TCCDM Pulls One Out..."Apple Venus Volume One" - XTC (1999 - Rei 2018)

"Apple Venus Volume One" - XTC (1999 - Rei 2018)

From needle drop to label, "Apple Venus Volume One" is a solid heady fly-by.  Unusual chords and tunings and melodies, they are all absolutely sublime.  And the ideas presented are beautifully original and surprising.   XTC's 13th album, and last legit album, is brave and ambitious and filled with a melancholic aura of sighs and goodbyes.  There is a Brian Wilson presence felt on this square and it's a headphones delight that rewards with each additional spin.  "Apple Venus Volume One" may not be XTC's best album, but it is my favorite and the one I reach for the most.

"Apple Venus Volume One" - XTC (back)

Favorites include:
"Knights In Shining Karma"
"Easter Theatre" 
"Frivolous Tonight"
"Your Dictionary"

My copy is a 2018 reissue on the Ape House label and sounds really good.  The vinyl is pressed on 200g and housed in a polythene sleeve.  The hype sticker mentions that pressings were cut from Masters approved by Andy Partridge.  Sadly, this is not a gatefold.  I'm still looking for an original gatefold copy, but have yet to luck into one.  This reissue will have to hold down the fort.  While attending Newman University in Kansas, I wrote a weekly column for the campus newspaper.  And "Apple Venus Volume One" was one of the albums I reviewed.  And now I finally have it on vinyl.  "Go Jets!"

Hype Sticker

Insert included
(Front / Back)

Ape House label

CAT #
APELP118
SIDE A  DEADWAX
APELP118 A-2  JASDAFACE  LOUD  -UD-
SIDE B  DEADWAX
APELP118 A  B

"Easter Theatre" - XTC - "Apple Venus, Vol. 1" (1999)

TRACKS:
A1  "River Of Orchids" 5:53
A2  "I'd Like That" 3:50
A3  "Easter Theatre" 4:37
A4  "Knights In Shining Karma" 3:39
A5  "Frivolous Tonight" 3:10
B1  "Greenman" 6:17
B2  "Your Dictionary" 3:14
B3  "Fruit Nut" 3:01
B4  "I Can't Own Her" 5:26
B5  "Harvest Festival" 4:15
B6  "The Last Balloon" 6:40

PERSONNEL:
Colin Moulding - vocals, bass
Andy Partridge - vocals, guitars, keyboard programming
ADDITIONAL:
Dave Gregory - piano, keyboards, keyboard programming, guitars, b-vocals
Haydn Bendall - keyboards
Guy Barker - trumpet, flugelhorn (B6)
Nick Davis - keyboards
Prairie Prince - drums, percussion
Steve Sidwell - trumpet (A3)
Mike Batt - orchestral arrangements on (B1, B4)
Gavin Wright - all arrangements played by the London Sessions Orchestra

Good stuff.

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