Skylarking

by

XTC

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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.

Forget the Who, the Kinks, the Beatles and even the Spice Girls, XTC are the most intelligent, sublime British pop band, ever. Great melodies, terrific lyrics, and original and inspiring music. So why only 3 stars for Skylarking? Because this doesn't sound like an XTC album, rather its a Todd Rundgren album composed and played by XTC. Sorry to dis Todd (he's done great work with other people) but he leaves huge indelible Todd fingerprints all over this album. The production seems forced, artificial and even at times cheesy in its overuse of strings and sound effects. The band had to sit there while Todd f'ed up their music because they were in such financial trouble at the time. Hey it worked, they got a hit, and it is a good album but its just not XTC. Where are the guitars? I like XTC when they play rock music with actual guitars rather than pop music drenched in studio puffery and violins. Beach Boys be damned. I realize that this was the time when XTC were in their "pastoral" phase, but I like the rock of their previous efforts such as English Settlement, Black Sea, The White Album, Drums And Wires, The Big Black Express or Go 2 MUCH more than this pseudo Beach Boys pseudo psychedelic wimpy naval gazing crud. Skylarking is just too wuss pop for me. Compared to most of their previous work this album isn't all that.