Reviews (page 5 of 7)
1.73
A new experience in a setting that evoques a calm and serene listening experience. The tracks are well composed and well put together, despite the difficulties.
great layers, great melodies, fun instrumentation.
It's pleasant and upbeat. Chamber pop has always felt a bit cloying to me though. As far as that goes though it's relatively inoffensive.
I got an earlier XTC album sometime ago, but I probably couldn't recall anything from it if you asked me. This does NOT sound like it was released in 1999. Very whimsical and symphonic. Obvious inspirations taken from the Beatles and maybe Brian Wilson too from a production and conceptual standpoint. The comparisons should stop there, though. People in the YouTube comments (it's pretty difficult to find this album elsewhere, unfortunately) were saying that this record parallels works like Sgt. Pepper's and Pet Sounds, which is delusional quite frankly. Maybe from a production standpoint, but from a lyrical standpoint, not even close. Too cheesy to be taken seriously. I won't remember much of this after today.
Delightful. Sounds like the ‘90s in a great way. I have a few XTC albums, and some of their songs are amazing, but I don’t know if I’ve found an XTC album yet that was solid one start to finish for me. It’s generally two or three amazing songs and the rest decent.
Wow, way better than I anticipated. A late period album from an 80s band that’s interesting and not just a retread of their admittedly pretty great hits. Very nice! It didn’t even bother me all that much that I to stream this on YouTube.
Whelp. I wasn’t excited to listen. It wasn’t on streaming. I had to find it on YouTube. And I fucking loved it.
I can’t tell if I love it or hate it. What a weird listen. Like Paul McCartney as the Walrus over an orchestra the entire time.
Now this was a surprise. Being an XTC fan I didn’t know this existed, especially since it’s not on Spotify. I had a back and forth love/hatred for this album. It started out very strong with River of Orchids, a real oddball and ended with the triumphant The Last Balloon. Between the two were a mix of Andy Partridge songs reminiscent of early XTC and heavier highly orchestrated songs.
Really weird, not feeling this album at all.
I mess with this heavy. Interesting instrumentals and good vocal work. I had to go out of my way to listen since it's not on Spotify, but it was worth it. 'Knights in Shining Karma' was my fave.
I always start off a little bitter when I realize that the album isn't on Spotify, but I try not to hold that against them. I like some of XTC's work, but this one didn't blow me away. Their stated goal was for a mix of orchestral and accoustic, which I can see. I kept thinking that it sounds a bit like the Beatles, if they had a different balance to some of their material. Think a very stripped down version of "Eleanor Rigby". I don't know if that's a fair description, but it was my main impression here. The pagan themes didn't particularly stand out to me. I probably could have stood to spend more time with this one, but given the difficulty of finding it, I'm unlikely to in the near future.
Orgiastically English and just great. Every cut is of interest in one way or another (usually several), but the several standouts include "I'd Like That" and "Harvest/Festival" and "Easter Theater" and "Knights in Shining Karma." What a record -- definitely needs to get on streaming services (though one admires Andy P's principled resistance).
Not my sort of thing
What a slog. It's one thing to try and use the Beatles for inspiration, and another to just rip off their songwriting for the 90s. A few tracks in I started to wonder if I was actually listening to the right album because I could not understand anything that made this essential listening.
I will not be sticking around for Volume 2; too much of this bloated album is cloying at best, insufferable at worst.
I hate this. Send it to the dungeon, 10 years Will I listen to again: 0%
Very interesting album. Standout songs: River of Orchids Greenman Fruit nut
Genial
if someone would like to explain why this is good I would be happy to hear, cause I couldnt figure it out on my own
This reminds me of a fun curious time when they might be giants, Ben folds and xtc reigned supreme, I like their cleverness and creativity and unique sound
It feels like environmental music that would be piped in on Mars...or a voyage through space. Maybe it's the synthesizer. Not sure. I like it, but it feels specific to alien abduction.
A clear eyed master class of clean orchestral pop production and songwriting. I am more awed than moved. Mad respect. But I would ask why this is one this list. Good as it - and it is damn good - not nearly as cultural relevant their late 70s/80s work. More like a good solo album than a band confection of their early days.
Lo mejor es la carátula. Tuve que escucharlo en Youtube.
Nope. Would probably need to love drugs to sit through this album. I get it’s experimental but just sounds like a toddler plinking and plonking through a keyboard and adding random music loops at times
maybe I'm generous but this is the first album on 1001ag that was a complete unknown to me that i really liked. great layers, great melodies, fun instrumentation.
very nice, unexpected 5 (but maybe a bit expected as alosha also liked it)
Thank you Internet Archive; this wasn't on Spotify. I didn't realize I knew the second song. This sounded like a bridge between the Beatles and Guster. A fun listen.
Explosé smr
vraiment bien, très chill, j'en avais besoin
First song is very good, greenman also very good. there's a weird mix of genres and mashup of different artists but i'm here for it. First song is sort of like kishi bashi x animal collective x system of a down, there's also some very interestings early 2000s feel, the swap to paul mccartney midway is fucked though 4/5 woudl save river of orchids and greenman if on spotify
Always think XTC are going to be a hip hop group but they're very different from what the name suggests. Chill and smooth - we've enjoyed this discovery.
Bit apprehensive about this one, obviously I know, and very much like the famous three. But I'd heard somewhere that their usual stuff was a lot weirder. Now that can either be a very good thing or a very bad thing. This, was neither. It was to be honest uninteresting mush. Except for 2 tracks. Green Man was brilliant, and Your Dictionary was ok, but even those couldn't raise it above a
Whilst there are some nice arrangements and orchestration in places, the whole thing is underwhelming. Vocals drone on and on, and spoil any pleasure in the musicians. And I had to listen to it on YouTube which annoyed me. What’s that about? Do they think they’ve created such a masterpiece that it’s too good for music streaming services? Twats.
This did not do anything for me at all. Their heyday had definitely passed by this point in their career. All soft edges and very little quirkiness.
I’m going to go ahead and say that I’m the biggest XTC fan in New Jersey. Or the US. Or the world for that matter. Who’s going to read this and dispute it. Andy & co can do no wrong in my eyes. However, I found that more often than not I needed more than one listen through to form a legitimate opinion. I find the opening track, River of Orchids, the most difficult track. I have to be in the mood to listen to it. I appreciate it, I think it’s brilliantly composed, but it may be my least favorite XTC track. It still is a 10/10 for me and I can listen to it every day. Too bad part 2, Wasp Star, isn’t on here because I might like that album even better.
The fault is mine, but i only listened to this once and without attention. What i heard was pleasant and seemed ok, but im not qualified to comment
Groupe connu par son tube 'Making Plans for Nigel' (que j'apprécie toujours) dans les années 1980, et complètement perdu de vue depuis. XTC en 1999 ? Une grande déception. Le choix d'un accompagnement orchestral m'a rebuté dès le premier morceau, très répétitif. Et les morceaux acoustiques n'ont vraiment pas d’intérêt particulier. L'album évite la note minimale (il n'est pas désagréable à écouter en fond sonore), mais ... je suis vraiment déçu. =>2/5
Okay I actually enjoyed that a good bit more than I expected. Definitely some stuff to go back and relisten to.
This is the first of the albums where I found myself immediately wanting to dive back in and listen again. Earnest and whimsical.
Delightful! I love this band but had never heard this particular album before, and I really loved its chamber-y, spring-like whimsy. There were a few songs with goofy lyrics, but overall a very pleasant listen. Easy 9/10
Absolutely not for me. I can’t believe people heard this album and then wanted to listen to it on purpose.
I really dug the instrumentals, most tracks have a lot of layers to them. Other than some fuckass lyrics here and there (the dictionary song has straight stinkers from line 1) there really is a lot to enjoy here. 2.8 ⭐
This album was very complex for me. At first, I really liked it. I thought the first half was extremely imaginative and weird and I was ready to give the whole thing a 4. However, the second half took a sharper bend into convention and it reminded me unfavorably of Pet Sounds or the Paul McCartney baroque Beatles stuff, and that was a 2. So I settled on 3.
Maybe it’s because I went into this with rock bottom expectations (the album title has a whiff of twattish pretentiousness), but I kinda liked this. Very weird, not my usual fare by any means, but it kept my attention and my interest all the way through
Started well but tailed off
I felt like I was listening to a bunch of middle age guys doing covers of Beatles b sides. It was kinda bad but I couldn’t bring myself to hate it
Can't find this album. Gets a 2
It's not on Spotify and I only bothered to listen to a few songs on YouTube so I honestly didn't get much from this. The songs I did listen to were interesting but not all that "good". I put quotations here because there are obviously two categories of what "good" is -- subjective and objective. This album I found was not subjectively good to me. Again, I didn't listen to much of it so I don't like to pass it off as all the way "bad". I'll have to return to it at some point to really give it a good listen.
Had to go all the way to youtube for this. “Your dictionary” is a silly gem, Olivia Rodrigo should cover it.
Every song starts off like it's going to sound great but ends up sucking.
I think that this was definitely different than what I am used to, but it still didn’t show me why it qualifies to be on this list. It was interesting but just not enough.
I've always enjoyed XTC and this is different but still great. Heavily-melodic and if I'm a little disappointed in perhaps losing nearly all of the edgier sound of their earlier material it seems to more-than make up for that with simple melodic lines intertwining (... like a Mach piece...?) amidst lovely but not overly-done orchestration, excellent clear guitar work, etc etc... Always melodic and unpredictable - right up my alley. Definitely need to find a hard copy of this one. 8/10 4 stars.
Waste of my time tracking this down and then listening to it. What a shame.
Never been able to get into XTC. There were a couple here I enjoyed but mostly meh
This is a moody album that just kinda drones on. It's good atmospheric music, but the vocals lack the early XTC that I enjoy and sound too Paul McCartney-esque
Too long, good moments.
An explosion of British pop in a huge variety of styles. A little too esoteric to connect with me emotionally, but that may come on future listens.
Very inconsistent. Some songs and their production are honestly pretty amazing. Some songs are total duds. Overall I’m just like….man a lot of bands in the 90s were stuck trying to revive already-dead styles from the 60s and 70s. I do like XTC and I will probably love some other albums if they come up. This one’s just okay.
Nope. These folksy medieval albums by British progressive bands are awful.
1.5 - Bad
I thought it was interesting, very Beatles and Beach boy reminiscent. A lot of Baroque pop, strange that it came out in 1999. Not sure if it was anything that stood out for me, but I thought it was pretty decent. Two out of five seems fair for this list
I like XTC just fine but come on! This is the 2nd album of theirs I've had m here. The multiple albums by niche or very taste dependent artists is really starting to annoy me. In regards to this album specifically, chamber pop is ok but it gets old fast for me personally. This one is better than most both for it's production and songwriting.
XTC again? Already? I feel like I just got Skylarking. Whatever. At least I loved that album. Here we have their 1999 album Apple Venus Volume 1, which is not on streaming for some reason. It’s pretty good! It’s not as good as Skylarking, but I wasn’t expecting it to be, so I can’t say I’m disappointed. One thing that I didn’t do in my Skylarking review that I’ve seen a lot of people do for XTC in general is compare them to the Beatles. I did feel that Skylarking was somewhat comparable to the Beatles, but like, who hasn’t been inspired by the Beatles? I definitely noticed that Apple Venus has more songs that are comparable to the weirder Beatles tracks. You know? Stuff like “I Am the Walrus,” right? The songs are good though. “Easter Theatre” is a particular highlight. I wouldn’t say I loved every single song, but they’re all at least good. The production is pretty different. It’s a bit more sparse, which I wouldn’t call a bad thing. The instrumentation is pretty solid. The writing is good, I think. I’m still not huge on Andy Partridge’s singing, but it fits the vibe. Overall, I’d still say I like XTC. I don’t like this album as much as my first album I heard of theirs, but I still enjoy all of what I’ve heard of them so far. 4/5.
A feast for the headphones, especially "River of Orchids". XTC is one of those bands I wouldn't really recommend one album - I'd rather you sign up for my semester-long lecture series so we can discuss them at exhausting length. There will be field trips to Swindon and extra points will be awarded for throwing eggs at Todd Rundgren's house. That said, this is a good one, like glimpsing one last gallop of a unicorn before it disappears into the woods.
XTC has always seemed to me an acquired taste, and I've simply never acquired the taste (due partly to Andy Partridge's voice). This album of lushly arranged chamber pop is clearly well done, yet like everything else I've heard from the band, I simply fail to connect with their very off-kilter British vibe. This album draws comparisons to Sgt. Pepper's and the Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds," and I can see why. But I don't see how this one really advances on their sonic or cultural accomplishments.
Kinda boring and 1-dimensional (sorry).
This is a Good Album, and I appreciate what XTC is doing here, but it's a little slow and navelgazey for my tastes. (Incidentally, this was the first thing to come up for me that wasn't available on Spotify. I'm hanging onto my subscription in large part to get through this project, so if this starts happening a lot I'll cut it loose. But 77:1 is a good ratio for them, for now.)
This was fine but I like their pre skylarking era LPs much more.
If I had to explain what this album by XTC sounds like, I'd have to say this album sounds like XTC. And by that, everyone knows what that means. It sounds like Partridge. No one else sounds like him. I'm not entirely sure why THIS XTC album is on the list. It's a 'lovely' album...nice acoustic/orchestral/brooding/meandering soundscape type of thing. Maybe this is Andrew's interpretation of Enya. I dunno. It's perfectly fine. But not really the XTC album I'd reach for if I wanted to listen to XTC.
Creative and pleasing.
The orchestrations are actually pretty nice here and there but the vocal and structuring sounds like a mix between beach boys and a musical. From other comments this was the singers solo project which makes sense. I wouldn't say XTC is a amazing band and not worth 2 albums on this list but this was pretty mediocre compared to the last (i think, most albums on this list are either: obvious picks, Insufferable or extremely forgettable).
first time hearing xtc...it's okayish.
Lovely album. Listened through twice. Enjoyed it.
Nice one. Liked it pretty much.
1/10
Overall: 8/10 I'm obviously not the first person to mention this but this album is very reminiscent of Pet Sounds/Smile era Beach Boys. Lush orchestration and beautiful harmonies dominate and I love it so much. We need more modern music like this in my opinion. I've never listened to XTC before but they definitely have a new fan. It's a shame this isn't on Spotify cause I want to add so many of these songs to my playlists. Fav Song: I'd Like That Least Fav Song: I Can't Own Her
This is XTC's penultimate album. I have no idea how it got on this list. "Apple Venus" doesn't even remotely resemble XTC. I guess Nigel's parents cancelled their plans for him. At least the album's listenable. 2 stars for "Apple Venus Volume 1".
I liked it quite a bit, listened like 6 times before deciding that I don't really care about having this in my regular rotation. It's just missing some spark, hard to describe.
I groaned after every song saying “this sucks”
“River of Orchids” is incredible
"I said, Look, I don't think this is the album we should be making after six years. It's the vegetarian alternative and I've been on a diet for six years and I want curry"
For the most of the album I thought it was pretty good. Your Dictionary is SO BAD though, good lord what a shit song! Tanked the album for me. Wow.
I have never heard anything quite like this. Such a shame it’s mostly torn down by lyrics which sound as if they’ve been rejected from children’s songs.
Liked the initial sound and got pretty tired of it by the end. Not adding any to my playlists
What a good day. 400 album checked off, this album was a pleasant surprise, AND we got the Skrillex album/mixtape full of unreleased music. Can you believe I took the time to listen to AVV1 before the Skrillex project? I did, and I loved it! By the time “Id Like That” came around in the track list, I had an inkling that I’d like the whole project. Then “Easter Theater” came on and I KNEW I’ll be loving this whole project. Nothing gets me locked tf in like some baroque/art pop done well. Such a fantastic song, by far my highlight of the record and will be replayed many times over. “Frivolous Tonight” continues the theme of fun, silly, unique art pop that keeps the spirits high. Big fan of the quirky, arabesque instrumental on “Greenman”, which kinda feels like when a sonic game sends you into the ‘desert level’. Even the misses on here like “Your Dictionary” are very harmless and campy at worst. I love the portrait of a man “Fruit Nut” paints, how he’s so happy to just go about his hobbies. Big big fan of that. My goal of being more attentive since the beginning of 2025 paid off big on this album. Having to go to YouTube for this one was no big deal. Am I giving more 4’s as a result of this, or are we just on a hot streak? Time will tell, but this album earned its 4 with some timeless production elements, art pop, and fun vibes.
Wow!! This album and band are why I started this project. Never heard of them but absolutely love the album. 5 Stars
Not available on Spotify. Rated on other XtC msterial.
I was annoyed that this was an XTC album from the 90s and that it wasn't on streaming platforms, but I quite enjoyed this, which was unexpected. It's whimsical for sure, but a nice change of pace.
Loved this one. Note that it's been removed from most streaming services that I've found...I only happened to find it as a playlist on YouTube Music.
Interesting. I only knew the 80s hits from them and was surprised to see a 13th album from a band on this list. It sounds very inspired by the Beatles with the string and orchestra arrangements. I liked the first half but the second half didn't really capture my attention. Overall a nice experience and a lot better than most middle of the road albums that I gave 3 stars.
As others have mentioned, it's not a very important, essential, or good album if you can't find it anywhere. 👎
The orchestra was the only good part of this album and why this won't get one star but two stars instead. The singer was god-awful, and the lyrics for "Your Dictionary" are probably some of the dumbest I've heard in a while, and the other songs aren't much better in that regard either. This is for people that think they're cool and who think they "go against the grain" when it comes to their music taste, but just come off as elitist assholes that will listen to anything but actually good music to seem different.
I feel like I've run out of clever things to say about XTC. I once heard that the singer has awful stagefright, so they don't tour much.
Self-produced album after a decade fight with the former label. "Orchustric"
Good melody, but weird lyrics.
pop beatles corny psychedelia...
can't listen to it right now, and based off of the reviews im not missing out on much. Sorry XTC, but you get a three since I can't no for sure its bad
No real review, couldn't get access to the albm
It was fine, nothing special.
Shame it’s not on Spotify, there’s a few songs that I really liked, very beatlesesque with a more orchestral sound, some songs were especially Beatlesy, favourites were the Easter one and the harvest festival one, all of them were pretty good though, the blending of the vocals into the trumpet outro in the last song was also really cool. Overall a high 3 (6/10).
The Beatles, but if they weren't as good.
I hope this wasn't part of the plan for Nigel because it really sucks. 1 star or F-.
The technicality in some of the arrangements were really well done on this. That first track was so asyncopated but it worked so good
Lidt for artsy pop, måske nyskabende, men kun ok
Lush and likable, fun and frolicsome – this is chamber pop bordering on the baroque, as Beach Boys-inflected as Beatlesque. There is a fine balance of playfulness and artsong aspiration – and nobody was more serious or intentional when it comes to musical frivolity. The whole thing works well, but "I'd Like That" and "Easter Theater" and "Greenman" are personal faves.
30 seconds in, I thought, hmm, maybe I'll like this. I didn't.
What are these lyrics going for? I need to break down the lyrics on another listen. I'm all over on this one. Some of the songs are pretty good, others are fine with really strange lyrics, and some are just too eclectic for me to get. I'd Like That is messy, and the lyrics are either bad or confusing. "Make me grow up Really high, really high like a really high thing" feels lazy. On the other hand, I liked what Your Dictionary was trying to do, even if it felt a little stretched at points.
Genius
Made it to the 20-minute mark before shutting it off. No thanks.
I guess I like XTC
This is #day216 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... my first time listening to XTC. I’ve seen one of their album covers with those letters on it before—Drums and Wires, I guess, yeah, that’s gotta be it. Now, Apple Venus Volume 1... There’s nothing harmful about it, but the album isn’t available on Spotify, and that's always annoying. I had to dig through YouTube Music, as it's not officially up there, and I ended up listening to a random track video from the channel SonyaTheSquirrel. As for the record itself, well, it’s orchestral pop... What else is there to say? Not something I feel like revisiting soon, if ever. This is a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day217.
I enjoy XTC, but I didn't know this band existed. This is an album for me.
I am getting a lot of Beatles vibes from this record. Frivolous Tonight has to be an outtake from "13" by Blur. It may be hard to convince me otherwise. Same thing for "I Can't Own Her." There are some Kinks sounds in here too. It's like XTC took all of their influences and just melded (is that a word?) them together to create these songs. It's very well done and the songs are very strong and catchy. Had never heard an album by XTC and I'm annoyed that I was missing out. This checked a lot of the boxes I look for in an album and I am excited for Skylarking to see if I like that one as much. The only negative is this album isn't on Spotify, which is the only music app that I really use.
What a weird week for music. I like XTC, but this album is a bizarre choice. I guess it’s a good example of a late-stage pop act that doesn’t really care about radio play. In a lot of ways it sounds very much like XTC, but not a great representation of them as a band.
Not great!
Was so not my thing
XTC's talent for composing beautiful and complex yet engaging pop songs is on a par with The Beatles or Brian Wilson. A beautifully produced and orchestrated album that also has hooks that draw the listener in while also challenging with unusual chord progressions. I ignored this album on release and up until today but it may well become my favourite XTC album along with Skylarking. Never thought I'd say that. XTC are a towering band that is criminally underrated. What a shame that I must go to YouTube to stream it. Come on Tidal, step up to the plate. 4 stars with a bullet.
wow. that was like a trail mix of genres. every song, you got something different. not all of them worked 100%, but what a fun ~journey~ all the same.
i like XTC as a band. this was, for the most part, unlike all the XTC i had heard before. it's equal parts brilliant, unexpected, and laughably self-indulgent. it's so completely out of left field that i didn't really know what i was listening to until a couple tracks in, like the musical equivalent of when you walk into a room with really low light and your eyes have to adjust. i listened to this twice so i'm practically an expert on it. some thoughts: river of orchids was a really cool way to start this off; slowly building up from scattered elements until it becomes a real beatles-lite track. the next couple are more of that but much less exciting. frivolous tonight is cool. kicking off side b, greenman sounds like what you’d get if aliens tried to recreate the lion king soundtrack. plus it's got that jesu, joy of man’s desiring-esque melody to it. your dictionary is one of the cringiest songs i've heard from this list in terms of its lyrical content. these guys can do so much better. fruit nut is fine but deeply relatable for me because i've spent all spring acquiring various fruit trees for my backyard orchard, so like, i GET it man. i can't own her, correct, you can't, she's her own independent woman, let's move on. last few are boring, though the last balloon has an interesting ending. also it kinda loops back to the beginning if you have it on repeat. kinda cool, kinda weird and unnecessary. just like this album. favorites: river of orchids, frivolous tonight, greenman, fruit nut
I cannot listen to this in spotify. Therefore they are disqualified.
Interesting. A good listen. (21 known/37 new)
4/5. Progressive pop to the core. Pretentious for sure but eccentric enough to keep me interested and intrigued. It has that XTC energy I come to expect from previous albums. I enjoy experimentation with new sounds and this album is full of them, including new styles of songwriting not found in other other progressive pop albums. The layering vocals are aplenty here and they are expertly done. The uniqueness alone is what keeps this album at a higher tier than other pop albums, so far as to say that the influence is heavily Beach Boys inspired. Don't think it's perfect but it is overall a great listen. Best Song: Easter Theatre, River of Orchids, Greenman
Such a beautiful album! Such a shame it was not more popular.
They lost me at “really high, really high like a really high thing”
Not bad at all
I enjoyed a couple of songs, I found I’d Like That and Greenman stuck in my head after listening to this album. Beyond that it was okay, faded to the background quite easily. Impressive that this band had a long career.
Ok, this is weird. It sounds like a more modern version of Sgt. Pepper era Beatles. The instrumentation is interesting, but the vocals just throw me off. I'm not hooked by any of it. Nothing is pulling me in to make me want to listen to it again. "Greenman" and "Your Dictionary" had some decent lyrics, but nothing that made me want to listen to them again. My Rating: 1/5
This was fuckn excellent! I doubt I would have appreciated it when it came out had I heard it then, but I sure can now. I can hear the Pet Sounds influences! Would love to find this on vinyl.
Pleasantly unusual. Worth an additional listen
enjoyed this, was a bit mad but the production sounded great with the music, small use of orchestral strings here and there without going overboard on it
It was ok. The songs sounded like the experimental songs that Beatles put out, the ones that didn't make much sense, but when an album is full of those, it starts making sense. I didn't enjoy it that much though. Also, hard to find.
Probably the most frustrating album on the list. I loved it, I thought it was beautiful and fun and playful. It’s truly of its time in a way that’s hard to explain. It’s like the culmination of 20th century British music with production techniques that make it feel more at home in the new millennium. Problem, the thing is inaccessible. I doubt I’ll ever log into YouTube to listen to just this album. So like. It exists in a fleeting forgettable way.
Its...ok. More British soft rock, yay. River Of Orchids had a great intro, but then the singing started and it was just a random jumble. Easter Theater was kinda fun. Frivolous Tonight rolled along nicely. Greenman had a nice Indian beat with some good flute music. Your Dictionary was an interesting concept, and it had some nice music. The rest of the album kinda falls after that. There are a few good songs on here, but the album as a whole seems to be less than the sum of its parts. Not really something I'd listen to more of. Best song: Greenman
Very cool. Almost loved this shit
XTC was a British band that made rich, orchestrated pop. The band could serve as an example of record company abuse; they spent much of the 90s on strike from Virgin Records. Apple Venus Volume 1 was their thirteenth album, and their first release after getting out from under their burdensome contract with Virgin. Volume 2 of this effort, released the following year as "Wasp Star," was the last studio release from the band. These are interesting, complicated pop songs, with many segments recorded with a forty-piece orchestra. This may be the best of the band's work, but it never found great commercial success, in part due to lack of major label support (and potentially due to major label resistance...).
English rock band late 90s. Beginns with cacophony of strings and voices. Orchestral, interesting instrument use. Also very poppy. Lead has beautiful voice. Very pleasant and creative. Very British.
Definitely respect the artistic direction here. It didn't really pull me in, but I am impressed by the amount of work to create this.
Where has this album been hiding all my life? I really like it. And for some reason this is NOT what I thought the band XTC sounded like. I thought they were a punk band? And here they are sounding more like the Beatles. I need to do a deeper dive. But this album is interesting/pretty/creative, especially the first half. Loses steam slightly towards the end. Good find!
This was nice (especially compared to all the not readily available albums on this list), but I'm not sure it's anything special. More anglocentric crap.
Not very exciting, but inoffensive and mellow. Not something I'd listen to again.
Had to listen to this one on YouTube. Worth the effort.
YAYYYYYY ONCE MORE can't stream this! listened here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A593Ic_uEkY&ab_channel=SonyaTheSquirrel really love this very up my alley... green man!
Pleasant but I’m still not a big fan of Partridge’s voice
Intriguing alternative pop record in the wake of brit pop. Hard to imagine that XTC is the same band that released 'Skylarking' 13 years prior, but I guess the experimentation within the genres is a common denominator. Will probably revisit, and songs like 'Greenman' and 'The Last Balloon' are already stuck in my mind after a single listen.
Yet another creative and intriguing powerhouse of a pop album by XTC. 1999 probably wouldn’t be my first guess at a release date. The sensational “The Last Balloon” almost brings this to a 5 / 5 for me - brilliant finish and great album altogether.
Classic songwriting
Started out with promise…
This is my first time with this one. There is a lot going on in this record, so it will require a few more listening sessions to rate accurately. I was annoyed that this was not available on Amazon Music, and I had to listen to it on YouTube. There is an ad between every track. I'm not sure when I will get around to it again. This one has a Beatles feel, and several tracks were enjoyable. A few were uninvolving. So I give it a 3 for now.
Just a major major orchestra hijinks era Beatles pastiche, not ugly to listen to but executed with a little less finesse that makes me want to tune in for more.
This is a fantastic vibe, very out there. Everyone else rated incorrectly
Enjoyed this a lot. Definitely one I will come back to. Amongst my fave completely new discoveries.
Really interesting. Not sure I’ve ever heard something like this album, it kind of sounds like a soundtrack? More emo than what I was expecting? Fascinating.
I listened to this interspersed with some of their poppier material from earlier in their career and generally enjoyed those tracks more. I liked the raw emotional honesty of Your Dictionary but much of the rest was either too long or lacking in the melody department.
For some reason today I don't think I have the awake-ness for a longer review, so lemme sum this up briefly. Giving this album a low score or dismissing it for trying to sound Beatles-y is undercutting it a little, I think. Like, yeah, no one's ever gonna be able to do that sound as well as John, Paul, George, Ringo and George did — that's indisputable. But as far as attempts go, however, I honestly liked this a lot. I mean, I'm already someone who listens to The Rutles just as much as they do The Beatles, so this was always gonna be right up my alley. I don't know I'd say I'd go as hard for this as I do for, say Electric Light Orchestra's OUT OF THE BLUE, but still, it hits the spot just right enough. I can hardly complain about that, and it gets me interested to hear what XTC had offered up before this. Maybe not enough to go seek it out right now, but, hey, whenever the Randomizer tosses one my group's way, I'll be pretty excited. So, yeah, I'll be pretty happy to give this a... 4? Yeah, a 4. If it went a bit bigger like ELO did I think this would be a 5 easily, but as it stands, yeah, I'm glad I heard it. Really, the only thing that's bumming me out is that I didn't have the brain energy right now to write more. But, y'know, ah well — wha'cha gonna do, eh?
I've heard good things about XTC from some online friends, so when my group got this album, I figured it'd be a good start. Wasn't expecting it to be THAT good, however. Solid 5 Stars.
I’m at a pretty good 4. River of Orchids is a really awkward tonesetter that doesn’t match with the rest of the album, which is realistically just a big tribute album to the “weirder” side of the Beatles – a lot of these tracks are steeped in 70s-style production sensibilities, just with the fidelity, clarity, and advances in audio that 1999 provides. From “I’d Like That” onward, this whole thing really clicked for me; sometimes the lyricism is a little “I’m 13 & this is deep”-coded, but the instrumentation and vocals are great throughout. Beyond just “weird Beatles” though, this leans into a range of other 70s/80s/90s artists, whether it’s Steely Dan, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, any number of prog rock bands of the era, and even just a hint of Nirvana. It’s a unique blend of artists & styles that makes the album feel fresh, and while a few tracks don’t click as well, none of the tracks after the first one feel unimportant, and it makes the album experience feel really good. It’s not up to a 5 for me – I think a few too many tracks settle into a repetitive phase that brings them down at an individual level, but the entire flow of the album, the production, the lyricism, and occasionally the lyrics (especially on “Harvest Festival”) are all still great. It’s not exactly an album that takes the best advantage of being from 1999, but for a band that began in 1972, this feels about as contemporary as it could while still paying homage to what got them there. I really liked this; it’s a breezy 50 minutes, and I think it’s worth giving a 4.
Good album. Not on Spotify.
"Orchustic" is indeed a good way to describe it like the Wikipedia text mentions. I dig it.
Did not vibe unfortunately
Fascinating. Need to listen a few more times
Daaaaaa effffff????
Wow, that first song gave me a headache and now it's going to be hard to listen to the rest of this album. There are some interesting orchestral arrangements every now and then, but most of the album is just really cheesy. Why is every song on Spotify marked as explicit? I don't think they swore once. I guess he spelled it out. This is one of those albums I wish I could rate with 1/2 stars, because this is the ideal middle of the road 2.5. Low 3.
Another case of “these guys wish so badly that they could be the Beatles.” A couple decent songs.
This album further strengthened my opinion that XTC falls more into the prog category than in the new wave category like I once thought. This was strange and fun and unique and pretty. I liked it.
No.
4.5. It was almost 5 if it was just a little less repetitive
[9/10] Fun and weird, reminded me of they might be giants.
It was okay but nothing made me want to hit repeat.
I like the orchestral component, sad to know it was rush recorded and there was a lot of behind-the-scenes beef.
I wasn’t able to access this album on my streaming service so I listened to their 1992 album “Nonsuch” instead. Holy crap. It was great. I loved the songwriting, the cool psychedelia, really just everything about. Really cool album and I wish I could’ve listened to “Apple Venus” (the only thing preventing me from giving 5 stars is that I listened to a different album than the one I’m rating)
🎧Here’s a portmanteau: “sucktastic”
Can’t imagine a setting I could be arsed to listen to any more of this characterless tripe.
meh..
Unfortunate that I cannot stream this album in the U.S. other than YouTube because it is fantastic. I never thought I needed a Beatlesque/Prog Rock arrangement by XTC, but here we are. I see that it is available on iTunes and I am strongly considering purchasing it, or perhaps purchasing the singles that I enjoyed the most. Favorites: "Rivers of Orchids", "I'd Like That", "Easter Theatre", "Greenman", "Your Dictionary"
I hated every moment of this Best Song: N/A Rating: 1 /10 1 Stars; I would put 0 stars if I could
The Brass. Everything is better with brass. This is like Genesis with brass and we are all richer for it.
Gentle rock/pop, with some cool "world music" influences
all around meh
An album not on Spotify always have me suspicious. This time I'm positive we're better off without it. When listening through the record I always had a feeling in the back of my head that not only was the music pretentious, but the people behind it as well. And boy was I correct. The lead singer, Andy Partridge, seems like quite a distasteful person when reading about the band on Wikipedia. The guitarist basically quit because he singer spent all of their budget on a 1-day Abbey Road studio session, and was overall extremely hard to work with. And when it comes to the music, it really just doesn't work for me. In addition to the record feeling extremely pretentious, as I mentioned earlier, the singing feels quite laboured on some tracks ('Easter Theatre', 'River of Orchids'), and borderline false sometimes. The orchestral additions is also not for me at all. Thoroughly didn't enjoy this.
What the hell was that? It was annoying, boring, pretentious all at the same time. I can't even really explain the genre. I have really nothing nice to say about this album. Felt like a bunch of demos with an orchestra.
Thoughts before listening: I feel like XTC is one of those bands that I probably should be really into, but I know very little about. 80s power pop I think is their general sound. I'm excited to give them a listen. Review: Well I had the pop part right, but this is not power pop at all. The sound of this album is mainly orchestral pop ditties similar in vibe to something the Beatles might have done late in their career. I'm trying to like this, but I'm pretty bored. 2-stars
Trying to be the Beatles and Beach Boys. Be XTC!
My overall thoughts on this is that it's a bit weird, but nice enough. There's some skill there, but it's unusual, and not something I really vibe with that much.
Was expecting a bit new wave punk, but ended with a cross between Beatles and Paul Simon. I do actually quite like a lot of this, half the record is really really good. Especially river of orchids, id like that, easter theatre, harvest festival. It does get a bit much at times though, and there’s a few daft lyrics, but I do quite like it. Solid 3.5, not quite a 4
Can't remember the last XTC album very well, my review said it was eclectic so there's a chance it was a bit like this. I'd say this was strange but had a fairly cohesive sound of it's own. Reminded me of a musical or film soundtrack maybe. Worth a listen but I know it won't grow on me. 2.5
A little irritating that this was only available on YouTube for me - Your Dictionary was really good. Okay - lyrically quite daft, sort of knowing but unaware at the same time, total lack of self-consciousness, but also quite childish. The rhythms throughout are fun and varied. Much more interesting than the previous XTC album actually. Really fun.
Hmm, wasn't aware these guys were still going in the late 90s.... Probably a bit different to what I was expecting and some of it I thought was quite good, but unfortunately there was more that I didn't get on with so well. Quite varied I guess Think it was "Easter theatre" that I enjoyed the most. Shouldn't think I will be back, but probably better than I was expecting. 2.5
What the hell is this?
I had never heard of XTC before. Honestly I was positive it was 90s dance. It certainly is not that. What is it though? I don’t really know. I bet they have a cult following that will hate this…. Apple Venus Vol 1 sounds like The Beatles just fucking around. They even threw in sitar. 4.6/10
Talvez num outro momento eu fosse gostar mais da coisa orquestral, mas achei muito qualquer coisa
não fede nem cheira honestamente mas prefiro a fase new wave
My initial thoughts before the first song has ended is that this would be tight to see in person with an orchestra. Extremely layered it's almost like someone was able to use an orchestra like it's a synth. After having a go at some of the other songs...I kind of like the "Greenman," "Fruit Nut," "Your Dictionary" the most of the album. The vocalist reminds me of Paul McCartney in some ways. I don't think I will return to anything from this album however, although it's not a bad listen.
Wow I always thought XTC was really cool and this is making me reconsider that. Meandering baroque pop shit that goes shamelessly deep into some Brian Wilson and Paul McCartney worship more than I'd ever care to hear (but with cornier lyrics). Never listened to this shit until now. I don't know, man. Of all the two XTC records to put, why have this be the one that isn't Skylarking. Such a random choice. Am I missing something? Was this really influential or or significant to someone back then? Who was listening to this in 1999? Why is this on the list but Drums and Wires isn't. Drums and Wires is one of of the best records ever made. I am confused. Who even listens to this. What is this National Geographic documentary midlife crisis music. What is going on.
Það var snúið að finna þessa plötu. Þurfti að nota YouTube. Eflaust vegna höfundarréttarmála og það þýðir bara eitt. Að ég mun lækka hana í stjörnugjöf af þeirri ástæðu einni saman því ég er í mótþróakasti. Það er synd því þetta er virkilega góð plata. Þannig að ég fer ekki neðar en tvær stjörnur
Reveal reaction: I LOVE the song Dear God, but I don't really know anything about them. I thought they were an 80s band, but this was released in 1999. So either they're not an 80s band, they had a longer career than I thought, or this is one of those late career "experimental" albums that completely change and refine their signature sound. We'll see. The first song is brilliant. Very lush, and layered. The second song sounds like an outtake from a Pretenders album. Which is to say annoying, but oddly catchy. The rest of the first half of the album swings between very interesting and very catchy in a pop-y sort of way. Which is to say, it's very good. I thought I was heading for a 4 star review. Then, starting at song 7, Your Dictionary, it just gets...boring. It's hard to put my finger on exactly why, because there's nothing egregious, there's no dramatic shift to the vibes, or a change in musical philosophy - it just kinda sucks. Fruit Nut might be the worst song on the record, it sounds like a crappy, organ-y, bouncy, spearmint gum commercial jingle. Even the best song of the back half of the album, I Can't Own Her, is just sort of bland. in fact, the last three songs are sort of interchangeable drone. I know I've spent more words describing why I don't like the second half of the album, but that's only because I'm trying to work out what's *actually* wrong with it. I think the bottom line is that for whatever reason, it just didn't connect like the first half. Overall, solidly decent album.
I had only limited exposure to the band from snarky indie videos on MTV. Apparently they slipped into a rut of infighting and litigation in the mid-90's and almost dropped out entirely. I wasn't aware of this record and I'm glad it's included on the list. The writing, composition, engineering, and tone are all top notch. It felt openly creative and liberating. I don't think he was involved, but it seemed like Thomas Dolby might have had a hand in the production. So now I'm intrigued to listen to volume 2 of this concept album.
Magnificent, ambitious, glorious pop. Wonderful melodies and harmonies, thought-provoking lyrics, and great arrangements, beautifully recorded.
Disappointed with this one. Drums and Wires should be in the book. Not this. Expected more. Was let down.
Before starting this project I wouldn't have been able to tell my XTC from my ABC, my MC5, or my ZZ Top (well, maybe ZZ Top), but thanks to the generator I now can: progress! And my verdict is that XTC compares favourably with all the above. This album's lush orchestral sound and experimental spirit remind me a bit of Talk Talk's later work, but more poppy. The experiments don't always pay off but it I'd say more than half the time the results are pretty successful, and I applaud them for giving it a go anyway.
Pourquoi ce band est si important au point d'être mentionné deux fois dans cette liste. C'est tellement ordinaire. Il n'y a qu'une seule chanson qui m'a vraiment intéressé et tout le reste sonnait comme si cet album aurait du sortir 20 ans plus tôt. Considérant l'histoire derrière l'album, la production est surprenament bonne, mais j'ai aucune misère à croire que ce LP soit un "vanity project". 4/10
Weird but I liked it. In my head I call this type of sound “Circus-Rock”. It’s ephemeral but in a low-gravity sort of way and not a “spirit of the forest” kind of way, if that makes sense. It’s bouncy and catchy and at first I was pleasantly surprised and thinking a 4 but if I can also describe the album as tedious then I have to take that into consideration as well. A 3.5 would be more accurate but alas.
As far as brit pop goes, this honestly isn't that bad. It was fine for some background music, but I wish I had listened to the lyrics a bit more closely. That would probably bump this up a bit, but for now its gonna sit at a two.
There was the one song where they would spell bad words and relate them to something else. Pretty cringe. Going to one star.
I can’t explain it, but Greenman makes me feel like I’m listening to every theme song to every 90s and 2000s PBS kids tv show all at once. Quite catchy, but nothing groundbreaking or notable for me. One of those that you question how it made the list.
Another album that isn't bad, but isn't memorable. I'm starting to wonder if these middle of the road albums should be rated as a 3 like I have been, or a 2 because they are so mediocre.
If you look in my dictionary, you’ll find this album under the word S-U-C-K-S. I’d never heard anything from XTC other than the song Making Plans for Nigel, which bops, even with its weird lyrics. Like, just let Nigel be Nigel. Do something for yourself, dammit. But, with that song in mind, and when initially confronted with this album’s pretty cool cover art, I expected I’d be in for a treat. This is the first album generated for me in 2025, after all, so it should’ve been ceremonious! It seemed like it could be a fresh, new-to-me, gem. What I got was hot shit. Like my dog’s diarrhea squeezed through my fingers, shit. I hated this. There are bad albums on this list, but in a way, they’re a calculated bad. They’re unique. Like Junk Yard, Trout Mask Replica, or that Napalm Death album. This one actually thinks it’s good though, and good for everyone, not just a small niche, which makes it by far the worst album I’ve confronted so far on this site. Through conventionality, it actually seems to have convinced people that it’s good too, which is the weird part. Maybe others already had a deeper context with XTC to work from? Fond memories and such? Since I come from a place of supreme objectivity, I’ll ask anyone who loves this album to defend its quality, which aside from the orchestral moments, is as bad as my friend’s dad’s garage band. I implore you to attempt saying any of these lyrics aloud while keeping a straight face. I urge you to consider the song where he laments about not being able to own a woman, and then halfway through the song, tries to explain what he really means by that (just use a different word than ownership, man). We need to erase this album from the heritage of humankind, because frankly, it’s embarrassing. Future archaeologists will laugh at us.
Bizarre, elliptical, sort of stupid… but memorable. The production is pretty dense, the melodies are pretty good, and I come away uncertain but interested. Best song: I Can’t Own Her
Second album by XTC on this list, after a very mediocre Skylarking. And unlike that record, Apple Venus Volume 1 has no real hit, just a long list of solid and quite unique tracks. Out of curiosity I have revisited some older albums by XTC and I'm surprised how different my opinion about the band is now. Maybe it depends on a day, or I changed that much over last couple years? Whatever the reason is, I liked that unusual style presented on the record, even the vocalist was well-fitting into the whole picture, something I had a problem before. I will look at AVV1 in the future for sure.
Het klinkt een beetje alsof de broer van Paul McCartney een plaat heeft gemaakt. Dus op zich is dit wel in mijn straatje, jammer van de iets te opzichtelijke nepinstrumenten uit het keyboard. Bovendien blijft het allemaal teveel in het rip-off-hoekje zitten zonder al te veel originaliteit. De echte Paul kan dit een stuk beter.
Whoohoo. Ik heb het boek gewonnen. Dus hop, voor de eerste keer sla ik het open tussen het luisteren en het schrijven. Staat XTC niet in mijn editie.... Dan moet ik het maar doen met de klanken. Het begint wat intrigerend. Het eerste nummer doet me niet gelijk opveren, maar het wekt zeker interesse. Dromerige klanken met een prima opbouw. Deze kwaliteit komt helaas niet meer terug op het album. De kwaliteit zit hem dan ook niet in de losse nummers. Het album is vooral een goed totaalwerk. Waarbij er veel variatie zit tussen de nummers, maar dat prima samengaat. Het is een soort brede knipoog naar de jaren '60. Met wat psychedelisch of experimenteel werk, wat standaard Beatlesachtige klanken, wat klassieker strijk en tokkelwerk en dan weer duidelijke keyboard-klanken. Het is een album dat je smaak moet zijn, maar het is zeker een originele kwaliteitsplaat.
XTC, dat is toch zo'n band uit de jaren 80? Juist. En dit is een plaat uit 1999, toen er een complete muziekrevolutie had plaatsgevonden. Maar XTC is niet echt met de tijd mee gegaan. Het is meer een band uit de jaren 80, die saaie 60s en 70s muziek maakt (en in die tijd werd er al spannender muziek gemaakt). Af en toe komt er een 80s synth voorbij, verder heb ik niet het idee dat ze ook maar iets van geluid uit de moderne tijd hebben toegevoegd. Nu hoeft dat ook niet altijd om goede muziek te maken, maar dit voegt mijns inziens echt helemaal niks toe aan de muziekgeschiedenis. Een album dat je absoluut NIET hoeft te luisteren voordat je een tuintje op je buik hebt. Omdat het nu ook weer niet per se enorm slecht is, wil ik er nog wel 2 sterren voor uitdelen. Maar wat is dit ongelooflijk overbodige muziek.
An earlier album would be better. XTC is a great band though so 4 stars minus one for being inessential.
I do not understand why Dimery included _this_ XTC album on the list. I think it is a mixture of his love of over-produced chamber pop and reclaiming his lost youth in the late 70s early 80s when XTC where a viable and relevant pop band. But this admittedly finely crafted pop album is smart and cleverly arranged and produced, but it is, in the words of departing keyboard player Dave Gregory, "the vegetarian alternative". Well constructed and melodic, but without real visceral pop hooks. There just isn't a sense of a real band. Andy Partrdige admitted that XTC was now a "brand" covering his and Colin Mouldering's music. And it sounds like a brand instead of a band. Don't get me wrong; I love XTC's work from the first decade or so of their career. They wrote smart, catchy, energetic and enjoyable pop music that you didn't feel like an idiot for listening to. But this album has crossed the line into Steely Dan territory. As Robert Christgau noted "Studio rats being studio rats, the lyrics aren't as deep as Andy and Colin think they are, but at least irrelevant doesn't equal obscure, humorless, or lachrymose." They do verge into twee-ness and whimsy a lot, which is boring, and I hate 'Your Dictionary', which is as bitter and unpleasant a song as I have heard in a long time -- it's possibly even more bitter than a typical Steely Dan song. And I don't mean that in a good way. Listening all the way through, I am both bored and slightly nauseated. I admire the craftsmanship, but am left unmoved by the songs. Do not like, would not buy.
Favorite Track: Greenman
Very good!
While very different from other XTC songs I'm familiar with, I enjoyed this album & would listen again.
XTC, or more specifically their album Skylarking, was one of the most recent big surprises for me. I couldn’t have ever imagined enjoying that record as much as I did. But it was so out there in all of the right ways, and I was very intrigued by all of it. I didn’t know whether or not they would appear again, but I was not at all opposed to hearing more. If Skylarking merged the ideas of new wave with psychedelic pop, this leans far more on the latter genre. It came 13 years after that album as well. And I wasn’t really aware how far into the 90s they were putting out music. But it’s weird to see a band release something like this in 1999. Considering this was right around when nu-metal would begin to take off, plus hip-hop was still going strong, people really weren’t looking for something like this. I think it’s one of this records admirable traits. They chose to take a risk. Except it’s probably a miracle this album came out in the first place. Tensions were high within the band, and that caused a very rushed production. Specifically with the orchestral arrangements. And unfortunately this is felt. At least I feel it is. For as grandiose as they are with the limitations, they still could sound fuller. And although each song is doing something unique, there is much less variety to keep things interesting. I’m a little disappointed, because I really wanted to hear something that both challenged and surprised me as much as their other album did. Rating: 5/10
Not available on Spotify, had to use YouTube instead. Really strong, atmospheric yet almost theatrical opener with River of Orchids. Standout Tracks - River of Orchids - I'd like that (say a sunflower) - Easter Theatre
Neat
Not available.
For some reason i thought XTC were a punk band - so I was a little surprised by this. Unfortunately it was not a pleasant surprise. I like the strings and the arrangements but unfortunately the lyrics are head bangingly awful: "Really high, really high like a really high thing" or rhyming festival with best of all. Could possibly forgive this if the songs were catchy - but sadly were highly forgettable.
Pareceu-me alguma derivação dos Beatles até que bem feita.
Poppy, light, mellow, and sometimes surreal. A bit indulgent at times, but good.
This was a really unorthodox listen. The songs are very intricate and layered with overlapping looped voices which is cool, but I feel like it turns into a gimmick by the third song. The album itself is unique, but the songs are all too similar which just makes for a mixed listen that veers into almost overwhelming and unappealing at worst, and kind of corny at best. Top tracks: River of Orchids, Greenman
Superior orchestral pop/folk.
Meh. There's probably a reason this isn't available on streaming services.
absolutely not
Really good. They seem to sound different constantly. Good album, good vibes 4
Saved Prior: None Off Rip: I'd Like That, Easter Theatre, Knights In Shining Karma, Frivolous Tonight, Greenman, Your Dictionary Cutting Edge: None Overall Notes: Must listen? Absolutely not. But I'm a fan of XTC's shtick even if this isn't as good as their more straightforward pop stuff. I've always liked their vocals and their unserious lyrics are a fun contrast to the orchestration on this album. Rounding up my 3.5 purely out of bias.
didnt listen as unavailabe
Aburrido
Pretty eclectic sound. Spans an odd range of genres and does none of them justice.
Didn't like this one. It felt very genre-less; some songs had an orchestral Beatles wannabe sound while others had a random world vibe. There didn't seem to be cohesion throughout the album. This was hovering between a 1 or 2 star rating for me, but decided to round up.
Ok, this increases my liking of XTC. It really captured my attention right from the beginning. I guess this album kind of marks the beginning of the end for XTC. Faves: River Of Orchids, Your Dictionary, Harvest Festical
I don't have much of a relationship with this album. Found it initially a bit underwhelming. Decided to play Volume 2 as well, and immediately that hit better - it's a bit more rocking. Was gonna chalk this up as another Dimery L - however, on returning to Volume 1, I liked it a whole lot more, so maybe not. Kinda reminded me of the Kinks' "Village Green Preservation Society, doing the whole English pastoral thing. Fave tracks - "Frivolous Tonight" and "Greenman"
Sorry, but this shit blows.
"your dictionary" is probably the best f.u. to an ex-lover i've ever heard.
Enjoyable. 3*
No thanks.
Delightfully batshit it's ambient and acousticy. Your dictionary sucks and lyrically sounds like it was written by a 14 year old who thought it sounded deep, but overall I got into this
Meh mér finnst þetta ekkert sérstaklega skemmtilegt.
Mér fannst þetta virkilega fín plata. Svakalega góður kósí áreynslulaus fílíngur á henni. Ljúft gáfumannapopp.
I am a huge XTC fan so this album rocked. Fruit nut is a dud but the other songs are masterpieces.
Since this unfortunately isn’t on streaming, will be listing the songs that caught my ear here (well shit it’s gonna be all of them this album rocks so hard I love you XTC so glad I own this shit on CD) (okay nvm just starts with three heaters) River of orchids I’d like that Easter theatre (classic wow) Your Dictionary Harvest Festival And maybe the last one too sending this review in early…
Ok band from the early 2000’s. Not a lot a top songs, besides Dear God.
I always get annoyed when albums aren't available on Apple Music. The link to me to the album, but every track was greyed out/unavailable. I ended up spending $10 to buy the digital album, which is always a risk. Luckily this was an enjoyable album that I'll probably revisit, even though its a little over the top and ultimately more silly than substantive. Some scattered thoughts after the initial listen. "River of Orchids" is a stunning album opener, "I'd Like That" sounds like a lost Paul McCartney song, "Easter Theatre" has a middle section that is stunning (and carries on the McCartney vibes). "Knights In Shining Karma", "Frivolous Tongiht", and "Greenman" aren't as immediately rewarding, but continue irreverant experimentation with orchestral textures. "Your Dictionary" and "Fruit Nut" are both silly, funny songs. "I Can't Own Her" is a solid ballad. " Harvest Festival" is another decent track, while the close "The Last Balloon" is a killer way to end things. Solid overall, its a really interesting vibe and sonic experience. I'm a big fan of the Beatles and didn't find the McCartney sounding vocals and influences offputting.
Not available. Other songs cool
What a pleasant surprise this album was! I like XTC and know a couple of albums (Skylarking is outstanding), but hadn't heard of this before. Usually "YouTube" albums are bad here, but not this one. I definitely want to hear it again.
Hmmm.
Not really my kinda thing. Some interesting sounds though.
Creative, diverse and interesting from time to time, but the execution could be better.
In popular culture, nostalgia tends to run in 30-year cycles, the rationale being that 30 years is the time it takes for kids to grow up, settle down, and think back longingly to the time before adult life just got so darn hectic. In probably unrelated news, this album was released 30 years after Abbey Road.
I don't think I had ever heard this album before, and I liked it, but I generally like XTC.
Yep, Apple Venus Volume One is not something that should be on this list and definitely only a 2/5 candidate, although the first 3-4 rubbish tracks do at least give way to something that's listenable and occasionally interesting. I quite liked Green Man as well as the closer, The Last Balloon, but it's all too whimsical and directionless overall.
A pretentious load of whimsical nonsense, this. Review definitely influenced by the fact I had to jump through a few hoops to listen to it, but it really wasn't good. "By the time of its release, Partridge no longer viewed XTC as a band, and preferred it to be known as a 'brand'" pretty much sums it up, a 2/5 because it's listenable.
Cannot find the album on any streaming service. I assume, this is a sign for the importance of this album.
Found it deeply uninteresting
Yeah definitely not for me.
Had to listen on YouTube, which is not ideal. It wasn't awful, but will not ever be listening to again.
corny corny CORNY bullshit i don’t understand how so many people can take this music seriously never mind actually THINK IT’S GOOD. i cannot take seriously any song that says “i don’t give a hoot” in earnest. it’s all the worst bits of a paul mccartney song turned up to 11. the melodies really are quite lovely and complex but there’s something so tacky and stupid about the lyrics/vocals/harmonies that i simply cannot ignore. UGH.
Okay I wasn’t hating it as much as Emilia when I started listening, like it was a bit theatrical for me but not completely offensive. Then I got to “Your Dictionary” where he says “H A T E, is that how you spell love in your dictionary?” and I was like ohhh okay. ”F U C K, is that how you spell friend in your dictionary?” sounds like something you’d repost from a generic meme page on facebook in 2012 to subtweet your friend you were fighting with. The music isn’t completely awful, but this was very difficult to enjoy.
Early 2000s British children show music core. To a normal persons ear, it’s off key, strangely composed with the singing style, but to a little British child from early 2000s this is like a lullaby. Too bad I am not an early 2000s British child. 4/10
Solid album. Doesn't sound like it was released in 1999, 70's psych with 90's production. It's like a more modern version of The Beatles' psych sound. Shame it's not on streaming services.
Really quite good.
I was not expecting an album like this from a band called XTC, but I liked it!
Rare that albums are not streamed as listeners have inevitably encountered. XTC first two albums are not on traditional streaming platforms. The rest are label owned rights… I listened on YouTube but disjointed with ads between every song. Decent for a first listen.
Sikäli löysin YT:sta oikean levyn niin viihdyttävä setti.
Pari kuunneltavaa biisiä, mutta se ei pelastanut kokonaisuutta, joka päällisin puolin oli musiikillisesti perverssiä hiplailua.
Wasn’t on Spotify.
A brilliant idea in search of a home. Hmph. Sniffy, I am. I forget that this is the groups that made ‘Dear God’. That excuses them everything…
The word that sprang to mind when listening to this one was 'whimsy'. Inoffensive but not hugely gripping
Interesting and not what I'm used to from XTC. Much more orchestral and cinematic. Sort of a weird odd musical type of album.
I think you have to be British to appreciate XTC.
By their 13th album, XTC doesn’t seem to know what they want to be? That far in and still so all over the place? “Apple Venus vol. 1” alternates between terrible and tolerable. I don’t need to come back for volume 2.
They sing, "there are no words for me inside Your Dictionary", but sure there are, u-n-b-e-a-r-a-b-l-e for one.
I like the orchestral string music. It feels fresh. The lyrics on the other hand, they are pretty bad. The last couple songs lose the musical momentum too, leaving me with a bad feeling.
My first album here that wasn't on Spotify. Started out good but quickly felt like a Bettles ripoff, and also a song where the singer talks about being a fruit nut, and threatening (?) to blow someone a Raspberry. IDK. 5/10
G-O-O-D, is that how you spell "weird" in your dictionary? It gave me a fever dream version of The Beatles vibes. Favorite Track: "Greenman".
It started to lose me the last few songs but honestly surprised how much I was enjoying it. Lots of fun effects and melodies. A shame I can’t add some of those to my library. Rating: 4.0
1999. I mean come on this is one of my favorite albums of all time. The orchestral compositions, story telling and strumming is all so vivid. Only bettered by its Volume two Wasp Star.
внимательно слушала и формулировала, но прошла ещё одна ночь и я забыла. кажется что-то грустное и романтичное но в целом не захватило
Idk what it is about XTC that this list loves so much, but I don't feel the same.
I was prepared to rate it worse, it felt like the vocals and instrumentals didn't mesh well together. But as the album progressed, it grew on me enough to give it a 3.
I enjoyed what I heard, but listening on YouTube was terrible. I ordered the CDs because I liked what I heard enough and will circle back when the album has arrived.
Apple Venus Volume 1 I do quite like XTC, but am only really familiar with Drums and Wires because of Making Plans for Nigel, so this was a new one on me. It’s a genuinely fascinating listen. And in fact I think it’s a bit of a gem, with some undoubted high points, and a very singular and engaging sensibility. You can hear echoes of people like Vaughan Williams and Elgar, and The Beatles and Brian Wilson in the orchestral arrangements and ambition. I really like the folklore-ish themes running through it, and it feels very connected to its Englishness, similar to Let England Shake, although obviously musically very different. I guess one sticking point might be the thin, nasally tone of the vocals on some tracks. It feels like sometimes a richer, fuller voice might work better with the themes and ideas here. River of Orchids has a bit of that - I love the almost pizzicato strings and the horns, the melody is great and the overall feel is very English and idiosyncratic, however that nasal quality is a bit distracting in parts. I’d Like That is a very nice bit of acoustic folkiness, building on the pastoral theme with an added touch of romantic excitement. Easter Theatre is excellent, a great example of combining a paganistic sense of Englishness with those orchestral arrangements. The horns are superb, very George Martin-eque Knights in Shining Karma has some strong White Album vibes, particularly in the intro, evoking Dear Prudence and Julia with its folk guitar pattern, but I really like the atmosphere of gentle melancholy it conjures. Frivolous Tonight, although the upbeatness is welcome it does have a strong 80s TV sitcom theme feel to it, and it’s one of the weaker tracks for me. Greenman, however, is my highlight, the eastern-esque strings with the folkish triplets and flute, and the lyric about one of the cornerstones of folklore is very evocative and overall it’s a superb song. Your Dictionary is a great bit of caustic bitterness tacked onto a spare and thoughtful arrangement of guitar, piano and strings, before blossoming into that fully fleshed out outro. It’s a nice contrast to some of the more outward looking and pastoral themes and lyrics elsewhere. A lot of Sgt Pepper era vibes to Fruit Nut, and a great track, the upbeat nature working really well, in the way Frivolous Tonight’s doesn’t. I Can’t Own Her really does suffer from the nasal vocal thing, even if musically it’s good, with an interesting layering of instruments. Harvest Festival perhaps falls a bit close to being something you’d have to sing at a primary school Harvest Festival, because your slightly hippy-ish teacher loves XTC and because it’s very literally about going to a school Harvest Festival. I’m not as keen on The Last Balloon’s melody, even if it does cast a suitably atmospheric climax to the album. It’s a bit annoying having to listen on YouTube with adverts disrupting the flow, and if this was on streaming properly I’d put it into rotation as I thought it was a great album and a real grower. Musically and thematically ambitious with a strong sense of its own vision, but it does have a bit of unevenness in places, and the nasal vocals do just nag away - I can’t quite help but think the album is diminished somewhat by them. It’s close to a 5, but I’ll settle on a solid 4. 🍎🍎🍎🍎 Playlist submission: Green Man
Not sure why an album should be on this list if it isn't available for everyone to listen to. Apple music says it can't play in my region. I wonder if I'm being saved from something.
Not on Apple Music or Spotify in my country (small little place called the United States of America). Found it on youtube, British album that sounds quirky as hell. I liked one song, most of it was tolerable, some of it was downright terrible. How about the song that starts with "H-A-T-E, is that how you spell 'love' in your dictionary?" My eyes almost rolled out of my head. Lame album. Favorite tracks: I'd Like That. Album art: Looks to be a peacock feather, and that's about it. It's fine I guess. 1.5/5
Nie nazwał bym tego kapelą rockową, ale w zasadzie to całkiem niezłe do lecenia w tle. Na pewno nie przeszkadza. 3/5
Well I did not expect this I have to say. I cannot criticise for being samey - incredibly varied album. I found it a bit mad! Very cooky.
Yeah I quite enjoyed it. Can't say it was amazing but it was definitely interesting and different.
Better than I was expecting
Something wonderfully melodic about XTC. Do need to explore it more
Some highs here
Let's start at three stars. +1 star for the ambition -1 star for the messiness +1 star for the creativity -1 star for the occasional cheap midi sounds +1 star for Easter Theatre being great -1 star for the corny lyrics of Your Dictionary I guess that lands us right back at a solid, yet slightly confusing three stars.
Love the album cover. Enjoyed the mellowness of the music and similar Paul McCartney-like sounds on some of the songs.
The weird thing about this record is there are some interesting musical things going on, but the lyrics were written by an untalented child.
Awesome off-centre music.
Not really sure. I liked the song writing. It's well done, but some of it was just too slow/melancholy. It's like listening to a Sting xmas album.