Wasp Star (Apple Venus Vol 2) (200 Gram Vinyl) [Import]

XTC: Andy Partridge (vocals, guitar); Colin Moulding (vocals, bass). Additional personnel: Gavin Wright, Patrick Kiernan (violin); Peter Lale (viola); Caroline Dale (cello); Kate St. John (oboe); Simon Gardner (flugelhorn); Nick Davis (keyboards); Chuck Sabo, Prairie Prince (drums); Matt Vaughn (programming); Holly Partridge (background vocals). Engineers include: Alan Douglas, Barry Hammond, Haydn Bendall. Recorded at Idea Studios, Wiltshire, England and Chipping Norton Studios, Oxfordshire, England. WASP STAR is a muscular and confident album, full of excellent XTC songs. There's the rolling, glorious "Stupidly Happy," with the cool '80s megaphone vocals throwback, and Colin Moulding's splendid "In Another Life," one of his patented slice-of-life stories featuring kettle drums and spikey acoustic guitars. Also of note is "I'm the Man Who Murdered Love," an obvious choice for a single, with a sing-along chorus, an Arabic-flavored guitar solo, and hypnotically paced percussion. The story/song "Standing In for Joe," which sounds like an English music hall tune played by Roxy Music, tells the first-person tale of a man asked to look after his best friend's wife and who, naturally, falls hard for her. Arguably the best XTC album since SKYLARKING (and certainly their best since ORANGES & LEMONS), WASP STAR is an essential purchase for fans and the merely curious.