Senses Working Overtime: XTC and Dukes of Stratosphear Song-by-song

I'm back from the land of no wi-fi/internet. I don't spend a lot of time reading others' catch-up posts (sorry), so I won't take up space with mine.

Musically, I like "Books Are Burning". The tempo/rhythm is nice. So are the guitars and bass. The dueling guitar outro may not be in typical XTC fashion, but I like it a lot. It doesn't remind me of The Beatles in any way. 3/5.

 

Our votes for "Books Are Burning"
1-0
2-5
3-7
4-11
5-12
Average: 3.7486

 

Today, Nonsvch.*





*I know, I know.

 

Over the next few days:

• Rocket (Partridge/Ernest Noyes Brookings) {from Place Of General Happiness: Lyrics by Ernest Noyes Brookings, Vol. 2, 1991}
• Always Winter Never Christmas (Partridge) {B-side, The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead}
• Down A Peg (Moulding) {B-side, The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead}
• Rip Van Ruben [demo] (Partridge) {B-side, Wrapped in Grey}
• Didn't Hurt A Bit (Moulding) {Outtake, released on Coat of Many Cupboards, 2002}
• Blue Beret (Partridge) {from The Adventure Club Sessions, 1993}
• Cherry In Your Tree {from Carmen Sandiego Out Of This World, 1993)
• The Good Things (Moulding) {Oranges And Lemons outtake, recorded for and released on A Testimonial Diner: The Songs Of XTC, 1995} -Terry & The Lovemen

Did I forget anything? If not, then we'll start on Apple Venus Volume 1 on the 15th of August.

 

I enjoy Nonsuch. It is a bit long and I would happily lose all but the first Colin song, but there is a lot to like here. As a medievalist, I also really enjoy the visual presentation of the album and singles! 4/5

 

Nonsuch

As I've commented already - there is just something about this album that doesn't ring true to me, and I don't know what it is! On the face of it everything's here - a decent production, mostly decent set of songs, a bit of old-style XTC noise and a bit of perfect pop craftsmanship, the rest of it somewhere inbetween. My enjoyment of this album seems to be more mood-dependent than any other XTC album. There have been times when I've enjoyed it greatly and I'm sure there will be times in the future when I'll listen to this album and wonder what the problem's supposed to be. As such, it's difficult to rate, but I will be generous and put it on an equal footing with Skylarking at 4/5. Because, let's face it - it would ultimately be seven years before we heard another album from them.

 

Nonsuch

This is a favourite XTC album of mine and I know it well. I admit that on listening to the songs here it became more obvious that an AOR influence had crept into XTC's music. As two thirds of the band were now fathers and they were all pushing forty years old, not such a surprise.

For me it's a welcome improvement over Oranges and Lemons both in terms of the production and the songwriting. The sound is crystal clear, well balanced, every instrument gets a space to make itself known. Nonsuch never sounds cluttered and is a great hi-fi listen. Using an experienced hand like Gus Dudgeon to helm the project was a wise move, it's just a pity he eventually fell out witb Andy. His later comment asking why XTC bothered hiring producers is absolutely on the money. It's obvious that Andy wanted the last say on all production decisions, however to answer Gus's question, Virgin would have insisted on a producer to look after their interests in the studio. Anyway, for having the temerity to try and control the project, Gus joined Todd Rundgren in Andy's bad books.

For his sins Andy is forgiven by way of delivering a top class set of songs. He sometimes takes a more straightforward approach to song structures but he reminds me of an old master playing with another part of his palette: Then She Appeared for example uses a number of well worn songwriting tricks and tropes yet comes out of the speakers gleaming like the brightest of diamonds. This kind of alchemy occurs frequently. Well-used ingredients subjected to the band's studio driven magic.

On the down side two of Colin's songs, War Dance and The Smartest Monkeys, are mis-steps yet I never skip them! Omnibus, the lyrics of which I'd never previously looked at, is a bit of a Carry On. Nonsuch doesn't have the levels of excitement present on some of XTC's previous records, but it's a mature, grown up collection that wasn't designed for the teen market. Andy's lyric writing (Omnibus aside) reflects a new found wisdom and acceptance, the playing and arrangements are impeccable, four musicians pretty much at the peak of their game.

It's an album I'll continue to enjoy, somehow greater than the sum of its parts. There's a hint of transition, looking ahead to Apple Venus, but I admire the record for what it is.

 

It is too long, but even more than Oranges And Lemons, I simply couldn't cut a single song on it. My least favorite song is probably "Crocodile" but then again in played rather randomly yesterday (probably a YouTube choice) and I just really got into it. I think I underrated it.

I do not think I underrated "Peter Pumpkinhead", which I like but which I'm still sick of from endless radio play back in the day.

Since I wouldn't want to cut any songs from the album, my main problem is the sequencing. I love the way the songs are produced: Gus, like Todd Rundgren, seems to have been great at streamlining Andy's ideas and delivering a very organic-sounding album (in contrast to the slightly harsh, robotic rhythms and textures of Oranges And Lemons), but, unlike Todd, doesn't seem to have had a particular vision for narrative flow (iether lyrically or musically.)

I think it could be done better, but I'm too lazy to bother with it.

Overall this is a fantastic collection of songs, though, and, yes, maybe including "It Didn't Hurt A Bit" at the end would actually get rid of my biggest problem which is that the last song leaves me wanting something more--- in a bad way.

4.5/5

 

I'm genuinely shocked by the low score for 'Books are Burning'. It's been my favourite song off the album since I first heard it a few years back.

 

I think they made it very easy to edit. If stopped at Wrapped In Grey, you only need to cut War Dance. Those are my favourites anyway and it flows really well without wearing out it’s welcome.

I listened to this one a lot in the late 90s because it was the most current album when I got into the band. In retrospect, it’s a very good record but kind of missing an edge. It’s partly the recording trend at the time. Artists were moving past the synthy 80s but still recording and mixing in a very clean and perhaps too precise way. In a few years, people figured out how to get more raw character in digital. But it’s also just where the guys were at in their lives. Mature pros. I find Apple Venus to be more fresh, likely because Andy was so inspired by working with the orchestra.

Regardless, it's all relative with XTC.

 

These are the 10 tracks I found as essential. I'm sure it's not the same as other lists, but that goes to show there's riches for everyone! For me, tho, THIS is the album that I enjoy listening to.

1. My Bird Performs
2. Humble Daisy
3. The Disappointed
4. Crocodile
5. Rook
6. Omnibus
7. Then She Appeared
8. Wrapped In Grey
9. The Ugly Underneath
10. Bungalow

Someone commented that this album was recorded at CD digital resolution (44.1khz, 16 bits). If that's correct, that could explain what bothers me with the sound. It is a "bright" album, EQ'd to be that way. It also has a harshness that I can't make go away. It seems to have top and bottom, but not a lot of middle. I really have to play with my tone controls on my main system to get things sounding good. The classic albums don't have this problem. Ugh.

But despite all that, despite the excess of some truly bad songs, there is a great album within. Bravo to the boys for that accomplishment!

If only they'd released 'Crocodile' as the single...

 

I never thought this album to be too long. I guess when I was young I was excited at the prospect of getting a double-album's worth of material at the price of a single, and that CDs (or in my case with Nonsvch, cassette) could hold so much more. Plus, I was buying much fewer albums in my youth, so I was spending more time with each album more thoroughly than I have time to today as an adult. This allowed me come to know each song more intimately, since I didn't have much else new to invest time in. I credit that to enjoying the album as much as I do.

It may not have the thematic flow that Skylarking boasted, but I think it was well sequenced to produce peaks and valleys with the musical ideas presented.

As an overall album score I'd rate this somewhere around a 7.5 to 8 (out of 10).

 

Nonesuch though long is a pretty consistent album. The lesser tracks don't grate too much making it a very even listening experience. Maybe only two or three great tracks but overall it's a 4.5/5. Only Skylarking provides a more musically satisfying and consistent experience until this point with Mummer in contention. It's unfortunate the band did not make a follow up in good time due to the dispute with Virgin. The result is a musical dead end and what was to follow was quite different. The original LP does sound digital so it is probably 16/44 resolution (or it could be poor mastering), though I think the Ape House reissue vinyl is more analogue sounding.

 

Nonesvch-Like @ARL this album has never grabbed me the way all of their others from Black Sea to Apple Venus have. Partly this may be because it was picked up used, on a whim, just to fill in the gaps in my collection, and I didn't pay it enough attention. I've gained a new appreciation of it since I acquired the Ape vinyl and had the chance to listen to it more closely on a passable system. This is also true of Skylarking and the Dukes, all of which I like better than Nonesvch. It is too long, no doubt, and there are a few tracks I can easily live without. There are also some tracks (Pumpkinhead, Bird, Rook, Appeared, Wrapped) which are XTC canon (IMO) and should be on any quality retrospective of the band's work. Echoing @Lance LaSalle it's a mature work by some talented musicians and writers. Mostly it's good to excellent, it suffers (like so many other albums of the period) from CD bloat, but overall it deserves its place in any representative XTC collection.

And it points the way to Apple Venus, which is a very good thing.

4/5 for Nonesvch.

 

Nonsuch -- certainly better than Oranges & Lemons, but still too long and only 1 of Colin's 4 songs is exceptional and the other 3...are not and bring down the score of the entire album accordingly. Like any XTC album, there are songs that are brilliant, but as a whole it's not one I put on from start-to-finish often any more. 3/5

 

Nonsuch was the last XTC album I bought at time of release. During this song-by-song exercise I find myself liking the album overall more than I remembered, probably more than Oranges & Lemons, which I wouldn't have thought going in. I also find myself liking the more straightforward (for XTC) pop songs (without augmentation by horns and/or strings - they're not needed and subtract rather than add to the finished product to my ears) better than those with any throwback XTC sounds. The average of my individual song ratings is 3.09. Looking back, that's lower than the average of my individual song ratings for O&L (3.433). Hmm. Another case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts?

 

Nonsuch
I’ve been struck by how many song reviews for this album have expressed something to the effect of, “This doesn’t fully work, but it’ll be better on Apple Venus.” Even Andy himself has subscribed to that notion, describing this album as a signpost for where he intended to explore next. Resistant as I am to this line of post-hoc reasoning, Nonsuch stands out as something of a lull between the Day-Glo freakout of Oranges & Lemons and the orchestral splendor of Apple Venus. So is it just a stepping stone? A transition between two more interesting points?

I think that sells the album short. Nonsuch might be the most accessible album ever made by a band that made no real effort to be accessible, with catchy (but not lightweight) toe-tappers like “Peter Pumpkinhead” and “Disappointed” sharing space with heavy art-rock, social commentary and thorny relationship drama, all served up with a minimum of production fuss that has helped the album age better (at least sonically) than possibly any other XTC album. This is a band firmly in middle age, mostly content with who they are and with little left to prove to anyone. That is obviously not everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s an attitude I find myself more in sympathy with as I get older; we’re biased to admire restlessness in artists, but after a while, you come to appreciate the rare opportunity to feel settled, like you’re where you belong. Nonsuch was, at the time, where XTC belonged.

Which is not to say the album is boring or lacking ambition — some of Andy’s very best work is here, and if his youthful dynamism has somewhat diminished, it’s replaced with something approaching wisdom, and an even greater drive to talk about what really matters to him. What actually hurts the album most — and I know lots of people won’t agree — is that Colin Moulding doesn’t pull his weight, forcing the band to record substandard material and tipping the balance of power even further in Andy’s favor. We all know how that will eventually turn out.

For now though, what remains on Nonsuch is one of England’s very best pop songwriters exploring the terrain of middle age, finding equal parts beauty, existential dread, madcap adventure and relationships gone awry. I relate to all that just fine, making this an XTC album I revisit often and with pleasure, even if I skip a track here and there. 4.4/5

 

This. Good review, well thought out.

 

Even though I might not like a lot of Colin's contributions to this LP, I never skip anything and have played this a gazillion times. Gonna give it:

4.75/5

 

Nonsuch

Well, I just ordered the album, so I must have enjoyed most of it. It's a slight step up from Oranges and Lemons. It's also too long and I would have cut it into a 12 song album. I'm kicking off "The Smartest Monkeys", "Rook", "Bungalow", "Omnibus", and "Books Are Burning". I know "Rook" was a favorite for many, but it seemed like one too many ballads. I probably rated it above "Crocodile", but that song adds a little bite to the flow of songs. There is plenty to love on here, even if it wanders into commercial and adult contemporary territory. I'd say it's middle tier XTC. 3.5/5

 

Nonsuch- Luckily Andy brought his A game for the most part. This album could have been so much more. To me, the album is weighed down by Colin’s rather pedestrians tunes. Honestly, other than My Bird Performs, and that may be a stretch, I wouldn’t consider any of his songs top tier. Throw in Andy’s Crocodile and Omnibus and you have what amounts to a mixed bag, uneven XTC album. The other half of the album showcases Andy’s progression as a songwriter as it contains some of his most gorgeous songs. Nonsuch is the genesis of Apple Venus. I don’t think that album could’ve been made without Nonsuch. There’s a lot of sentiment around the fact that it’s too long and I agree, hence giving the album a haircut and a trim and would’ve resulted in creating a stronger more coherent and unified album. I like Gus Dudgeon’s production but what is that saying after the Paul Fox experience. If the band was looking for an album to catapult them into the stratosphere, Nonsuch wasn’t it. 4/5.

 

Nonsuch.

I feel for the band embarking on this album - needing a hit and having demos rejected by the label and Andy having writer's block. I sympathize...those are hard circumstances to bear.

For me the album is torn between needing commercial hits vs pursuing more esoteric avenues. I could do without the commercial stuff. The album only gets going for me at Rook and still only sputters along. There are some decent tracks before then but they're not good enough to make me really need them.

I remain pretty chagrined by all the residue 80s influences from booming drums to chorused guitars to Andy's own admission of sounding like Sting.

I do agree with @Lemon Curry that the album is on the bright side and lacks a warm middle. It's a more pleasant listen than Oranges and Lemons, but that is possibly a matter of having leaner textural arrangements.

Unfortunately I find that the album remains in my bottom 3rd of XTC releases. I was hoping the run through this thread would change my mind but it didn't quite get there. In the grand scheme of things it's an excellent album, looking at other music in that era. I guess I wanted more from XTC

Speaking of music in that era: during the period they were recording this album, Smells Like Teen Spirit swept and dominated the world, changing much of the rock music landscape in its wake whether one liked it or not. XTC completely missed out on, at the very least, making an informed reaction to this phenom - and keep in mind they were looking for a hit. It makes all those 80s gestures even more out of step with the times.

 

Nonsuch

There are a lot of great songs here. Holly Up on Poppy, Omnibus, and Then She Appeared are among my all time favorite XTC songs. But something about this album stops me from calling it great. I don’t think it’s the length. English Settlement has almost as many songs, and I could listen to that album all day. Maybe it’s the way the songs are sequenced, or maybe some songs just bug me too much, even though I don’t outright dislike them (e.g., Dear Madam Barnum, Bungalow). I don’t know, I can’t put my finger on it.

3.75/5

 

Like all the XTC albums from 1983 to this one, it must have really resonated with me as it brings back vividly a very particular point in time (OK, in my life, of little interest to anyone else). Whereas 84, 86, and 89 were pretty good and optimistic years for me, 1992's UK woes coincided with a difficult period and it's an irrelevance I need to get past when I listen to the album - i.e. I should rate it more highly listening now than the memories carried with it.

On the other side the daily in-depth analysis can also go a bit far in a negative direction - despite my comments about lyrics Colin's songs are actually very memorable and worthwhile (though I still don't like Bungalow). The Partridge contributions are all super-clever and well-structured (apart from Books) and the production sound is top-notch for the digital age. But like the above poster something doesn't quite click emotionally, unlike all the 1980s albums and the last two. So for that reason another 3.75/5.

 

I haven't been able to keep up but I'll say nonsuch is definitely one of my favorites of theirs It's hard to choose for me I love orange and lemons too and I have a lot of enjoyment for the rest. The dukes are my favorite. But non-such while not perfect has just so many damn good songs. So as a whole for me I would give it a 4 and 1/2 out of five

And while I didn't think it was spectacular I didn't think blue beret was as trash as Andy seemed to indicate he felt about it.