XTC:Apple Venus Volume 1: CD Review
Classic Album From Enduring English New Wave Band Revisited.
Feb 15, 2009
Led by co-writers Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding, XTC were formed in their native Wiltshire in the mid 1970s. They were soon snapped up by Richard Branson's Virgin Records and between 1977 and 1982, their quirkily melodic New Wave pop hit paydirt.
Indeed, their evergreen singles Making Plans For Nigel and Senses Working Overtime are still staples of FM Radio and Indie Rock discos to this day.
XTC'S English Settlement and Front Man Andy Partridge's Acute Stagefright
XTC (www.xtcidearecords.co.uk ) were balanced on the cusp of international success when it all went wrong. Front man Andy Partridge's long-term attacks of stage fright became acute and a World Tour to promote 1982's critically-acclaimed album English Settlement was abandoned. All touring was subsequently put on hold and XTC adopted the latter-period Beatles method, existing as a studio outfit only.
The band's loyal fanbase ensured this approach was viable for over a decade but after 1992's glorious Nonesuch album, XTC went on strike. They believed correctly that Virgin had been withholding large royalty payments from them. The legal action dragged on for years, with the band working on songs they couldn't release until a settlement from Virgin enabled them to build studios and work from home.
When Apple Venus Vol.1 finally brought XTC's creative drought to an end in February 1999, it wasn't what long-term fans expected. Dominated by swirling string arrangements and wistful, bittersweet songs, it featured few of the band's trademark spiky guitars and became a 'sleeper': an album that began to receive its' due after the fact.
Orchestral Arrangments By The Wombles' Mike Batt
Ten years on, it's not hard to hear why its' reputation has grown. The neo-classical chamber-folk of River of Orchids makes for a subtle, seductive opener. Knights In Shining Karma is hauntingly sparse and Mike Batt (of The Wombles fame) adds a fascinating, Eastern-influenced sweep of strings to pagan love song Greenman. For a few minutes, it sounds like Led Zeppelin's Kashmir has been re-located to deepest Wiltshire.
Elsewhere, the lush harmonies of Easter Theatre and the sunny acoustic guitars of I'd Like That make for a pair of great, under-rated singles and Moulding's contributions, Frivolous Tonight and Fruit Nut add some joyful, disposable fun. Great pop music should always reserve the right to do this.
The twin jewels in Apple Venus's crown are surely Your Dictionary and Harvest Festival. The first is a bitter open letter from Partridge to his ex-wife, while Harvest Festival is a gentle, but stirring tale of first love set at a school assembly. It's an achingly lovely hymn to simpler times and without question one of the greatest songs Andy Partridge has ever written.
XTC'S Legacy and Their Influence on Indie Rock Heroes Franz Ferdinand
XTC (www.myspace.com/xtcfans) initially got their second wind with Apple VenusVol.1. Its' swift follow-up, Wasp Star, arrived within twelve months and brought a rockier, guitar-based approach back to the table. Sadly, it wouldn't last. Colin Moulding lost interest in writing, forcing Andy Partridge to split his own band due to being the only remaining member by 2006. Surely a first, even by Rock's bizarre standards.
The new breed of Indie Rock stars like Franz Ferdinand and We Are Scientists have drawn heavily on XTC's spiky guitar sounds in recent times. Their lengthy career was always marked by innovation, though, and their brash poppiness was tempered by a gentler, homespun charm. This softer side reached its' artistic pinnacle with Apple Venus Vol.1. Ten years on, it sounds truly sublime.
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