Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2)
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| Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by XTC | ||||
| Released | 23 May 2000 | |||
| Recorded | April–December 1999, Idea Studios, Wiltshire and Chipping Norton Recording Studios, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom | |||
| Genre | Pop rock | |||
| Length | 50:54 | |||
| Language | English | |||
| Label | Cooking Vinyl | |||
| Producer | Nick Davis | |||
| XTC chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2) | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 75/100 [1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
| NME | (7/10) [3] |
| Pitchfork | (8.0/10) [4] |
| PopMatters | (9/10) [5] |
| Q | [6] |
| Robert Christgau |  [7] |
| Rolling Stone | [8] |
Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2) is the thirteenth and last studio album by XTC, released on Cooking Vinyl/Idea Records on 23 May 2000. It is the second volume of the Apple Venus set.
This album was the first album featuring only Partridge and Moulding as XTC. Partridge's daughter Holly made her singing debut on record singing backup vocals in the song "Playground"; she now sings and plays guitar in the English pop-rock group The SheBeats.
In 2002 XTC released an instrumental version of the album entitled Waspstrumental.
In the second episode of Gilmore Girls, Lane runs to Lorelei's house excitedly shouting that she just bought the album, causing Lorelei to stop painting Rory's nails before she finished in order to listen to it.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
[edit] UK CD: COOKCD 194
All songs written and composed by Andy Partridge, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Playground" | 4:17 | |
| 2. | "Stupidly Happy" | 4:13 | |
| 3. | "In Another Life" | Colin Moulding | 3:35 |
| 4. | "My Brown Guitar" | 3:51 | |
| 5. | "Boarded Up" | Moulding | 3:23 |
| 6. | "I'm the Man Who Murdered Love" | 3:44 | |
| 7. | "We're All Light" | 4:39 | |
| 8. | "Standing in for Joe" | Moulding | 3:42 |
| 9. | "Wounded Horse" | 4:11 | |
| 10. | "You and the Clouds Will Still be Beautiful" | 4:18 | |
| 11. | "Church of Women" | 5:06 | |
| 12. | "The Wheel and the Maypole" | 5:55 |
[edit] Personnel
- XTC
- Colin Moulding – vocals, bass guitar, harmonica on "In Another Life", guitar on "Boarded Up"
- Andy Partridge – vocals, guitar
- Additional musicians
- Caroline Dale – cello
- Nick Davis – keyboards
- Simon Gardner – flugelhorn
- Patrick Kiernan – violin
- Peter Lale – viola
- Holly Partridge – backing vocals on "Playground"
- Prairie Prince – drums (2, 3, 4, 12)
- Chuck Sabo – drums (1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
- Kate St. John – oboe
- Matt Vaughn – programming
- Gavin Wright – violin
- Production
- Haydn Bendall – recording engineering
- Nick Davis – producer, mixing, recording engineering
- Simon Dawson – mix engineer
- Alan Douglas – recording engineering
- Barry Hammond – recording engineering
- Bob Ludwig – mastering
[edit] Chart performance
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart [9] | 40 |
| Billboard 200 [10] | 108 |
[edit] References
- ^ "XTC - Wasp Star (Apple Venus, Volume 2)". Metacritic. CBS Interactive Inc.. http://www.metacritic.com/music/wasp-star-apple-venus-pt-2. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Review: XTC - Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2)". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. http://www.allmusic.com/album/wasp-star-apple-venus-pt-2-r477361/review. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
- ^ "Review: XTC - Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2)". NME (IPC Media). http://www.nme.com/reviews/xtc/2361. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
- ^ Hooker, Zach. "Review: XTC - Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2)". Pitchfork. http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/8830-wasp-star-apple-venus-vol-2/. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
- ^ Schabe, Patrick. "Review: XTC - Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2)". PopMatters. http://www.popmatters.com/pm/music/reviews/29683/xtc-wasp/. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
- ^ Aizlewood, John. "Review: XTC - Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2)". Q (Bauer Media Group). Archived from the original on 27 September 2009. http://web.archive.org/web/20070927224210/http://www.q4music.com/nav?page=q4music.artist.review&fixture_review=136605&resource=136605&fixture_artist=145441. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
- ^ Christgau, Robert. "Review: XTC - Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2)". Robert Christgau. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=xtc. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
- ^ Moon, Tom. "Review: XTC - Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2)". Rolling Stone (Jann Wenner). Archived from the original on 11 April 2009. http://web.archive.org/web/20090411045742/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/xtc/albums/album/135673/review/5942469/wasp_star_apple_venus_vol_2. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
- ^ "XTC - Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2)". Chart Stats. http://www.chartstats.com/release.php?release=40557. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
- ^ "XTC - Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2)". Billboard 200. Prometheus Global Media. http://www.billboard.com/artist/frazier-chorus/chart-history/10691#/album/xtc/wasp-star-apple-venus-pt-2/423511. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
