Apple Box

Apple Box Artist: XTC
Label: Idea Records
Category: Music


Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Format: Box set
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 4
EAN: 5038622110529
ASIN: B000A38Z04

Apple Box


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General General
Categories | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
Britain Britain
Categories | British Isles | Europe | International | Styles | Music
General General
Categories | Pop | Styles | Music
General General
Categories | Rock | Styles | Music

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Amazon.com

XTC fans are a patient bunch. With the band only releasing three studio albums--Nonsuch; Apple Venus, Volume One; and Wasp Star (Apple Venus, Volume Two)--in the last 13 years, they've had to be. Now comes Apple Box, Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding's first wholly independent release on their own Idea Records label. Should they bite? Depends on how rabid they truly are. It seems the original idea was to release those last two albums as a double set, but commercial considerations intervened. The two halves of the apple were released separately, along with companion volumes containing the demo recordings that had been circualting among fans for years. This set is XTC's way of putting things right: it's all four albums (AV1 and 2 plus Homespun and Homegrown) in an elegant white box, with complete lyrics, new art, and new sleeve notes. But, unfortunately, no new music. (New copies do, however, come with an access code to download two new songs--Partridge's "Spiral" and Moulding's "Say It"--from the band's Web site.) So completists--as well as those who can't wait for the new tracks' future release--will want to pick up Apple Box at once, and those who are just getting to know XTC will find it a convenient way to pick up the band's late-'90s output in one fell swoop. But the vast majority of fans likely bought the contents of the box when they originally came out, and may therefore find the set's attractions limited. --Benjamin Lukoff

<span class="h1"><strong>Albums Included in Apple Box</strong></span>

<b>Apple Venus, Volume One</b>
Because of record contract litigation, Apple Venus Volume One is XTC's first album of new material in nearly seven years. The now-duo of Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding sure seem to have been using their time off to smell the flowers, as their lyrics are ripe with fruit, nuts, dandelions, orchids, sunflowers, and harvest festivals. Billed as the "orchestral" album that precedes its "rock" bookend, Apple Venus is XTC's most obvious nod to the lush, intricate sounds of the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds and the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper (those familiar with 1986's Skylarking know that's a bold statement). Cellos, flutes, and other highbrow instruments provide the backdrop for the flowery lyrics. The whimsical "I'd Like That" is the perfectly understated pop song that has always eluded Partridge. The album's lone touch of angst comes courtesy of "Your Dictionary," which is spiked with four-letter words, but Partridge, ever the genteel Englishman, merely spells them out. Essential? No. Innovative? Hardly. But Apple Venus is a solid, cohesive work by one of rock's most artistic artists. --Bill Crandall

<b>Wasp Star (Apple Venus, Volume Two)</b>
Sidelined by a decade-long "strike" against their former record label, XTC's Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding nonetheless kept themselves busy writing songs and recording demos during the 1990s. The resulting body of work was divvied up stylistically, with the more pastoral/orchestral pieces consigned to Apple Venus, Volume One (and Homespun, its accompanying home-demo collection). The brash electric guitar flourish that launches Wasp Star's "Playground" heralds a collection that leans toward the jangly guitars and jagged rhythms of the band's Black Sea and English Settlement prime. Adorned with ornate harmonic flourishes and their trademark pop sophistication, Wasp Star finds creative mainstay Andy Partridge in a distinctly upbeat, romantically intoxicated state of mind (as witnessed by the virtually irony-free "Stupidly Happy"), yet one in which history-bred suspicions die hard. It's Moulding who seems the most melancholy here, with the gentle romantic prodding of "In Another Life" and in the downright gloomy take on his hometown's future, "Boarded Up." Known for occasional pointed social jabs, XTC's focus has become a bit more philosophical with age, Partridge and Moulding perhaps gleaning the wisdom that the hardest battles are sometimes fought on the home front. But if music this joyous and rewarding is the result, it's been the noblest of struggles. --Jerry McCulley

<b>Homespun (The Apple Venus, Volume One Home Demos)</b>
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 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

<b>Homegrown (The Wasp Star Home Demos)</b>
Rather like those school mathematics exams in which you were expected to hand in all your arithmetic doodlings as well as your final answers, Homegrown is XTC proffering the various porta-studio jottings and embryonic ideas which eventually added up to the Wasp Star (Apple Venus, Volume Two) album (a pass with flying colors, lest we forget). Songs don't write themselves. Even seasoned scribes like Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding need to put a bit of elbow grease into it. Thus, every fumbling bedroom troubadour in the land will empathise with Partridge as he mutters and busks his way through a gestative "The Wheel and the Maypole" or signs off an early draft of "The Man Who Murdered Love" (nothing like the final version) with a self-questioning "yeah, there might be something there." Rest assured--demos or not--this is a highly listenable collection of quality pop with illuminating sleeve notes from the composers in question. Colin Moulding's marital-strife-flavored "In Another Life," for example, was inspired by Stanley Holloway, Andrew Gold, and 1970s sitcoms like George and Mildred. --Kevin Maidment

Album Description

4 CD set containing the complete Apple Works recordings including the demos of Apple Venus and Wasp Star which gives a fascinating insight into XTC's recorded works. Beautifully packaged in a square white box with the Peacock Feather motif varnished in gloss onto the box lid. Stunningly simple. Each disc is packaged with new artwork in a cardboard wallet and the 64 page booklet has for the first time all the lyrics to all the songs, plus new sleeve notes by Andy and Collin. XTC were caught up in the post punk era, but they were never punk. Sure those early albums had a rawness, but they were young and developing a uniqueness that is still there today. Gifted musicians and songwriters Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding rose above the mediocrity to produce albums of distinction. The box includes information/password on accessing 2 new songs from their website. Idea. 2005.

Album Details

Limited Quantities Signed by all the Band Members!

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars The original albums the way they were intended to be released.......2006-03-21

If you're an XTC fan you no doubt have these releases individually so don't feel the need to upgrade unless you absolutely have to have the two new songs that can be downloaded. Originally Apple Venus and Wasp Star were supposed to be a single double album but due to time constraints, issues with cost and their record company they were released independently of each other. Both are stunning albums both in terms of quality and contrast--for those who don't know Apple Venus is the acoustic/orchestral album that had been in Andy Partridge's veins since Skylarking. Wasp Star is the power pop album that the band had always been threatening to make--brimming with rich melodies and guitar riffs.

This set repackages those albums with their two albums of demos. The redesigned packaging features wonderful illustrations by Andy and Colin, a deluxe 64 page booklet discussing the making of the album and lyrics as well as two new songs for download "Say It" and "Spiral" (one from Andy and one from Colin). "Spiral" continues the power pop trend of "Wasp Star" while "Say It" would have fit in nicely with "Boarded Up" or Colin's contributions for "Apple Venus".

There's another edition that features these songs on a CD sampler along with a t-shirt. This is available at XTC's website and Andy & Colin will autograph these editions (as well as anything you purchase there). Is it worth it? For the hardcore XTC fan the answer is yes. If you've already got the other albums but can wait for the two songs to be available at itunes (or somewhere else in the future) the answer is probably no.

1 out of 5 stars I resent this.......2006-03-11

I am a long time XTC fan but I have to say that more than perturbed that there are 2 new songs available only if you purchase this box set. I love XTC but I will not spend $57 for 2 songs no matter who it is.

5 out of 5 stars Magnificent.......2005-11-29

I'd agree though that if you already have all of these in their original format then by all means you've no real reason to go out and buy this ( unless you're a rabid collector ). If you're relatively new to XTC, go out and buy this immediately. Think of it this way, you're killing 4 birds with one stone. And at a reasonable price too.

As for the music - well it is stunning but I need to give it more time to sink in with me.

5 out of 5 stars

Music Album:

  1. High ~ Sam Bisbee
  2. 5:14 Fluoxytine Seagull Alcohol John Nicotine ~ Malcolm Middleton
  3. Wake Up Dead ~ The Nervous Return
  4. The Pretty Good Years: A Tribute To Tori Amos ~ Jemma Pryce , and E-Clypse
  5. Tokyo Warhearts ~ Children of Bodom
  6. Photo Musik
  7. Space Ritual ~ Nik Turner
  8. Here Comes Lucky ~ Mahones
  9. Toe 2000 ~ Toe 2000
  10. Walk of Life ~ Billie

Music Album

Music Album

Music CD

The Coon-Sanders Nighthawks, Vol. 1 ~ The Coon-Sanders Nighthawks

Cool Casual ~ Arlington Houston

Saxxy Love Songs ~ Gary Scott

That's Jazz ~ Various Artists

The Other Parlophones 1951-1954 ~ Humphrey Lyttelton

Eric Dolphy in Europe, Vol. 3 ~ Eric Dolphy

Give You My Love ~ Toshinobu Kubota

Ein Student Aus Uppsal ~ Kirsti

Pedro Camargo Mariano ~ Pedro Camargo Mariano

Mi Cambio My Change ~ Inca Son