Skylarking
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''Skylarking'' is the ninth studio album by the English rock 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 27 October 1986 on
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), ...
. Produced by American musician
Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the bands Nazz and Utopia. He is known for his sophistica ...
, it is a loose
concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...
about a nonspecific cycle, such as a day, a year, the seasons, or a life. The title refers to a type of bird ( skylark), as well as the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
term "skylarking", which means "fooling around". It became one of XTC's best-known albums and is often regarded as one of their finest albums. Like XTC's previous Dukes of Stratosphear side project, ''Skylarking'' was heavily influenced by the music of the 1960s. Most of its recording was at Rundgren's Utopia Sound Studio in
Woodstock, New York Woodstock is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, New York, Kingston. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The popula ...
. Rundgren played a large role in the album's sound design and drum programming, providing the band with orchestral arrangements and an assortment of gear. However, the sessions were fraught with tension, especially between Rundgren and 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 ...
, and numerous disagreements arose over drum patterns, song selections, and other details. Upon release, ''Skylarking'' was met with indifference in the UK, rising in the album charts to number 90, while both of its lead singles "
Grass Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and spe ...
" (backed with " Dear God") and " The Meeting Place" peaked at number 100. Early sales of the album were hampered by the omission of "Dear God" from the album's original pressings. In the US, the song became a
college radio Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produced ...
hit, causing US distributor
Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...
to recall and repress ''Skylarking'' with the track included, and propelling the album to number 70. Following the song's growth in popularity, it was the subject of controversy in the US, inspiring many angry phone calls to radio stations and at least one bomb threat. ''Skylarking'' has been listed on "100 greatest albums of the 1980s" lists by ''
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 ...
'' (in 1989) and ''
Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...
'' (in 2002). In 2010, it was discovered that a wiring error made during the mastering process caused the album to have a "thin" sound. The problem was corrected on subsequent remasters. In 2016, an expanded reissue was released by Partridge's Ape House label with demos, outtakes, and new stereo and 5.1 surround sound mixes by
Steven Wilson Steven John Wilson (born 3 November 1967) is an English musician. He is the founder, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter of the rock band Porcupine Tree, as well as being a member of several other bands, including Blackfield, Storm Corrosi ...
. In 2024, Wilson mixed the album in
Dolby Atmos Dolby Atmos is a surround sound technology developed by Dolby Laboratories. It expands on existing surround sound systems by adding height channels as well as free-moving sound objects, interpreted as three-dimensional objects with neither horiz ...
for an updated reissue.


Background

In the 1980s, XTC underwent a gradual transition in their sound and image. Their albums became increasingly complex, and after frontman and songwriter
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 ...
suffered a panic attack before a concert, the band ceased touring. In 1984, they released '' The Big Express'', which sold poorly and attracted little critical notice. According to Partridge, the group's psychedelic influences had begun "leaking out" through the use of
Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which causes a length of magnetic tape to contact a Capstan (tape recorder), capstan, which pulls i ...
, phasing, and "backwards so-and-so". They followed up with the British-only
mini-album A mini-LP or mini-album is a short record album or LP, usually retailing at a lower price than an album that would be considered full-length. It is distinct from an EP due to containing more tracks and a slightly longer running length. A mini- ...
'' 25 O'Clock'', released on
April Fools' Day April Fools' Day or April Fool's Day (rarely called All Fools' Day) is an annual custom on the 1st of April consisting of practical jokes, hoaxes, and pranks. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fool " at the recipient. ...
1985 and credited under the pseudonym "
the Dukes of Stratosphear The Dukes of Stratosphear were an English rock band formed in 1984 by Andy Partridge, Colin Moulding, Dave Gregory, and Ian Gregory. Modelled after psychedelic pop groups from the 1960s, the Dukes were initially publicised by Virgin Records ...
". The album was a more explicit homage to 1960s psychedelia that outsold ''The Big Express'', even before the Dukes were revealed to be XTC. Partridge remembered: "That was a bit upsetting to think that people preferred these pretend personalities to our own personalities ... they're trying to tell us something." During a routine meeting in early 1986,
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), ...
executives threatened to drop the band from the label if their next album failed to sell more than 70,000 units. One reason why the group was not selling enough records, the label reportedly concluded, was that they sounded "too English". As was the case for their other records, the label refused to allow the band to act as their own producers, even though Partridge was already established as a producer of other artists. The group were given a list of American producers and the only name they recognized was
Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the bands Nazz and Utopia. He is known for his sophistica ...
's. To Virgin, he appeared to be ideal for XTC, as he had a reputation for completing troubled projects on schedule and under budget, such as
Badfinger Badfinger were a Welsh rock music, rock band formed in Swansea in 1961. Their best-known lineup consisted of Pete Ham (guitar), Mike Gibbins (drums), Tom Evans (musician), Tom Evans (bass), and Joey Molland (guitar). They are recognised for th ...
's '' Straight Up'' (1971) and
Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally by his stage name Meat Loaf, was an American singer and actor. He was known for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. ...
's '' Bat Out of Hell'' (1977). XTC was a rare example, he said, "where I was both familiar with the band's previous work and unnecessary as a 'songcraft' agitator." He had also attended one of XTC shows in Chicago during their 1980 ''
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...
'' tour. Guitarist Dave Gregory was a fan of Rundgren's music, particularly since hearing the 1978 album '' Hermit of Mink Hollow''. His bandmates were not as familiar with the producer. For bassist Colin Moulding, "I'd seen him on stage, on TV, with his
Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...
stuff, and I thought it was way over the bastard top ... Then Dave started playing me one or two things. I heard ' I Saw the Light," and I thought, 'Christ, that's a really good song!' I didn't know he had that side to him. All that Partridge knew about Rundgren was his solo album '' Something/Anything?'' (1972). Gregory urged the group to work with him: "I reminded Andy that Todd had produced one of his favourite New York Dolls records
New York Dolls New York Dolls were an American rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground, the MC5, and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although the band never achieved ...
'', 1973]. In the absence of any better alternatives, he agreed." Once contacted, Rundgren offered to handle the album's entire recording for a lump sum of $150,000—including tape costs, studio hire, lodging, and his production fee—which the band accepted.


Concept and style

In January 1986, Partridge and Moulding mailed Rundgren a collection of more than 20 demo tapes they had stockpiled in advance of the album. Rundgren convinced the band that the songs they had written could form a concept album as a way to bridge what he described "Colin's 'pastoral' tunes and subject matter and Andy's 'pop anthems' and sly poetry." He also suggested a provisional title, ''Day Passes'', and said that the album The chosen songs were of a gentler atmosphere and relations were drawn between tempo, key, and subject matter. Partridge thought well of the selections, but was annoyed that the tracks and running order were determined so early on in the process, remarking that "you hadn't spoken to the bloke for three minutes, and he'd already been hacking and throwing your work in the bin". Working titles included ''All Day Life'', ''Rite'', ''Rite Things'', ''Leftover Rites'', ''Summer Good'', and ''Pink Things Sing''. They settled on ''Skylarking'', referring to a type of bird ( skylark) and the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
term "skylarking", which means "fooling around". Partridge commented that the album espoused the feeling of "a playfully sexual hot summer ... It's just about summer and being out in the open and discovering sex in a stumbly, teenage way." Similar to ''25 O'Clock'', the music was heavily influenced by the 1960s psychedelic era. However, ''Skylarking'' contrasted significantly from earlier XTC efforts. As music critic A.D. Amorosi wrote, "More lyrically mature, lush and gently psychedelic than anything before in their catalog, ''Skylarking'' borrowed the hilly, holy feel of ''
Mummer Mummers were bands of men and women from the medieval to early modern era who (during public festivities) dressed in fantastic clothes and costumes and serenaded people outside their houses, or joined the party inside. Costumes were varied and mi ...
'', as well as the ringing
Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
-ish vibe from ... ''The Big Express'', but with a softly sweeping gracefulness and a finessed orchestral swirl. It has been variously described as an album of
art rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an ar ...
,
art pop Art pop (also typeset art-pop or artpop) is a loosely defined style of pop music influenced by art theory, art theories as well as ideas from other art mediums, such as fashion, fine art, film, cinema, and avant-garde literature. The genre dra ...
, new wave, psychedelic pop,
psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...
,
neo-psychedelia Neo-psychedelia is a genre of psychedelic music that draws inspiration from the music production approaches and songwriting of 1960s psychedelia, either exploring emulations of the sounds of the era or applying its ethos to new styles of music ...
,
post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...
, and chamber pop. The album's lyrical themes include
love Love is a feeling of strong attraction and emotional attachment (psychology), attachment to a person, animal, or thing. It is expressed in many forms, encompassing a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most su ...
,
marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
and
religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...
. The track " Dear God" has been called an " atheist anthem." Partridge surmised that the lyric content of XTC songs became more worldly as result of his "coming off—rather abruptly—of 13 years of valium addiction". He had also recently become a father and began listening to numerous
Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by thei ...
albums, before which he had only been familiar with their singles. Moulding had recently listened to
Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...
's 1967 debut ''
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn ''The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'' is the debut studio album by English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 4 August 1967 by EMI Columbia. It is the only Pink Floyd album made under the leadership of founder member Syd Barrett (lead vocals, ...
'' for the first time and was influenced by
Syd Barrett Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, guitarist and songwriter who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Until his departure in 1968, he was Pink Floyd's frontman and primary songwriter, ...
's "free-form" songwriting style. The number of Moulding songs (five) was also unusual for the band. Partridge: "I was already feeling sort of pushed out by Virgin. ... But, honestly, that was the best batch of material that Colin had ever offered up for". Moulding: "Todd chose the songs. I know for a fact that, had he not, my contribution in number would have been decidedly less. I was just grateful that the band had an independent arbiter."


Production


Session difficulties

The collaboration with Rundgren proved to be difficult, especially for Partridge, and numerous disagreements arose over drum patterns, song selections, and other details. Partridge characterised Rundgren's musical preferences as "completely contradictory to mine", for instance, suggesting a fuzz guitar overdub where Rundgren wanted a mandolin. Moulding acknowledged that, until then, it was typical for Partridge to act as an "executive producer" for XTC's albums, frequently undermining the authority of the actual credited producer. According to Rundgren: "Essentially, it was kind of preordained by me what the record was going to be, which was something they never endured before. I think olin and Davetrusted me, but Andy never did." Gregory intimated that "Todd and Andy were like chalk and cheese as personalities, they didn't hit it off from the start. Things just went from bad to worse." Partridge was satisfied with Rundgren's arrangements but frustrated with the producer's "patronizing" and "so bloody sarcastic" remarks during sessions. As he remembered, " odd wouldask how you were going to do the vocals and you would stand in front of the mic and do one run through to clear your throat and he'd say, 'That was crap. I'll come down and I'll record me singing it and you can have me in your headphones to sing along to.'." Another line he recalled was: "You can dick around with he trackfor a few hours your way if you like. I'm going up to my house. When you find out it doesn't work your way, give me a call and we'll record it my way." He believed that the producer's role was "to keep us in line", however, and that Rundgren was successful in that respect. On the extent of the altercations, Rundgren said "there was the moment Andy said he wanted to cleave my head in half with an axe. But there was never anything physical. Just verbal abuse." Gregory stated that he was "quite happy to be directed by Todd instead of Andy." He thought that Rundgren "deliberately belittle Andyif he thought he was getting too big for his boots. Andy rose to the bait every time." Moulding did not have "any problem with Todd", instead feeling that Partridge was "so unhappy and taking it out, a little bit, on me." Rundgren had listened to ''The Big Express'' and concluded that the group had "lost track" of their studio indulgences. His style of embracing technical mistakes without allowing the members a chance to fix them was also a source of contention. Partridge often stated that this was because Rundgren wanted to spend as little money as possible, while Moulding said: "I don't believe that was the only reason. You could tell, that was his working method. He liked to do it because he's of the opinion—and I think I am as well—that the best take is where the band is running through while the engineer's trying to get a sound! That's the take that should be recorded, you know." At times when Partridge wanted to improve some part of the music, Rundgren would respond saying "Andy, it won't necessarily be 'better' – it'll just be different." The band routinely played the theme from ''
The Munsters ''The Munsters'' is an American sitcom about the home life of a family of benign monsters that aired from 1964 to 1966 on CBS. The series stars Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster (Frankenstein's monster),Episodes referring to the fact that Herman is ...
'' whenever they could see Rundgren arriving to the studio. According to Partridge, Rundgren never realized the joke was at his resemblance to Herman Munster. In spite of all the difficulties, Rundgren said the album "ultimately ... sounds like we were having a great time doing it. And at times we ''were'' having a good time." Based on the stories written about ''Skylarking'', Partridge became known for being difficult to work with. Initially, he considered that he may have been wrong in his perception of the sessions. He later consulted with other artists who worked with Rundgren, only to find that "nine times out of ten they’ll say, 'Fuckin' hell, he was like that with us!'" After an argument about a bass part, Moulding stipulated that Partridge be banned from the studio while he finished recording his parts. In 1997, Moulding called it the "only real argument" between him and Partridge in the band's history.


Recording

All of the basic tracks were recorded in the same order as they appear on the album, as were the drum overdubs that followed. The recording sessions took place in early 1986 largely at Rundgren's Utopia Sound Studios in
Woodstock, New York Woodstock is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, New York, Kingston. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The popula ...
. Partridge described Utopia Sound—a two-story building located on the edge of a forest—as "a glorified log cabin". The band stayed at a nearby guest house, while Rundgren lived in the "main house" up the road. They arrived without rehearsing the material because of the expectation that Rundgren would change the song structures anyway. In Moulding's recollection, "That was the problem with the whole record. ... everybody kept saying, 'There's no point in rehearsing!' ... I realized, 'I don't know ''any'' of these songs!' aughs'Nobody's told me the chords! What'll we do?'" The project consumed only three reels of tape: one for side one, another for side two, and a third for extras and leftover tracks. Moulding remembered that "one track ran into another. No edits. Todd had a very unorthodox way of recording—15 ips. ... and done very quickly. Second takes were uncommon, but it was all charming in a way". Partridge considered these methods a "money-saving ruse", and believed that Rundgren "didn't wanna spend out on reels of tape". Rundgren played a large role in the album's sound design and drum programming, providing the band with
string String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...
and
brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...
arrangements, as well as an assortment of gear that included a
Fairlight CMI The Fairlight CMI (short for Computer Musical Instrument) is a digital synthesizer, music sampler, and digital audio workstation introduced in 1979 by Fairlight. — with links to some Fairlight history and photos It was based on a commerc ...
,
Yamaha DX7 The Yamaha DX7 is a synthesizer manufactured by Yamaha Corporation from 1983 to 1989. It was the first successful digital synthesizer and is one of the best-selling synthesizers in history, selling more than 200,000 units. In the early 1980s, th ...
,
E-mu Emulator The Emulator is a series of digital sampling synthesizers using floppy-disk storage that was manufactured by E-mu Systems from 1981 until 2002. Although it was not the first commercial sampler, the Emulator was innovative in its integratio ...
, pre-
MIDI Musical Instrument Digital Interface (; MIDI) is an American-Japanese technical standard that describes a communication protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, ...
LinnDrum The LinnDrum, often erroneously referred to as the LM-2, is a drum machine manufactured by Linn Electronics between 1982 and 1985. About 5,000 units were sold. Development The LinnDrum was designed by the American engineer Roger Linn. It was ...
, and a Prophet-10 bought especially for the album. The only instruments the band had brought with them to the US were "about eight guitars". Gregory repaired a neglected
Chamberlin The Chamberlin is an electro-mechanical keyboard instrument that was a precursor to the Mellotron. It was developed and patented by the American inventor Harry Chamberlin from 1949 to 1956, when the first model was introduced. There are several ...
that had become infested with mice. They spent the first week planning and setting markers for the tape space they needed. Another three weeks were spent programming percussion and other sequences on a Fairlight. For the first run of sessions at Woodstock, the group used the LinnDrum as a placeholder for percussion, which Gregory said "sounded very stiff and lifeless". Real drums were overdubbed at Sound Hole Studios in San Francisco by
the Tubes The Tubes are a San Francisco-based rock band. Their self-titled 1975 debut album included the single " White Punks on Dope", while their 1983 single " She's a Beauty" was a top-10 U.S. hit and its music video was frequently played in the ear ...
' Prairie Prince. Gregory said "it was only then that the album started coming to life". While in San Francisco, the band stayed at a condominium a few blocks away from Rundgren's apartment. Partridge instructed Prince how to play his parts, although Prince occasionally suggested his own ideas. Prince later praised Partridge's "sense of rhythm ... that guy is just amazing. I'm not sure if I've actually ever heard him sit down and play a set of drums, but I think that he probably could do an excellent job. I know he's done some great drum programming." Moulding recalled that nothing apart from "some percussion" was recorded for the album until the band arrived in San Francisco to lay the drum tracks. Initially, Rundgren wanted Moulding to track his bass parts before the drums were recorded, but Moulding objected to this method. The orchestral arrangements were recorded at Sound Hole, as well as a couple of Moulding's bass tracks. Prince recalled that the group adopted "this big project calendar ... with all the instruments and vocal parts they wanted to add. As things got recorded, they would check them off and make notes about what takes they were happy with." Afterward, the band returned to Woodstock to record the rest of the album. When recording was complete, the band left Rundgren with a handmade book of mixing instructions, which he followed.


Sleeve design

The original sleeve design was to depict close-up shots of human pubic regions with flowers fitted into the hairs, female on the front and male on the back. Photo sessions were held, but record shops informed the label that they would not carry the album with that artwork, and so the idea was discarded. Partridge had also considered the rejected design for the cover of the "Grass" single. As a last minute alternative, Partridge said, "I stole this very tasteful print from a classics concert in 1953 done by a chap called Hans Erney . I changed a few things on the drawing. I think on the original one the boy had a guitar and the girl had a flute, but we gave them both flutes. So it really was a tasteful alternative to the original sleeve, which really would have been suicide to put out." On the back cover, the group are depicted wearing schoolgirl uniforms. Partridge's intention was to have the group dressed in
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
outfits looking "really disapprovingly". The reason why they wear schoolgirl outfits instead was due to a miscommunication made when Partridge ordered the outfits.


Songs


Side one


"Summer's Cauldron"

"Summer's Cauldron" is an extension of an original poem Partridge wrote called "Drowning in Summer's Cauldron". It is introduced with the sound of a bee that pans across the stereo channels. Rundgren provided the sample, along with other "summer sounds" such as crickets and barking dogs. The track emphasizes droning sounds and a "wobbly" chorused organ, the latter of which reminded Partridge of summer and the Beatles' " Blue Jay Way" (1967). Rundgren played
melodica The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard usu ...
, Partridge recalled, "and ''we'' got to bully ''him''! It was ''great''." Prairie Prince was encouraged to play "spastic" drum fills in the style of Jethro Tull's " Sweet Dream" (1969). "Summer's Cauldron" segues seamlessly into the next track, an effect that was achieved in an unconventional manner. "When we said, 'How are we going to get from 'Summer's Cauldron' to '
Grass Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and spe ...
'?,' he undgrensaid, 'Well, you just put your hand on your instruments and stop the strings ringing and then we punch in the start of 'Grass.'"


"Grass"

"Grass" is sometimes mistaken to be about
cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...
, but was actually written about
Coate Water Coate Water () is a country park situated to the southeast of central Swindon, England, near junction 15 of the M4 motorway, M4. It takes its name from its main feature, a reservoir originally built to provide water for the Wilts & Berks Cana ...
, a parkland in
Swindon Swindon () is a town in Wiltshire, England. At the time of the 2021 Census the population of the built-up area was 183,638, making it the largest settlement in the county. Located at the northeastern edge of the South West England region, Swi ...
. Moulding composed it on an open E-tuned guitar and found its harmonic changes by playing the chord shapes of Thunderclap Newman's " Something in the Air" (1969). The mixing of violin and guitar was an idea lifted from
John 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 ...
's " How Do You Sleep?" (1971). Rundgren added a tiple to the blend. Moulding originally sang the song with a deeper voice. He said Rundgren voiced concern that the effect was too close to "a molester", and so Moulding "did the Bowie thing and added an octave above it". The track bookends "Summer's Cauldron" with a reprise of its "insect chorus".


"The Meeting Place"

" The Meeting Place" is built on a "circular" guitar motif that reminded Moulding of the children's programme '' Toytown''. He characterised it as "a childish, nursery-rhyme, bell-like, small town riff. As if you were looking down on Toytown, and it was me in the landscape, meeting my wife beside the factory or something, in our teens." The industrial noises at the beginning were samples sequenced on a Fairlight, one of which was the sound of the
Swindon Works Swindon Works was opened by the Great Western Railway in 1843 in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. It served as the principal west England maintenance centre until closed in 1986. History In 1835, Parliament approved the construction of the Great ...
hooter, which was used as a signal for its workers. Swindon Works closed within a year of the song's recording. Among influences on the song, Moulding cited Syd Barrett,
the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
' " Factory Girl" (1968), and Billie Jo Spears' Blanket on the Ground" (1975).


"That's Really Super, Supergirl"

"That's Really Super, Supergirl" is a
guitar pop Jangle pop is a subgenre of pop rock and college rock that emphasizes jangly guitars and 1960s-style pop melodies. The "jangly" guitar sound is characterized by its clean, shimmering and arpeggiated tone, often created using 12-string elect ...
song that references the
DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...
character
Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. Th ...
, although Partridge stated the "Supergirl" in the song "isn't one girl—it's an amalgam of all the women who had better things to do than be around me... there's a facetious part of it, a little sarcasm in it." Its lyrics also mention
kryptonite Kryptonite is a fictional material that appears primarily in Superman stories published by DC Comics. In its best-known form, it is a green, crystalline material originating from Superman's home world of Krypton (comics), Krypton that emits a u ...
and
Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...
's
Fortress of Solitude The Fortress of Solitude is a fictional fortress appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Superman. It is the place where Superman first learned about his true identity, heritage, and purpose on Eart ...
. Rundgren contributed the keyboard part but was left uncredited. Gregory: "We really didn't know what to do with it. It was just a 'B' side, and he could obviously see possibilities in it. One afternoon, we just left him to it." The snare was sampled from the Utopia album '' Deface the Music'' (1980). Because of recording logistics, Prince and Moulding were forced to play around the beat. The guitar solo was played by Dave Gregory on
Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...
's psychedelic Gibson SG the Fool, then owned by Rundgren. Gregory spent hours rehearsing the solo. Years after the fact, he realised that he had subconsciously lifted the "little five-note runs" heard in the trumpet line of "Magic Dragon Theatre" from the Utopia's '' Ra'' (1977).


"Ballet for a Rainy Day"

"Ballet for a Rainy Day", lyrically, is a portrait of a rainy town and its raincoats, fruits, and collapsing hairdos. Partridge: "The one thing I remember about the rain as a child was my mother cursing that her new hairdo was going to get ruined." There was an argument over the lyric "silent film of melting miracle play". Rundgren was unaware that "Miracle Plays" were biblical performances from the
Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
times, and thinking that Partridge was mistaken, requested that it be changed to "passion play". Partridge refused because he wanted to maintain the alliteration in "melting miracle". "Tickets for the front row seats up on the rooftops" is an homage to the Blue Nile's " A Walk Across the Rooftops" (1984). According to music critic Joe Stannard, "Ballet" and the two following tracks "distil the flawless orch-pop of ''
Smile A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile. Among humans, a smile expresses d ...
'' and ''
Abbey Road ''Abbey Road'' is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band the Beatles, released on 26 September 1969, by Apple Records. It is the last album the group recorded, although '' Let It Be'' (1970) was the last album completed before th ...
'' into a handy three-song suite."


"1000 Umbrellas"

"1000 Umbrellas" is a more somber reflection on a rainy day and the second song about being "dumped" by a woman. Gregory spent weeks working on its string arrangement using a Roland MSQ-100 sequencer and a string patch on his Roland JX-P. He said: "It was a rather doomy, miserable little thing with all those descending chromatic chords, and I thought, 'Oh dear, how can l cheer this miserable song up?'" Rundgren had not originally considered it for the album, since the demo consisted solely of Partridge on acoustic guitar, but was convinced to include it once he heard Gregory's arrangement. Partridge recalled that at one point, Gregory "took me on one side and said, 'I know what you mean by that lyric, 'How can you smile and forecast weather's getting better, if you've never let a girl rain all over you.' And I thought, 'How very enigmatic of you, Gregsy.'"


"Season Cycle"

"Season Cycle", in its basic form, came to Partridge while walking his dog. The song was prominently influenced by the Beach Boys, but was not initially planned as a pastiche of the band, he said, "in fact, it started out very much like a folk song, very strummy. And just to kind of tie things up, I tried to do some other things going on at the same time, 'cause we're cross-melody maniacs in this band, but I thought it would be fun. Then I thought, 'Shit, this really does sound like the Beach Boys. Yeah, I'll make it sound a bit more like the Beach Boys!'." He felt that the end result was "nearer to Harpers Bizarre than the Beach Boys personally." In another interview, he stated that he was consciously inspired by the Beach Boys album ''
Smiley Smile ''Smiley Smile'' is the twelfth studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released on September 18, 1967. Conceived as a simpler and more relaxed version of their unfinished ''Smile'' album, ''Smiley Smile'' is distinguished for i ...
'' (1967) to write a song that appeared to be made up of many disparate musical sections. Gregory took issue with the dissonance in the second bridge, but Rundgren sided with Partridge on the view that it made the harmonic development more interesting. Rundgren, however, taunted Partridge for the lyric "about the baby and the umbilical".


Side two


"Earn Enough for Us"

"Earn Enough for Us" is a
power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a subgenre of rock music and form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, ...
song with subject matter similar to Partridge's previous " Love on a Farmboy's Wages". He wrote "Earn Enough" about his former days working at a paint shop. The lyric "I can take humiliation and hurtful comments from the boss" refers to the shop's owner, Middle Mr. Turnley. "He'd come into the shop and go, 'Snort! snort! Look at ya, you fuckin' useless little cunt, snort! snort! You got a fuckin' girl's haircut, ya little cunt, snort!'" The opening riff was invented by Gregory after some persuasion from Rundgren. Moulding temporarily left the group after a dispute over the bass line, which Partridge felt had been going in a direction that was too "bluesy".


"Big Day"

"Big Day" is about
marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
and was dedicated to Moulding's teenage son Lee. It was first offered for ''25 O'Clock'' but his bandmates thought it was too good for the Dukes project. Partridge envisioned the song as a single.


"Another Satellite"

"Another Satellite" is about Erica Wexler, a fan who caused tensions between Partridge and his wife, and ultimately became his romantic partner and musical collaborator. He previously wrote about Wexler for ''The Big Express'' songs " Seagulls Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her" and "You're the Wish You Are I Had". Rundgren had initially rejected "Another Satellite", but it was included at the insistence of the band's A&R executive at Virgin, Jeremy Lascelles. Partridge expressed regret releasing the song since it was hurtful to Erica, although "the story had a happy ending" once they rekindled a relationship in the 1990s. The "mordant, chiming rebuke" of the song, according to Stannard, "signals a shift into darker, more personal areas."


"Mermaid Smiled"

"Mermaid Smiled" is a "
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
y" song inspired by a
board book A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The ima ...
Partridge owned as a child. The title means "getting back in touch with the child in you. And the key to that is something as frivolous as a smile on a mermaid." It was composed in D6 tuning (D–A–D–A–B–F) and came about when he discovered a riff that he felt had an underwater quality to it. He wrote a poem containing some of the lyrics, called "Book Full of Sea", but could not remember if it was before or after he had the " Raga-mama-Raga" guitar motif: "I started to throw my hands around the fretboard and discovered some great-sounding stuff – all simple chords. They're just straight barres or real simple shapes. It just sort of said rock pools and mermaids and breakers crashing." Rundgren arranged the song in the style of
Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor who performed Pop music, pop, Swing music, swing, Folk music, folk, rock and roll, and country music. Darin started ...
. The track features
tabla A ''tabla'' is a pair of hand drums from the Indian subcontinent. Since the 18th century, it has been the principal percussion instrument in Hindustani classical music, where it may be played solo, as an accompaniment with other instruments a ...
,
bongos Bongos (Spanish language, Spanish: ''bongó'') are an Afro-Cubans, Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. The pair consists of the larger ''hembra'' () and the smaller ''macho'' ...
, muted trumpets, and sampled
vibraphone The vibraphone (also called the vibraharp) is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using Percussion mallet, mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone ...
s from a Fairlight; the latter two are reflected in the lyrics "from pools of xylophone clear" and "compose with trumpeting shell". Partridge found that the percussion gave the song an Indian feel and tried expanding upon it by singing flattened quarter notes, an idea that Rundgren rejected.


"The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul"

"The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul" is an existentialist
beatnik Beatniks were members of a social movement in the mid-20th century, who subscribed to an anti- materialistic lifestyle. They rejected the conformity and consumerism of mainstream American culture and expressed themselves through various forms ...
song that "just says you're born, you live, and you die," Partridge explained. "Why look for the meaning of life when all there is is death and decay." The melody was inspired by the
Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...
version of "
Nature Boy "Nature Boy" is a song first recorded by American jazz singer Nat King Cole. It was released on March 29, 1948, as a single by Capitol Records, and later appeared on the 1961 album '' The Nat King Cole Story''. It was written by eden ahbez as ...
" (1948). Rundgren's arrangement was based on the music of 1960s spy films, which happened to be in an idiom similar to "Mermaid Smiled". Partridge: "I had in my head that I really wanted to out-do '
Mack the Knife "Mack the Knife" or "The Ballad of Mack the Knife" () is a song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their 1928 music drama ''The Threepenny Opera'' (). The song tells of a knife-wielding criminal of the London underworld n ...
' — the Bobby Darin version. ... ndit sounded like a spy film title to me. So I thought, 'It'd be great to do sort of a John Barry secret-agent soundtrack thing.' ... I said to Todd, 'Ideally, make it like a Beatnik existential spy movie soundtrack. Can such a thing be done?' And literally, he went away overnight and came back with charts for this stuff." Partridge instructed Prince to drum like a "jazz junkie drummer". On his performance, Prince surmised that he may have unconsciously "channeled" the influence of
big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...
drummer
Gene Krupa Eugene Bertram Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973) was an American jazz drummer, bandleader, and composer. Krupa is widely regarded as one of the most influential drummers in the history of popular music. His drum solo on Benny Goodman ...
.


"Dear God"

" Dear God" is about a struggling agnostic who writes a letter to God while challenging his existence. The song was conceived in a
skiffle Skiffle is a music genre, genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, Country music, country, Bluegrass music, bluegrass, and jazz, generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments. ...
style but while playing the Beatles' " Rocky Raccoon" (1968), Partridge was inspired to move "Dear God" closer to that song's direction. "Dear God" was not included on original pressings of ''Skylarking'', but it was always intended to be on the album.


"Dying"

"Dying" was inspired by an elderly neighbor of Moulding's named Bertie. It was wrongly assumed to be about his father, Charlie Moulding, who had died of a heart attack in 1983. Colin had recently purchased a house in the Swindon countryside: "We didn't see him ertiefor the first six months and thought he might be dead. But people in the village said that he'd recently lost his wife and had become very quiet and sad. ... He used to get these attacks and be very short of breath. But he loved to talk about the old ways." The sampled clarinet solo was played on a Chamberlin.


"Sacrificial Bonfire"

"Sacrificial Bonfire" attempts to set the scene of an
Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
ritual. Moulding started with a
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 ...
-sounding guitar riff: "There was a touch of '
The Sorcerer's Apprentice "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" () is a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe written in 1797. The poem is a ballad in 14 stanzas. Story The poem begins as an old sorcerer departs his workshop, leaving his apprentice with chores to perform. Tired of ...
' and a bit of Arthur Brown's '
Fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...
' in it, I suppose. But I wasn't moralizing. It was just that this was an evil piece of music and good would triumph over it." Rundgren contributed a string arrangement, something Moulding had not envisioned for the song. He said "it made the last two bars of the album more optimistic, which I think fitted into his original ''Day Passes'' concept. It was the dawn of another day." Partridge concurred: "It was a good ending to the album, fading deep into the night. It just leaves you in blackness with the slightest hint that dawn is coming."


Leftover

"Let's Make a Den", according to Partridge, is about "the idea that you play all these games and then do it in real life. First it's a den and then it's a real house. I had finally got my own home and didn't like the idea of losing it because England might get caught up in a war caused by
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
's '
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...
' sabre rattling." The song was in Rundgren's original concept of ''Skylarking'', but he wanted Partridge to change the
time signature A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates th ...
from to . Partridge fought over this detail, "I wanted this keenness and childish joy which you get from the seven/four meter. I also wanted the rhythm track to have banging Coke cans and stuff, the things that kids would do." Prince was a witness to Rundgren and Partridge's arguments regarding the song: "I thought it was cool, but then Todd ... said, 'You know, I really don't like this song, I don't think it fits with the whole scheme of this album.' And that's when they started arguing—Andy was saying, 'Well, why not?' He gave some long explanation why it should, and Todd just kind of put his foot down, and didn't want to do it." "Extrovert" is Partridge's rumination on overcoming his shyness. Its more aggressive and bombastic tone contrasts significantly with the other ''Skylarking'' songs. The song was recorded as a single B-side and was the last tracked for the sessions. Partridge sang the lead vocal while inebriated. After the band returned to England, they agreed to Rundgren overdubbing some brass samples, although he ultimately got the chords wrong. "Terrorism", "The Troubles", and "Find the Fox" were all rejected by Rundgren on the grounds that they did not fit in the album's concept, and they were never tracked for the sessions.


Release

Lead single "Grass", backed with "Dear God" in the UK, was released in August 1986. ''Skylarking'' followed on 27 October 1986. It spent one week on the UK album charts, reaching No. 90 in November. In the US, radio stations were sent a promotional disc, ''Skylarking with Andy Partridge'', which featured interviews with the group and Rundgren. A second single, "The Meeting Place", was issued in 1987. Demos of "Let's Make a Den", "The Troubles", "Find the Fox", and "Terrorism" were remixed at
Crescent Studios David Lord (born 1944) is an English composer and record producer, known for his work with Peter Gabriel, the Korgis and XTC. Career Lord was born in 1944 in Oxford, England and educated at the Royal Academy of Music, under Richard Rodney ...
and released as bonus tracks to the singles. Both "Grass" and "The Meeting Place" reached No. 100 on the UK Singles Chart. Tim Sommer of ''
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 ...
'' praised the album as "the most inspired and satisfying piece of Beatle-esque pop since ... well, since the Beatles" and drew favourable comparisons to the Beatles (''
Revolver A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...
'', ''
Rubber Soul ''Rubber Soul'' is the sixth studio album by the English Rock music, rock band the Beatles. It was released on 3 December 1965 in the United Kingdom on EMI's Parlophone label, accompanied by the non-album double A-side single "We Can Work It Ou ...
''), the Beach Boys (''
Pet Sounds ''Pet Sounds'' is the eleventh studio album by the American Rock music, rock band the Beach Boys, released on May 16, 1966, by Capitol Records. It was produced, arranged, and primarily composed by Brian Wilson with guest lyricist Tony Asher. R ...
'') and
the Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London in 1963 by brothers Ray Davies, Ray and Dave Davies, and Pete Quaife. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British ...
('' Village Green Preservation Society''). ''
Creem ''Creem'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American rock music magazine and entertainment company, founded in Detroit, whose initial print run lasted from 1969 to 1989. It was first published in March 1969 by Barry Kramer and founding editor ...
'' Karen Schlosberg dubbed it a "masterpiece" and a "somewhat baroque and ethereally-textured collection". She lamented that it was unlikely the album would receive much radio play, "since the lads' sound is probably too different to sit well with contemporary radio programming standards. Another irony, since XTC is constantly being compared to one of the most successful groups in pop history, the Beatles." ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' reviewed: "The overall tone here is less hard-edged than in past work; the band never takes the easy way out, however, employing unique sounds and unexpected melodic twists to wonderful effect."
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 ...
awarded the record an A− with his only criticism being "when the topics become darker and more cosmic ... they clutter things with sound and whimsy". Also from ''Rolling Stone'', Rob Tannenbaum's 1987 review said the album's craftsmanship was "a remarkable achievement", but decried: "This trading of the acute modernism that marked such classics as ' This Is Pop' and ' Making Plans for Nigel' for domestic solitude dampens the band's punk-roots energy and also limits its emotional spectrum. ... Partridge complains. But then he apologizes to his ex for being "rude" to her. Being rude is the ''point'' of breakup songs, and a shot of rudeness is just what XTC could use now." Promotional videos were created for "Grass" and "Dear God" (both directed by Nick Brandt). The
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
music program ''
The Tube The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...
'' also produced videos for "The Meeting Place" and "The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul" filmed in
Portmeirion Portmeirion (; ) is a folly* * * tourist village in Gwynedd, North Wales. It lies on the estuary of the River Dwyryd in the community (Wales), community of Penrhyndeudraeth, from Porthmadog and from Minffordd railway station. Portmeirion was d ...
with the band wearing costumes from ''
The Prisoner ''The Prisoner'' is a British television series created by Patrick McGoohan. McGoohan portrays Number Six (The Prisoner), Number Six, an unnamed British intelligence agent who is abducted and imprisoned in a The Village (The Prisoner), mysteri ...
''. The music video for "Dear God" received the 1987 ''Billboard'' Best Video award and was nominated for three categories at the
MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category ...
.


"Dear God" controversy

Early sales were hampered by the omission of "Dear God" from the album's original pressings. It was left off because Jeremy Lascelles was concerned about the album's length and advised that the song may upset American audiences. Partridge recalled: "I reluctantly agreed because I thought I hadn't written a strong enough take on religion. I thought I'd kind of failed." Rundgren had a different recollection, and said that Partridge demanded that the song be pulled because "He was afraid that there would be repercussions personally for him for taking on such a thorny subject... I called them and said, 'This is a mistake.'" Partridge denied such accusations: "if you can't have a different opinion without them eople upset by the songwanting to firebomb your house then that's their problem." "Dear God" was ultimately released as the B-side to the UK lead single "Grass", but due to its popularity with American DJs, the album was reissued in the US, with "Mermaid Smiled" removed and "Dear God" cross-faded into the following track, "Dying", giving the second edition of the US album a revised track sequence. Partridge commented: "I got backed into a corner on that. They said that we had to take something off to put this one on 'cause of the limitations of vinyl and such. I think I wanted to take off 'Dying' and part of me said no, lyrically it's very honest and good, and so 'Dying' stayed." In June 1987, the A-sided "Dear God" single was released in both markets, reaching No. 99 in the UK, and No. 37 in the US Mainstream Rock chart. Some controversy broke out over the song's anti-religious lyrics, which inspired some violent incidents. In Florida, a radio station received a bomb threat, and in New York, a student forced their school to play the song over its public-address system by holding a faculty member at knife-point. Nonetheless, the commercial success of "Dear God" propelled ''Skylarking'' to sell more than 250,000 units, and it raised the band's profile among American college youth. In the US, the album spent 29 weeks on the ''
Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a rec ...
'' album charts and reached its peak position of No. 70 in June 1987.


Polarity issue

On the request of XTC and Virgin Records, Rundgren submitted three different mixdowns of the album before quitting the project. The first mix was believed to be lacking in dynamics, while the second was rejected for containing numerous pops, clicks, and digital dropouts. According to Partridge, both the label and the band were dissatisfied with the final mix; "We all thought t waspoor and thin ... There was no bass on it, no high tops, and the middle sounded muddy." Gregory similarly recalled that it was badly recorded. Decades later, it was discovered that the album's master tapes were engineered with an improper sound polarity. Mastering engineer John Dent, who discovered the flaw in 2010, attributed it to a wiring error between the
multitrack recording Multitrack recording (MTR), also known as multitracking, is a method of sound recording developed in 1955 that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources or of sound sources recorded at different times to create a cohesive who ...
and stereo mixing machines, which would not have been aurally evident until after the tapes left Rundgren's studio. Dent was able to correct the issue, and his master was released by Partridge's APE House label exclusively on vinyl that same year.XTC Skylarking Vinyl Update
''Ape - News'', 7 September 2010, Retrieved 24 October 2010
Rundgren commented: "I think it's total bullshit. But if such a thing existed, it's because they changed the running order on it and had to remaster it – which I had nothing to do with." The master with corrected polarity was eventually issued on CD as well.


Retrospective reviews and legacy

Upon release, ''Skylarking'' received much critical acclaim. It became XTC's best-known album and generally regarded as their finest work. Dave Gregory recalled that two years after its release, he learned that XTC's recent work was "hugely influential" in the US. Music journalist Michael Azerrad wrote that with ''Skylarking'', the band had become "deans of a group of artists who make what can only be described as unpopular pop music, placing a high premium on melody and solid if idiosyncratic songcraft." '' Mojo''s Ian Harrison wrote that regardless of the "businesslike-to-hostile rather than chummy" relationship between Rundgren and the band, "the results were sublime". ''
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, ...
''s Patrick Schabe cited it as the album where XTC "blossomed into full maturity", while '' Uncut''s Joe Stannard called it "the album that tied up everything great about Swindon's finest into one big beautiful package of perfect pop". Moulding said of the album: "Perhaps it lacked the polish of some of the other recordings we had made, but it was the character that was sewn into the record which was its strength. ... Positively naive at times." Gregory called the finished product "probably my favourite XTC album", expressing appreciation of how Rundgren handled the songs. In a promotional insert included with their album '' Nonsuch'' (1992), Partridge wrote "Musician and producer Todd Rundgren squeezed the XTC clay into its most complete/connected/cyclical record ever. Not an easy album to make for various ego reasons but time has humbled me into admitting that Todd conjured up some of the most magical production and arranging conceivable. A summer's day cooked into one cake." In 1989, ''Skylarking'' was listed at number 48 on ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's list of the 100 greatest albums of the 1980s. The staff at ''
Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music magazine founded in 1996 by Ryan Schreiber in Minneapolis. It originally covered Alternative rock, alternative and independent music, and expanded to cover genres includin ...
'' placed the album at 15 on their 2002 list of the "Top 100 Albums of the 1980s". Site contributor Dominique Leone felt that Rundgren's production added warmth to the band's "clever-but-distant" songs. ''
Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...
'' listed the album at 67 on its list of the "Best Albums of the 1980s", It was voted number 830 in
Colin Larkin Colin Larkin (born 1949) is a British music writer. He founded and was the editor-in-chief of ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. Along with the ten-volume encyclopedia, Larkin also wrote the book ''All Time Top 1000 Albums'', and edited th ...
's ''
All Time Top 1000 Albums ''All Time Top 1000 Albums'' is a book by Colin Larkin, creator and editor of the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. The book was first published by Guinness Publishing in 1994. The list presented is the result of over 200,000 votes cast by the ...
'' (2000). The album was also included in the book '' 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die''.


Track listing

''Skylarking'' was originally issued without the track " Dear God". After 1987, "Mermaid Smiled" was removed and "Dear God" was inserted. After 2001, track listings included both "Dear God" and "Mermaid Smiled".


Original vinyl


2016/2024 expanded editions

In 2016, an expanded CD and Blu-ray edition of ''Skylarking'' was issued on Partridge's Ape House label. It included new 2.0 stereo and 5.1
surround sound Surround sound is a technique for enriching the fidelity and depth of sound reproduction by using multiple audio channels from speakers that surround the listener ( surround channels). Its first application was in movie theaters. Prior to ...
mixes by
Steven Wilson Steven John Wilson (born 3 November 1967) is an English musician. He is the founder, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter of the rock band Porcupine Tree, as well as being a member of several other bands, including Blackfield, Storm Corrosi ...
. An updated version of the CD/Blu-ray edition was released on Ape House in September 2024, adding a new
Dolby Atmos Dolby Atmos is a surround sound technology developed by Dolby Laboratories. It expands on existing surround sound systems by adding height channels as well as free-moving sound objects, interpreted as three-dimensional objects with neither horiz ...
mix of the album and its bonus tracks by Wilson. This makes ''Skylarking'' the second XTC album to be released in Atmos following the 2023 reissue of ''The Big Express'', which had not previously been included in the band's "Surround Sound Series" due to a years-long search for its original multitrack tapes. * 2016 5.1 mix – same running order as 2016 stereo mix * 2016 instrumental mix – same running order as 2016 stereo mix * 2001 stereo remaster – same running order as original vinyl (includes bonus tracks "Dear God" and "Extrovert") * 2010 corrected polarity remaster – same running order as 2016 stereo mix (minus bonus tracks) * Album in demo and work tape form – same running order as 2016 stereo mix (minus bonus tracks) * 2024 Dolby Atmos mix - same running order as 2016 stereo mix


Personnel

Credits adapted from the original and the 2016 sleeves. XTC *
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, guitar * Colin Moulding – vocals, bass guitar * Dave Gregory – vocals, guitar, piano, synthesizers,
Chamberlin The Chamberlin is an electro-mechanical keyboard instrument that was a precursor to the Mellotron. It was developed and patented by the American inventor Harry Chamberlin from 1949 to 1956, when the first model was introduced. There are several ...
, string arrangement on "1000 Umbrellas" and "Dear God", tiple Additional personnel and technical staff *
Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the bands Nazz and Utopia. He is known for his sophistica ...
– producer, engineer,
melodica The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard usu ...
on "Summer's Cauldron", synthesizers on "Grass" and "That's Really Super, Supergirl", backing vocals, orchestral arrangements, computer programming * Prairie Prince – drums * Mingo Lewis – percussion *Jasmine Veillette – vocals on "Dear God" *Kim Foscato – assistant engineer *George Cowan – assistant engineer *Dave Dragon – sleeve drawings *Cindy Palmano – photography *Ken Ansell – typography Orchestral players *John Tenney – violin *Emily Van Valkenburgh – violin *Rebecca Sebring – viola *Teresa Adams – cello *Charlie McCarthy – alto and tenor saxophones, flute *Bob Ferreira – tenor saxophone, piccolo flute, bass clarinet *Dave Bendigkeit – trumpet * Dean Hubbard – trombone The sleeve credits "the Beech Avenue Boys" with "backing vocals". They are actually XTC under a pseudonym. The credit is an inside joke referencing the Beach Boys and a street in Swindon. Special thanks were given to
the Tubes The Tubes are a San Francisco-based rock band. Their self-titled 1975 debut album included the single " White Punks on Dope", while their 1983 single " She's a Beauty" was a top-10 U.S. hit and its music video was frequently played in the ear ...
, "who let us use their amplifiers", and
the Dukes of Stratosphear The Dukes of Stratosphear were an English rock band formed in 1984 by Andy Partridge, Colin Moulding, Dave Gregory, and Ian Gregory. Modelled after psychedelic pop groups from the 1960s, the Dukes were initially publicised by Virgin Records ...
, "who loaned us their guitars".


Charts


References


Works cited

* *


External links


''Skylarking'' on Chalkhills
* {{Authority control XTC albums Psychedelic pop albums Virgin Records albums Geffen Records albums Albums produced by Todd Rundgren 1986 albums 1980s concept albums Neo-psychedelia albums Art pop albums Chamber pop albums