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Skylarking
By XTC
10/10 from 1 review
Categories: Rock, Pop
Buy at Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com
1 review
Keeps you coming back, over and over
XTC, generally speaking were underachieving and a litle bit too angular / smart / middle class and English for their own good.

But they did some pretty damn good tunes. Then fell out of fashion.

"Big Express", the album before this, was pretty good if still a little arch, with some really lovely songs on. However, it in no way suggested the sheer *wonder* of "Skylarking".

It's entirely genre busting. It is unclassifiable in any way other than "Made in England and it's not dance music". I say England rather than Britain because it has an almost Alan Bennett-esque practility and wonderful poignancy in the every-day bitterness (and glory in the tiniest things) of life that we go through.

On this new CD version they've added the blisteringly good single "Dear God" too, which fits comfortably in to this album. I seem to remember that originally it was going to be on the album, but the producer, Todd Rungren balked at it. Despite that disagreement the production on this album really is well nigh perfect.

Standout tracks are - well they change with the wind really but "Season Cycle" is fantastic, as is "That's really Super, Supergirl", "Earn enough" and "Dying" which is extraordinary. and the aforementioned "Dear God" obviously. The wedding song "Big Day" is a lowpoint of sorts, I'd say but so what, push the forward button.

They were never this good before, and they were never this good again. It's a real classic and you *should*, no - MUST give it a go. And listen to it two or three times on the trot - let the sense of it sink in.

Having had vinyl for a long time I bought the CD a while ago and I've had it on the headphones at work almost every day since, often on repeat.
Rating: 10/10
Link to this review
Posted by Cait on Thu, 24th October 2002, 12:38pm
1 review