Customer Reviews

Nonsuch

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

A whopping 17 songs on this effort, which would be XTC's last album for many years. It's a mature, well rounded work that combines the lush, orchestrated pop of "Skylarking" with the bright, bubblegum psychedelia of "Oranges & Lemons". Thus, more Beatlesque bliss for XTC.

Both Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding wear their influences on their sleeves big time; Lennon, McCartney, Wilson, Davies, even Burt Bacharach.

"Then She Appeared" is a major standout with spot-on Beach Boys-like harmonies, shimmering guitar lines, and all the like. A sunny, upbeat pop masterpiece. And it wasn't even released as a single!

Also pop perfect is "The Disappointed" which sounds like XTC doing Tears for Fears doing The Beatles. This album showcases a band who can obviously write beautiful hooks and melodies in their sleep at this point.

Partridge is also a great storyteller; witness "The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead", a more guitar driven pop/rocker. Is it about JFK? Jesus? An actual pumpkin? Total lyrical mastery. The wonderful "Holly Up On Poppy" musically combines brooding psychedelia with bouncy pop in yet another wonderful song. Also worth noting is "Dear Madam Barnum", another guitar-driven pop number with great lyrics. Who writes lyrics this clever anymore? He really is one of the most gifted songwriters of all time..his wit even puts some of his idols to shame at time.

Partridge reaches a new level of sophistication on songs like "Rook" and "Wrapped in Grey". The former is a cryptic, downbeat piano-led poem (of sorts) which Partridge said reduced him to tears when he wrote it (as it just came out of nowhere). The latter showcases that Bacharach influence I eluded to before (as well as a heavy dose of Brian Wilson); like "Rook", it's also a piano/string section led chamber pop number. This one alternates from somber verses to a cheery, celebratory chorus. Both are among Partridge's best compositions.

Colin Moulding also turns in his most musically mature composition to date with "Bungalow"; The song travels from a cheesy organ-laden intro to rich, lush piano passages. It sounds like some long lost Tin Pan Alley classic.

Mouldings other tunes are also very good. "Smartest Monkeys" travels down a cliched lyrical path, but the music is strong and catchy. And Dave Gregory turns in an awesome solo (which sounds like a processed guitar, but is actually a synth I believe). "My Bird Performs" is sublime, and features some nice trumpet work.

Other album highlights include the lush, psychedelic "Humble Daisy" (think Lennon meets Brian Wilson), the tense "That Wave", the celebratory "Omnibus" (which sounds like something out of a musical), and the closer "Books Are Burning", a mid-tempo masterpiece which makes a common chord progression sound fresh.

XTC are so good at making sophisticated, smart pop music that it's depressing. Why? Because I can't find many other bands who can equal them. It's a shame that very few people have even heard of them.

after reading all the reviews on nonsuch , i cant believe anyone would have a negative thing to say about this beautifull collection of soul relaxing songs . i must admitt this was my first xtc disc ,i bought it when it came out gave it a listen or two and it collected dust for years , thats because like others who had negative comments , i didnt give this eclectic, interesting work of art enough time or plays to realize what a jewel of a band i had stumbled upon . since disovering xtc i have become a huge fan,cant say a bad thing about the english thugs , for the exception that some of the earlier stuff might be a little too punkish for me , but then again maybe all i need to do is listen a little harder before judging so quickly , I feel the same way about apple venus volume 1 and i am presently awaiting the release of 2 , i am sorry to hear that the guitarest wont be joining him , i think its a great loss to the band and i heard andy partridge was going to take on most or all of the guitar work on that disk , well for the price nonsuch is one of the best musical bargins you will ever find , buy buy buy

I really can't find enough superlatives to describe this album. When so many groups seem to exhaust their creative abilities in one album, Partidge and Moulding continue to grow as songwriters, producing better melodies, arrangements and lyrics with every record.

XTC started as a sort of punk band with "White Noise" but rapidly evolved into one of the best exponants of the melodic British Pop tradition that seems to have started with the Beatles and continues on through groups like 10CC, Squeeze and a few others.

Nonesuch has an amazing range of styles, from the hard-rocking Peter Pumkinhead to the lyrical "My Bird Performs" and the dark "Rook". There's fiercely biting social commentary in "The Smartest Monkeys", traditional English ballad in "Wrapped in Grey" and many other delights.

The more I listen to Nonesuch, the more I become absolutely enchanted with it. Certainly one my desert island albums, and maybe, just maybe the finest British Pop album ever.

I consider myself a late comer to XTC fandom, having really only started getting into them in the mid nineties when I finally purchased copies of Skylarking and Oranges and Lemons, which were for the longest time two of my most favourite non-Beatle pop albums. The thing is, I've known XTC music most of my life, but didn't really become a fan until that point, and even then, my love was conditional. I then heard tracks from Nonsuch and was sadly nonplussed. A real 2/5 effort, to my mind.

And that is exactly how it would have stayed if XTC hadn't gone on to record Apple Venus/Wasp Star, perhaps the finest swansong any band could hope for. Here we are in 2010, and after having listened to AV/WS many times, I suddenly find myself reaching back for my copy of Nonsuch, and lo and behold, find that it is a hidden masterpiece. Indeed, my musical tastes have matured some, but I was listening to Frank Zappa's Yellow Shark and King Crimson as well as my beloved Yes and Genesis and the Beatles, and truly felt like I understood where Nonsuch had come from.

I just didn't get it. But now I do. I have trouble explaining how it's crept up on me, but I now see it as perhaps their finest album, which is a very difficult thing for me to type, given my love of AV/WS. It just does so many wonderful things, and truly ahead of the curve. They took so many chances, which at this point in my life causes me to think that it is the album I should have been listening to all this time. Just a wonderful album, and if they had never recorded AV/WS. I'd still think they went out on a stroke of genius.

For those that awarded this album 1 or 2 stars, I ask you to set the album aside for a few years, go do something else, and then come back to it when you find yourself wishing they'd made more albums. Then see if this album doesn't actually surprise you the way it did me.

Nonsuch is XTC's most ambitious and orchestrated album. I would hazard to guess that both Andy Partridge, Colin Moulding and multi-instrumentalist Dave Gregory were listening quite a bit to such sixties pop uber menchen as the Zombies, The Beatles and most probably Brian Wilson of Beach Boys fame during the writing and recording. The tunes on Nonsuch call to mind the complex arrangements, jazzy melodies and gorgeous vocal harmonies of those three bands except run through an unmistakable XTC filter. Not before or since have the boys put an album together that was as lyrically and musically sophisticated. Nonsuch's collection of moving, and clever tunes are for the most part gorgeous pop tempered with a brooding, almost jazzy quality. Unlike their previous and excellent album Oranges And Lemons it steers away from guitar oriented pop/rock and goes for a lusher, orchestrated sound that is more akin to their Skylarking album. There are some exceptions: Then She Appeared is a truly delightful and uplifting guitar based pop song and then there's the "hit" Peter Pumpkinhead which sounds much closer to English Settlement than Skylarking. On Nonsuch Andy Partridge writes some of the most beautiful songs of his career such as the haunting Rook or the charming Holly Up On Poppy, Andy's ode to his daughter riding her hobbyhorse. Bassist Colin Moulding contributes the excellent My Bird Performs and the delightfully cynical The Smartest Monkeys. His only miss is the truly excreble Bungalow. I can't figure out if Colin is serious about looking back on a nostalgic bit of English culture, the seaside bungalow, or if he's mocking the whole thing. In any case it is the absolute worst song he ever wrote and XTC ever released. But one bad song among so many good ones is forgivable. Overall Nonsuch has a charming, lush, jazzy, yet almost baroque quality, and is a later period XTC masterpiece. The last truly great album from this amazing band.

If you love rich lyrics, challenging yet sweeping arrangements, complex and addicting melodies, then look no further to this 1992 album of XTCs last work before they went on strike. From songs of loss to social jabs XTC lose none of their thrust and power, and wrap it all in the tastiest coating imaginable in the recording arts. Marvel at the production (drum sound on Peter Pumpkinhead), tremble at the intimacy (crawl inside Rook if you dare), air guitar along (Books are Burning, Smartest Monkeys), but you will love this album. And at under $7, what the heck have you got to lose? Listen to the piss and pathos of Andy's singing and let the magical XTC lift your spirit up and fire a few shots into your soul... you won't come away the same.

When I first bought this album I knew I'd like it for Peter Pumpkinhead, but I found it to be a tedious and heady listen. The songs were so sweet and poppy I felt like I needed an aspirin. But as I took the time to read along with the songs in the brilliantly stylized medieval-esque lyric book I became fond of all 17.

1.The Ballad Of Peter Pumpkinhead - Partridge casts JFK as an historical archetype. A sweet n' sour happy song with a nice harmonica riff, crisp guitar, and big drums. Profound and inspiring.
2.My Bird Performs - Moulding's humble paean to natural beauty. Great horns and bird chirps. A light melodic bliss.
3.Dear Madam Barnum - An ironic contrast of the inner sentiments of a clown spoken against the absurdity of what he has to do for a living. A solid pop song.
4.Humble Daisy - Sailing imagery gives way to rolling around in the echoes of Skylarking's, "Grass". A decent song.
5.The Smartest Monkeys - Funny biting sarcasm from Moulding. Nice bass, delayed guitar, and a wacky solo.
6.The Disappointed - Beach Boy vocals, with an appropriately catchy arrangement.
7.Holly Up On Poppy - Caught up in a carefree girl who doesn't worry about where the money comes from.
8.Crocodile - A mediphor of jealousy. A weird country rocker that gives you a headache at first but is worth the effort.
9.Rook - Curiously, another bird song, this time by Partridge. (Pun intended:) A good, dreamy, brooding piano song.
10.Omnibus - Headache inducing happiness. A celebration of multicultural love. "Peter merely said, any kind of love is alright".
11.That Wave - A lively dreamy song of the sea. A great segue to...
12.Then She Appeared - Partridge at his wittiest. More Beach Boy vocals and Beatles feel good pop. Nice bass harmony and dissonance.
13.War Dance - Same subject as "Generals and Majors", but in a much more somber key. A warning and a reminder for us all.
14.Wrapped In Grey - The spirit of a true Christmas song bereft of consumerism. Rejuvenating and uplifting!
15.The Ugly Underneath - Catchiest song on the album. Neat synth sound. Great chorus. "See the unattractive things that make us real" The outro has a gorgeous organ theme that's pure XTC!
16.Bungalow - The anti-Christmas song. A great questioning of the materialistic protestant work ethic.
17.Books Are Burning - As was done in the middle ages, the Nazi's also held public burnings of books. This stands up like a champion in defense of all that is sacred about learning and free speech. Profound social issues wrapped in strong melodies with a soaring solo - XTC at it's best!

Today's British and American pop music artists are firmly grounded in the broader discourse of post-industrial philosophy and poetics, and in the search for religious meaning and national identity through the excavation and exploration of mythologies that Western writers, philosophers, and poets have been working in for centuries. Pop musicians such as XTC have taken on a dual role both as subversive critics of society and government within the public sphere of popular music, and as post-modern lyricists. This new approach to music begins to appear in their now classic album English Settlement (1982), a clear departure from their previous dance-oriented albums, which explores political, social, and mythological themes in the context of contemporary urban England. Subsequent albums by the band paint a richer picture of both urban and rural scenes, as the band reaches back further in time to draw on the pre-modern corpus of English, European, and Greek mythology. Their trio of albums that came out in the late 1980s and early 1990s--Skylarking (1986), Oranges & Lemons (1989), and Nonsuch (1992)--can be considered a trilogy. Each album builds on images and themes of the previous album, collectively evoking a rich tapestry of both Christian and pagan imagery, including folk tales from pre-modern England, and the mythology of ancient Greece, set in contrast with dreary depictions of post-industrial England and a war weary world. Nonsuch, arguably their richest album to date, is a rhapsodic call of awakening into the colorful dreamscape of animism and poetic resonances that underlies our dismal modern "real world" existence, as exemplified by Andy Partridge's call to "awaken you dreamers" from the state of the "loveless ones" who dwell in a "world wrapped in grey." Who are the "loveless ones?" They are the ones chained inside the Platonic cave of material reality that constitutes the grid-like world of mills, mines, factories, streets, apartments, offices, laboratories, schools, and prisons in the modern age of science and industry. Our infatuation with these institutions prevents us from seeing beyond to the deeper structures of nature and human history that lie behind our immediate visual universe. This is a task that England's Romantic poets and American transcendental philosophers dedicated themselves to during the previous century. Inheriting these and other philosophical and literary enterprises, XTC impells us to look beyond the confining strictures of the material or "rational" world by employing the vast powers of the collective lyrical imagination that have been constructed through the literature and music of the pre-modern world.

AF

Short review to highlight XTC's excellent achievement on this record. Despite the melodies flowing oh so easily and the production silky and engrossing, this album was quite difficult to get into. Theres lots of tracks and each one follows a different scheme, 'Peter Pumpkinhead' and 'Then she appeared' are among the most melodic things I've ever heard, 'Wrapped in Grey', 'Books are burning' more thoughtful, 'Rook' and 'Holly up on Poppy' swirls of gorgeous, dense psychedelia. But XTC bring it all together and careful listening reveals an absolute TRUCKLOAD of nuances, subtle instrumental ideas and well conceived intentions. A dense, sprawling masterwork which, on finally coming to appreciate, i am forced to liken to finding a treasure trove full of beer and candy after a deadly trip to the bottom of the ocean.....worth buying anyway, this band is unstoppable!

I bought this CD when it came out, listened, and promptly forgot it for 6 months. Like many of the previous reviewers, I was underwhelmed at first. After many amazing albums in a row, this one was not "happenin'". A long drive quickly convinced me otherwise. This CD is as rich as it gets. I always find it amusing that so many mention the "filler" on XTC CD's; With 17 songs there are bound to be some that disappoint(Bungalow and Dear Madam Barnum for me)). The creativity is mindboggling; there are so many chances taken; there are so many layers; there is such depth. Another wonderous work. One of the greatest of all bands.