Reviews:

Apple Venus Volume 1



DO WHAT YOU WILL BUT HARM NONE

Brit purveyors of distinctive pop since the early '80s, Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding have created an ambitious album for a grown-up audience. XTC now sports more decorous instrumentation, but the band's poetic fortitude and toothy wit remain intact.
-- The Prague Tribune, April 3, 2001

A beautifully crafted, often Beatlesque pop outing that features lots of keyboard work - either by Dave Gregory, who has since left the band, or by co-producers/engineers Nick Davis and Haydn Bendall. Standouts in key work include the Mellotron flute in "Easter Theatre," the tack piano that appears throughout and brief Mellotron strings in "Frivolous Tonight," and the sampled-and-sequenced bassoon line that kicks off "Greenman". The strangely metered opener, "River Of Orchids" could haunt the soul, and begs the question: Is that real orchestra or is it sequenced? No matter, it's all brilliant.
-- Mark Vail, Keyboard Magazine, January 2000

Seven years on, free from Virgin, exit Dave Gregory, enter strings. A magnificent realization of of the orch-pop tendencies hinted at on 1992's Nonsuch and a gratifying indication that Andy Partridge's peculiar genius remained undiminished by business, marital and health difficulties. Volume 2, the noisy guitar album, is due in spring 2000.
-- Uncut, January 2000

With their first release in seven years, XTC have returned to the quirky, post-mod English pop sound that is the true focus of their music. Andy Partridge & Co. deliver an album of irreverent and lyrically flowing tunes, such as "I'd Like That" and the eerily Lennon-esque ditty "Knights in Shining Karma."
Best Alternative/Indie Release of 1999, CDNow, January 4, 2000

Das Album ist der perfekte Soundtrack für den Frühlingsbeginn. Jeder Song ein komplex arrangiertes und orchestriertes Meisterwerk, ein schimmerndes Juwel der britischen Popkultur. Kunstvoll, und doch im besten Sinne populär. Gezeichnet in den Tönen einer heiteren "Yellow Submarine"-Welt, voll satter Farben und schillernder Gestalten. Wer nach dieser Platte immer noch eine Beatles-Reunion heraufbeschwören will - dem ist nicht mehr zu helfen. (Cooking Vinyl) thor
Wertung: hut hut hut hut hut (summa cum laude)
-- UNICUM, circa 1999

Ce nouveau disque est moins marqué par l'urgence des années quatre-vingts, il est terriblement anglais, riche. Il se rapproche du travail de Lennon-McCartney à l'époque de Penny Lane par exemple, en un mélange de pop et de chanson populaire anglaise.
-- LABEL Records, 1999

Nice and off the wall outing from veterans XTC... Fruit Nut, I'd Like That, Your Dictionary, Frivolous Tonight and bizarre River Of Orchids and I Can't Own Her prove gems in this bizarre collection making this a great album of '99. It's innovative brother album, 'Homespun' shows where the basic ideas for Apple Venus came from and is tres worthwhile.
— The Lazy Son, December 1999

Speaking of symphonic pop masterpieces: With just Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding remaining, this British pop collective returns, after an almost decade absence, with a gorgeous and orchestrated studio album. Its breathtaking opener, "River Of Orchids," has more thought put into it than most bands flex over entire careers.
-- Mark Guarino, Chicago Daily Herald, December 31, 1999

The surviving members of this legendary Brit group, Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding, throw vocals, beats, production values, rhythms, lyrics, harmonies and instruments into a blender then serve up a Beatle-esque pop symphony.
-- J. Mark Dudick, 8 Editor, Anchorage Daily News, December 31, 1999

Andy Partridge's long-awaited return finds him in lush, idyllic territory -- positively splendorous stuff.
-- Brian McCollum, Detroit Free Press, December 29, 1999

After a seven-year feud with its former label, this British duo works out its resentment with a remarkably sanguine album of lush, tuneful "orchoustic" songs about country life and new love.
-- Mark Jenkins, The Washington Post, December 24, 1999

Tone patterns, orchestration and exotic grooves give XTC's first album in years a sensuality that startles, coming from these old Brit-pop stoics. This is new turf for the long-toiling duo of Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding, and they tend it well. Meddling with a crafty, erudite style that always stood up on its own reaps unexpected thrills.
-- Sean Piccoli, music writer, Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale), December 24, 1999

XTC whips up rich aural confections. . .
-- Eric Feber, The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA), December 21, 1999

The venerable British group returned from a seven-year recording hiatus to deliver this masterpiece -- a beautiful, sophisticated orch-pop album on which the fortysomething duo of Colin Moulding and Andy Partridge act their age on bitter divorce diatribes, giddy love songs and an ode to puttering around in the garden. Splendourous.
-- David Veitch, The Calgary Sun, December 18, 1999

. . . it is XTC that win out for artistry. The one-time New Wavers went on strike after Richard Branson sold Virgin to EMI in 1992 because of differences over what the new regime expected of the group. That seven years in the wilderness, and a new deal with indie Cooking Vinyl, produced "Apple Venus Volume 1," with the second volume due in April. The return of XTC, reduced to singer-songwriters Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding, was greeted with a deluge of critical accolades. Songs like "Easter Theatre," for one, are glorious, arguably art rock without the excesses that makes so much of the genre laughable. Sales, however, have been better outside than in the U.K. The reality is that the British market is in a particularly fluffy phase, driven by radio and music TV that is largely playing it safe with disposable, if clever, fare.
-- Erich Boehm, Variety, December 13, 1999

After a seven-year enforced absence, once-edgy art-punks XTC produced an idyllic pastoral fantasia that makes the English countryside as magical and mystical as the pyramids.
-- Stewart Lee, Pop writer, Sunday Times (London), December 12, 1999

Andy Partridge and crew finally return with a lush, smart-as-hell pop rumble between rock's experimental underbelly and eternal melodies.
-- Tristram Lozaw, The Boston Herald, December 12, 1999

The veteran English pop trio, finally clear of record company hassles, unleashes a lush, string-based album.
-- Kyle Munson, The Des Moines Register, September 9, 1999

This is XTC's first album of new material in nearly seven years. The now-duo of Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding seem to have been using their time off to smell the flowers, as their lyrics are ripe with fruit, nuts, dandelions, orchids, sunflowers, and harvest festivals. Billed as the "orchestral" album that precedes its "rock" bookend, "Apple Venus" is XTC's most obvious nod to the lush, intricate sounds of the Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds" and the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper."
-- Music: Pop, Skali, August 30, 1999

XTC--Apple Venus Volume 1: Oh, Andy, what a long dry summer it's been! Thank heaven XTC is back and as good as ever. May the executives at Virgin Records fry in hell for making us wait seven years for this album. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Studio Proteus, 5/30/99

Als rein orchestrales Pop-Epos angelegt, ist diese Kollektion aus elf Songs ein sinfonischer Ausflug in blumige Psychedelia und wunderbare Harmonien. 'Apple Venus' Vol. 1 ist Seelenbalsam, Streicheleinheit und Denkanstoß zugleich.
-- Musikexpress/Sounds, April 1999

SHEER XTC

After a seven year absence, XTC returns with a new recording APPLE VENUS VOLUME ONE. The project took a year to complete and the band lost guitarist DAVID GREGORY about half-way through but remaining members ANDY PARTRIDGE and COLIN MOULDING have seen it through to release an amazing album. Flutes, horns and strings add luscious colors to the mix offsetting bittersweet and mostly melancholy lyrical musings. XTC has always been an innovative ensemble lurking in the quasi-genre corner known as "art-rock." This new outing breaks new ground while retaining a familiar XTC sensibility and results in a homogenous collection of hauntingly beautiful songs. The band hasn't toured since 1982 and Partridge has no plans to appear live anytime soon-- however, the TRANSISTOR BLAST box set released last year does offer some live recordings between 1978-80. The band is currently hard at work on APPLE VENUS VOL.2 that will feature a more stripped down electric sound.

XTC's hauntingly bittersweet & orchestral sound APPLE VENUS VOL.1.
-- The Big Bang Newsletter, CDvault, Volume 3, Issue 12, April 9-15, 1999

It's been a long seven years since XTC's last release - this album was worth the wait. At first it might be a shock to your system with its heavy reliance on orchestration, but once you get used to that you realize just how good these songs are. Can't wait for Apple Venus, Vol. 2!
-- David Bash, Bash on Pop, April 5, 1999

Arrangements fouillis et fouillés pour ces anglais originaux. En dehors du temps, leur style bien à eux reste inchangé. Après une grande période de silence, XTC revient avec 11 chansons bien ficelées. Violons classiques, contemporains et rythmes orientaux se mêlent à des chansons plus traditionnellement britanniques. Le temps et l'espace se confondent.
-- Whrst ZKF, Thixotropic Camera, April 3, 1999

* * * 1/2
XTC's first recording following their 7-year hiatus, Apple Venus is a fine return to form. It is a logical extension of the sound explored on their previous album, Nonsuch - sparse, acoustic instrumentation merged with lush orchestral backdrops. Highlights include the whimsical "I'd Like That" and the carnival-esque, horn-driven "Greenman."
-- Adam, Adam's Album Reviews, 03/14/99

Brian Wilson har alltid influerat Andy Partridge men knappast lika mycket som på Apple venus Vol 1 (Vol 2 kommer senare i år), det första XTC-albumet på sju år. Det bästa XTC har gjort på mycket länge. Obskyra texter, smakfull produktion, stiliga orkesterarrangemang och ljuva popmelodier i en intelligent blandning.
-- PM JÖNSSON, Göteborgs-Posten, 12/3 -99

Betyg: * * * * *

Wow! All I can say is this cd is amazing. I agree with most of the reviews I've read in that it is a pleasant departure from the typical jangley guitar pop that one would expect from XTC. The songwriting still features biting lyrical storytelling, but the music is primarily acoustic guitar and lush orchestra sounds. I hate using the Beatles comparisons, but this really does sound very Beatlesque, or rather very McCartney-esque. If you wanna read better written reviews, check out TVT Records web site (there's also song samples on there too). I'm really digging this disc - my personal faves are tracks I'd Like That, Easter Theater, and I Can't Own Her.
-- Amy DeFalco, ElectricCat, February 1999

E-Pop: XTC, «Apple Venus Volume 1», Cooking Vinyl/RecRec * * *
Sieben Jahre sind seit dem letzten Lebenszeichen von XTC vergangen, in denen die schlaue britische Band auf eine Freigabe von ihrer Plattenfirma gewartet hat. «Apple Venus Volume 1» klingt denn auch wie eine Zeitkapsel. Noch immer stützen sich XTC hörbar auf den Sound der späten Sechzigerjahre, verzichten dabei aber auf das konventionelle Rockinstrumentarium: Bläser und Streicher tarnen dieses Popalbum als E-Musik. Ein echtes Liebhaberstück.
-- Kultur: Gehört, SonntagsZeitung, 21.02.99

Rockbands mit hochgeschraubtem Kunstanspruch werden gemeinhin als "arty farty", als Kunstfurzer verlästert. XTC schlägt diese Missgunst seit über zwanzig Jahren ins Gesicht. Aber unverdrossen knüpft das englische Schrumpf-Duo auch auf der neuen Songsammlung das Band der Versöhnung zwischen akustischer Gitarre und Sinfonieorchester. Die einstigen Schöngeist-Punker versuchen, aus der Minimal Music des Pop-Maximum herauszudestillieren und schrecken dabei auch vor Beatles-Gesangsharmonien nicht zurück.
-- Tages-Anzeiger, 1999-02-17

XTC, the old guard of idiosyncracy, come back to us with Apple Venus Volume One (Idea/TVT), but they still feel gone.
-- Joshua Clover, Spin, March 1999
[Thanks to Dane Pereslete and Wes Hanks]

dadams.co.uk
Groovy Music 2003

XTC - 'Apple Venus volume 1'

'Pet Sounds' and 'Sgt Pepper' benefited from treading where no other musical works had been before, but it's very difficult for an album made in modern times to get the same sort of kudos. Had Andy Partridge made 'Apple Venus volume 1' in the mid-60's, perhaps then he'd be regarded as a visionary just like Brian Wilson or Lennon and McCartney. This truly is a masterpiece, a real labour-of-love, a work of art.

This, the first album after the painful split from Virgin, was to have been a much larger collection, but the budget meant that only volume 1 could be completed at the time (volume 2, 'Wasp Star' followed over a year later). Volume 1 was described as "orchoustic", a word which perfectly describes the orchestral and acoustic flavour. Sadly, Colin Moulding's two songs should be ignored. They're rather poor and break up the beautiful flow of the Andy Partridge-penned tracks.

The album opens with 'River of Orchids' - a song which was the subject matter of part of a lecture by composer Harold Budd. The subject of song itself is a desire to remove cars from the roads - the complex string arrangements that bring the song slowly to life represent a slow build-up of traffic from a trickle to congestion. Now that's clever.

One of Andy Partridge's song-writing skills is his ability to paint pictures in your mind - try listening to 'Harvest Festival' without reliving school assembly. There's much more to enjoy - 'Green Man' with its faint Middle-Eastern tones is a grandiose production, and the swirling string arrangements on 'I Can't Own Her' are nothing short of spectacular. I mentioned Partridge's ability to paint pictures, and it's this that prompted me to put 'Apple Venus' back into the CD player... 'Easter Theatre' is perhaps a little over the top, but it's the embodiment of Spring on a compact disc. The man is a genius.

Babyblaue Prog-Reviews
April 28, 2002

XTC

Apple Venus Vol. 1

Informationen

Allgemeine Angaben

Erscheinungsjahr: 1998
Besonderheiten/Stil: ArtPop; RetroProg
Label:
Durchschnittswertung: 11/15 (1 Rezension)

Rezensionen

Von: Christian Rode @

Was hat dieses Album von XTC mit diversen Alben von Künstlern wie den Beatles oder 10 cc gemeinsam? Wer auf traumhaften, ach was, märchenhaften Harmoniegesang und anspruchvollste und zugleich lockere Melodiösität mit leicht psychedelischem Einschlag steht, wird hier vorzüglichst bedient. Dazu eine perfekte Produktion. Plus: kaum Drums und trotzdem voller herrlichster Rhythmik. Ein Album für's Herz, das nur Freude macht. "Do what you will but harm none." Schluchz...

Neben Gitarre (häufig akustisch) und Bass, begeistern vor allem phantasievolle Streicher- und Bläsereinlagen. Das ist poppig und progressiv bzw. psychedelisch. Was soll ich sagen? Überall klingen die 60-er/70-er im Gewand der späten 90-er durch. In einen beliebigen Song reinhören und entscheiden, ob man mit dieser harmonischen und doch immer wieder schön schrägen Pop-Mucke was anfangen kann.

Anspieltipp(s): I'd like that, Green Man, Fruit Nut
Vergleichbar mit: Beatles, Paul McCartney, 10 cc, Godley & Creme, Eric Woolfson, Dukes of Stratosphear, High Llamas
Geposted am: 28.4.2002
Letzte Änderung: 9.7.2002
Wertung: 11/15
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Rainsound
September 2001
Reviews

Muse
circa 2000

XTC - Apple Venus (Vol 1) (Cooking Vinyl)

New Wave survivors turned cult legends, XTC's unique brand of middle-English pop whimsy has turned-on a small but devoted following for over two decades. Now, with Mojo Magazine-endorsed genius status fully bestowed upon them, Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding emerge from the farm to bestow their first musical offerings in some seven years (a second volume is due later in the year). Having successfully avoided fitting into any musical bracket for a long time (Bastard Godfathers Of Britpop, perhaps?), "Apple Venus" offers eleven slices of beautifully crafted delicate chamber pieces ('rock' seems like too harsh a word to be throwing around such orchestra-nourished parts). There's the odd barbed Cathal Coughlan-esque poison love letter ("Your Dictionary" is a dead-ringer for the theme tune to top tots TV show Fireman Sam) and a tendency to sound like something between Talk Talk and late-period Paul McCartney. Moments are there to be had, but if you're not a fan already, this is definitely required-taste-stuff.

- Derek O'Connor

© 2001 rondomondo.

The Sour Belly Trio
February 2000

joel's reviews

XTC "Apple Venus Vol. 1"
(TVT Records / 1999)

Unashamedly a child of the 80's, XTC has been in my blood since I first bought "English Settlement" in 1981.

This is XTC's first album in seven years, and the time spent writing new material shows through in the brilliant orchestrations of frontman Andy Partridge. Described as their "orch-oustic" album, this is filled with lush arrangements, gripping rhythms and exotic sounds, as well as a few light hearted songs from Colin Moulding which seem a bit out of place.

This is not an album which you walk away from humming. As with XTC's last few releases, the music is challenging to the listener, and it really takes a few listenings to sink in. Far from being inaccessible, it simply gives you something to think about, rather than being bland mindless pop (which has it's place as well). Look for their self-described "stupid" pop album later in 1999 - "Apple Venus Vol. 2"

What does this have to do with hillbilly music? Nothing.

Listen to it anyway. Your ears will thank you!

The Citizen
February 22, 2000

XTC serves up haunting pop tunes in their new comeback effort Apple Venus V.1

by Michael Boyle
Editor-in-Chief

In the early 1980s, XTC stood poised to be one of the big power pop bands of the decade. Led by enigmatic frontman Andy Partridge, XTC had developed a distinctive following in the college rock scene and was often heralded as the next REM or U2.

But in 1982, Partridge suffered a nervous breakdown on stage and retreated from the public eye. It was subsequently announced that XTC would continue on only as a studio band and would never tour again. It seemed for a brief time that XTC would pass like so many other bands into obscurity.

Much to the delight of their fans, however, XTC retreated to the studio and adapted their sound to become less-rock oriented and more experimental. Like the Beatles after 1966, XTC became a studio band whose experimentation with different audio techniques, catchy melodies and complex arrangements became their trademark sound.

But after a string of critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful albums - including Skylarking and Nonesuch - XTC fell into dispute with its record company. In 1990, XTC began a seven-year standoff with Virgin records, hoping to break out of its contract simply by refusing to record no less release any new music. For a second time, it looked like XTC had disappeared.

But in the new year, XTC suddenly reappeared with "Apple Venus Volume 1." During their hiatus - which saw the departure of all remaining band members except Partridge (guitar, vocals) and Colin Moulding (guitar, vocals) - XTC continued to make home demos and write new music. Released from their contract with Virgin and signed to indie label TVT Records, XTC unleashed their creative energy on a series of albums titled "Apple Venus," the first of which was released this year.

The first "Apple Venus" is a haunting album that stays with you long after you've finished it. Reminiscent of "Revolver" by the Beatles, Partridge and Moulding layer their vocals to create a distinctly uneasy aura for the album and then contrast the lyrics and refrains with bouncy piano-based pop. For every peppy verse that Partridge offers, there is something darker and more menacing about the refrain or arrangement.

The first track, "River of Orchids" offers a jarring French horn to keep the beat instead of a guitar. Focusing on the need to escape dull life, Partridge pleads with the listener to follow him along the salvific "River of Orchids," but Moulding's deliberately off-key backing vocals are designed to remind the listener how dreamlike that promise is.

Vocal harmonies are also one of XTC's specialties and are in fine evidence on tracks like "Easter Theatre" and "Knights in Shining Karma." The latter sounds like a rewrite of "Sun King" by the Beatles with more complex lyrics and arrangement.

XTC is not beyond offering simple love songs as well. The peppy "I'd Like That" and the almost burlesque "Frivolous Tonight" are both simple songs that use almost, well, frivolous lyrics, to underscore the joy of finding the one you love. So caught up in that, Partridge even goes as far as to promise "I'll be your Albert/If you'll be my Victoria." But his darker side is never far away. He adds, "I'll smile so much my face would crack in two/And then you could fix it with your kissing glue?"

But by far the most arresting and bitter tracks on the album are "Your Dictionary" and "I Can't Own Her." On the first track, Partridge abruptly opens with "H-A-T-E\Is that how you spell me\in your dictionary?" The simple strumming of an acoustic guitar, combined with Partridge's angry to the point of tremoring voice, speaks volumes about the power of love unrequited. "I Can't Own Her" contrasts a crescendo of orchestral music with Partridge's own realization that obsession will always remain one step away from love. The sad refrain seems less like a warning to the listener than as a reminder for Partridge himself.

If there is any fault to Apple Venus Volume 1, it may be that they've overproduced some songs and lost a catchy melody under layers of vocals and instruments. But on the tracks for which this method of successful, XTC manages a feat that few since the Beatles have been able to do: to create witty, complex and ultimately heart-wrenching pop songs without being trapped by convention.

Underground Radio 3WK
February 8, 2000
Reviews

XTC
Album: "Apple Venus, Volume 1"/TVT Records
3WK Track: River of Orchids
Time for a little toe-tapping and head highs with this latest album from 20 year music veterans Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding, aka XTC. The first half of "Apple Venus" showcases their signature breezy Beatlesque British pop sound that has inspired so many fans for years. It's the second half that is a nice surprise - a classically inspired excursion into musical architecture. Backed by the London Session Orchestra, the listener is swept into a fairy world peopled by exquisite trumpets, dancing strings, and plucky percussion. Very XTC, but also different enough to appeal to a whole new audience. RECOMMENDED.

Copyright 3WK 1997-2000

Alibi
January 6 - January 12, 2000
Rock Stars @ alibi.com

The Alibi's Top 25 Albums of 1999
by Stewart Mason

What does this year's readers poll, compiled from the dozens of Alibi devotees in New Mexico (and, via our handy Web site, beyond) who sent in their ballots, say about the state of music in 1999? Well, no single album ran away with all the glory. Only seven points separated the top four entries, and it wasn't until the final ballot was counted that XTC vaulted into the top spot over Fountains of Wayne and the Flaming Lips. It's also a surprisingly varied list, with mainstream rock 'n' roll, R&B, electronica, power pop and neo-psychedelia mixing it up with the usual critical faves and cultily-adored obscurities. And so, the winners ...

1. XTC Apple Venus Volume 1 (TVT)

Seven years after their last album and reduced to the duo of Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding, XTC rose to the comeback occasion with their finest album since 1983's Mummer. Featuring acoustic guitars mingling with full orchestrations, Apple Venus Volume 1 is alternately serene, silly, angry and heartbreaking, and its fans were so excited that a couple of you also voted for Homespun, the album's companion volume of demos. The more rock-oriented Volume 2 is due in the spring.

2. Fountains of Wayne Utopia Parkway (Atlantic)
3. The Flaming Lips The Soft Bulletin (Warner Brothers)
4. The Magnetic Fields 69 Love Songs (Merge)
5. Richard Thompson Mock Tudor (Capitol)
6. Jason Falkner Can You Still Feel? (Elektra)
7. The Negro Problem Joys and Concerns (Aerial Flipout)
8. Wilco Summer Teeth (Reprise)
9. Guided by Voices Do the Collapse (TVT)
10. Beck Midnite Vultures (DGC)

© 1996-00 Weekly Alibi

Disctronics Music
circa 2000

Apple Venus
XTC

Formados en Inglaterra en 1978, XTC es una de las bandas que mejor reputación tiene entre especialistas, pero no entre el público general. Tal vez porque desde sus inicios las formulas y claves que utilizan han sido demasiado elaboradas, poco abiertas a la comprensión de la gente común y corriente. Quizá, la culpa de esto la tenga su líder, Andy Partridge, un sujeto raro, enigmático, indescifrable, en otras palabras, un genio musical.

Después de un periodo largo de receso, los integrantes de XTC han vuelto con uno de sus mejores trabajos: Apple Venus, una bellísima e intensa colección de canciones en donde se deja ver todo lo que el grupo ha experimentado en este tiempo.

©Copyright, 1999-2002 Disctronics.

Jeff Partyka's Mega-Music Page
1999
Jeff's Pocket Reviews

XTC: Apple Venus, Volume 1
(Idea/TVT, 1999)
Grade: A+

Seven years is a long time to wait for one of your favorite acts to come out with a new album. XTC's devoted fan base are rejoicing in a big way in 1999 (the recent departure of long-time guitarist Dave Gregory notwithstanding) with the release of the “orchustic” Apple Venus, Volume 1, the band's first studio album since 1992's Nonsuch. The long wait was not the result of anything remotely resembling writer's block (tapes and CDs full of bootlegged demos have been circulating among collectors, and Volume 2, a harder-edged rock album, is said to be in the pipeline for later in '99); rather, the band had to go on strike to get out of its appallingly unfair contract with Virgin Records. The happy news is that the first volume of Apple Venus drips with the same melodic, instrumental, and lyrical charm of most of its predecessors. Andy Partridge's songwriting is as ebullient and attractive as ever, with the poppy bounce of “I'd Like That” contrasting nicely with the stately grandeur of the likes of “Easter Theatre,” “I Can't Own Her,” and “Harvest Festival.” Colin Moulding contributes only two songs, but both are winners; long-time XTC fans will notice how much “Frivolous Tonight” and the delightfully eccentric “Fruit Nut” reflect a marked and welcome lightening of tone in Moulding's writing (compare them to the three downers he contributed to 1989's Oranges and Lemons). The song that stands out most, though, is Partridge's “Your Dictionary,” a bitter farewell to his failed marriage that perfectly illustrates the unfortunate maxim that suffering can produce the greatest art. Welcome back, guys.

nettuner.de
1999
Musik

» Apple Venus Volume 1
Pop von XTC / Cooking Vinyl
Im Laden seit 19.3.1999
» Userwertung: 33% klasse 33% gut 33% naja 0% schlecht

EDLE FRÜCHTE AUS DEM GARTEN EDEN

Pop-Musik ist bei Harcore-Musik-Freaks jeglicher Couleur ja schon fast ein Schimpfwort. Aber auch der hartgesottenste Vinyljunkie braucht hin und wieder eine Dosis dieser alles und nichts sagenden Stilrichtung.
Die "Pop"-Legende XTC ist da eine der wenigen Bands, die - durch mangelnde Bühnenpräsenz, aber auch (und vor allem) durch ihre einzigartigen Plattenveröffetlichungen - hierfür in Frage kommt und die in den letzten 20 Jahren zum Kult avanciert, allen Irrungen und Wirrungen des Biz hartnäckig getrotzt hat. "Apple Venus. Volume 1" ist nach sieben Jahren Enthaltsamkeit das neueste Meisterwerk aus der Schmiede von Andy Partridge und Colin Moulding, und wenn der Begriff "Pop" zu irgendeiner Kategorisierung gut ist, dann für diese CD.

Weit und breit keine Elektronik, hier herrscht Songwriting in reinster Stilform. Harmonielehre par Excellence, einfallsreiche Ideenumsetzung und gekonnter Einsatz von orchestralen Arrangements. "Easter Theatre" zum Beispiel strotzt nur so vor Musikerfahrung, die einer nur erwerben kann, der heute in den Mittvierzigern ist und dessen Leben der Musik gehört. "Knights In Shining Karma" verströmt die unsagbare Leichtigkeit des Seins, daß es einem schwach werden kann. Mellotron-Töne und Fanfaren erinnern an die frühen Genesis ("Frivolous Tonight") und auf "Green Man" meint man die genialen Godley & Creme zu hören, die Anfang der 80er aus 10CC hervorgingen. Und auch "Your Dictionary" zwirbelt sich mit seiner Ohrwurm-Melodie tief ins Kleinhirn.
Es besteht kein Zweifel: "Appel Venus. Volume 1" ist ein Album, das einem Windjammer gleich aus dem Meer der Segeljollen hervorragt und - Sack und Asche - die Briten sind um die beiden XTC'ler wirklich zu beneiden.
KH

Rezension von Klaus Halama

Salt For Slugs
1999
Music Reviews by People Who Care

XTC
Apple Venus Vol. 1
TVT

The perennial flavor of XTC is back in town again although with a slightly more orchestral voice. Apple Venus Vol. 1 is XTC's first studio cd since 1992's Nonsuch. Although fans of the band have been treated to a compilation of B-Sides and a recently released BBC Sessions box set, this is the first time since Oranges and Lemons that XTC has nailed the rare emotion which only they can invoke. Listeners may be put off by the mostly orchestral and easy listening modes on the new CD, but that's what happens when musicians have kids - they make music as to not wake their spawn. XTC more than makes up for this lazy trade by spouting rich and creative wind, brass and string lines along with the occasional vocal ornamentation. XTC promised that Apple Venus Vol. 2 is on the way before the end of the year. They promise this to be more of a 'rock' collection. They had much to choose from in the 50 plus fully realized songs they had written for what was originally going to be a double album. It's OK to like this CD so stop denying it and start buying it. (Sockboy)

JazzRockWeb
1999
CDs Reviews

XTC "Apple Venus. Volume 1"

(Cooking Vinyl/Indigo)

Seinen vorläufigen Höhepunkt findet die Entwicklung dieser "Band" auf dem neuen Album "Apple Venus". Nach dem Ausstieg von Dave Gregory zum Duo geschrumpft scheinen Partridge und Moulding mal so eben die klassische tragikomische Operette ins Songformat zu transformieren. Trotz ausgefeilter Orchestrierung verströmt das Album die Beschwingtheit eines Schmetterlings auf einer blühenden Sommerwiese. Songs wie "River Of Orchids", "Easter Theatre", Knights In Shining Karma" oder "Fruit Nut" tragen einen in eine angenehm freundlich schimmernde Welt vollendeter Schönheit. XTC übersetzten Pop jenseits von postmoderner Popularität (sowohl im Sinne von eingängig, vergnüglich, frivol als auch - wie die Vergangenheit des Öfteren gezeigt hat - von Chartplatzierungen). Paradigmatisch heißt es hierzu: "There are no words for me in your dictionary."

XTC entziehen sich ohne großes Aufheben allen Diskursen und stellen sich einfach neben die Zeit. Ihre Haltung mag dabei zutiefst moralisch sein, doch trotz der sieben Jahre, die seit der Veröffentlichung ihres letzten Albums "Nonsuch" vergangen sind, hängt "Apple Venus" in keinem Moment der Ruch eines Comeback-Albums an. Schwer zu sagen, was die für Pilze in ihrem Garten züchten, sie lassen aber auf alle Fälle hinter den Spiegel ins Paradies blicken. Dort steht Eva, nackt und wunderschön, und beißt in den Apfel. Für harte Fakten und andere schändliche Wissenslücken sei die offizielle Bandbiogrfie "XTC: Song Stories" von Neville Farmer empfohlen (erschienen bei Helter Skelter) oder ein Klick nach http://chalkhills.org/, der umfangreichen XTC-Website. Die Veröffentlichung von "Apple Venus. Volume 2" ist übrigens noch für dieses Jahr vorgesehen. Laut Aussage von Partridge ist "cranked-up noise" vom Feinsten zu erwarten.

tangledWeb
1999
album reviews

XTC - Apple Venus Volume 1

Before I begin this review I'd like to say that I hadn't heard much of XTC's work up till this point. I remember a handful of radio hits like Making Plans for Nigel, Generals and Majors, and Senses Working Overtime but I hadn't actually listened to any of XTC's albums. In any case, after being enchanted by Greenman I couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy of this album. In the end it was several months before I got a copy, but I'm glad to say it was definitely well worth the wait!

The album opens with a single drip of water, a portend of the use of clever sound effects which extends through the entire work. The playful lyrics sounding from a distance spin and echo "push the car from the road" and "river of orchids" which provide a nice opening to the album: as if we are driving into the music. River of Orchids is about ecological destruction -- Andy Partridge hoping that one day "the car will be reduced to a fossil" -- it is a pity that this interesting theme is not repeated in the album, since most of the other songs soon or later return to the themes of emotional problems or celebrations.

The bright and chirpy I'd Like That comes next, followed by Easter Theater which uses some cheeky sexual imagery and very clever sound effects. The track was, correctly, picked as the first single. It excels with a combination of well written lyrics--about the fertility of spring and Easter--and a lovely "big" sound with a good solid drum beat.

The album then slows down with the average Knights In Shinning Karma but picks up again with Frivolous Tonight. This track, which, for a change, was written by Colin Moulding has some very catchy guitar and lyrics about--basically--getting drunk and having fun. The only complaint I have about this little gem is that it is too similar to Colin's second and even better Fruit Nut. The following song: Greenman, is one of the best on the album and has the feelings of an epic. The excellent orchestral arrangement combined with lyrics about the mythical Greenman work perfectly and form a beautiful fusion of nineties rock with fantasy themes. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the next track which, thematically, begins the second half of the album. The trouble with Your Dictionary is that the cleverness of its lyrics "S.H.I.T. is that how you spell me in your dictionary?" become throw away when heard too many times. Despite this it does not really drag the album down and is a good gateway to the slower tracks.

Colin's second and final song is Fruit Nut. It moves into the area of good old Englisy madness-er, eccentricity. Some weird instruments and the excellent contributions from the backing singer make the song a gem. The last three songs, I Can't Own Her, Harvest Festival and The Last Balloon, are all slow, slightly blue and show a good diverseness in music and lyrics. Of the three, Harvest Festival is diffidently the best and is one of the few songs that both the lyrics and music work together at the evocation of the same emotion. There is a distinct "Sunday morning at church" feel to the track and the bitter discovery of the wedding invitation is reflected in the altered music and passionate vocals. On a distinctly impassioned note Apple Venus Volume 1 ends... The echoes of The Last Balloon's plea that we drop all the things that drag us down before it is too late still beating around the listener's head.

All in all, the album is successful in proving that XTC, although smaller, is still a very strong band who have successfully evolved from the eighties and is still keen to explore new ideas and sound techniques. The second Apple Venus, which is due out before long, will apparently focus on a more electrical sound. I am very much looking forward to it.

Obsidiana
1999
obsidiana > ratos libres > sonidos

Apple Venus Volume 1
XTC
TVT Records/ Idea, 1999
Durante 24 años, este grupo británico ha dado pruebas de que la música pop puede ser inteligente y memorable. De sus lejanos días en que eran catalogados como punks (compartiendo con los entonces bebés rabiosos sólo la energía) a la creación una obra maestra como Skylarking, que podría ser calificado como el disco que The Beatles no alcanzaron a grabar, XTC ha enfrentado, sin embargo, la incomprensión no tanto del público sino de las compañías discográficas y de la radio. Y fue precisamente un conflicto con su antiguo sello el que los llevó a declararse en "huelga" (por decirlo así) durante siete años. En ese periodo, un guitarrista dejó el grupo y Andy Partridge, el compositor principal, se divorció, pero en el estudio supo convertir tanta desazón en lirismo gracias a su talento, sumado al de Colin Moulding, bajista y segundo compositor, que funciona como contrapeso. Apple Venus en una obra acústica y pastoral que no desdeña, sin embargo, agrios reproches a la ex cónyuge y al destino. La vida adulta, lo demuestra XTC, puede crear música madura y bella para la gente real.

There
1999

Disc a Day -- Modern Rock
Ric Stewart's Music Picks to Build a Great Collection

XTC -- Apple Venus Vol. I (TVT)

7 years of contract squabbles and several pop lifetimes since 1992's Nonsuch, find the group down to two members (guitar/keyboard vet Dave Gregory has left, though he does contribute to Apple Venus). Here, XTC drops retro and pursues orchestral ideas the Fab Four never thought of. Andy Partridge weighs in heavily with 9 of the 11 tracks here. On "Green Man", "I'd Like That" and "Your Dictionary" memorable melodies are reinforced by complex multi-track vocal treatments from Moulding and Partridge with strings. This tight and refined sound sets up a more rocking A.V. vol. II later in 1999.

Copyright © 1995-2000 There Productions, all rights reserved.

Freaky Trigger
1999

PEASANT POP

XTC - Apple Venus Vol.1

Appropriately for a band so interested in tradition, there are certain small rituals to be observed when writing about XTC. The band's reputation as pastichistes par excellence must be noted, Andy Partridge's lyrical eccentricities reviewed, the small but sterling contribution of Colin Moulding touched upon, and perhaps a wistful assessment of the new record's commercial possibilities appended to an, in general, politely glowing notice. So here goes (sort of):

XTC's last album, Nonsuch, was as near to wretchedness as anything they'd produced since their early days, and even that teething period had a bug-eyed spikiness to recommend it. Nonsuch was all craft, no play, from its arch period lettering through to the final sleek notes. Its best track was plainly a throwaway grab for hit status (The Disappointed), and even its handful of memorable tunes sounded somehow sickly. It wasn't that the ideas weren't there - Omnibus and Rook and Bungalow were crammed with them - it was that the execution was so dispiritingly lacking in conviction, as if the ideas alone were enough. (And it didn't help that Colin Moulding's contributions included the deeply risible The Smartest Monkeys.)

Seven years on, Apple Venus 1 kicks off with River Of Orchids, and it's gorgeous. This track and a couple of others are absolutely everything Nonsuch should have been - grandiose, imaginative, orch-pop which could have been made by nobody else but them. Pop legend has it that Andy Partridge is, in essence, a crank, and here he sounds it - "Ihadadreamwhere Thecarisreducedtoa fossILLLL", while behind him horns and strings mesh, lock, part and dance in strict Nymanesque time, and all around him his own voice burrs, hums and echoes in an orgiastic multitrack call to arms. Chamber music crossing with folksy war-chanting - only Andy Partridge, only XTC.

Modern life is rubbish? You betcha. XTC have been railing against the industrialised world since Partridge kicked out lad-boffin keyboard gonk Barry Andrews back in 1978, and since their retirement from the production-line album-tour-album-tour thing their agrarian vision has deepened and taken root as the very heart of the band's appeal. XTC at their best are perhaps the purest vision of Albion pop music has to offer, the sonic equivalent of Pressburger and Powell's films, with all their charm, perception, compassion and pride. XTC are Peasant Pop, promoting a version of England based around seasons, festivals, grass and trees, pageantry and hard work, mummery and stability. With seven years more or less away from the business under their belts, this aspect of XTC is stronger and more convincing than ever. Partridge sounds like an angry rustic prophet on the first track, but elsewhere - on the stunningly rich Green Man and the joyous Easter Theatre - he seems himself mystified, almost awed by the land and customs he's singing about.

(It's worth noting for worried liberal readers that Albion is just one of the myriad imaginary homelands in British pop music: perhaps to subconsciously combat XTC's monocultural music, Partridge generally loads his albums with angry and sensible pleas for tolerance, racial tolerance especially.)

The first half of Apple Venus 1 alternates between these rapturous pastorals and Partridge's sly, tender love songs. He's probably more addicted to wordplay and extented metaphor than any lovesongwriter since Smokey Robinson, and while he rarely transfixes like Smokey, his love ditties are never less than pretty, and the detailed, playful production they get here certainly doesn't hurt. The real hidden gem, though, is Moulding's contribution, Frivolous Tonight.

After his lacklustre contributions to the last two XTC albums, Moulding has hit upon an earthy combination of commonsense and whimsy that grounds Partridge's flights of fancy better than anyone might have hoped. Moulding, let us remember, is a fortysomething married man, still living in Wiltshire and earning (one might surmise) enough to enjoy himself but not any more than the next bloke. And so when he sings about his life - about growing fruit or enjoying a chatty evening with his mates - it's not only charming, it's convincing too. The only comparison I can think of in terms of subject matter is Paul McCartney, but singing about needing a temp or working in the garden always seemed a bit tiresome when you knew full well that said garden included half of the Scottish Highlands. Frivolous Tonight is among the most winning songs I've heard in years, and I could happily sit through a whole album of similar stuff.

Sad to say, the second half of Apple Venus 1 doesn't match up. Partridge messes his copybook with the angst-rockin' Your Dictionary, and then we get a trio of long, lazy ballads that range from pleasant (Harvest Festival) to wearying (The Last Balloon). Ignore those and keep playing the first six tracks again and again - it's warm, it's Spring, and there's still enough green left in England to make the country's most idiosyncratic band sound not only entertaining but truthful, too.

Copyright Tom Ewing, 1999

The Independent (London)
December 12, 1999, Sunday
CDS OF THE YEAR: ROCK
by Nicholas Barber

XTC: APPLE VENUS
(Cooking Vinyl)

XTC could claim to be the uncles of Britpop, but on this, their first album in seven years, they put away their Sixties costumes in favour of acoustic guitars and chamber orchestras. None the less, the record is truer to the pop precision, the exploratory spirit and the arch cleverness of the Beatles than any of the Britpop bands were. Now nibbled down to the core duo of Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding, XTC retain their love of lulling melodies and lyrics about drinking stout in the countryside. Apple Venus is mature but magical, angry but heart-warming, earthy but transporting ... and just as commercially unsuccessful as usual.

Copyright 1999 Newspaper Publishing PLC
[Thanks to Wes Hanks]

Terra Soundtralis Incognita
9.11.99
issue 8: Reviews

XTC
APPLE VENUS VOLUME 1
TVT Records

The success of High Llamas HAWAII, the Beach Boys
PET SOUNDS reissue, Verve's "Bittersweet
Symphony," etc. proclaims that vivacity and
universal appeal of art-rock with strings, or
"orch-pop." Opening their album delicately with a
subtle crescendo in pizzicato, the duo of
vocalists Colin Moulding (bass) and Andy Partridge
(guitar) that is XTC announce their emergence from
a seven-year absence from music in general into
chamber pop. While they missed the chance to ride
the crest of this wave, XTC's APPLE VENUS is, with
its dulcet harmonies based on pop music's perhaps
most recognizable and mellifluous falsetto,
destined to be one of the most enduring landmarks
in chamber pop. Says Partridge that "the
orchestral thing was something I really wanted to
do, but I think I've gotten it largely out of my
system now." So, expect VOLUME 2 to be markedly
different and this meeting of pop rock and strings
featuring water droplets, clapping rhythms and
symphonic horn solos to be a unique and
luminescent start in of music's brightest
discographies. The emotion inducing arrangements
here are mated with highly personal lyrics. "I
Can't Own Her" is insightful commentary on the
ephemeral nature of relationships and "I'd Like
That" is an accurate translation of pure, s
pontaneous joy. APPLE VENUS is a conceptual
concerto of rosined heartstrings. (4)

Undercover
1999
Reviews

XTC - Apple Venus Vol 1

Seven years is a long time in between albums (unless you are Pink Floyd).

After seven years, expectations for a new XTC album are indeed low. However, "Apples Venus Vol 1" comes close to being a masterpiece.

If this had been the new Beatles album, it would be easy to compare the lush and layered production work along with the diversity of sounds back to an Abbey Road, Sgt Pepper or White album.

"Apple Venus" might very well be XTC's "Sgt Pepper".

The album has depth but it isn't so serious that the occasional pop piece isn't thrown in for good measure.

The break from traditional instruments makes way for the best available sound for the job.

You'll hear this immediately with the string section of River Of Orchids but track two, I'd Like That goes directly into a three and a half singalong pop song. The "She's Leaving Home" like backing vocals won't go unnoticed by Beatles connoisseurs either.

Easter Theatre is back to orchestration. This is the XTC wannabe rock opera.

Andy Partridge is a clever lyricist but you have to listen closely for the wit. John Lennon would be proud of Knights In Shining Karma but the song would also probably take Paul McCartney back to the musical style of his first solo album. Could Partridge be the first English musicians to successfully combine the best attributes of Lennon - MCartney?

Frivolous Tonight jumps the Atlantic for a moment and revisits the sounds of the Beach Boys.

One of the albums finest moments is Greenman. Now this one is a self contained rock opera, with an orchestrated start that takes you back to the LSO version of Tommy.

Your Dictionary is one bitter song - "F U C K is that how you spell friend in your dictionary" Partridge sings with all the spite of a dumped girlfriend.

We then go from sheer malice into utter frivolity with Fruit Nut, the "apple" component of the album title.

The final three stanza's of this album delve into the sounds that make this album such an aural delight. I Can't Own Her deals maybe with the more positive side of the relationship can so bad in Your Dictionary. Harvest Festival is simplistic McCartney revisited and the six and a half minute The Last Balloon is one of those Sgt Pepper like images with XTC painting images with word play.

by Hector The Rock Dog

Copyright 1999 Radio Undercover

The Belfry
October, 1999

Music is the Best: Volume 10

Next I'd like to talk about another British group, XTC, and their newest album, Apple Venus: Volume One. Although it's still early, this one has my vote for album of the year thus far. XTC began their career as a new wave pop group in the late seventies, and their releases were critically lauded throughout the eighties. On Apple Venus, their first album since 1992's Nonsuch, the group employs what singer/guitarist/songwriter Andy Partridge calls "orch-coustic" music, that is, a blend between orchestral and acoustic music. This description is more or less correct, as on this album Partridge and bassist Colin Moulding alternate between simple acoustic tracks and more elaborate, orchestrated ones. The songs are really quite an eclectic mix; Partridge is a master songwriter, and he explores many very different styles on this album. Although guitarist Dave Gregory left the group before the album was finished, his creative, distinctive guitar leads can be heard on several tracks. As a consistently inventive and skillful group, XTC never disappoint, and this album, along with 1987's Skylarking (my previous favorite), ranks among their best.

J. Eric Smith Music Review and Media Ephemera Archive
1999
Recordings

XTC
Apple Venus, Volume 1 (TVT)

Unhappy about their contract with Virgin Records, XTC went on strike after 1992's Nonsuch. Virgin's lawyers finally realized last year that the eccentric English pop geniuses were serious and freed the group to shop their wares elsewhere. XTC are now making up for lost time, offering the first new fruits of their post-strike era via the "orch-oustic" Apple Venus, Volume 1 and scheduling an allegedly rougher-edged Apple Venus, Volume 2 for release later this year.

Hopefully that's rougher-edged from a sonic standpoint, since the instrumentally-serene Volume 1 contains enough bile to make it XTC's most emotionally pointed disc, which is really saying something, given such past angst-fests as "Dear God," "Wake Up," "Smartest Monkeys," "Respectable Street," "Making Plans for Nigel" and "Generals and Majors."

Why the unhappiness? In part because XTC's core creative trio are now a duo, with sonic wallpaper-hanger Dave Gregory's band membership not surviving the Apple Venus sessions. (Hence the disc's aural minimalism, perhaps?) Then, too, lingering hatred of Virgin Records, producer Haydn Bendall's abandonment of the group and songwriter Andy Partridge's divorce-inspiration for the particularly vicious "Your Dictionary."

Partridge's well-documented emotional issues and proclivity for playing with tin soldiers make it hard to hear "My Dictionary" without wanting a retort from the ex-Mrs. Partridge. With stalwart bassist Colin Moulding's contributions to this disc standing as some of his slightest, Apple Venus, Volume 1 therefore ultimately feels more like a solo Partridge rant than a proper XTC project.

Here's hoping Volume 2 marks the true return to form.

Copyright 1995-1999: J. Eric Smith
[Thanks to and with permission of J. Eric Smith]

Digmagazine
Music

XTC:
Apple Venus - Vol. 1

XTC

Making Plans for My Fair Lady
By Kyle Riordan

Seven years is a long time to wait for something. They say that all of the cells in your body are replaced in that span of time. That would mean that this is not the same XTC that created the album 'Nonesuch' all those years ago, and you would be right. Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding are still there, but Dave Gregory is gone (actually he's still there as a credited sideman). Virgin Records is gone with TVT Records in their place. The electric guitars of 'Oranges and Lemons' and 'The Dukes of Stratosphere' are gone, replaced by acoustic guitars and orchestral accompaniment and samplers. Are all of these changes a recipe for disaster? Not a chance!

'Apple Venus Vol. One' starts where 1986's 'Skylarking' leaves off, and if you've followed the XTC boys at all, you won't be surprised to hear that this new album is excellent as usual. Starting off with the challenging 'River of Orchids' and ending with the gorgeous yet disturbing 'The Last Balloon', this album is very McCartney-esque in spots, but always in that quirky XTC kind of way.

Highlights include 'Greenman', 'Easter Theatre', and 'Your Dictionary', where Andy Partridge teaches you the true spelling of the word love. This is a great album - get it, and keep your eyes peeled for the electric Volume 2 later this year.

© 1999 InSync Design & Publishing. All rights reserved.

St. Paul Pioneer Press
September 14, 1999, Tuesday
Reviews of new pop and jazz releases

XTC "Apple Venus, Vol. 1" TVT Records * * *

As this CD was released six months ago, it becomes increasingly apparent that there is no "Apple Venus, Vol. 2" - or, at least, if there's going to be one, we might have to wait another seven years for it. That's how long it's been since this English duo (Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding) released their last CD of original material.

Worth the wait? Most critics seem to think so - yet there is so little pop creativity to compete with XTC's exotic, experimental craftsmanship that any XTC disc is better than none.

The hook here is blending the duo's quirky little melodies and acerbic lyrical tidbits with big chunks of musical scenery provided by the London Session Orchestra. This does not mean that XTC is striving for oppressive significance a la the Moody Blues; if anything, the compositions here are less substantial than usual. The most memorable of the bunch is the almost folky "Your Dictionary," in which Partridge strums an acoustic guitar and croons, "H-A-T-E, is that how you spell love in your dictionary." It's an example of what XTC has always done best - crafting songs so clever and familiar that you'd almost think they came from Tin Pan Alley or country radio - except that there's always a college-boy twist that puts them in the too-odd-or-blunt-to-be-a-hit category.

Perhaps half these songs lack enough Tin Pan Alley to offset their oddness, but a couple others come close to the group's best work: "I Can't Own Her," an ode of poetic yearning, and "Harvest Festival," in which a wedding is compared to the culmination of the growing season.

"Apple Venus" feels like the offbeat albums of the late-'60s Beach Boys or the Kinks - not their greatest work, but rewarding enough in spots to hang with it.

- Rick Shefchik

© 1999, Saint Paul Pioneer Press
[Thanks to Wes Hanks]

Further Entertainment
August 1999

XTC
Apple Venus Vol.1
Cooking Vinyl

Neues vom Kunstlied

Gelegentlich wird man doch zwischen all den vermeintlichen Schnittstellen von Postthis und Elektronicthat daran erinnert, daß es auch noch ganz anders gehen kann, das Musik machen. Die neue CD von XTC - die erste nach 7 Jahren - ist ein Musterexemplar zeitgenössischer Popmusik als art pour l'art; leicht, eingängig, dabei völlig unkommerziell, heiter und doch bemerkenswert in ihrer Tiefe. Nicht für das Tagesgeschäft gemacht, aber mit jedem neuen Hören winkt irgendwo eine Belohnung. Aber bevor der Franz Schöler in mir euch endgültig verzückt in das Klanguniversum von Apple Venus abschweift, an dieser Stelle lieber ein kurzer Abriß der jüngeren XTC-Geschichte, die mit Andy Partridge und Colin Moulding zu diskutieren ich unlängst das Vergnügen hatte.

1995 trennte sich die Band von Virgin, nachdem sie wegen unvereinbarer wirtschaftlicher Differenzen längere Zeit die Arbeit verweigert hatte. Die neue CD ist das erste Produkt des neugegründeten eigenen Labels IDEA Records, das in Europa exklusiv von Cooking Vinyl vertrieben wird. Die Songs entstanden bereits '92 bis '94, mußten sich jedoch angesichts der neuen wirtschaftlichen Situation der Band und den damit verbundenen Aufgaben ein wenig gedulden. “Apple Venus” erscheint in zwei Teilen, das vorliegende Vol.1 versammelt verspielte akustische Songs, Vol.2 (geplanter VÖ Dez.99) wird weitgehend lauten E-Gitarren vorbehalten sein und Material aus den Jahren 94-96 enthalten. Die Zweiteilung der Platte war der Anlaß für Leadgitarrist Dave Gregory, 1995 nach 20 Jahren das Handtuch zu werfen.

AP: Dave wollte keine akustische Orchesterplatte machen, er wollte die elektrischen Songs nicht `rausnehmen für ein zweites Album, er wollte zu dem Buch über uns, das grad `rausgekommen ist, nichts beitragen (XTC: Song Stories von Neville Farmer, ersch. Bei Helter Skelter), er wollte nicht bei TVT-Records in USA unterschrieben, er wollte dies nicht und jenes nicht, er war sehr negativ zuletzt, und es wurde immer unmöglicher, mit ihm zu arbeiten.

Seit einem Jahr verfügt die Band erstmals über ein eigenes Studio.
AP: Die Hälfte des Materials auf Vol.1 ist bei Colin daheim entstanden. Die Ergebnisse waren so gut, daß wir uns sofort nach einem geeigneten Ort für ein Studio umgesehen haben. Da hat Colin seine Garage angeboten und wir haben sie ausgebaut. Schon verrückt, für Studiozeit Geld zu verplempern - Du kannst wirklich nicht sagen, was von der neuen CD bei Colin auf dem Sofa und was im Abbey Road Studio entstanden ist.

Endlich brauchbare Arbeitsbedingungen also für zwei Leute, die immer noch besessen sind vom Plattenmachen; die Herausforderung darin sehen, immer bessere Musik zu schaffen. Für das eigene Frühwerk haben beide nicht viele gute Worte - charmant sicherlich, energisch, aber naiv. Moulding beteuerte, daß er in den letzten 10 Jahren überhaupt erst die skills entwickelt hat, um gute Platten zu machen.

Beider Interesse an zeitgenössischer Musik ist eher gering.
AP: Ich habe nicht das Bedürfnis, mir den Kram von anderen Leuten anzuhören. Die beste Musik entsteht durch gutes Essen, Trinken, emotionale Dinge, nicht notwendigerweise durch andere Musik, die man hört. Meine Erwartungen werden von anderer Leute Musik oft nicht erfüllt: Entzücken, Freude, Überraschungen, Erfindungsreichtum. Ich weiß, das klingt schrecklich pompös, aber ich habe heute auch einfach keine Geduld mehr, Leuten zuzuhören, die noch nach ihrer Stimme, ihrem Ausdruck suchen.
Wie beispielsweise Blur, die Partridge als Produzenten wollten, die fertigen Stücke dann aber doch nicht für die letzte CD benutzten, weil sie zu sehr wie XTC geklungen haben sollen...

Das eigene Label soll nicht nur XTC vorbehalten sein, es gibt Pläne, auch andere Acts unter Vertrag zu nehmen und die eigene Musik auch wieder unter anderem Namen herauszubringen, wie seinerzeit mit den Dukes of Stratosphear.
AP: Ursprünglich wollte ich die neue Platte “The History Of The Middle Ages” nennen, weil wir Männer mittleren Alters sind und die Songs unsere jüngste Geschichte behandeln. Aber niemand mochte das - zu destruktiv, nicht groovy genug. Ich las dann im Internet von einer Theorie, daß wir unsere Albumtitel aus Texten von der vorherigen Platte nehmen, was quatsch und rein zufällig so ist, ich schaute mir also die lyrics von “Nonesuch” an und entdeckte, daß “Apple Venus” eine perfekte Beschreibung ist für das schlüpfrige, behäbige, ziemlich schmierige, englische Gefühl, das die Musik auf der Platte ausstrahlt.

Ich mußte sofort an Blonde on Blonde denken, die ja auch in 2 Teilen erschienen ist...
Ich war nie ein Dylan-Fan. Ich ziehe Donovan vor... der hatte einen hübscheren Hut. Dylan langweilt mich zu Tode - warum zwei Worte finden, wenn tausend es auch tun? Ich interessiere mich viel mehr für Leute, die das was sie zu sagen haben, kapper und präziser formulieren.

Room Magazine
Windsor, Ontario
August 5, 1999

XTC
Apple Venus Vol. 1
tvt records

If you forgot about these guys it's because they've been fucking the dog, album-wise anyway, for the last seven years. Their customary experimentation with jagged art-rock and mystical, melodious pop is present on Apple Venus Vol. 1, but XTC have launched themselves in a new direction, embracing an orchestral approach. "River of Orchids" showcases plucked violins, looping bass, syncopated horns and harmonized vocals, while the radio-friendly "I'd Like That" offers that familiar English folk-influence music, reminiscent of early Beatles. The lyrics are intensely personal, but not too bitter, despite frontman Andy Partridge's painful divorce, or the quitting of longtime guitar- ist Dave Gregory halfway through recording. An eclectic, thoughtful album, musically diverse and mentally satisfying.

[Thanks to Michael Stone]

CD Consumer
The Best Albums of 1999

XTC: The Apple Venus vol. 1--Let me first say that I love XTC. I have always loved XTC, and nothing can change that. This is not a terrible album. It is, in fact, exactly what the reviewers are calling it: A beautiful and lush orchestral pop album. The problem is that the songwriting is not up to par for an XTC album. Sure there are all of the fun phallic images and hokey allusions to marriage ritual, but frankly it seems a little forced on this one. This is not to say that the album doesn't have its high points, it does. "Easter Theater" is a truly wonderful pop song, and "Fruit Nut" sounds like it could have been an outtake from Mummer. The Apple Venus, overall, is sort of Skylarking Lite. A little disappointing to hear this from what was once the loudest band in the UK, I hate it when they get old, but an old XTC is still better than 90% of what's out there. IYL: Todd Rundgren, Dukes of the Stratosphear, Robyn Hitchcock.

Copyright © 1999 Geoffrey A. Woolf

Winnipeg Sun
JAM!

Friday, December 31, 1999

The Class of 1999

By DARRYL STERDAN
Winnipeg Sun

The Top 10 CDs

 1) Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
 Grow Fins: Rarities (1965-1982)
 Revenant

 2) Verbena
 Into The Pink
 EMI (U.S. only)

 3) Tom Waits
 Mule Variations
 Epitaph

 4) The Clash
 From Here To Eternity: Live
 Epic / Sony

 5) XTC
 Apple Venus Vol. 1
 TVT / Universal

 A drop of water and a plucked violin flow into a River Of Orchids that carries you through an orch-pop wonderland of fruity horns, plum accents and sweet melodies -- except for the brilliantly bitter pill of Your Dictionary. Get the Homespun demos disc to complete the set.

 6) Iggy Pop
 Avenue B
 Virgin / EMI

 7) Beck
 Midnite Vultures
 Interscope / Universal

 8) Fountains Of Wayne
 Utopia Parkway
 Atlantic / Warner

 9) Fiona Apple
 When The Pawn ...
 Epic / Sony

 10) Nine Inch Nails
 The Fragile
 Nothing / Universal

Apple Venus Vol. 1

Copyright © 2001, Canoe Limited Partnership. All rights reserved.

John's Groovy Music Pages
November 1999

Apple Venus Volume 1 - XTC

It's been seven years since XTC's last album "Nonsuch" due to various disputes with Virgin Records, but now Swindon's finest are back with a stunning new album (Volume 2 should be out later this year hopefully).

Down to a duo of Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding following the departure of guitarist Dave Gregory (who does still feature on the album incidentally) XTC have decided to record with an orchestra for their comeback. I was unsure what to expect, but for people familiar with the band's previous work, I can only compare it to 1986's "Skylarking" album. Even then, it's totally different! Andy Partridge has described it as Orchoustic music and that's a pretty fair description.

Generally acoustic, the album features orchestral parts on many tracks and the first track, "River Of Orchids", gives the listener a hint of what to expect. For me, this is one of the most inventive pieces of music that I've heard for many a year. Starting with the dripping of water, and introducing orchestra and trumpets to drive the song along with meticulously layered harmonies. Hints of the Beatles and the Beach Boys, this is one hell of a song. Not the sort of thing you're likely to hear in the charts, but hey, we're above that aren't we?

"I'd Like That" is very XTC, all folky with a catchy chorus, while "Easter Theatre" sees the return of the orchestra. "Knights In Shining Karma" (now wouldn't Crispian Mills of Kula Shaker have loved that title!) is all jangly guitar and wouldn't be out of place on any of the last few XTC albums. "Frivolous Tonight" is the first of two Colin Moulding songs, very McCartneyesque, while Andy Partridge's "Greenman" is probably the most commercial track on the album. "Your Dictionary" sees Partridge having a pop at his ex-wife, but it's a very emotional and lyrically clever song, one of the standout tracks for me.

All in all, a welcome return from one of my favourite bands. Good as it is though, I can't see it making much impact on the album charts, as it's not the sort of music that you hear regularly on the radio, well not on the stations that I listen to anyway. If you're a fan, you've probably got it already, but if you enjoy stuff like The Beatles, The Beach Boys, E.L.O., what I call "quality music" then give it a try. Who knows, you might even be tempted to investigate their back catalogue.

8/10

FTM Music
7/16/99

Singapore correspondent Kevin Mathews comments on the Music Scene from His Corner.. XTC - APPLES & VENUS VOL. I (IDEA/TVT)

For loyal (and long-suffering) XTC fans, this album has been a long time coming. Seven years in fact, from the last release, Nonsuch. To get a perspective of exactly how much water has gone under the bridge since then - Kurt Cobain was still alive, Oasis were an unknown band and Manchester United fans were still waiting for their favourite club's first championship since 1967!

Apple Venus Vol. 1 represents the British pop duo's (now consisting of Andy Partridge & Colin Moulding only) first recorded material since 1992. Since that time, they have been in limbo due to a self-imposed strike to free them from an inequitable recording contract with Virgin.

With all the legal problems finally behind, this new album (and the companion Vol. 2 to come later this year) is the culmination of seven years of repressed creativity and financial straits. Perhaps then, it is rather odd, though in character, for the band to release this highly uncommercial LP to introduce to the modern pop world the latest incarnation of XTC. Eschewing the traditional guitar/bass/drums format (apparently that is left for Vol. 2 to explore), the songs on Apple Venus Vol. 1 can be best described as acoustic orchestral pop.

With Colin Moulding contributing two limp (by his high standards) cod-music hall pieces - Frivolous Tonight & Fruit Nut - that recall McCartney at his excessive worst, the album comes across as a quirky Andy Partridge solo work.

For the first half of Apple Venus Vol. 1, Partridge can do no wrong. Witness the irresistible Arabic undertones of Green Man; the sing-a-long melodic charm of I'd Like That; the Lennonesque simplicity of Knights of Shining Karma (ouch!); the regal pomp of Easter Theatre and the ambitious complexity of Rivers of Orchids. These sublime songs (previously previewed by XTC fanatics - like yours truly - on several bootlegged demo recordings) confirm that Andy Partridge is one of the finest pop writers of his generation. Alas, the second half never quite measures up to that exhilarating first as Partridge's cynicism and bitterness (over his divorce) bubbles over and mars Your Own Dictionary and I Can't Own Her. Together with the dull and inaccessible Harvest Festival and The Last Balloon, it shows that whilst the concept may be inspired, the execution leaves much to be desired. Before he left XTC last year, Dave Gregory - the talented multi-instrumentalist - was upset that these offbeat songs were selected ahead of the more viable electric ones (Vol. 2 presumably). Perhaps his fears were indeed sound as Apple Venus Vol. 1 is certainly flawed and a mild disappointment. It remains to be seen how Vol. 2 will fare and whether or not, XTC should have taken the best of both albums and compiled them into one superlative album.

Sigh.

Cheers 

Kevin Mathews
Touched by the Power of Pop

Copyright © 1999 ftm Music Inc. All Rights Reserved

The Daily Star
Friday, July 2, 1999

Column by Eric Coker
An early look at the best music of 1999

The end of the decade.

The supposed end of the century.

It's a time when most music critics are trying to remember every great album of the past 10 years before boldly declaring that "Sgt. Pepper" and "Pet Sounds" are the best albums of the century.

Let me be the first to offer another not-so-original list: an early look at the best of 1999. When others are expounding at year's end about how memorable Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisited" and Nirvana's "Nevermind" were, these are the CDs that will be sadly forgotten.

1. Fountains of Wayne — "Utopia Parkway"
2. Push Stars — "After the Party"
3. Ben Folds Five — "The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner"
4. Randy Newman — "Bad Love"
5. Fred Eaglesmith — "Fifty-Odd Dollars"

6. XTC — "Apple Venus Vol. 1"

After seven years of inactivity, XTC doesn't try to catch up with the sounds of 1999; Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding prefer to bask in orchestration that resembles nothing in their 20-year musical pantheon. The gamble pays off. Don't expect to sing along to "King for a Day" or "Peter Pumpkinhead" soundalikes. "Apple 1" (A rockier "Apple 2" is due later this year) is simply a listeners' experience.

7. Lucy Kaplansky — "Ten Year Night"
8. Wilco — "Summer Te