Skylarking (reissue)

[AllSussedOut]

Tom--

I've been listening to the show for a year or two, and to the archives for roughly as long, but I don't know that I've ever heard you talk about XTC.  I hope that (if you're a fan of the band) you've been able to listen to the double-vinyl reissue of Skylarking.  It is quite wonderful.

David

[dave from knoxville]

Tom--

I've been listening to the show for a year or two, and to the archives for roughly as long, but I don't know that I've ever heard you talk about XTC.  I hope that (if you're a fan of the band) you've been able to listen to the double-vinyl reissue of Skylarking.  It is quite wonderful.

David

It's not a hip opinion, but I adore Oranges and Lemons, which I feel is the top pure-pop bass album of all time. So inventive and fun.

[break]

Tom--

I've been listening to the show for a year or two, and to the archives for roughly as long, but I don't know that I've ever heard you talk about XTC.  I hope that (if you're a fan of the band) you've been able to listen to the double-vinyl reissue of Skylarking.  It is quite wonderful.

David

It's not a hip opinion, but I adore Oranges and Lemons, which I feel is the top pure-pop bass album of all time. So inventive and fun.

I could not agree more.  Colin Moulding's bass lines are bonkers on that album. 

[Christina]

I am a fan of the Dukes of Stratosphear stuff.

[AllSussedOut]

(There's no wrong answer re: favorite XTC/Dukes album!)

[Rick in Salt Lake]

I tend to have a hard time finding XTC material I don't like... But "Nonsuch" comes pretty close...

Personal fave: "Black Sea"...

[Omar]

I always loved seeing Alex Karras pummel the Dukes of Stratosphear on SNL back in 1985.  Here's a clip:

Trixter - Give It To Me Good

[Omar]

I do apologize.  It appears that is a promotional video for the first Trixter single.  YouTube is not working properly!

[Wes]

I always loved seeing Alex Karras pummel the Dukes of Stratosphear on SNL back in 1985.  Here's a clip:

From what I understand, the Schiavelli Estate is still very touchy about Summer '85 SNL and their lawyers are very thorough about alerting NBC to any clips that show up on Youtube, so they're constantly being pulled and - inexplicably - replaced by Trixter videos. I bet we don't even get to see that clip of a sheepish Kevin Peter Hall trying to wake Orson Welles up during that weird Touch Of Knievel sketch they had to bail out on during the documentary airing this weekend.

On the subject at hand: no disrespect to Dave, but Oranges & Lemons is my least favorite XTC album. I really like "The Loving" but can't stand the production on the album. I thought I said it here before, but I maybe I didn't - I can't think of an album that has a greater disparity between what the cover art promises and what the album itself sounds like. That cover deserved to go on one of the Dukes albums (which I do love).  I still like Skylarking, though not as much as Nonsuch, and that not in turn as much as Drums and Wires and Black Sea, which I think are their best albums.

[B_Buster]

I do apologize.  It appears that is a promotional video for the first Trixter single.  YouTube is not working properly!

"Give it up for Trixter!"

[mackro]

"Black Sea" was the first rock record I ever got as a kid.

I slept on the band until "Dear God" became ubiquitous on the radio, which turned me away for a while.  Then upon college, I picked up the 1990 reissues of the XTC albums, and have been an XTC stan ever since.

"Black Sea" is my favorite, though I have an appreciation for the first two albums with Barry Andrews on keys. They tried to get Eno to produce their second album, but Eno told them "You don't need me! Your ideas are already good!" and declined*

My next favorite is "Apple Venus"... such a tremendous album, though I would have nixed "Your Dictionary" for another track.

*Yeah, it's possible Eno was making up an excuse.

[gordon!]

THIS totally explains the heavy XTC rotation coming out of the Power Station. BTW Mackro, still waiting on that snub-nosed Uzi. Don't let me down, bro.