XTC
Skylarking
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. . . the serious business of the next XTC album beckoned, and they were packed off to Woodstock to work with producer Todd Rundgren. Dave: "Todd and Andy were like chalk and cheese as personalities, they didn't hit it off from the start. Things just went from bad to worse. Andy was saying how much he hated the album, and when we returned home, he was very depressed about it. My only misgiving was that it was badly recorded. Perhaps Todd was trying to recreate a Sixties sound to capitalise on our Beatles fixation: but having said that, Skylarking is probably my favourite XTC album. Personally, I like what Todd did with the songs."
The first single to be issued from the Woodstock sessions was Grass. . . Two months later saw the release of the Skylarking album . . . with the overall 60s pop sound showing a definite Dukes of Stratosphear influence. A U.S. promo-only interview disc, Skylarking With Andy Partridge, spiced with added comment from Rundgren, was circulated to radio stations. . .
The next 45, The Meeting Place, spawned a clear vinyl edition. . . Most notable, though, was the surprise U.S. hit the band scored with "Dear God", which had appeared on a four-track promo 12" and was previously only available as a U.K. B-side. Virgin/Geffen decided to add the song to future editions of the Skylarking album, where it replaced "Mermaid Smiled", and it was also revived for the home market. The 12" edition boasted a rare live outing (their first since 1982), with a version of "Another Satellite" taped for a BBC radio performance. . .
Record Collector, November 1990
Lyrics, Charts and More
In the U.S.A. (and elsewhere) the track list was altered thusly:
Recent CD reissues restore the original U.K. track order and include "Dear God" as a bonus track at the end.
Recording Information
Recorded at Utopia Sound Studios, Woodstock, New York, U.S.A., and
at Cavum Soni (Sound Hole), San Francisco, California, U.S.A.
Produced by Todd Rundgren for Alchemedia Productions.
Assistant engineers Kim Foscato and George Cowan.
Originally released on 27 October 1986 in the U.K.
Reached No. 79 on the U.K. album chart.
Reached No. 70 on the U.S. album chart.
Reached No. 48 on Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Albums Of The 80s"
survey in November 1989.
Backing vocals by the Beech Avenue Boys.
Drums by Prairie Prince.
Percussion by Mingo Lewis.
John Tenney - violin
Orchestral arrangements and computer programming by Todd Rundgren.
One working title for this album was Day Passes.
Andy: “Musician and producer Todd Rundgren squeezed the XTC clay into its most complete/connected/cyclical record ever. Not an easy album to make for various ego reasons but time has humbled me into admitting that Todd conjured up some of the most magical production and arranging conceivable. A summer's day cooked into one cake.”
Andy: “The initial sleeve opened at the top: there were then two fronts, or two backs. On one side, pubic hairs of a woman photographed very closely, with meadow flowers tangled, on the other one, pubic hairs of a man with flowers tangled. You then could choose the side you wanted to see. But we had problems with our record company and the record shops. Yet, one could see almost nothing, all was in the imagination. . . I found that it nicely summarized the time, the place and the feeling of the album, and there was a Lady Chatterley's Lover side, mischievous outdoor sex.”
Andy: “When we delivered Skylarking, they told us it didn't have any singles on it and we should go a write something in the style of ZZ Top.”
Singles
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(Canada and Australia only)
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Art
US Skylarking with “Dear God” promo poster |
The Warner Bros Music Show: Skylarking Interview with Andy Partridge, 1986 |
Skylarking illustration (thin lines) |
a Skylarking T-shirt |
back of a Skylarking T-shirt |
another Skylarking T-shirt |
autographed Skylarking |
Skylarking nymph with tank treads |
trade ad for Skylarking |
Go back to XTC Reel by Real.
3 February 2007 / Feedback