Customer Reviews

Skylarking

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This was my first real XTC album (as is the case for many, many people) and when I first put it in, I thought "God....these songs are BORING." I only liked "Dear God" and "Earn Enough For Us," both of which were on their "Upsy Daisy" hits collection, which I played instead. Months later, however, I put in the album for another listen, and it all just....HIT ME. ALL of it. I don't care for "1000 Umbrellas" too much, but every other song is a gorgeous, Todd Rundgren-produced masterwork. My favorites are "The Meeting Place," "Sacrificial Bonfire," "Season Cycle," and the two that I mentioned earlier, but it's pretty much all great. XTC mastered the studio sound here and would continue to do so for the next several albums, though the only time they really hit this high again is on the brilliant "Chips From The Chocolate Fireball" album that they recorded as the Dukes. I have nothing more to say-- I know that by adding a 5-star review I'm just throwing another good opinion into the mush and no one will read this, but the album deserves it, darnit.

Todd Rundgren managed to infuriate the band during the recording of this LP, but he did a great job helping them to pick and sequence their material, and to frame it sound-wise and mix it into a beautiful record.

The songs are strong. At least one of Partridge's overly wordy and effete clunkers creeps ("Supergirl") and "Season Cycle" is overly derivative (of the Beach Boys). But the rest of the material is well worth a spin. And Todd the Godd retains his ability to knock out wonderful-sounding LPs (file this one next to Patti Smith's "Wave" and the Psychedelic Furs' "Forever Now").

In the end the arrangements mix strings, an effective rhythm section (Prairie Prince does the drumming), guitars, idiosynchratic vocals, and various other effects into a satisfying stew not unlike something the Beatles might have come up with had they been working together during the late 80's.

i've read some of the other reviews on here...

with the dukes of stratosphear coming a close second,
skylarking is the best XTC album in the catalog.
it's my 2nd favorite album of all time. number 1?
double nickels on the dime by the minutemen.

when i first heard 'skylarking' i didn't get it.
like many albums, i set it aside for about a year.
luckily, i revisited the record and it never ceases
to amaze.

give it a chance and you will be rewarded.

This release is an absolute must have classic. Every song is a winner. Brilliantly crafted and produced (forgive me Andy)it is probably thier best ever (although I rank Apple Venus Vol 1 right there with it). Songs like "Summer's Caldroun, Grass, 1,000 Umbrellas, Season Cycle, The Man Who sailed Around His Soul" are brilliant compositions. An absoulte Masterpiece.

One of my favorite albums of all times. When I was 15 my uncle handed my this album during a visit and told me to give it a listen. At that time I was listening to Iron Maiden, Zeppelin, Tull, Clapton. I took it home and at first thought I wouldn't like it. I sprawled out on the bed with the lyric sheet and played through the whole album. It was alife changing moment. A stupid 15 year old kid has this door opened within him, all of a sudden seeing things he never saw before. Skylarking was a bold, creative and thought provoking album that definitely marked a major changing point in my life.

I quickly bought everything I could find that was available by Xtc and have been a fanatic ever since. This has remained one of my favorite albums and is still in regular rotation.

I've owned various copies of this recording since 1988 and I can't seem to get sick of it. The strong melodies, quirky XTC vocals and rythyms, and superb Todd Rungren production can bear repeated listening. Yes the Beatles influence is strong (along with almost all the rest of post 1960's popular music), but the songs have a certain "bent" to them. From "Summer's Cauldron" to "Another Satellite" (one of my favorites from the CD) to the ranting "Dear God", the music flows over and through you. One of the great spring/summer CD's of all time. Important note: listen to it many times before giving up, it grows on the uninitiated!

I have always loved XTC - since their third album "Drums & Wires," at least. People who know me well also know how much I love the music of Todd Rundgren - producer, arranger, engineer and chief task-master of this wonderfully conceived musical project. I hoped the collaboration would prove fruitful; never in my wildest dreams did I envision such a tour-de-force as "Skylarking" turned out to be!

Love him or hate him, Todd Rundgren is a musical genius. Sometimes when two large musical egos are forced to co-exist, as is the case here with Rundgren and XTC leader Andy Partridge, sparks will fly! That's Andy getting the wrong end of the lit match here... but to the benefit of everyone with ears. Rundgren was hired to listen to the 23 or so demos XTC had recorded for their next record (following "Big Express"), edit and sort them into some cohesive order, and otherwise take whatever creative control necessary to (hopefully) salvage something of XTC's tattered career it stood then - in 1986. Rundgren surpassed all expectations by producing their best-selling and best conceived record, even producing the surprising FM hits "Dear God" and "Grass." And as an added bonus, this is an absolutely AWESOME recording. This all adds up to an exquisite aural experience ... second to none.

Although Sir Partridge was irked at the time, he now acknowledges that "Skylarking" is his band's one bonefide 'classic' - a word that should NEVER be used indiscriminately. Few records can ever be mentioned in the same breath as the Beatles "Pepper". This is one of the few that can. Enjoy ...

And what do you get when you cross the songwriting talents of Partridge, Moulding, and Gregory with the producing genius of Todd Rundgren? You get a one-time classic of alternative music, a top ten college radio album of the 80's.

XTC has always been compared to the Beatles, in that heavy on harmony, easy on the ears, float-on-clouds type of sound. They've always made great catchy English pop music, but this one album in particular was just perfect. Each song glides easily into the next, giving the whole album the feel of listening to one 50 minute song. If you were lying in the "Grass" on a drizzly summer afternoon or in a meadow listening to crickets, or on the beach listening to the surf, you would want to put this album on and drift into a trance. Its a mellowing, mint-julip sipping experience.

The drawback to the album is that it is heavy on one style, and that many of the songs do have the same familiar feel to them. If you're looking for a "greatest hits" style of album with varying styles of XTC music, this isn't a good pick. Each song follows the same vein and if you're not in the right mood, you might get bored easily. But if you've got a free afternoon, a case of Coronas, and a nice gentle warm breeze, then lie down in a hammock, put this CD on, and let the waves of music wash over you. Never before have songs of cynism, sacrilege, despair and pessimism seemed so upbeat and pleasing.

Todd Rundgren managed to nudge XTC just enough over to the pop area to make this their most enjoyable album. Andy Partridge's sharp tongue still gets its say, but in such a way that Top 40 Radio fans would still enjoy it. An incredible album of pop/rock gems.

The penultimate XTC record. Produced by Todd Rundgren, this record promptly entered "Rolling Stone" magazine's top 100 "Best Rock Records". For good reason, too. Probably the most inspired record of its generation, "Skylarking" is XTC's "Abbey Road". Features the Beatlesque "Earn Enough For Us". Unashamedly British, "Skylarking" pays homage to their mid '60's influences and it's experimentation. A daring and fresh record that will, in all probability, get XTC elected into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. A pop music masterpiece!