Skylarking

An old friend of mine and his father were into XTC, but I never listened to them. Let me say: what a fucking album. It flows together incredibly, the sound is somewhere between Genesis, The Beatles, and Duran Duran, and this thing has hooks for days. Blown away, really. Favorite tracks: "That's Really Super, Supergirl", "Ballet for a Rainy Day", "Earn Enough for Us"

“Skylarking” by XTC (1986) First time listen for this album and group. The question is, which album am I listening to here? The original vinyl release (without “Dear God”), the updated release (with “Dear God” but without “Mermaid Smiled”), or one of several digital re-releases which have “Dear God” in various positions among the last four tracks (or simply tacked on at the very end in the Spotify version)? For a concept album, it makes a huge difference, especially since “Dear God”, “Mermaid Smiled”, and “The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul” are the three most interesting songs on the album. What we have here is twelve pathetic attempts to sound like the Beatles, supplemented by three works of genuine creativity. In terms of sound, this album lacks melody, coherence in chord progressions, and meaningful lyrics. It’s tough to make up for these huge deficiencies with innovative color, but they try. The end result is like a palette without a canvas. “Dear God”, despite all the “controversy”, is a sophomoric and self contradictory squeal about the problem of evil as evidence against the rationality of belief in God. There are much better treatments of this theme in contemporary music (John Lennon’s “God” on “Plastic Ono Band”, for argument-ending instance). I wonder if Virgin intentionally created the controversy as a marketing strategy. Now, “Mermaid Smiled” and “The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul” are definitely worth listening to, despite the extraordinarily weak vocals. But two tracks do not an album make. 2/5

Moderately enjoyable but pretty forgettable

I listened to it twice. I want to have an opinion but I just can't make myself form one.

Honestly, they’re just kind of a mediocre Tears for Fears

basically every track on this album is "X but worse" whether it's the beatles, bowie, whatever. the only really good song wasn't even on the album at first.

XTC released a lot of memorable records in the 80's and Skylarking might be their masterpiece. It's a lush sounding album that highlights the band at their height of creativity. Not a record full of hits, it's a consistent, solid album that flows beautifully and Dear God is one the most interesting (and greatest) songs the band has ever produced!

So fun and so 80s; absolutely incredible instrumentally

This is a little too cutesy for me, but it reminds me of the first two Eno records in a way, so it’s got that going for it, which is nice.

For there to be above average music some music must be below average. This band makes the normal distribution work. Not bad music, but the singer sounds like being rick rolled for 49 minutes, the instruments, especially the piano have some fun riffs, but its not enough to save it.

New wave/pop album with only one exceptional song, tragically standing out in comparison to the rest of the album. XTC isn't a well known band, it doesn't have any strong position in any genre, and hasn't done anything revolutionary for music progression. In my opinion, the whole album actually feels like a filler for the single Dear God, which is a really good song, probably causing controversy even nowadays. Very smart lyrics and accompanying beats and melodies work amazing on this song, it's something I'm going to revisit every once in a while. Meanwhile, the rest of the album is totally anonymous. Nothing stands out, nothing caught my attention. There has to be something that I am missing, because there is no chance that Skylarking is on this list only for the song Dear God. Well, maybe time will tell, but at the moment the rating won't be too high.

For the longest time, XTC was "bad Tears For Fears" in my mind, and I never actually sought to listen to them outside of Dear God; listening to this has kind of reinforced that idea, and Dear God isn't even *great*.

Shame, I really wanted to like this. XTC have done some brilliant stuff; 'Love on a farmboy's wages' is still one of my very favourite songs after 30 years and I play several of their other singles regularly. This album was entirely unknown to me and I'm disappointed - I was hoping to discover some new gems. Maybe it needs more time to grow but in comparison to the obvious immediacy of their other work, it seems pretty weak. Some occasional nice stuff, but only serving to highlight how poor the rest is.

Very cohesive psychedelic pop, I love albums that have smooth transitions, and the first side of this album is some of the best I've heard. The B-side is a lot more inconsistent in both sound and quality, but it's still good enough to be one of my favourites.

An awesome album and XTCs best in my book...and that's saying something. This album is legendary for the acrimony between band and producer, Todd Rundgren. Apparently Andy Partridge and Rundgren were at each other's throats throughout the sessions. I don't know what the source(s) of the conflict were, but if music this inspired is the result then it was well worth every hurt feeling and acrimonious gesture. This is the album where XTC picked up the gauntlet of best British Psychedelic Pop band since the Beatles threw it down oh so many years ago. And I feel like Rundgren plays no small part. Favourite songs; Grass, Supergirl, Ballet for a Rainy Day, the jazzy The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul, the brilliant Dear God (which was not included on the original release and frankly seems a little out of place with the albums theme) and Sacrificial Bonfires. But really pointing out individual songs defeats the point of this album as every song is a little pop gem that deserves rapt attention. No brainer 5 stars.

This is one of the best pop albums I've ever heard. This kinda thing is why I do this 1001 album challenge; to find albums I'd never find otherwise. I don't ever listen to music like this, so I never would have found this alone. It's fascinating how so many songs are so catchy and yet so unpredictable; the melody often wanders to places you don't expect. It's quite refreshing to hear pop music that's actually interesting. reminds me of The Seeds Of Love by Tears for Fears

incredible album, every song was banger after banger 10/10

Everything pop could be. Amazing.

Such an interesting and fun album about nature, love, and simpler times from 80z gems, XTC. I love GRASS! Multiple other favs on this cool album are The Meeting Place, Ballet For A Rainy Day, Season Cycle, Earn Enough For Us, Big Day, and Dying. I remember when single Dear God first got air play and I was like "wow!" and "what?" Still such a unique and thought-provoking song. XTC continues to be a band one can get deep into. Sometimes at first listen it's easy to miss something. Look at all of these 80z bands standing out from this list. So excellent!

It's fine, but feels mostly derivative of stuff I've heard a thousand times

Outdoorsy.

Vocally, there's some hint of the same back-of-the-mouth-bounce-from-the-roof Curt Smith (which can be traced back to the Beatles) but musically this album is everywhere in both good and bad ways. Starting with the good, the mix of instruments and callback to the rock of the 60s make for a 'modern' take on the genre, which is great for 1986. "Season Cycle" is a fair example in a song that one could expect to hear from the B-sides of a Beatles album, or a forgotten Paul McCartney experiment. As far as interesting songs, "1000 Umbrellas" takes the podium for this. Bright, a bit funky, it stands out and prevents the album from being monotonous or held prisoner by a decade. The bad, and this is subjective of course, is that the album is quite literally everywhere. There is not really a theme, or any kind of pattern that an album can usually convey. It is quite literally an album of songs, rather than a cover to cover story. Maybe this is where XTC only enjoyed moderate success here, in that the album just lacked something to really grab onto. Unless a song is particularly exceptional, it is hard to buy an album without at least one or two non-negotiable songs. Objectively, this is album is really good work and if listened to as a compilation, could even be called excellent. The problem is that realizing this could be too little too late for a lot of listeners. "Another Satellite" is a great song and probably the most identifiable as being an 80s sound consistent with the British offerings the world would get a la Tears for Fears, arguably the reason why XTC gets undeservedly, yet understandably overlooked. Until we get to "The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul" which seems to rudely interrupt the non-existent monotony by introducing a tone change entirely. The best news is that this album scores 3/5 in that it makes a case for being on this list, but the not so great news is that should it ever get bumped in favor of some other album the protest would probably be minimal.

I have a lot of time for XTC and Black Sea, Drums and Wires and English Settlement are brilliant albums. Hope they come up later. I don't quite buy the 'late stuff is even better' - this has some lovely songs but it doesn't quite cut through, feels a bit 'classic' to me, though the occasional cut-through of the Wiltshire burr is always a joy.

Inoffensive very 60s but pretty bland

I wanted to listen to anything but this. Just felt too much like other, better artists.

Terribly boring. Probably was never going to connect with this as 80s British pop isn't exactly my cuppa tea. I'm not convinced I'm hearing 15 distinct songs here. It all kinda blended together with the same sort of ideas but that's probably worsened by me getting bored of attentively listening due to the dullness. Production is good I can tell these guys care about the presentation of their sound but damn is 15 songs probably 10 too many tracks for me.

A disappointment to me, lifeless songwriting. Having grown up on Black Sea and English Settlement, and even the wildly inconsistent Mummer, I remember being let down by Skylarking upon its release. For a release by a beloved band, this is one I will continue to avoid.

This album is decent pop music and just fine for what it is. Todd Rundgren could have done them a favor and left his melodica at home. Has anyone, anywhere ever said, “Wow, that tune really had some jammin’ melodica?” “Big Day,” has excellent bass work. “Dear God,” is a good tune. We need more songs mocking the idea of imaginary space buddies. No wonder it was left off the first pressing, it hits too close to reality for some people.

Some parts of "Dying" remind me of early Floyd (I think?) especially with the vocals being quite dragged out and with the whiny/minor tones. Overall quite unremarkable. I guess it tries to go for a psychedelic sound but dosen't quite get there in my opinion. Feels quite constipated throughout, lots of tension built up without too much resolution. (Just realised this is the band Karims friend, Lucy, suggested).

Generic ‘80s music. Not horrendous, but I’ve heard way better versions.

A really strange album, not quite rock, not quite pop and not quite psychedelic - a real mix of all three with leanings towards the rock/pop side. Despite all of the issues they had with the recordings and the abundance of choices they had with their demos, XTC managed to capture the feeling of significant life milestones including birth, young love, family, labour, illness, death, sprinkled with moments of wonderment. Best: Dear God Worst: Dying 2.5 stars

exhaustingly unremarkable. it's like new wave without synths so it doesn't even feel like they're having fun. not the worst album on the list but certainly one of the most unnecessary albums ever been made

Mumford & Sons cover Revolver. Not for me.

I like XTC's sound and when they find a hook for their songs. But too often their songwriting just meanders until it gets back to the catchy hook. That's fine unless the song doesn't have that hook. "Mermaid Smiled" is a perfect example of a hookless, meandering mess. "Earn Enough For Us", "Season Cycle" were decent songs. "Dear God" is just whining that seeks to blame somebody else for humans being assholes to one another due to our own folly and hubris. It became a hit simply because it gave d-bag, hipster college students the illusion that they were rebelling against their upbringing. Not so edgy.

Any album that features a fire-breathing takedown of God himself (Dear God) can't be all bad, right? Well, no, but Skylarking still turns my stomach. Why? I should love Skylarking. After all, it's considered by many to be the best post-psychedelic pop album since Sgt Pepper's. (Actually, it's more like a curdled mixture of The Beach Boys and Joe Jackson with an overlay of Rundgren at his most cute.) On the plus side, Alan Partridge and Colin Moulding's melodies and song structures are idiosyncratic and unpredictable. The production by Todd Rundgren is lush. And yet. For me, the trouble begins with Alan Partridge's plummy vocals--it's that pasty, Anthony Newly theatricality so prevalent in the 80s--eccch. The songs structures may be unpredictable, but rarely has baroque pop had so little payoff. There's nothing I would ever hum here, although Earn Enough For Us comes close. It sounds like something Bob Mould might have written--too bad it's performed with none of his toughness. The production is overstuffed to no effect except nausea--it's like a bacon sandwich with maple syrup poured over it. XTC's stab at raga rock--Big Day--is especially bilious. And the self-importance and grandiose self-regard on display is enough to sink the project on its own. It's clear that XTC is going for a masterpiece--fat chance. Still, I've got to give them some credit on the level of craft--Skylarking must have been a mind-numbing amount of work to put together, although it's almost as much effort to listen to. And then there's Dear God. Not a great song by any means--it's too self-consciously pedantic for that--but at least it's fun.

No. Just no. Please please no. NEVER AGAIN

I bought this - not at the time but later - and listened to it enough that going back to it every song was surprisingly familiar. This project has also given me a much deeper regard for it. An album of originality, musical experimentation and a heap of good songs. Having two songwriters creates a great contrast too. This deserves to be here.

Crazy, I didn't think I'd remember as much of this album as I did, so many melodies that just stick right in your head and never leave. Fantastic record. 50 minutes of complete bangers, there isn't a bad song on here. Production is amazing as well

Conociendo otros trabajos de XTC como "Drums and Wires" o "Oranges and Lemons", sabía que la banda de Andy Patridge era buena, pero "Skylarking" me dejó sorprendido. La producción de Todd Rudgren ciertamente ayuda, pero las composiciones de este LP son sumamente interesantes, ya que mezclan melodías pop con estructuras poco comunes que podrían haber sido sacadas de los trabajos más experimentales de The Beatles o David Bowie. Probablemente, mi disco favorito de XTC, y les aseguro que no saldrá de mis reproducciones habituales. Por favor, escúchelo.

Unexpectedly I like it. Somewhat chill rock, good guitar, interesting lyrics. Voice is average.

Mellow af

5/5 This album feels really creative, yet also very comforting. The vocals are fantastically engaging, and the production is super tight. I love the orchestration and introduction of classical and retro elements while embracing new sounds. The parts where songs flow into each other work brilliantly as well, with the consistent themes creating a better experience. Overall, this is just an exceptional piece of music. Summer's Cauldron 4.5/5 Grass 4.5/5 The Meeting Place 5/5 That's Really Super, Supergirl 5/5 Ballet For A Rainy Day 5/5 1000 Umbrellas 4.5/5 Season Cycle 5/5 Earn Enough For Us 4/5 (LEAST FAV) Big Day 5/5 Another Satellite 5/5 (FAV) Mermaid Smiled 5/5 The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul 4.5/5 Dying 5/5 Sacrificial Bonfire 4/5

XTC is really a great discovery in this project. Another great album and more of their typical sound.

Picking this over "Drums & Wires" has me 🤨. Still, though, it's a good XTC album - seeing some reviews talk about the different versions, I made sure to listen to one with both "Dear God" and "Mermaid Smiled" on it, though "Mermaid Smiled" didn't really strike me as an essential. I love these guys. Fave tracks - "Dear God" is the big one, and a fave to sing at karaoke if I get the chance - 2.40 on is great fun to sing. "The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul" is a fun jazzy departure from everything else. I really dig the opening run of "Summer's Cauldron" -> "Grass" -> "The Meeting Place" - really does instill a summery vibe over proceedings!

I had a very similar feeling listening to this one that I had while listening to "Apple Venus Volume 1" previously on the list. It starts very generic and without highlights but slowly grabs my attention, showing exciting songs with excellent arrangements and different instrumentation that definitively deserve a spot among the 1001 discs I would like to know before I die. I think "Apple Venus Volume 1" may be better, but now I can't finish this challenge without giving five stars to them in at least one album.

5 estrelas !

XTC was a British band that made music in a range of style through their career. Through its evolution, the band consistently met with critical success, but never found the commercial success to match. Skylarking is the band's ninth studio album, and is regarded as the band's best work. Skylarking is a collection of elaborately arranged pop songs, with catchy lyrics and engaging melodies. XTC, and particularly Skylarking, is a great example of a confusing element of popular music: some incredibly good music does not become popular.

This is a great example of an 'album's album' - every song flows together so incredibly well which makes it the whole a complete, perfectly rounded album. The production, the sound of the album is top notch, it was ahead of the time which doesn't sound too mid 1980s but rather later from the decade/early 90s. The songs are very British with lot of Beatles/early Genesis influences which I also like a lot. The album's length is pefection (not too long, not too short). I'd give it a 4.5 overall but the production is too mindblowing not to give it a 5.

The sound is for the most part a pleasantly chill and experimental synth-pop, with some throwbacks to OG Merseybeat and singer-songwriter folk. The lyrics are generally delightfully unserious but occasionally cringy. Overall, this album basically achieves a similar effect to what some artists were trying to do in the 2000s where they used a variety of instruments and mixed alternative, folk, and their own artistic spin (sorry, I don't remember specific names off the top of my head). And then there is the last track, "Dear God", where the lyrics summarize the fundamental arguments against religion in a beautiful poetic form. The sound also changes accordingly; it is a straightforward guitar-based rock tune, with only the incorporation of a playful violin bit as a reminder that this song was made by the same band as the whimsical rest of the album.

I loved this. Another band of whose I owned one album but am mostly unfamiliar with the rest of the catalog. That said, a lot of this was familiar — and it reminded me of so many artists as it played. I was struck that this was reminiscent of the Beach Boys in a more adult way, and I really liked that (strange, considering I'm not super fond of the Beach Boys). Anyway, smart, understated pop. Great stuff.

Melodic bliss. I played the hell out of this album in college and then put it away for some unknown reason. So glad to revisit it today. Side two isn't quite as strong as one, but it's still pretty damn great. Nice production from Todd Rundgren. All-around a stellar effort.

This is that album for me. This is that album that changed everything. I was around 13. I liked music but the only thing I listened to or bought on my own was the Beatles. They were everything. Then one day I’m listening to the radio, with little real interest, and I hear a song called Dear God. The subject blew me away, the music blew me away. You could sound Beatlesque yet modern and have doubts about the existence of God? I had to know more. Skylarking became the first non- Beatles related album I ever bought. I pretty much became a zealot overnight. I had to know everything I could about this band. Magazines, fanzines. To my amazement, holy $&!+, they’ve been around since I was 5? Okay then what did their other albums sound like? I bought the album of singles that was out at the time: Waxworks. The whole thing Blew. Me. Away. There was definitely a progression to how they sounded but I loved every one of those songs. As quickly as my ability to save up money would allow, I’d buy a new XTC album. Soon I had them all. XTC were easily my favorite band. And don’t get me started on The Dukes of Stratosphear. But it wasn’t enough. I needed more. Suddenly music was the best thing ever. What else was there. The Kinks? Yes. Ate them up. David Bowie? Delicious. I need more. Elvis Costello? Absolutely, it’s so brilliant. Sex Pistols? What the F#<% is this noise? It’s crazy awesome is what it is! Oh snap! There’s a super cool movie about the super cool, awful bass player? It has a soundtrack? Who are the Pogues? Punk is here to stay, man. Give, give, give, me more, more, more. Then the ultimate side quest to find out about Goth music. Thousands of records, tapes, cds, etc later it still comes back to Skylarking. I will still listen to this probably weekly? monthly?, more during the summer for sure. Every song is perfect. A story about the cycle of a day, a life, from the mundane daily life to metaphysical theoretical soul searching, to death and beyond. It’s the beauty of it all, the sadness of it all, the meaning of it all, the meaninglessness of it all. And for me, it was the start of it all.

Love it!

Beautiful album. Andy Partridge is a beautiful human being. I love how Partridge creates a whole world you can live in.

A classic. XTC is their own thing and worth the listen.

It was good. I have heard all of the songs a lot.

A magnum opus life cycle concept album with no stinkers.

I love this album so much I literally found it last week when looking for psychedelic pop and now it’s here! It feels like it’s made for me

This was a really wonderful album and had me entertained and engaged almost the entire album, there was only one song near the end that I didn't think was as good as the rest. Inventive lyrics and music throughout and I just enjoyed the style all around. While I had heard of this band, I never really gave them their due because the name kind of put me off. Big mistake. I really wish I had grown up with this band.

Reminds me of They Might Be Giants a little bit. Very coo! This one was very playful in its sound. It creates this fun and happy tone throughout. Very cool &0s pop record!

Very cool sound

For years only had "Nonsuch" on tape.. solid album, I liked it at the time of release, but it is overkill and not the best starting point. Drums and Wires, Black Sea, English Settlement, Skylarking are all clear 5-star albums for different reasons. Skylarking is full of great pop songs, one of these albums with songs that require several listens and then becomes very addictive, as it is so melodic and works on different levels. score: 10/10. side note: "Dear God" is no fit with the other songs and makes the album worse overall. As it was only added to the album later on, I excluded it.

I love albums that have a strong, relaxing vibe. I read online this is a concept albums about the stages of life told through the movement of the seasons. This is clear in the music. The first songs like "Grass" feel like summer. Then there are songs about rain, they're a little more melancholy as the album moves into autumn. I love the sound of this album and it makes me happy that I endeavored to listen to all 1001 albums.

Gran pop psicodelico, influenciado por los beatles con un concepto orquestal y arreglos exquisitos de cuerdas y otros instrumentos. Gran trabajo del productor Todd

Surprisingly catchy album. I had never hear of it even though I was somewhat familiar of XTC as a band.

I have a couple of XTC songs in my Liked playlist (and thought they were in my Wrapped too but they were not, which surprised me). I enjoyed the album and will listen to more of their stuff.

perfection.

Not my favorite album of theirs but I’ve always loved XTC… Dear God is Epic!!

Have Always Loved XTC!! This album was new to me Dear God is an EPIC CLASSIC!! Loved it so very much. They have other albums I appreciate more than this one but it was nice to hear things I had not heard before, so good all the way around!

I remember liking them in the 80s. I even bought on of their cds. Not this one though. They weren’t typical of my music collection. I went for edgier. They seemed more cheesy. Listening now I heard their musicality. Somewhat beatle-esque. It was like listening to an old friend.

Brilliant. Absolutely loved this. First XTC album heard all way through. Kept thinking of the Beatles.

Every song added to the playlist. Was about to write a long review singing its praises and then the last song dear god came on and I was like oh it’s that fuckass animatic song! It blindsided me! But it is still a good song. Need to listen to the rest now…

I was not expecting to be blown away by this, and yet the flow, the poetic lyrics, it all works. The rerelease which adds “Dear God” as the final track only improves it.

I really liked it again! I will probably also listen to some of these songs again

Amusing lyrics, fun music

Hypnotizing

This is one of my favorite albums. I listen to it often. Todd Rundgren was the man producing this. Its perfect. Not a bad second on the whole album. Andy gobbled up all The Beatles albums, digested them and gave us the Skylarking masterpiece.

i fell in love with this album well over a decade ago when i heard "earn enough for us" on the radio. i went out and bought the album immediately. the songwriting is very fun, very beatle-esque at times, and of course, we love a todd rundgren production. to me, the todd production pushes it over the edge and gives it a great energy.

Nice sound on the reworked album. Original not so good. Sixties sound to a lot of the tracks but has Andy's stamp all over them.

A gorgeous and lush 80s prog prop album that evokes pure joy. It's very Beatles-esque: the dissonant strings in "1000 Umbrellas" sound like "I Am the Walrus", and the vocals in "Big Day" sounds like "Lucy in the Sky". It's a very welcoming and accessible album, with countless hooks and plenty to pay attention to on each listen with coming off as overwhelming. Really, it's just like the Beatles during their Sgt Pepper-era mixed with other 60s sounds (the sunshine pop of Young Rascals) and of course the contemporary scene (the synth-pop of Depeche Mode, the power pop of Elvis Costello). Todd Rundgren and Alan Partridge did an amazing work on production, despite the disagreements. Everything is well-mixed. Nothing is out-of-place or hidden. Synth effects are appropriately used, maintaining this consistent bright sound while at the same time throwing new cool effects with each track. Tracks flow seamlessly between each other, it's hardly noticeable due to how smooth it is. The only downside is that the songs get weaker in the second half. They're just as creative and innovative, but there are less hooks and energy. This leaves most people to lose interest. I'm almost tempted to lose a star due to how many songs this affects, but you'd still enjoy it to the fullest extent as long as you're paying attention, and the mellow mood does work to gently close the record. So I can't say the lack of hooks alone is enough to detract from the full score; you'd just need to put extra work and change how you were listening to fully appreciate it.

As an XTC fan, I feel this list is lacking some key albums (Drums & Wires, for example, would have been an obvious choice for inclusion). I also feel that Skylarking is generally somewhat over-represented in their discography, but man is it an immaculate listen. Jam-packed with great songwriting and little brilliant moments that add up to such a rich whole. As an album experience, it’s probably the most cohesive XTC ever got. I also want to mention that Andy Partridge is one of my favourite lyricists in pop, as someone who usually doesn’t put so much importance into lyrics in music. He uses wit, poetry and humour to make texts that are great in their own right, and combined with his songs elevate eachother even higher. This is not to ignore Colin Moulding’s role, as him getting 5 songs on the album rather than the usual 1-2 per album is another thing that helps to make the album so special. Dave Gregory also needs to be mentioned for his musical contributions, for example his tasteful(ly short) guitar solo on ”That’s Really Super, Supergirl” and impressive string arrangement for ”1000 Umbrellas”. What a great band :)

Sometimes in the pocket with Tears for Fears, sometimes providing a melodic power pop link, it had been long enough since this list served us up a random 80s British new wave album I was open and ready. Really enjoyed and saved for a re-listen

now they tell me they made more Beatles tracks

This is one of those albums where every song sounds like a single, the pop sensibilities are so strong. I come back to this album often, there are so many great songs and the lyrics are fantastic: Grass, Supergirl, Earn Enough, Big Day, Mermaid Smile. My least favorite song is probably the one that was actually a single, Dear God. Despite its year of release, it does not sound dated given the avoidance of many of the 80s musical excesses, which may be attributed to the production from Todd Rundgren, although his impact is sometimes questioned. There is a dreamy fantasy feeling to this album in terms of sound and instrumentation, but also a working class Englishman vibe given the lyrical subject matter, the two meld oddly well together, presenting a surprisingly optimistic take on some benign topics. Love this one.

Today we have yet another artist that has never come up on my radar. It’s always exciting when this happens, but also makes me question how sheltered my music listening must be to have never heard these apparently essential artists. Anyway, let’s listen! Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Summer’s Cauldron, That’s Really Super Supergirl, Mermaid Smiled This is the first album I’ve heard in a long time where I felt truly blown away. Admittedly, it was the remastered version that I listened to, but the sound was so full and rich, and the mix of typical rock instruments together with orchestral sounds was magnificent. After listening, I looked a little more into the album and was astonished to find it came out in 1986. This sounds remarkably more modern than you might expect. Overall, this was fantastic. I’ve definitely found an album I’ll be returning to a lot.

Oh, this is fun

So, a confession. Another XTC album (The Big Express) is, for personal reasons, my most listened to album. And yet I'd never listened to their most successful album. Here I am, so thank you. So, many of us know 'Dear God' (make sure you listen to an album version that includes it), but this is just a luscious, expansive album that sounds like nothing else, yet sounds so... Swindon? I loved it, but will jump into the reviews now to find out what my non-English cousins make of it.

Extraordinary. A concept album that sounds utterly of it's time, but also has smudges of ELO, Joe Jackson and 1960s pop in there. It all comes together brilliantly. This is squarely in pop rock territory, but occupies the more questing, ambitious end of the spectrum. Why am I not surprised that Todd Rundgren had a hand in it? Regardless, for music of this ilk, this is about as good as things get.

production/arrangements. yacht rock

‘Skylarking’ is a beautiful, musically sophisticated pop album about life and death, tinged with 60s psychedelia. Funnily enough a lot of albums from the mid 80s were tinged with 60’s psychedelia, but this is one of the best.

Es como si hubiera viajado a una realidad paralela y estos la hubieran pegado en serio en vez de los Beatles o alguno más conocido que haga brit-pop

This is another fave album of all times. I enjoyed the linked version of the album that included Dear God at the end. It's a great song but it breaks up the continuity of the album. For those not aware, it was added at the last minute and was not initially in the set roster. It's a great song, again, but does not fit the flow of the rest of the album.

My favourite XTC album. Each track is a unique masterpiece, and I never got tired listening to them over all those years since I buyed this record.

Shout out to Charles for bringing this one over to spin. I really enjoyed this record. A lot of records take several spins before I start to “get” it but there is something about “Skylarking” that just speaks to me. Every single song was filled to the brim with stuff that made me just say “wow”. The drum programming, the guitar tone, the vocal harmonies, the HOOKS (“Ballet for a raaaainy daaaaay // Silent film of melting miracle plaaaaay”). Oh! Also! The transitions between songs are so seamless that when we were spinning the thing I didn’t even realize a new song started, just thought it was a long bridge! I loved every bit of this album. It is so fun to listen to even with darker tracks like “Dying” and “Dear God” (speaking of which, Partridge’s delivery of why he can’t believe in God in the final verse is an incredible performance). This is most definitely going to be an album I return to again and again and so, thusly, verily, it is a 5/5 from me. Favorite track: “Earn for Us” with “Dear God” as a very close runner up.

Wow, I was worried at first, but as thw album just went on I loved it more and more, then I went back and I loved the songs I was initially questioning, and the whole album really clicked for me. It's really interesting, as I hear the 60's sound people say they here, but I also hear some music that would come from the 90's britpop era, but like, not bad? It's hard to explain, but I encourage if you think this album was close to clicking with you, listen again, it was really lovely, and I think this album is great. Can be a tad whiney at times in the vocals, but it doesn't detract past a small part of a song near the beginning.

Lush. This is about the album I expect Brian Wilson might have made if his brilliant, 20-year-old self had lived sometime in the mid-1980s instead of the late 60s. Which is high praise. It's not without its musical associations with the mid-80s zaniness of, say, Oingo Boingo and Danny Elfman, which I could take or leave generally. But this also reminds me of a British work that distinctly predates Talk Talk’s post-rock turn as far as experimentalism, multi-instrumentalism, recording/editing process, production, and genre-bending. This is art pop at its best. And I quite like it. It's so bright and warm and has layers not just in its sonics but in its lyrical content as a concept album. I liked almost every song. Though, by the time we got round to “The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul” and “Dying,” I was feeling tired and maybe could have skipped those two. Perhaps it could have been shorter, but it really isn’t all that long. I think it’s just a lot to take in at once, especially given there isn’t much quite like it; ie, I’m not bringing anything to the table that might help me ease into this album. It’s a completely fresh sound and I think these songs will grow on me. I’m going 5 stars. I’ve listened to a few songs off this album before, but never really sat down with it. It’s pretty incredible. And I bet it sounds great on a hi-fi speaker system.

This is the perfect blend of sweet, salty, and bitter to me. It's got tons of that anxious, foot-tapping energy, mixed with a tiny bit of that Steely Dan cynicism, but plenty of wacky fun in the production. Lots of Beach boys backing vocals, funny early Fairlight sampling, just silly songs performed seriously. Sounds like an extremely contentious recording process, from reading the Wikipedia. On that page, there's a picture of Andy Patridge self-seriously belting into a mic while reading from a comic book, and I think that pretty much sums it up for me! So wacky and fun and also serious. Gets me in all the right ways.

So I've straight up never heard of this band. Never heard of the album, never heard any of the singles. And it was terrific. It's like a Talking Heads sort of thing, with a lot of cool vocal harmonies. Like if the Beach Boys were an 80s new wave band. Anyhow, loved it.

Fantastic album! The first time it was okay, but the second time I listened to it was amazing. Can’t wait for the third try. The start of the album is the best and dear god is a good finish. Love the way some of the songs flow over into eachother. Favourite songs: - Summer’s cauldron - Grass - The meeting place - Dear God Honourable mention: ballet for a rainy day + 1000 umbrellas

cool