Editorial Reviews
Music Review:
Music Review
Once Bitten Twice Shy [Import]
Mendelssohn: Songs without Words, Complete Recording
Music: 20 Exitos: Lo Mas Romantico del Tango
Lady Stardust [CD-single] [Import]
Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsodies S244; Consolations
Live at the Gibus Club [Import] [Live]
Amazon.com
XTC may have spent most of the 1990s locked in a protracted "strike" against their record label of 15 years, but mainstays Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding continued to compose an impressive body of songs, many of which finally saw the light of day on the elegantly sophisticated Apple Venus Volume One. This new collection documents--literally and figuratively--those "lost years," from doodlings and scratched-out lyrical fragments to rough cassette tapes and multitrack home recordings. The resulting album, whose titles match Apple Venus track for track, is essentially a documentary of the earlier album's genesis, yet one whose compelling viewpoint stands on its own. Though obviously intended for XTC diehards, these stark, modernistic takes are rife with flourishes inspired by everything from Philip Glass to modern jazz. Partridge's and Moulding's copious notes are as blunt as they are playfully self-deprecating; good humor is hardly the least of their assets. It would be easy and wrong to characterize Homespun as Apple Venus Unplugged. Extra-dimensional is more to the point. --Jerry McCulley
Album Description
Demo versions of all 11 tracks from the English new wave leg ends' 1999 comeback outing 'Apple Venus Volume One'. Include s a 24-page booklet with lyrics, extracts from Andy Partridge's notebook and exclusive photos. 1999 TVT release.