What Are You Listening To Right Now? Febus Mark 12

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Though borne out of frustrating circumstances, 
SKYLARKING proved, upon its 1986 release, to be XTC's biggest seller. 
Attention was spurred along by "Dear God," which was originally issued 
only as a B-side and not even included on the album. Subsequent 
pressings quickly substituted the song (removing "Mermaid Smiled," which
 resurfaced on RAG & BONE BUFFET).
 At the time, Andy Partridge was extremely vocal about the band's 
dissatisfaction in working with producer Todd Rundgren. Intervening 
years have softened the memory of personal clashes and he now also 
embraces this as one of their finest hours (as had been the case with 
most of their fans all along). With hooks galore ("That's Really Super, 
Supergirl," "Season Cycle"), lush orchestrations ("1000 Umbrellas"), 
acoustic reveries ("Grass," "Sacrificial Bonfire"), and even some big 
fat electric guitars and drums ("Earn Enough For Us"), this is a perfect
 starting point for anyone unfamiliar with the fine XTC catalog. XTC: 
Andy Partridge (vocals, guitar); Dave Gregory (vocals, guitar, piano, 
Chamberlin, synthesizer); Colin Moulding (vocals, bass). Rolling Stone -
 #48 in Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Albums Of The 80s" survey 
(November 1989)
Q (7/01, p. 139) - 5 stars out of 5 - "... A 
masterpiece.... Todd Rundgren-produced SKYLARKING came out bright, 
beautiful - and sexy in a DH Lawrence style..." Uncut (p. 124) - 
"SKYLARKING is the album that tied up everything great about Swindon's 
finest into one big beautiful package of perfect pop, saving their 
career in the process." 
CMJ (1/5/04, p. 20) - Ranked #1 in CMJ's "Top 20 Most-Played Albums of 1987"
Mojo (Publisher) (p. 117) - "[T]he band's most perfectly realised LP.... With astute songwriting and aural splendour... ".

Edited by Slartibartfast - January 25 2014 at 18:16