Nonsuch
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Albums:
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Nonsuch
- Artist: XTC
- Rating:
- Release Date: March 30, 1992
- Total Time: 61:58
- Type: Lyrics are included with the album
- Genre: Rock
Review
Since Skylarking, each XTC album was carefully composed and crafted, and Nonsuch is no different. Working with producer Gus Dudgeon (Elton John), XTC crafted their most immaculate album to date with Nonsuch. A measured and reflective record, recalling the Beach Boys more than the Beatles, the album retains some of their late-'80s psychedelic flourishes, but those have been integrated into an elaborate, lush pop setting that falls somewhere between Skylarking and Oranges & Lemons. While it lacks the thematic unity of Skylarking, as well as the grandstanding eclecticism of Oranges & Lemons, Nonsuch is in many ways more musically consistent, presenting a set of 17 wonderfully detailed and immediately catchy pop songs, ranging from the relatively rocking "The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead" to the sweet "Holly Up on Poppy." Occasionally, the album dips slightly lyrically -- Colin Moulding's "The Smartest Monkeys" and "War Dance" are a little too preachy -- but never musically, making Nonsuch a modest, minor masterpiece. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi| Nonstoperotik (2010 Album by Black Francis) | |
| Nonsuch [2002 Reissue] (1992 Album by XTC) |
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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Nonsuch (album)
| Nonsuch | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
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| Studio album by XTC | ||||
| Released | 27 April 1992 | |||
| Recorded | July–October 1991 at Chipping Norton Recording Studios, Oxfordshire, England | |||
| Genre | Rock, baroque pop | |||
| Length | 63:29 | |||
| Label | Virgin Records | |||
| Producer | Gus Dudgeon | |||
| XTC chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Nonsuch | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+ [2] |
| Q |  [3] |
| Q | (1997) [4] |
| Robert Christgau |  [5] |
| Rolling Stone | [6] |
Nonsuch is the eleventh studio album by the English band XTC, released on 27 April 1992. In a 1992 MTV interview, Andy Partridge said that he had selected the name of the album after encountering a drawing of Nonsuch Palace and, thinking that the archaic word "Nonsuch" meant "does not exist" rather than, as he later learned, "unique". In addition, the album title may have derived from a couplet in the lyrics of the final song of Oranges and Lemons (their previous studio album) "Chalkhills and Children":
I'm skating over thin ice
while some nonesuch net holds me aloft
The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album. "The Disappointed" was nominated for an Ivor Novello award. The album reached No. 1 on the Rolling Stone College album chart and No. 97 on the Billboard album chart in the U.S.
The album produced three singles: "The Disappointed" (which reached No. 33 on the UK singles chart), "The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead" (which reached No. 71 on the UK singles chart) and "Wrapped In Grey" (which, when withdrawn by Virgin, prompted the band to go on strike).
Two promotional videos were made. A UK-only video for "The Disappointed" (the band also did a lip-sync performance of this song on Pebble Mill at One) and "The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead," which received much airplay on MTV that summer.
The band performed "Books Are Burning" live with drummer Dave Mattacks on The Late Show on BBC-TV in April 1992.
The album cover is a picture of Nonsuch Palace in Surrey, from the book A Short History of Ewell and Nonsuch, by Cloudesley S. Willis. The palace no longer exists, but its former grounds included the present-day Nonsuch Park between Ewell and Cheam.
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Contents
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Track listing
UK CD: CDV 2699
All songs written and composed by Andy Partridge, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead" | 5:02 | ||
| 2. | "My Bird Performs" | Colin Moulding | 3:51 | |
| 3. | "Dear Madam Barnum" | 2:48 | ||
| 4. | "Humble Daisy" | 3:36 | ||
| 5. | "The Smartest Monkeys" | Moulding | 4:18 | |
| 6. | "The Disappointed" | 3:23 | ||
| 7. | "Holly Up on Poppy" | 3:04 | ||
| 8. | "Crocodile" | 3:56 | ||
| 9. | "Rook" | 3:47 | ||
| 10. | "Omnibus" | 3:20 | ||
| 11. | "That Wave" | 3:34 | ||
| 12. | "Then She Appeared" | 3:51 | ||
| 13. | "War Dance" | Moulding | 3:22 | |
| 14. | "Wrapped in Grey" | 3:46 | ||
| 15. | "The Ugly Underneath" | 3:50 | ||
| 16. | "Bungalow" | Moulding | 2:49 | |
| 17. | "Books Are Burning" | 4:52 |
Personnel
- Andy Partridge – vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, harmonica, tambourine, percussion, Shaker, keyboard programming, bell tree
- Colin Moulding – vocals, bass guitar, electric guitar, acoustic guitar
- Dave Gregory – electric guitar, electric 12-string guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, synthesisers, Hammond organ, backing vocals, church bell
with:
- Dave Mattacks – drums, tambourine, drum & sitar samples, shaker, percussion
- Gus Dudgeon – "ringmaster," tambourine, percussion, chorus
- Guy Barker – flugelhorns, trumpet
- Florence Lovegrove – viola
- Rose Hull – cello
- Stuart Gordon – violin
- Gina Griffin – violin
- Neville Farmer – chorus
String and brass arrangements by Dave Gregory, except "Rook" and "Omnibus" by Andy Partridge and "War Dance" by Colin Moulding. Strings on "The Disappointed" arranged by Andy Partridge and Dave Gregory.
Charts
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | The Billboard 200 | 97 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | "Dear Madam Barnum" | Billboard Modern Rock Tracks | 18 |
| 1992 | "The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead" | Billboard Modern Rock Tracks | 1 |
References
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Review: XTC - Nonsuch". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. http://www.allmusic.com/album/nonsuch-r22380/review. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
- ^ Wyman, Bill. "Review: XTC - Nonsuch". Entertainment Weekly (Time Inc.). Archived from the original on 7 September 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080907130245/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,310412,00.html. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
- ^ Hepworth, David. "Review: XTC - Nonsuch". Q (Bauer Media Group). Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070927224004/http://www.q4music.com/nav?page=q4music.artist.review&fixture_review=120160&resource=120160&fixture_artist=145441. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
- ^ Quantick, David. "Review: XTC - Nonsuch". Q (Bauer Media Group). http://chalkhills.org/articles/qTheMusic.html#q9702. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
- ^ Christgau, Robert. "Review: XTC - Nonsuch". Robert Christgau. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=xtc. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
- ^ Azerrad, Michael. "Review: XTC - Nonsuch". Rolling Stone (Jann Wenner). Archived from the original on 17 August 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070817201411/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/xtc/albums/album/174538/review/5943455. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
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