Apple Venus Anniversary
After XTC released their minor masterpiece Nonsuch in 1992, the boys from Swindon went on strike against Virgin records due to a contentious contract dispute. When Virgin finally blinked, allowing them to sign with another label, Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding had at least two albums worth of stellar material. It was a tough time for fans of the great lost pop band. In 1995 I was offered a chance to purchase bootlegged demo recordings of their unreleased songs. It was a tough call, but I decided to pass. Although I was curious and desperate to hear new XTC, I knew that waiting for the official recordings would ultimately be a more satisfying experience. Finally, on February 23, 1999, Apple Venus was released to critical acclaim. It exceeded my wildest expectations. Primarily orchestral and acoustic, Apple Venus could not properly be compared to any previous XTC album. While Skylarking and Nonsuch both hinted at some of the sounds that Apple Venus showcased, the breathtaking arrangements and stellar songwriting firmly places Apple Venus Volume One on the top ten of the best pop albums of the 1990s. Here are some blurbs from album reviews when it was released: Interview: “Astoundingly oblique and original.” Newsweek: “A bouyant, beautiful album.” Rolling Stone: “XTC sire more feisty allure than alt kids half their age.” Spin: “Triumphs with deep cleverness.” USA Today: “A sumptuous banquet of symphonic and acoustic pop.” And if those quotes don’t peak your interest, a recent issue of the British music magazine Mojo asked Harry Shearer that if push came to shove, what was his all-time favorite album: “Right now it would be Apple Venus by XTC. Every fucking song on that record is a killer, and I just think it’s Beatles-esque in the best sense of the term. We’ll never see it live, which I both treasure and bemoan.”
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