Skylarking

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Skylarking
Studio album by XTC
Released	October 27, 1986 (1986-10-27)
Recorded	1986 at Utopia Sound Studios Woodstock, NY and at Cavum Soni (Sound Hole), San Francisco
Genre	Baroque Pop New Wave Psychedelic Pop
Length	50:09
Label	Virgin Records/Geffen Records
Producer	Todd Rundgren
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Blender link Piero Scaruffi (7.5/10) link PopMatters (favourable) link Q link Robert Christgau (A-) link Rolling Stone (favourable) link Adrian Denning (9.5/10) link Uncut (very positive) link
XTC chronology
25 O'Clock (1985) Skylarking (1986) Psonic Psunspot (1987)
Singles from Skylarking
"Grass" Released: August 1986 "The Meeting Place" Released: February 1987 "Dear God" Released: June 1987
Alternate cover
CD cover

Skylarking is XTC's eighth studio album, released on October 27, 1986. Considered by many to be their finest album, Skylarking is a "life-in-a-day" semi-concept album which displayed songwriting and arranging heavily influenced by The Beatles, The Beach Boys and The Kinks. The title of the album was inspired by Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem To a Skylark and many of the songs expand on the pastoral themes of their 1983 album, Mummer, most notably "Summer's Cauldron" and "Season Cycle".

Contents 1 Recording process 2 Multiple versions 3 Singles 4 Videos 5 Critical response 6 Chart position 7 Audio previews 8 Track listing 8.1 2001 Remastered CD: CDVX2399 9 Personnel 9.1 Additional personnel 10 Credits 11 Charts 12 References 13 External links 13.1 Audio previews from Skylarking

[edit] Recording process

The album was produced by Todd Rundgren after the band chose his name from a list of potential producers submitted by its label, Virgin Records. The recording sessions took place in the spring of 1986, at Rundgren's upstate New York recording studio. Rundgren convinced the band that the songs which Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding wrote would form a concept album. It was recorded track to track on one reel of 2 inch tape. Segues between songs were performed.^[1]The sessions were fraught with tension, due to creative differences between Rundgren and Partridge. In the book XTC: Song Stories by Neville Farmer, Partridge says:

"(Rundgren) was so bloody sarcastic, which is rare with Americans. He's got it down to an extremely cruel art. He'd ask how you were going to do the vocals and you would stand in front of the mic and do one run through to clear your throat and he'd say, 'That was crap. I'll come down and I'll record me singing it and you can have me in your headphones to sing along to.' I just thought it was so insulting."

However, in the same interview, Partridge acknowledged Rundgren's contributions to the album, saying:

"He did do great things musically. The arrangements were brilliant and I don't know how he came up with them... The bloke is ludicrously smart when it comes to certain things."

Elsewhere in Song Stories Moulding called the finished product "my favorite album so far", even twelve years and several more albums after Skylarking's release.

[edit] Multiple versions

Most versions of the album contain XTC's biggest hit song in America, "Dear God", a pointed, anti-theistic song. The track was originally the B-side to the single "Grass", but due to its popularity, the album was reissued in the US, with "Mermaid Smiled" cut from the album and "Dear God" added in its place. In Canada the album was reissued without cutting any songs, but with "Dear God" added to the end (the same 15 song order as the 2001/2002 reissue). Some compact disc versions of the album include both tracks. Many artists have covered the song, including Sarah McLachlan. On May 28, 2001, Virgin Records released a remastered version of the album in the UK with "Dear God" added; this was released in the US in 2002 on the Caroline Records imprint.

[edit] Singles

The singles from the album were "Grass" (released August 16, 1986), "The Meeting Place" (released February 2, 1987), "Earn Enough For Us" (in Canada and Australia only) and, due to its massive popularity arising out of college radio as the last song on the "Grass" UK 12" single, "Dear God" (released June 1, 1987). "Dear God" reached No. 15 on the Billboard Rock Album Tracks chart and received the Billboard Best Video award for 1987.

[edit] Videos

Promotional videos were made for "Grass" and "Dear God" (both directed by Nick Brandt). The Channel 4 music program The Tube also produced videos for "The Meeting Place" and "The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul" with the band wearing costumes from The Prisoner. The "Dear God" video was also nominated for the categories Best Director, Best Concept, and Best Innovation for the MTV Video Music Awards for 1987.

[edit] Critical response

Despite the album's poor sales and the band's initial dislike of the record, Skylarking is seen by many fans and critics as their finest work, citing Rundgren's innovative production and the cohesive nature of the album as its strengths.^{[citation needed]} In 1989, it was ranked #48 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 greatest albums of the 1980s. Pitchforkmedia ranked the album #15 on their Top 100 Albums of the 1980s, calling it a "beacon of psychedelic greenery".

[edit] Chart position

The album reached No. 90 on the UK album chart and No. 70 on the US album chart.

[edit] Audio previews

The album can be previewed in its entirety on the Skylarking Last.fm page.^[2]

[edit] Track listing

[edit] 2001 Remastered CD: CDVX2399

All songs written and composed by Andy Partridge, except where noted. 

The tracks on the original UK album (V 2399) were the same as the above, minus "Dear God". The tracks on the original US album (GHS 24117) were the same as the original UK album, however this album was quickly reissued with the track "Mermaid Smiled" removed and "Dear God" placed after "The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul".

[edit] Personnel

• Andy Partridge – vocals, guitar
• Colin Moulding – vocals, bass, and bonfire
• Dave Gregory – vocals, guitar, piano, synthesizer, chamberlin, string arrangement on "1,000 Umbrellas" and the odd tiple

[edit] Additional personnel

• Prairie Prince – "the part of the time bomb (i.e., drums)"
• Beech Avenue Boys (i.e., XTC) – backing vocals
• Todd Rundgren – orchestral arrangements, computer programming, keyboards and backing vocals

[edit] Credits

• Engineered by Todd Rundgren
• Additional engineering by Kim Foscato and George Cowan at Utopia Sound Studios
• Mastered 1986 by Greg Fulginiti at Artisan Sound Recorders
• Remastered 2001 by Ian Cooper at Metropolis Mastering

[edit] Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1987	The Billboard 200	70

Single

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1987	"Dear God"	Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	37

[edit] References

[edit] External links

[edit] Audio previews from Skylarking

• 1. "Summer's Cauldron"
• 2. "Grass"
• 3. "The Meeting Place"
• 4. "That's Really Super, Supergirl"
• 5. "Ballet for a Rainy Day"
• 6. "1000 Umbrellas"
• 7. "Season Cycle"
• 8. "Earn Enough for Us"
• 9. "Big Day"
• 10. "Another Satellite"
• 11. "Mermaid Smiled"
• 12. "The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul"
• 13. "Dying"
• 14. "Sacrificial Bonfire"
• 15. "Dear God"

v • d • e XTC Andy Partridge · Colin Moulding · Dave Gregory · Terry Chambers · Barry Andrews Studio albums White Music · Go 2 · Drums and Wires · Black Sea · English Settlement · Mummer · The Big Express · 25 O'Clock · Skylarking · Psonic Psunspot · Oranges & Lemons · Nonsuch · Apple Venus Volume 1 · Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2) Live albums BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert Compilation albums Waxworks: Some Singles 1977-1982 · Beeswax: Some B-Sides 1977-1982 · The Compact XTC · Chips from the Chocolate Fireball · Explode Together: The Dub Experiments 78-80 · Rag and Bone Buffet: Rare Cuts and Leftovers · Drums and Wireless: BBC Radio Sessions 77-89 · Fossil Fuel: The XTC Singles 1977–92 · Upsy Daisy Assortment · Transistor Blast: The Best of the BBC Sessions · Coat of Many Cupboards · Apple Box Other albums Homespun · Homegrown · Instruvenus · Waspstrumental Related articles Discography