Skylarking is the eighth studio album by the English rock band XTC, released 27 October 1986 on Virgin Records. Produced by American musician Todd Rundgren, it is a loose concept album about a nonspecific cycle, such as a day, a year, the seasons, or a life.

Like XTC's previous Dukes of Stratosphear side project, Skylarking was heavily influenced by the music of the 1960s. Most of its recording was at Rundgren's Utopia Sound Studio in Woodstock, New York. Rundgren played a large role in the album's sound design and drum programming, providing the band with orchestral arrangements and an assortment of gear. However, the sessions were fraught with tension, especially between Rundgren and bandleader Andy Partridge, and numerous disagreements arose over drum patterns, song selections, and other details.

Upon release, Skylarking was met with indifference in the UK, rising in the album charts to number 90, while both of its lead singles "Grass" (backed with "Dear God") and "The Meeting Place" peaked at number 100. In the US, "Dear God" became a college radio hit, causing US distributor Geffen Records to recall and repress Skylarking with the track included, and propelling the album to number 70. Following the song's growth in popularity, it was the subject of controversy in the US, inspiring many angry phone calls to radio stations and at least one bomb threat.

Skylarking has been listed on "100 greatest albums of the 1980s" lists by Rolling Stone (in 1989) and Pitchfork (in 2002). Their albums became increasingly complex, and after frontman and songwriter Andy Partridge suffered a panic attack before a concert, the band ceased touring.<!---Additionally, they were left without a drummer after the departure of Terry Chambers in 1982.---> In 1984, they released The Big Express, which sold poorly and attracted little critical notice. According to Partridge, the group's psychedelic influences had begun "leaking out" through the use of Mellotron, phasing, and "backwards so-and-so". They followed up with the British-only mini-album 25 O'Clock, released on April Fools' Day 1985 and credited under the pseudonym "the Dukes of Stratosphear". The album was a more explicit homage to 1960s psychedelia that outsold The Big Express, even before the Dukes were revealed to be XTC. Partridge remembered: "That was a bit upsetting to think that people preferred these pretend personalities to our own personalities&nbsp;... they're trying to tell us something."

During a routine meeting in early 1986, Virgin Records executives threatened to drop the band from the label if their next album failed to sell more than 70,000 units. As was the case for their other records, the label refused to allow the band to act as their own producers, even though Partridge was already established as a producer of other artists. The group were given a list of American producers and the only name they recognized was Todd Rundgren's. To Virgin, he appeared to be ideal for XTC, as he had a reputation for completing troubled projects on schedule and under budget, such as Badfinger's Straight Up (1971) and Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell (1977). XTC was a rare example, he said, "where I was both familiar with the band's previous work and unnecessary as a 'songcraft' agitator." He had also attended one of XTC shows in Chicago during their 1980 Black Sea tour. However, Skylarking contrasted significantly from earlier XTC efforts. As music critic A.D. Amorosi wrote, "More lyrically mature, lush and gently psychedelic than anything before in their catalog, Skylarking borrowed the hilly, holy feel of Mummer, as well as the ringing Beatles-ish vibe from ... The Big Express, but with a softly sweeping gracefulness and a finessed orchestral swirl. art pop, new wave, psychedelic pop, neo-psychedelia, Partridge surmised that the lyric content of XTC songs became more worldly as result of his "coming off—rather abruptly—of 13 years of valium addiction". He had also recently become a father and began listening to numerous Beach Boys albums, before which he had only been familiar with their singles. Moulding had recently listened to Pink Floyd's 1967 debut The Piper at the Gates of Dawn for the first time and was influenced by Syd Barrett's "free-form" songwriting style.|align=left|width = 26em

The collaboration with Rundgren proved to be difficult, especially for Partridge, and numerous disagreements arose over drum patterns, song selections, and other details. Moulding acknowledged that, until then, it was typical for Partridge to act as an "executive producer" for XTC's albums, frequently undermining the authority of the actual credited producer. According to Rundgren: "Essentially, it was kind of preordained by me what the record was going to be, which was something they never endured before. I think [Colin and Dave] trusted me, but Andy never did." Gregory intimated that "Todd and Andy were like chalk and cheese as personalities, they didn't hit it off from the start. Things just went from bad to worse."

Partridge was satisfied with Rundgren's arrangements but frustrated with the producer's "patronizing" and "so bloody sarcastic" remarks during sessions. As he remembered, "[Todd would] ask how you were going to do the vocals and you would stand in front of the mic and do one run through to clear your throat and he'd say, 'That was crap. I'll come down and I'll record me singing it and you can have me in your headphones to sing along to.'." Another line he recalled was: "You can dick around with [the track] for a few hours your way if you like. I'm going up to my house. When you find out it doesn't work your way, give me a call and we'll record it my way." He believed that the producer's role was "to keep us in line", however, and that Rundgren was successful in that respect. On the extent of the altercations, Rundgren said "there was the moment Andy said he wanted to cleave my head in half with an axe. But there was never anything physical. Just verbal abuse." Gregory stated that he was "quite happy to be directed by Todd instead of Andy." He thought that Rundgren "deliberately belittle[d Andy] if he thought he was getting too big for his boots. Andy rose to the bait every time."

|align = right

|width = 27em

Rundgren had listened to The Big Express and concluded that the group had "lost track" of their studio indulgences. Initially, he considered that he may have been wrong in his perception of the sessions. He later consulted with other artists who worked with Rundgren, only to find that "nine times out of ten they’ll say, 'Fuckin' hell, he was like that with us!'" After an argument about a bass part, Moulding stipulated that Partridge be banned from the studio while he finished recording his parts. In 1997, Moulding called it the "only real argument" between him and Partridge in the band's history.

Recording

thumb|left|[[Prairie Prince of the Tubes was recruited as session drummer]]

All of the basic tracks were recorded in the same order as they appear on the album, as were the drum overdubs that followed. The recording sessions took place in early 1986 largely at Rundgren's Utopia Sound Studios in Woodstock, New York.

thumb|upright=1.1|right|A [[Prophet 5|Prophet 10 synthesizer, similar to the one used on the album]]

Rundgren played a large role in the album's sound design and drum programming, providing the band with string and brass arrangements, as well as an assortment of gear that included a Fairlight CMI, Yamaha DX7, E-mu Emulator, pre-MIDI LinnDrum, and a Prophet-10 bought especially for the album. The only instruments the band had brought with them to the US were "about eight guitars". Moulding recalled that nothing apart from "some percussion" was recorded for the album until the band arrived in San Francisco to lay the drum tracks. Prairie Prince was encouraged to play "spastic" drum fills in the style of Jethro Tull's "Sweet Dream" (1969). The industrial noises at the beginning were samples sequenced on a Fairlight, Gregory spent hours rehearsing the solo. Years after the fact, he realised that he had subconsciously lifted the "little five-note runs" heard in the trumpet line of "Magic Dragon Theatre" from the Utopia's Ra (1977).

"Ballet for a Rainy Day"

"Ballet for a Rainy Day", lyrically, is a portrait of a rainy town and its raincoats, fruits, and collapsing hairdos. Partridge: "The one thing I remember about the rain as a child was my mother cursing that her new hairdo was going to get ruined." There was an argument over the lyric "silent film of melting miracle play". Rundgren was unaware that "Miracle Plays" were biblical performances from the Medieval times, and thinking that Partridge was mistaken, requested that it be changed to "passion play". Partridge refused because he wanted to maintain the alliteration in "melting miracle". "Tickets for the front row seats up on the rooftops" is an homage to the Blue Nile's "A Walk Across the Rooftops" (1984). According to music critic Joe Stannard, "Ballet" and the two following tracks "distil the flawless orch-pop of Smile and Abbey Road into a handy three-song suite." He felt that the end result was "nearer to Harpers Bizarre than the Beach Boys personally." Rundgren, however, taunted Partridge for the lyric "about the baby and the umbilical".

Side two

"Earn Enough for Us"

"Earn Enough for Us" is a power pop song Partridge envisioned the song as a single.

"Another Satellite"

"Another Satellite" is about Erica Wexler, a fan who caused tensions between Partridge and his wife, and ultimately became his romantic partner and musical collaborator. He previously wrote about Wexler for The Big Express songs "Seagulls Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her" and "You're the Wish You Are I Had". Rundgren had initially rejected "Another Satellite", but it was included at the insistence of the band's A&R executive at Virgin, Jeremy Lascelles. Partridge expressed regret releasing the song since it was hurtful to Erica, although "the story had a happy ending" once they rekindled a relationship in the 1990s. The "mordant, chiming rebuke" of the song, according to Stannard, "signals a shift into darker, more personal areas."

"Mermaid Smiled"

"Mermaid Smiled" is a "jazzy" song Rundgren arranged the song in the style of Bobby Darin. The track features tabla, bongos, muted trumpets, and sampled vibraphones from a Fairlight; the latter two are reflected in the lyrics "from pools of xylophone clear" and "compose with trumpeting shell". Partridge instructed Prince to drum like a "jazz junkie drummer". On his performance, Prince surmised that he may have unconsciously "channeled" the influence of big band drummer Gene Krupa. but while playing the Beatles' "Rocky Raccoon" (1968), Partridge was inspired to move "Dear God" closer to that song's direction. "Dear God" was not included on original pressings of Skylarking, but it was always intended to be on the album.

| rev2 = Q

| rev2score =

| rev3 = The Village Voice

| rev3score = A−

Lead single "Grass", backed with "Dear God" in the UK, was released in August 1986. In the US, radio stations were sent a promotional disc, Skylarking with Andy Partridge, which featured interviews with the group and Rundgren. A second single, "The Meeting Place", was issued in 1987. Creem Karen Schlosberg dubbed it a "masterpiece" and a "somewhat baroque and ethereally-textured collection". She lamented that it was unlikely the album would receive much radio play, "since the lads' sound is probably too different to sit well with contemporary radio programming standards. Another irony, since XTC is constantly being compared to one of the most successful groups in pop history, the Beatles." Billboard reviewed: "The overall tone here is less hard-edged than in past work; the band never takes the easy way out, however, employing unique sounds and unexpected melodic twists to wonderful effect."

Robert Christgau awarded the record an A− with his only criticism being "when the topics become darker and more cosmic ... they clutter things with sound and whimsy".

Promotional videos were created for "Grass" and "Dear God" (both directed by Nick Brandt). The Channel 4 music program The Tube also produced videos for "The Meeting Place" and "The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul" filmed in Portmeirion with the band wearing costumes from The Prisoner. The music video for "Dear God" received the 1987 Billboard Best Video award and was nominated for three categories at the MTV Video Music Awards.

"Dear God" controversy

Early sales were hampered by the omission of "Dear God" from the album's original pressings. Rundgren had a different recollection, and said that Partridge demanded that the song be pulled because "He was afraid that there would be repercussions personally for him for taking on such a thorny subject... I called them and said, 'This is a mistake.'" and No. 37 in the US Mainstream Rock chart. Some controversy broke out over the song's anti-religious lyrics, which inspired some violent incidents. In Florida, a radio station received a bomb threat, and in New York, a student forced their school to play the song over its public-address system by holding a faculty member at knife-point. Nonetheless, the commercial success of "Dear God" propelled Skylarking to sell more than 250,000 units, and it raised the band's profile among American college youth.

Polarity issue

On the request of XTC and Virgin Records, Rundgren submitted three different mixdowns of the album before quitting the project. Dent was able to correct the issue, and his master was released by Partridge's APE House label exclusively on vinyl that same year. Rundgren commented: "I think it's total bullshit. But if such a thing existed, it's because they changed the running order on it and had to remaster it – which I had nothing to do with." The master with corrected polarity was eventually issued on CD as well.

Retrospective reviews and legacy

Upon release, Skylarking received much critical acclaim. It became XTC's best-known album and generally regarded as their finest work. Music journalist Michael Azerrad wrote that with Skylarking, the band had become "deans of a group of artists who make what can only be described as unpopular pop music, placing a high premium on melody and solid if idiosyncratic songcraft." Mojos Ian Harrison wrote that regardless of the "businesslike-to-hostile rather than chummy" relationship between Rundgren and the band, "the results were sublime". PopMatterss Patrick Schabe cited it as the album where XTC "blossomed into full maturity", while Uncuts Joe Stannard called it "the album that tied up everything great about Swindon's finest into one big beautiful package of perfect pop".

Moulding said of the album: "Perhaps it lacked the polish of some of the other recordings we had made, but it was the character that was sewn into the record which was its strength.&nbsp;... Positively naive at times."

In 1989, Skylarking was listed at number 48 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 greatest albums of the 1980s. Slant Magazine listed the album at 67 on its list of the "Best Albums of the 1980s", It was voted number 830 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000). The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Track listing

Skylarking was originally issued without the track "Dear God". After 1987, "Mermaid Smiled" was removed and "Dear God" was inserted. After 2001, track listings included both "Dear God" and "Mermaid Smiled".

Original vinyl

2016/2024 expanded editions

In 2016, an expanded CD and Blu-ray edition of Skylarking was issued on Partridge's Ape House label. It included new 2.0 stereo and 5.1 surround sound mixes by Steven Wilson.

An updated version of the CD/Blu-ray edition was released on Ape House in September 2024, adding a new Dolby Atmos mix of the album and its bonus tracks by Wilson. This makes Skylarking the second XTC album to be released in Atmos following the 2023 reissue of The Big Express, which had not previously been included in the band's "Surround Sound Series" due to a years-long search for its original multitrack tapes.

  • 2016 5.1 mix – same running order as 2016 stereo mix
  • 2016 instrumental mix – same running order as 2016 stereo mix
  • 2001 stereo remaster – same running order as original vinyl (includes bonus tracks "Dear God" and "Extrovert")
  • 2010 corrected polarity remaster – same running order as 2016 stereo mix (minus bonus tracks)
  • Album in demo and work tape form – same running order as 2016 stereo mix (minus bonus tracks)
  • 2024 Dolby Atmos mix - same running order as 2016 stereo mix

Personnel

Credits adapted from the original and the 2016 sleeves.

XTC

  • Andy Partridge – vocals, guitar
  • Colin Moulding – vocals, bass guitar
  • Dave Gregory – vocals, guitar, piano, synthesizers, Chamberlin, string arrangement on "1000 Umbrellas" and "Dear God", tiple

Additional personnel and technical staff

  • Todd Rundgren – producer, engineer, melodica on "Summer's Cauldron", synthesizers on "Grass" and "That's Really Super, Supergirl", backing vocals, orchestral arrangements, computer programming
  • Prairie Prince – drums
  • Mingo Lewis – percussion
  • Jasmine Veillette – vocals on "Dear God"
  • Kim Foscato – assistant engineer
  • George Cowan – assistant engineer
  • Dave Dragon – sleeve drawings
  • Cindy Palmano – photography
  • Ken Ansell – typography

Orchestral players

  • John Tenney – violin
  • Emily Van Valkenburgh – violin
  • Rebecca Sebring – viola
  • Teresa Adams – cello
  • Charlie McCarthy – alto and tenor saxophones, flute
  • Bob Ferreira – tenor saxophone, piccolo flute, bass clarinet
  • Dave Bendigkeit – trumpet
  • Dean Hubbard – trombone

The sleeve credits "the Beech Avenue Boys" with "backing vocals". They are actually XTC under a pseudonym. The credit is an inside joke referencing the Beach Boys and a street in Swindon. Special thanks were given to the Tubes, "who let us use their amplifiers", and the Dukes of Stratosphear, "who loaned us their guitars".

Charts

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"

|+Chart performance for Skylarking

!scope="col"|Chart (1986–1987)

!scope="col"|Peak<br />position

|-

!scope="row"|UK Albums Chart