Coring XTC's Apple Box
By: Neil Kull |
Monday December 05, 2005 |
| "Apple Box" combines the "Apple Venus" and its follow-up "Wasp Star" releases, which presented whimsical, intelligent lyrics, sumptuous orchestral arrangements, crystalline guitars, revamping the traditional pop song structure into something approaching fine art. |
| In 1999, XTC returned from near-obscurity with a series of albums reminding people of just what, exactly, was missing in pop music. Apple Venus and its follow-up Wasp Star presented whimsical, intelligent lyrics, sumptuous orchestral arrangements, crystalline guitars, and a host of fascinating ideas and directions which revamped the traditional pop song structure into something approaching fine art.
For those who are unfamiliar with XTC, you might remember a late-70's new wave song called "Making Plans for Nigel," released shortly before XTC permanently ceased touring to develop their music in the recording studio. Every few years, a new album would appear, showing a band whose songwriting abilities were incredibly well-defined, yet their ambitious recording decisions only seemed to work about half of the time. All that changed in 1986 when Geffen records paired them with legendary producer Todd Rundgren, who pushed XTC to create what has since become regarded as a conceptual album masterpiece, Skylarking. Soon, the then-B-side "Dear God" was picked up by radio, and suddenly XTC was famous in America. Their next album, Oranges and Lemons boasted several hit songs (including "The Mayor of Simpleton" and "King for a Day"), and 1986 showed the arrival of Nonsuch, featuring the modest single "the Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead." Shortly thereafter, the group went into a long legal battle with their record label, went on strike by not recording anything for five years, and quietly faded from the American pop radar.  Lyrically, both albums deal with similar themes: growing up, learning, making mistakes, falling in love, falling out of love, falling in love again, microcosmic theory, sex, death, rebirth - all wrapped up in a humorous wink, reminding you that everything's all right if you don't take life too seriously. Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding have captured a rare place in music, one reminiscent of David Bowie's "Kooks," Nilsson's "Think About Your Troubles" and the Beatles' "Strawberry Fields Forever." It is delightfully charming music, and I've recommended these albums to just about everyone I've met over the years. From the very start, Apple Venus sets the tone of a beautiful summertime album, with a subtle invitation to wander around various story book worlds created by Andy and Colin. Wasp Star: Apple Venus Vol. 2 arrived the following year, featuring more electric instruments, and is a perfect soundtrack for your second childhood. Fans of XTC tend to favor one album over the other, but in essence the two records are part of a set, allowing the listener to appreciate them separately and collectively. Both recordings offer similar messages accompanied by a wide range of musical styles that would earn the respect of any serious musician or producer, for XTC are terrific at placing musical accents that bring out the messages buried in the lyrics throughout every song. "Stupidly Happy" features the lyric, "All the lights on the cars in the town form the strings of a big guitar" - punctuated with a quick jing-jang of said guitar; "Boarded Up" boasts percussion performed on various pieces of wood; "I'd Like That" has Andy singing, "I'd smile so much my face would crack in two", followed by a sharp CRACK heard among the sounds of a summer carnival. Details like these make for a very rewarding experience during repeated listening, and years later I continually find new ideas and tricks that have somehow escaped my attention during previous exposures. However, as far as America is concerned, XTC might now be merely a curiosity, a group lost in the seas of irony. Their finest musical achievements have been heralded by critics, yet were largely ignored by the public upon their initial release. Hopefully, the recently released Apple Box will focus fresh attention on these two masterful recordings. Perhaps the public who once embraced the energy of the song "Earn Enough for Us" will notice the banners, posters and billboards while shopping for Holiday presents. In fact, the Apple Box is one serious package, containing both studio and demo releases of the albums, a digital download code for two previously unreleased songs, and a cell phone ring tone (the deluxe box set includes all of the above, along with a T-shirt, badges and "a little something extra" according to the XTC website). 
Fans of XTC might be a little disappointed at the lack of bonus material included in the Apple Box - after all, there's not much here that hasn't been previously released, and the two new songs included are digital downloads - so if you don't have easy internet access, you might feel a bit slighted. Also, there's no inclusion of either of the two Japan-only instrumental albums that keep fanatics like myself scouring the imports sections (although the entertaining liner notes by Andy and Colin from those sets are included here - a treasure all by themselves). Finally, new listeners might not appreciate the demo versions (which do offer an insightful look at just how songs can change from conception to completion), preferring instead to simply purchase the individual albums. These minor packaging flaws are the only reasons why the Apple Box collection fails to get a full 4-star rating, and shouldn't be taken as a criticism of the brilliant music contained within.
Even with the lack of rarities, I know more than a few people who would love the Apple Box regardless if they're familiar with XTC. If you've never heard these recordings before, or you want to learn a masterful way of creating recorded music, then I highly recommend XTC's Apple Box for your listening pleasure. Listen to the new XTC track "Spiral" |
