Geffen
24218-2
(1989)
Rock/Pop
CD, 15
Tracks, 60:41
Length
|
|
|
01 |
Garden of Earthly Delights |
Andy Partridge |
|
|
05:02 |
02 |
Mayor of Simpleton |
Andy Partridge |
|
|
03:58 |
03 |
King for a Day |
Colin Moulding |
|
|
03:38 |
04 |
Here Comes President Kill Again |
Andy Partridge |
|
|
03:34 |
05 |
Love Thing |
Andy Partridge |
|
|
04:11 |
06 |
Poor Skeleton Steps Out |
Andy Partridge |
|
|
03:27 |
07 |
One of the Millions |
Colin Moulding |
|
|
04:42 |
08 |
Scarecrow People |
Andy Partridge |
|
|
04:12 |
09 |
Merely a Man |
Andy Partridge |
|
|
03:26 |
10 |
Cynical Days |
Colin Moulding |
|
|
03:17 |
11 |
Across This Antheap |
Andy Partridge |
|
|
04:51 |
12 |
Hold Me My Daddy |
Andy Partridge |
|
|
03:47 |
13 |
Pink Thing |
Andy Partridge |
|
|
03:48 |
14 |
Miniature Sun |
Andy Partridge |
|
|
03:49 |
15 |
Chalkhills and Children |
Andy Partridge |
|
|
04:59 |
|
Packaging |
Jewel Case |
Spars |
DDD |
Sound |
Stereo |
|
Bass |
Colin Moulding |
Guitar |
David Gregory |
Guitar |
Andy Partridge |
Musician |
XTC |
Producer |
Paul Fox |
Engineer |
Ed Thacker |
|
Index |
#
3914 |
Owner |
Dave |
Tags |
New Wave, Pop Rock |
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|
Skylarking was an ambitious yet concise record, one that recalled such graceful concept albums as Pet Sounds and Sgt. Pepper, so it wasn't entirely a surprise that XTC embraced psychedelia on its double-album follow-up Oranges and Lemons, especially if their celebrated Dukes of Stratosphear side project was taken into consideration as well. Oranges and Lemons lacks the singular focus of Skylarking, but at its best, it's just as impressive as its predecessor. Instead of revelling in the form of psychedelic pop, as they did with the Dukes, XTC bring the genre's sensibility to the mature pop of Skylarking, spiking it with a wry, occasionally absurd, sense of humor missing from its predecssor. The result is a record exploding with detail, not the least of which are backward guitars, sound effects and head-spinningly eclectic arrangements. It's sonically rich and filled with immaculately crafted songs, but Oranges and Lemons falls just short of being a tour-de-force, since each song feels like an island -- they work well as individual tracks, but they don't form a cohesive statement. However, that's a minor complaint, because Colin Moulding and Andy Partridge in particular are in peak form, contributing some of their very finest songs in "Garden of Earthly Delights," "The Loving," "One of the Millions," "Merely a Man," "Pink Thing" and the elegiac "Chalkhills and Children." Such songs make the relative weaknesses of the album well worth enduring.