Apple Venus Volume 1
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''Apple Venus Volume 1'' is the thirteenth studio album by the English
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band
XTC XTC were an English rock band formed in Swindon in 1972. Fronted by songwriters Andy Partridge (vocals, guitars) and Colin Moulding (vocals, bass), the band gained popularity during the rise of punk and new wave in the 1970s, later playing ...
, released on February 17, 1999. It was the first on the band's own
Idea Records XTC released 12 original albums and over 30 singles for Virgin Records, between 1977 and 1992. They signed to Cooking Vinyl for their final two albums in 1999 and 2000. Albums Studio albums Live albums Compilation albums Other albums ...
label, distributed through
Cooking Vinyl Cooking Vinyl is a British independent record label, based in Acton, London, England. It was founded in 1986 by former manager and booking agent Martin Goldschmidt and his business partner Pete Lawrence. Goldschmidt remains the current owner an ...
in the United Kingdom and
TVT Records TVT Records, originally Tee-Vee Toons, was an American record label founded by Steve Gottlieb in 1984. Initially created to release the '' Television's Greatest Hits'' series of classic TV theme tune compilations, the label would expand into ra ...
in the United States. The album relies heavily on strings, acoustic guitars and keyboards, expanding upon the more orchestral approach developed on the group's previous LP '' Nonsuch'' (1992), whilst its lyrics reflect themes of
paganism Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...
, middle age, romance and rebirth. ''Apple Venus Volume 1'' was met with critical acclaim and moderate commercial success, peaking at number 42 on the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
and number 106 on the ''Billboard'' 200 in the US. Bandleader
Andy Partridge Andrew John Partridge (born 11 November 1953) is an English guitarist, singer-songwriter and record producer best known for co-founding the band XTC. He and Colin Moulding each acted as a songwriter and frontman for XTC, with Partridge writing a ...
, who wrote most of ''Apple Venus'', characterised it as "orchustic" (a
portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.
of "orchestral" and "acoustic"). He meant for the album title to refer to "a beautiful woman". The album effectively marked a comeback for XTC, who spent half the decade
on strike Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike in British English, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to Working class, work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Str ...
against their former label
Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...
. ''Apple Venus'' was originally planned as a
double album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording ...
, but because the group did not have enough money to record all the material they had stockpiled, they elected to split the more rock-oriented songs as "volume two" (released one year later as '' Wasp Star''). The making of ''Volume 1'' was fraught with personal conflicts, budgetary concerns and numerous false starts. Most of the orchestral portions were rush-recorded in one day with a 40-piece symphony at
Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...
, and had to be edited over a months-spanning period. It was the group's last album with guitarist and keyboardist Dave Gregory, who departed during the sessions due to frustrations with Partridge. By the time of its release, Partridge no longer viewed XTC as a band, and preferred it to be known as a "brand" covering his and
Colin Moulding Colin Ivor Moulding (born 17 August 1955) is an English bassist, singer, and songwriter who was one of the core members of the rock band XTC. Moulding wrote their first three charting UK singles: " Life Begins at the Hop" (1979), " Making Plans f ...
's music. In late 1999, XTC released ''
Homespun Home spun literally refers to hand spinning, see spinning (textiles). Homespun may refer to: * Homespun fabric, especially that worn by American colonists who were boycotting British goods * "Homespun", pseudonym of Benjamin Franklin in ''The Ha ...
'', a version of ''Apple Venus'' consisting of its
demos Demos may refer to: Computing * DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system * DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR * Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems * Plural for Demo (computer programming ...
. This was followed in 2002 with ''
Instruvenus ''Apple Venus Volume 1'' is the thirteenth studio album by the English rock band XTC, released on February 17, 1999. It was the first on the band's own Idea Records label, distributed through Cooking Vinyl in the United Kingdom and TVT Records ...
'', containing the album's backing tracks. In 2003, ''
Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in Hoodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Mojo'' (2017 film), a 2017 Indian Kannada drama film written and directed by Sreesha Belakvaadi * '' ...
'' ranked ''Apple Venus'' at number 47 in its list of the "Top 50 Eccentric Albums". The album was included in the book ''
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music criti ...
''.


Background

XTC's previous album, '' Nonsuch'', was received with critical acclaim when released in April 1992. The song "
Wrapped in Grey "Wrapped in Grey" is a song written by Andy Partridge of XTC, released on their 1992 album '' Nonsuch''. It was to be issued as the third single from the album, but its initial pressings were withdrawn by Virgin Records for an unknown reason. This ...
" was intended as the third single from the album, but was immediately withdrawn by their label
Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...
. This left bandleader
Andy Partridge Andrew John Partridge (born 11 November 1953) is an English guitarist, singer-songwriter and record producer best known for co-founding the band XTC. He and Colin Moulding each acted as a songwriter and frontman for XTC, with Partridge writing a ...
particularly dismayed with the label. In 1993, he conceived the band's next project to be an album of
bubblegum pop Bubblegum (also called bubblegum pop) is pop music in a catchy and upbeat style that is marketed for children and adolescents. The term also refers to a more specific rock and pop subgenre, originating in the United States in the late 1960s, th ...
songs; the LP would have disguised itself as a retrospective compilation featuring 12 different groups from the early 1970s. The lyrics were heavily sexual, with song titles such as "Lolly (Suck It and See)" and "Visit to the Doctor". Partridge recalled playing some demos for Virgin agents, who rejected the project; he compared their reaction to the "
Springtime for Hitler ''Springtime for Hitler: A Gay Romp With Adolf and Eva at Berchtesgaden'' is a fictional musical play within a play in Mel Brooks' 1967 film '' The Producers'', as well as the stage musical adaptation of the movie and the 2005 movie adaptation ...
" scene from
Mel Brooks Melvin James Brooks (né Kaminsky; born June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker, and songwriter. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodie ...
' film '' The Producers''. Virgin also denied Partridge's requests to renegotiate or revoke XTC's contract. A&R representative Paul Kinder said: "What XTC wanted and what Virgin were prepared to do were poles apart. The contract was so old it got to the point where Andy wanted the moon and Virgin weren't prepared to give it him." Whatever new music the band recorded would have been automatically owned by Virgin, and so the group went
on strike Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike in British English, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to Working class, work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Str ...
, refusing to record new material. Partridge was also beset by health issues and in the process of divorcing his first wife at the time. In 1997 (also reported as in late 1994), the band found themselves freed from financial debt and Virgin after "making some heavy concessions"; Partridge fantasied that the label had taken pity on the band for giving them a "rotten deal". He expressed distaste with the word "comeback" to describe ''Apple Venus'', telling an interviewer in 1998: "We never went away! We just weren't legally allowed to work. Comebacks always have such glittery-suit, Fablon, working-men's clubs connotations."


Composition and lyrics

By 1997, Partridge and bassist
Colin Moulding Colin Ivor Moulding (born 17 August 1955) is an English bassist, singer, and songwriter who was one of the core members of the rock band XTC. Moulding wrote their first three charting UK singles: " Life Begins at the Hop" (1979), " Making Plans f ...
had amassed over 40 new songs, most of which were written by the former. The 11 that were ultimately selected for ''Apple Venus Volume 1'' were written between 1992 and 1994. Partridge's offerings were an elaboration on the orchestral style he had developed on the ''Nonsuch'' tracks "Omnibus", "Wrapped in Grey" and "Rook". When ''Nonsuch'' was completed, Partridge purchased an
E-mu Proteus The E-mu Proteus was a range of digital sound modules and keyboards manufactured by E-mu Systems from 1989 to 2002. History E-mu Systems came to prominence in the early 1980s with its relatively affordable E-mu Emulator, Emulator Sampling (musi ...
, and felt inspired by its samples, even though he was not a proficient keyboard player. His writing process changed in that, for some cases, the arrangement was completed before the actual composition. The songs changed little from how they were conceived on their early demo tapes when recorded in a professional studio. Most of the lyrical content of ''Apple Venus'' is centred on
pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...
themes, including the songs "River of Orchids", "
Easter Theatre "Easter Theatre" is a song written by Andy Partridge of the English rock band XTC, released as the lead single from their 1999 album '' Apple Venus Volume 1''. According to Partridge, the lyrics were an attempt to match a "muddy" ascending chord p ...
", "Greenman" and "Harvest Festival". Partridge thought the new material was "some of the best stuff, if not the best stuff" that he had ever written, calling it "more intensely passionate than before." In particular, he viewed "Easter Theatre" as one of the few "perfect songs" of his career, feeling that he had "exorcized a lot of those kind of
Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...
-and-
McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...
,
Bacharach Bacharach (, also known as ''Bacharach am Rhein'') is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Rhein-Nahe, whose seat is in Bingen am Rhein, although that town is not with ...
-and-
David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...
,
Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...
type ghosts out of my system by doing all that." "Greenman" was inspired by
Green Man The Green Man, also known as a foliate head, is a motif in architecture and art, of a face made of, or completely surrounded by, foliage, which normally spreads out from the centre of the face. Apart from a purely decorative function, the Green ...
sculptures and pagan-derived nursery rhymes he saw
Martin Carthy Martin Dominic Forbes Carthy MBE (born 21 May 1941) is an English singer and guitarist who has remained one of the most influential figures in English folk music, inspiring contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, as well as later ar ...
perform on a children's television program. He denied that the song was supposed to be
Middle Eastern The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
-sounding. "Harvest Festival" is Partridge's reflection on school
harvest festivals A harvest festival is an annual celebration that occurs around the time of the main harvest of a given region. Given the differences in climate and crops around the world, harvest festivals can be found at various times at different places. ...
from his youth. In an interview with ''New Sounds'', Partridge confirmed that it was him, not Gregory, who played the guitar solo on "Easter Theatre": "I was determined not to
tremolo In music, ''tremolo'' (), or ''tremolando'' (), is a trembling effect. There are multiple types of tremolo: a rapid repetition of a note, an alternation between two different notes, or a variation in volume. Tremolos may be either ''measured'' ...
like he would have done." Even though the record's instrumental palette relies largely on orchestral strings, acoustic guitars and keyboards, there are a few exceptions where electric instrumentation can be heard. Additional textures are provided by brass, violins, woodwinds and only a few instances of percussion. Moulding felt that "something a bit different" was appropriate for the band at this juncture, and shared Partridge's desire for a cohesive LP similar to soundtracks such as ''
My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical theatre, musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story, based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion (play), Pygmalion'' and on the Pygmalion (1938 film), 1938 film ...
'' and "stuff that Burt Bacharach wrote for various ilms. The only songs of Moulding's that were included were "Fruit Nut" and "Frivolous Tonight", which ended up as the album's most uptempo tracks. According to Moulding, "Frivolous Tonight" was harmonically inspired by
the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...
and had a melody similar to "the theme song from ''
Steptoe and Son ''Steptoe and Son'' is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about a father-and-son rag-and-bone business in 26a Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in Shepherd's Bush, London. Four series were broadcast by the BBC in black a ...
...''I smashed them together, and it worked out very well." "Your Dictionary" was Partridge's reaction to the dissolution of his marriage. He initially did not want to include it on the album, but was persuaded by acquaintances who enjoyed the song. The same was true of "I Can't Own Her", which Partridge thought was "a little square, and a little wet". He credited "the core of the song" to the album's orchestral arranger
Mike Batt Michael Philip Batt (born 6 February 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, record producer, director, and conductor. He served as the Deputy Chairman of the British Phonographic Industry. Batt created the novelty pop band T ...
. "I'd Like That" was inspired by a rekindled relationship with Erica Wexler, an American woman he met in the 1980s and would later marry. The music for the closing track "The Last Balloon" stemmed from an aborted collaboration between Partridge and an Italian musician, whereas the title came from ''The Last Balloon Home'', one of the working titles for ''Nonsuch''. It features a
flugelhorn The flugelhorn (), also spelled fluegelhorn, flugel horn, or flügelhorn, is a brass instrument that resembles the trumpet and cornet, but has a wider, more conical bore. Like trumpets and cornets, most flugelhorns are pitched in B♭, though ...
solo and lyrics about "that hope for the future, for your children -- for them not to make the same fucking mistakes as you!"


Production

The group elected to divide the ''Apple Venus'' project into two parts: one of rock songs, and the other of "orchustic" songs augmented by a 40-piece symphony. "It's still a pop album," Moulding said. "It's not like 'XTC Meets the
London Philharmonic The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is a British orchestra based in London. One of five permanent symphony orchestras in London, the LPO was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the exist ...
." They found a label,
Cooking Vinyl Cooking Vinyl is a British independent record label, based in Acton, London, England. It was founded in 1986 by former manager and booking agent Martin Goldschmidt and his business partner Pete Lawrence. Goldschmidt remains the current owner an ...
, and a producer,
Haydn Bendall Haydn Bendall (born 13 April 1951, Essex, England) is an English record producer, audio engineer and mixer. He was Chief Engineer at Abbey Road Studios for ten years and was awarded the Audio Pro Industry Excellence Award for Best Studio Engin ...
, who previously engineered the band's 1977 debut EP '' 3D'' and had experience recording orchestras. Former
Tubes Tube or tubes may refer to: * ''Tube'' (2003 film), a 2003 Korean film * "Tubes" (Peter Dale), performer on the Soccer AM television show * Tube (band), a Japanese rock band * Tube & Berger, the alias of dance/electronica producers Arndt Röri ...
drummer
Prairie Prince Charles Lempriere "Prairie" Prince (born May 7, 1950) is an American drummer and visual artist. He came to prominence in the 1970s as a member of the San Francisco–based rock group The Tubes, was a member of Jefferson Starship from 1992 to ...
, who had played on XTC's 1986 album ''
Skylarking ''Skylarking'' is the ninth studio album by the English rock band XTC, released 27 October 1986 on Virgin Records. Produced by American musician Todd Rundgren, it is a loose concept album about a nonspecific cycle, such as a day, a year, the ...
'', returned for the sessions. It soon became apparent that the band did not have the funds to record all the material they had. Moulding, Bendall and guitarist Dave Gregory wanted to reduce the project to one disc, but Partridge insisted on spreading it over two LPs. It was decided that the group would release one album with the orchestral material ("volume 1") and leave the rock songs for "volume 2". Preliminary "programming sessions" were conducted at Bendall's home in late 1997. The group then commenced recording at
Chris Difford Christopher Henry Difford (born 4 November 1954) is an English musician. He is a founding member and songwriter of the rock group Squeeze. Early life Difford was born in Greenwich, London, on 4 November 1954, the youngest of three sons. His m ...
's home studio in Sussex, but the sessions fell apart after two weeks. Moulding said that the group had to leave because the studio was not yet fully functioning. According to Partridge in a 2007 interview, Difford "stole" the master tapes from these sessions, forcing the band to re-record the album from scratch twice (as the second run-through was deemed unsatisfactory). In early 1998, the group reconvened at
Chipping Norton Recording Studios Chipping Norton Recording Studios was a residential recording studio in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England, which operated from 1971 until October 1999. The studios were created by Mike Vernon and Richard Vernon as the in-house studio for ...
and recorded backing tracks over the course of six weeks. A single orchestral session was held at
Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...
, but its recording was rushed and had to be edited over a three-month period. According to Gregory, the band had no money left at this point, and the session had to be funded by a Japanese record label. John Morrish of ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' reported that "the human string players could not match the mathematical precision of 'River of Orchids' ... Nor could the woodwinds cope with the computerised
ostinato In music, an ostinato (; derived from the Italian word for ''stubborn'', compare English ''obstinate'') is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice, frequently in the same pitch. Well-known ostinato-based pieces inc ...
in 'Greenman' ... The orchestra became a glorified sample, cut and pasted together to achieve the '
Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams ( ; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...
with a hard-on' sound required." Much of this work was done in
Pro Tools Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture (sound design, audio post-productio ...
, with the assistance of Bendall "until he had to quit to work on other projects." The rest of the album, which mostly involved vocal, bass and acoustic guitar overdubs, was recorded in Moulding's garage.


Gregory's departure

In March 1998, a few weeks into the Chipping Norton sessions, Gregory abruptly quit the band. Partridge told journalists that Gregory left because he grew impatient with the recording of the orchestral material and wanted to quickly move on to the recording of the second volume of the project. He attributed Gregory's frustration to diabetic mood swings: "one minute he'd be quite jolly, the next minute he's 'this is all shit, destroy it, wipe it, it's all terrible''". Moulding was not present for an "enormous row" between Gregory and Partridge at the studio, but he corroborated that Gregory's diabetes caused "terrible mood swings, and his negativity was sometimes hard to take. But also, there really wasn't much for him to do on this record and he felt left out." Discussing the incident at Chipping Norton, Gregory said Partridge had behaved like "a cunt, frankly." Partridge said "I really blew up. I had a go at everyone but a lot of it was directed at Dave, telling him to pull his weight and get into it more. I don't think he ever forgave me." Gregory denied that his leaving pertained to "musical differences", and said that it was more "personal problems" related to Partridge spending the entire recording budget on the Abbey Road session. Another source of frustration was his keyboard playing; he did not feel that he had the skill that was demanded from Partridge and Bendall, "and the end result wasn't justifying the means." When Partridge requested Gregory to write musical charts for the 40-piece orchestra, Gregory turned in a cheaper arrangement for four players, which was rejected; Gregory quoted Partridge saying "Compromise equals crap art". Once another arranger was hired, he began distancing himself from the band. Partridge remembered: "You'd be doing an interview and you'd say the band's doing so-and-so, and he'd interrupt and say, 'Band? It's not a bloody band, it's two people making solo albums and a guitarist ... Anyway, carry on.'" Gregory also refused to sign an American distribution contract with
TVT Records TVT Records, originally Tee-Vee Toons, was an American record label founded by Steve Gottlieb in 1984. Initially created to release the '' Television's Greatest Hits'' series of classic TV theme tune compilations, the label would expand into ra ...
. He had telephoned artists who worked for the label and got "the worst possible reaction ... 'You will not be paid,' those were the four words I remember." Gregory told Partridge that ''Apple Venus'' was not "the album we should be making after six years," calling it "the vegetarian alternative." By the time the album was released, he maintained that "Andy's done a good job in recording the songs." Partridge also no longer viewed XTC as a band, instead preferring it to be known as a "brand" covering his and Moulding's music.


Title and packaging

The album's title was meant to refer to "a beautiful woman". The phrase originated as a lyric on the previous XTC record, ''Nonsuch'', specifically in Partridge's song "Then She Appeared" ("then she appeared / apple venus on a half-open shell"). This continued a trend that began with '' Oranges & Lemons'' (1989) and ''Nonsuch'': both album titles had appeared as lyrics on a track from their respective prior albums. According to Partridge, this was at first "pure coincidence, probably a sub-conscious kind of thing. You have a certain caterpillar track of words that kind of trundle around in your head." However, it was deliberate in the case of ''Apple Venus''. Partridge's working title for the album, ''A History of the Middle Ages'', was vetoed by his bandmates. He settled on ''Apple Venus'' after finding an illustration of a peacock feather that resembled an
uvula The uvula (: uvulas or uvulae), also known as the palatine uvula or staphyle, is a conic projection from the back edge of the middle of the soft palate, composed of connective tissue containing a number of racemose glands, and some muscular fi ...
, which evoked to him something "very vulvic and female". Written underneath the track listing on the back of the album cover is a version of the
Wiccan Rede The Wiccan Rede is a statement that provides the key moral system in the new religious movement of Wicca and certain other related witchcraft-based faiths. A common form of the Rede is "An ye harm none, do what ye will" which was taken from a ...
: "do what you will but harm none." Partridge thought it was a "fantastic" message; when responding to an interview question about his knowledge of
Wicca Wicca (), also known as "The Craft", is a Modern paganism, modern pagan, syncretic, Earth religion, Earth-centred religion. Considered a new religious movement by Religious studies, scholars of religion, the path evolved from Western esote ...
, he explained: "I have a smattering of knowledge of that sort of thing, but I malso ... interested in the pre-Christian appreciation of the land and the spirit of things, spirits in animate things and inanimate things." in Japan, the liner notes included comments from musicians such as
Tamio Okuda is a Japanese singer, songwriter, and producer. He started his career in 1986 as a member of the band Unicorn. After Unicorn broke up, Okuda moved on to a solo career in 1994 with the single "Ai no Tame ni". He has written and composed many song ...
and Aiha Higurashi of
Seagull Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her Seagull Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her is a Japanese rock band formed by guitarist Aiha Higurashi in 1992. Beginning as a two-girl band in New York City with her friend Sachiko Ito, it was not until after they had played a few shows that the band g ...
(named after the XTC song from ''
The Big Express ''The Big Express'' is the seventh studio album by the English rock band XTC, released on 15 October 1984 by Virgin Records. It is an autobiographical concept album inspired by the band's hometown of Swindon and its railway system, the Swindon Wo ...
'').


Release

Released on 2 March 1999, ''Apple Venus Volume 1'' was met with critical acclaim and moderate sales. It had minimal promotion. ''
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
'' Sarah Zupko deemed the album "more than worth the wait. Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding used their time off well, lavishing extra care and attention on this set of tunes that rank among the best music they have ever produced. ... this record is a shoo-in for one of 1999’s best records". Scott Schinder gave the album an A− for ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'', writing: "The gorgeous yet vaguely unsettling arrangements are well suited to the exquisitely flawed humanism of Andy Partridge’s and Colin Moulding’s compositions, lending an appropriately uneasy edge to bittersweet tunes like 'I Can’t Own Her,' 'Greenman,' and 'The Last Balloon.'" In comparing the album to the group's earlier work, ''
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''s Zach Hooker said: "''Apple Venus'' finds them picking up pretty much where they left off. Or maybe even a little bit before they left off." Stylistically, he regarded the album as a midpoint between ''Oranges and Lemons'' and ''Skylarking'' and "a little nestegg of excellent songs". ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
''s Barry Walters wrote that the LP "packs the wit and nerve that made their rock snap but does it with brass, acoustic guitars, violins, woodwinds and minimal percussion. ... instead of evoking the Sixties, Partridge and Moulding suggest a timeless pastoral past rich with melody and subtlety."
Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...
of
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
noted: "Although there are similarities with the pastoral ''Skylarking'' or parts of ''Nonsuch'', there is really no comparable record in XTC's canon, given its sustained mood, experimentalism, and glimpses of confession ... 'Apple Venus''easily ranks as one of XTC's greatest works". Conversely,
Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...
wrote that "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." The ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
''s
Greg Kot Greg Kot (born March 3, 1957) is an American music journalist and author. From 1990 until 2020, Kot was the rock music critic at the ''Chicago Tribune'', where he covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and busines ...
warned that the album could be "perhaps too radical
f a F, or f, is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet and many modern alphabets influenced by it, including the modern English alphabet and the alphabets of all other modern western European languages. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounce ...
departure" for veteran fans. ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
''s
Alexis Petridis Alexis Petridis (born 13 September 1971) is an English journalist. He is the head Rock music, rock and pop music critic for ''The Guardian'', and a regular contributor for ''GQ''. In addition to his music journalism for the paper, he has written ...
commented that while it is a "minor quibble", the album's "worst excess" may be its "whimsy". ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
''s Jim Wirth wrote that even though Partridge and Moulding have a "nasty habit of hammering really hard on the twee pedal in moments of boredom, there's still enough of that psychedelic bumpkin magic to make this worth celebrating." In late 1999, XTC released ''
Homespun Home spun literally refers to hand spinning, see spinning (textiles). Homespun may refer to: * Homespun fabric, especially that worn by American colonists who were boycotting British goods * "Homespun", pseudonym of Benjamin Franklin in ''The Ha ...
'', a compilation of demo recordings of the album's songs. This was followed in 2002 with ''
Instruvenus ''Apple Venus Volume 1'' is the thirteenth studio album by the English rock band XTC, released on February 17, 1999. It was the first on the band's own Idea Records label, distributed through Cooking Vinyl in the United Kingdom and TVT Records ...
'', containing the album's backing tracks. ''
Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2) ''Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2)'' is the fourteenth studio album by the English rock band XTC, released 23 May 2000 on Cooking Vinyl/Idea Records. Defined by bandmember Andy Partridge as the "eclectric" counterpart to 1999's '' Apple Venus ...
'' was released on 23 May 2000.


Track listing


Personnel

Per liner notes. XTC *
Colin Moulding Colin Ivor Moulding (born 17 August 1955) is an English bassist, singer, and songwriter who was one of the core members of the rock band XTC. Moulding wrote their first three charting UK singles: " Life Begins at the Hop" (1979), " Making Plans f ...
 –
vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...
,
bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...
*
Andy Partridge Andrew John Partridge (born 11 November 1953) is an English guitarist, singer-songwriter and record producer best known for co-founding the band XTC. He and Colin Moulding each acted as a songwriter and frontman for XTC, with Partridge writing a ...
 – vocals, guitars, keyboards, programming,
recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a newsp ...
on “Harvest Festival” Additional musicians *
Mike Batt Michael Philip Batt (born 6 February 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, record producer, director, and conductor. He served as the Deputy Chairman of the British Phonographic Industry. Batt created the novelty pop band T ...
 – orchestral arrangements and conductor on "Greenman" and "I Can't Own Her" *
Haydn Bendall Haydn Bendall (born 13 April 1951, Essex, England) is an English record producer, audio engineer and mixer. He was Chief Engineer at Abbey Road Studios for ten years and was awarded the Audio Pro Industry Excellence Award for Best Studio Engin ...
 – keyboards *
Guy Barker Guy Jeffrey Barker, (born 26 December 1957) is an English jazz trumpeter and composer. Early life Barker was born in Chiswick, London, the son of an actress and a stuntman. He started playing the trumpet at the age of twelve, and within a year ...
 – trumpet and
flugelhorn The flugelhorn (), also spelled fluegelhorn, flugel horn, or flügelhorn, is a brass instrument that resembles the trumpet and cornet, but has a wider, more conical bore. Like trumpets and cornets, most flugelhorns are pitched in B♭, though ...
solo on "The Last Balloon" * Nick Davis – keyboards * Dave Gregory – piano, keyboards, programming, guitars, backing vocals *
Prairie Prince Charles Lempriere "Prairie" Prince (born May 7, 1950) is an American drummer and visual artist. He came to prominence in the 1970s as a member of the San Francisco–based rock group The Tubes, was a member of Jefferson Starship from 1992 to ...
 – drums, percussion *
Steve Sidwell Steven James Sidwell (born 14 December 1982) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Sidwell was a product of the Arsenal academy, and after winning two FA Youth Cups, he had constructive loan spells at Brentfo ...
 – trumpet solo on "Easter Theatre" *All arrangements played by the
London Session Orchestra The London Session Orchestra was a film, TV, and pop orchestra based in London. It was founded in 1993 and led by Gavyn Wright and is known for its work on movies such as ''Run Lola Run'' (1998) ''V for Vendetta'' (2005), and '' Mission: Impossibl ...
under their leader Gavin 'sic''Wright Production *Haydn Bendall – original production, engineering *Nick Davis – additional production, engineering, mixing *Simon Dawson – mix assistance * Alan Douglas – recording engineering *Barry Hammond – recording engineer *Tim Young – mastering


Charts


References


External links

* {{Authority control 1999 albums XTC albums Albums produced by Nick Davis (record producer) Albums recorded in a home studio Cooking Vinyl albums Orchestral pop albums Chamber pop albums