| Nonsuch | 
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| Artist: Xtc
Label: Caroline
Category: Music
List Price: $15.98
Buy New: $6.09
You Save: $9.89 (62%)
New (42) Used (14) Collectible (2) from $4.76
Avg. Customer Rating:  47 reviews
Sales Rank: 33499
Format: Original Recording Reissued, Original Recording Remastered
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 50678
UPC: 724385067822
EAN: 0724385067822
ASIN: B00005ATHM
Release Date: August 6, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand new, factory sealed. Fast shipping!
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| Customer Reviews:
 The most underappreciated album of the decade... July 7, 1998
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
If you love rich lyrics, challenging yet sweeping arrangements, complex and addicting melodies, then look no further to this 1992 album of XTCs last work before they went on strike. From songs of loss to social jabs XTC lose none of their thrust and power, and wrap it all in the tastiest coating imaginable in the recording arts. Marvel at the production (drum sound on Peter Pumpkinhead), tremble at the intimacy (crawl inside Rook if you dare), air guitar along (Books are Burning, Smartest Monkeys), but you will love this album. And at under $7, what the heck have you got to lose? Listen to the piss and pathos of Andy's singing and let the magical XTC lift your spirit up and fire a few shots into your soul... you won't come away the same.
musical medicine for the mind and soul November 10, 1999
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
after reading all the reviews on nonsuch , i cant believe anyone would have a negative thing to say about this beautifull collection of soul relaxing songs . i must admitt this was my first xtc disc ,i bought it when it came out gave it a listen or two and it collected dust for years , thats because like others who had negative comments , i didnt give this eclectic, interesting work of art enough time or plays to realize what a jewel of a band i had stumbled upon . since disovering xtc i have become a huge fan,cant say a bad thing about the english thugs , for the exception that some of the earlier stuff might be a little too punkish for me , but then again maybe all i need to do is listen a little harder before judging so quickly , I feel the same way about apple venus volume 1 and i am presently awaiting the release of 2 , i am sorry to hear that the guitarest wont be joining him , i think its a great loss to the band and i heard andy partridge was going to take on most or all of the guitar work on that disk , well for the price nonsuch is one of the best musical bargins you will ever find , buy buy buy
 Big Boring Letdown May 13, 2000
2 out of 7 found this review helpful
As an avid XTC fan, I was highly dissapointed with this album. The progressions and riffs lack inspiration and the lyrics are unsually weak. The dark "Rook" and ebullient "Omnibus" are the only entertaining tracks. Oddly "Peter Punkinhead", I believe, was the single of this album- a heavy handed, predictible tune. Check out Drums and Wires or Lemons and Oranges for the good stuff
 Good, but also a downer May 5, 2000
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I followed XTC ever since their work as the Dukes of Stratosphear (the mid-1980s), and this was the last album I bought by them. As usual, they delivered good work - very distinctly British music with continuing Beatles influences showing through, although don't mistake these guys for copycats, because they're not. It's more like they took sounds originated by the Beatles and expanded and reinterpreted them, creating new and beautiful forms.Their instrumentation is always impeccable, although sometimes Andy Partridge's lyrics get a little too precious. I usually cure that with a generous infusion of punk. This is a more somber album, compared with earlier works. I honestly thought it was going to be their last work, but they cranked out a few since this one, but I haven't bothered to buy them. My personal favorite tracks on this album are "The Disappointed", "Rook", and "Wrapped in Grey", although all of them are worthwhile. I get a sense of emotional disconnect listening to it, however - it reminds me of "Abbey Road" by the Beatles, where you could see the different visions for the band in different songs - there is definitely creative tension between Partridge and Colin Moulding and Dave Gregory. You can sense this creative tug-of-war on the various tracks, and it didn't surprise me when the band partially broke up a few years later.
Just OK at first, then much, much better with age January 10, 2001
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I was quite excited to buy this record when it came out 9 years (or several aeons) ago, and was somewhat un-thrilled at the time. Good, but hardly what I wanted for my first taste of a brand new XTC album since discovering them. Since then, however, I've come to truly enjoy and relate to this record a great deal. There's still the old pop wizardry you expect and want (i.e."Peter Pumpkinhead", "And She Appeared"), and the record sounds absolutely gorgeous (give it a shot or two with headphones). But the songwriting tends to follow the more advanced path begun on 'Oranges and Lemons.' While Partridge's songs subtly mask a tiredness with the constraints of pop structure, Moulding's tend to hint at a tiredness with the game of pop at large. Overall, the slower pace and introspective lyrics seem to correspond with a philosophical stride XTC had reached in their lives/careers. It's a good album for pausing to think a little about what you're up to with your life; highly recommended for the XTC fan approaching thirty.
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