created one of the greatest pop albums EVER, not just of the 80's.
Partridge himself said it best:
"Musician and producer Todd Rundgren squeezed the XTC clay into its most complete / connected / cyclical record ever. Not an easy album to make for various ego reasons but time has humbled me into admitting that Todd conjured up some of the most magical production and arranging conceivable. A summer's day cooked into one cake."
From the deep "Another Satellite" to the seamless "Summer's Cauldron/Grass", Partridge and Moulding's writing styles never complemented each other as well.
It's no wonder this album has overall ratings of 4.5; i think it deserves higher personally.