Login for Favorites
EDIT INFOXtc - Skylarking
Tweet
Album Details
- Artist: Xtc
- Album: Skylarking
- Label: Geffen
- Year of Release: 1986
- ME Rating: Indie Classic
- Reviewed by: dscanland on 2005-08-03
RecommendI figure with all the copycat bands coming up that are borrowing heavily from XTC right now, it would be appropriate to review their best and highly influential album Skylarking. XTC is one of those bands whose success seemed to elude them. They never really became as big as they should have, instead remaining a cult classic. Andy Partridge, Colin Moulding (the principle songwriters) and crew fired on all cylinders when it came to Skylarking. The album starts out with crickets warbling on "Summer's Cauldron", the light way to begin an album as the song eases into focus and Andy's voice takes the forefront. It is a gentle song that sets the pace for Skylarking. They then ease into "Grass" with its slight Eastern influence moving into a bit of a different territory. The way Todd Rundgren works the effects on "That's Really Super, Supergirl" is awesome. The rest of the production is to be noted as well. The angular "Ballet For A Rainy Day" brings us a super outlook for a rainy day. Then it's tracks such as "1000 Umbrellas" that give XTC a bit of a Beatles comparison. "Earn Enough For Us" is one of the most rocking songs on Skylarking. The songs are instantly like-able even though they are somewhat complex underneath the surface. It was this album's "Dear God" that made XTC at least somewhat known in the mainstream world, which was originally released as a b-side. It was a much needed boost for this tragically underexposed UK band.
Bottom line, if you own one XTC album Skylarking should be it. There is a reason why people take this as an influence for bands such as Maximo Park, Franz Ferdinand and Razorlight.
User Reviews and Comments
Log In or Register to Rate Albums
User Rating:
Write your own review
Tell us why this album is great or sucks ass, or correct the reviewer. If you write enough quality reviews you may find yourself on the editorial staff.
Reviews have to be over 100 words, shorter ones are classed as comments.
Tell us why this album is great or sucks ass, or correct the reviewer. If you write enough quality reviews you may find yourself on the editorial staff.
Reviews have to be over 100 words, shorter ones are classed as comments.
Log In or Register to Rate AlbumsReview:
on 2011-12-20 CharlesMartel Said:
Often compared to the Beach Boys' " Pet Sounds" in terms of sound and style, "Skylarking" is probably the apogee of XTC's output. Maybe, but if you were asking me I would detect more of the influence of the Kinks, certainly in terms of the effect. Yet to many, the summery sunshine feel of the album begins to grate after a while. In my own view, the album comprises one or two quite good songs but the arrangements could do with a little tweaking every now and then. Even Todd Rundgren's production doesn't sound forced, which is perhaps unusual for an eighties album.
Still, XTC were one of the few bands which survived the punk upheaval of the late seventies so some credit should go to them for sticking around. Unlike many of their punk contemporaries XTC comprised musicians who could play. In fact, having a keyboard player was something of a rarity among the punks, perhaps because it required a degree of musical competence which was beyond many of them in those heady days.
The opener, " Summer Cauldron" is probably the highlight. The closing of the album's last track, " Dear God ", one of the worst of all theological pop songs I have heard, with a nine year old choir boy singing is definitely the lowlight. And that just about sums up the album as a whole, a slow decline into something less than acceptable. The fault for this has to lie at the feet of Andy Partridge for his lyrics are at times dreadfully cheesy. I am not sure if that was the intention, but if it was good God what were the rest of the band thinking of?
Somehow I wish I could find more affection for this album than I have. But the sad truth is that I cannot. This was unique because it came out at a time when it was different from virtually everything else - no jangle pop; no post-punk; no hair metal. But what XTC failed to do was root the album in something more consequential than a seeming homage to the pop of the sixties. I am not sure the eighties was the decade for a sixties revival, and even if it was, there were bands who were better at it than XTC.
What is odd though is that "Skylarking" kind of set the tone for the musical evolutions of the nineties. Listen to some Blur, or even Suede and you can hear that influence shining through. Not that I would say that XTC were to blame for Britpop, but that "Skylarking " is part of a continuum which stretches back to the heady days of typically English sounding albums which non English people seem to think define who we are. This is what English pop sounds like to people who don't know English pop. This is better than that, but not by as much as some people would have you believe.
Rating: 6/10
