XTC Skylarking released

Skylarking XTC

Released: October 27, 1986 Peak: 70 US, 90 UK Sales (in millions): -- Genre: new wave

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Summer’s Cauldron [3:15] (19 CO) Grass (Moulding) [3:05] (8/16/86, 35 CO, 100 UK) The Meeting Place (Moulding) [3:13] (2/2/87, 35 CO, 100 UK) That’s Really Super, Supergirl [3:22] Ballet for a Rainy Day [2:50] 1000 Umbrellas [3:44] Season Cycle [3:21] Earn Enough for Us [2:54] Big Day (Moulding) [3:32] Another Satellite [4:16] Dear God [3:36] (8/16/86, 37 AR, 1 CO, 99 UK) Dying (Moulding) [2:31] Sacrificial Bonfire (Moulding) [3:46] Songs written by Andy Partridge unless noted otherwise. Total Running Time: 46:50 The Players: Andy Patridge (vocals, guitar) Colin Moulding (bass, vocals) Dave Gregory (guitar, piano, snythesizers, vocals) Todd Rundgren (producer, engineer, various instruments)

Rating: 4.276 out of 5.00 (average of 14 ratings) Quotable: “A pop masterpiece…that has great ambitions and fulfills them with ease.” – Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “Working with producer Todd Rundgren didn’t necessarily bring XTC a sense of sonic cohesion – after all, every record since English Settlement followed its own interior logic – but it did help the group sharpen its focus, making Skylarking its tightest record since Drums and Wires.” AMG “Ironically, Skylarking had little to do with new wave and everything to do with the lush, post-psychedelic pop of the Beatles and Beach Boys. Combining the charming pastoral feel of Mummer with the classicist English pop of The Big Express, XTC expand their signature sound by enhancing their intelligently melodic pop with graceful, lyrical arrangements and sweeping, detailed instrumentation.” AMG “Rundgren may have devised the sequencing, helping the record feel like a song cycle even if it doesn’t play like one, but what really impresses is the consistency and depth of Andy Partridge’s and Colin Moulding’s songs. Each song is a small gem, marrying sweet, catchy melodies to decidedly adult lyrical themes, from celebrations of love (Grass) and marriage (Big Day) to skepticism about maturation (Earn Enough for Us) and religion (Dear God).” AMG “Moulding’s songs complement Partridge’s songs better than before, and each writer is at a melodic and lyrical peak, which Rundgren helps convey with his supple production. The result is a pop masterpiece – an album that has great ambitions and fulfills them with ease.” AMG Notes: The original version of Skylarking featured the song “Mermaid Smile,” later replaced by “Dear God,” which was originally the B-side of “Grass.” Some versions of the album feature the original track listing plus “Dear God” tacked on to the end of the album.

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for XTC DMDB encyclopedia entry for Todd Rundgren AMG All Music Guide review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine WK Wikipedia First posted 3/25/2008; last updated 9/5/2021.