|
|
| Playground |
01 |
|
|
|
04:17 |
|
| Stupidly Happy |
02 |
|
|
|
04:14 |
|
| In Another Life |
03 |
|
|
|
03:36 |
|
| My Brown Guitar |
04 |
|
|
|
03:51 |
|
| Boarded Up |
05 |
|
|
|
03:23 |
|
| I'm the Man Who Murdered Love |
06 |
|
|
|
03:45 |
|
| We're All Light |
07 |
|
|
|
04:39 |
|
| Standing In For Joe |
08 |
|
|
|
03:42 |
|
| Wounded Horse |
09 |
|
|
|
04:12 |
|
| You and the Clouds Will Still Be Beautiful |
10 |
|
|
|
04:19 |
|
| Church of Women |
11 |
|
|
|
05:06 |
|
| The Wheel and the Maypole |
12 |
|
|
|
05:55 |
|
NOTES
Date: May 23, 2000
Length: 50:54 minutes
Label: TVT RECORDS
Genre: ROCK
Category: Rock/Pop
APPLE VENUS
CREDITS
Performers
Caroline Dale : Cello
Nick Davis : Keyboards
Simon Gardner : Flugelhorn
Patrick Kiernan : Violin
Peter Lale : Viola
Colin Moulding : Bass, Vocals
Andy Partridge : Guitar, Vocals
Prairie Prince : Drums
Chuck Sabo : Drums
Kate St. John : Oboe
Gavyn Wright : Violin
Production Credits
Pete Ashworth : Photography
Haydn Bendall : Engineer
Nick Davis : Engineer, Mixing, Producer
Simon Dawson : Mixing Engineer
Steve Gullick : Portrait Photography
Barry Hammond : Engineer
Bob Ludwig : Mastering
Andrew Swainson : Sleeve Art
REVIEWS
May 22, 2000
XTC
Wasp Star (Apple Venus Vol. 2)
(TVT)
During a lengthy recording hiatus that lasted most of the '90s, Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding of veteran Brit-pop band XTC continued to write songs that mirrored the tumultuousness of their lives. The more melancholic songs ended up on the band's orchestral experiment, Apple Venus Vol. 1. The uber-poppy ones have found their way onto the group's latest release, Wasp Star (Apple Venus Vol. 2).
Dense with upbeat, guitar-based songs, Wasp Star brings to mind the best of mid-'60s pop (think the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Kinks). The collection opens with a song called "Playground," a back-to-school pop trip that features a kids-can-be-cruel message and bombastic drumming. Next up is "Stupidly Happy," a jovial concoction whose singular, repetitive guitar riff could beat even the glummest frown into a submissive smile. "In Another Life" is a sweet and dreamy Divine Comedy-like depiction of the everyday realities of love and devotion.
The band's trademark wit is intact on the cynical, clever "I'm the Man Who Murdered Love," which tells the story of the mercy killing of a cupid-like figure (saving us all from grief and heartache -- Amen) against a melody that will undoubtedly inspire sing-alongs everywhere. The most notable downshift on Wasp Star is the bluesy, "Wounded Horse" in which Partridge airs cheatin' heart grievances with the delivery of a country and western barroom crooner.
If Wasp Star is any indication, one can only hope that good fortune continues to befall Partridge and Moulding so they can parlay those positive vibrations into even more perfect pop songs.
Michelle Kleinsak
CDNOW Editorial Assistant�
