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, All Music Guide
Gus Dudgeon (Percussion), Andy Partridge (Bells), David Gregory (Guitar (Acoustic)), Andy Partridge (Keyboard Programming), Andy Partridge (Synthesizer), Dave Mattacks (Sampling), Gus Dudgeon (Vocals (Background)), Andy Partridge (Keyboards), Dave Mattacks (Tambourine), Andy Partridge (Voices), Nick Davis (Mixing), Guy Barker (Flugelhorn), Andy Partridge (Shaker), Andy Partridge (Guitar (Electric)), Andy Partridge (Guitar), Colin Moulding (Guitar (Bass)), David Gregory (Bells), Colin Moulding (String Arrangements), David Gregory (Percussion), Andy Partridge (Band), Gus Dudgeon (Voices), David Dragon (Sleeve Art), David Gregory (Organ (Hammond)), Dave Mattacks (Percussion), Andy Partridge (Brass Arrangement), Colin Moulding (Vocals (Background)), Dave Mattacks (Sitar), Andy Partridge (Harmonica), Gus Dudgeon (Producer), David Gregory (Vocals (Background)), Kevin Westenberg (Photography), David Gregory (String Arrangements), Gus Dudgeon (End Chorus), Andy Partridge (Talking), David Gregory (Band), Andy Partridge (Guitar (Acoustic)), Gus Dudgeon (?), Gus Dudgeon (Talking), Colin Moulding (Bass), David Gregory (Keyboards), Andy Partridge (Percussion), David Gregory (Guitar (Electric)), Colin Moulding (Guitar (Electric)), Bob Ludwig (Mastering), Guy Barker (Trumpet), Gus Dudgeon (Arranger), Andy Partridge (Vocals (Background)), David Gregory (Guitar (12 String Electric)), Ian Cooper (Digital Remastering), Andy Partridge (Bell Tree), Andy Partridge (Tambourine), David Gregory (Guitar), Gus Dudgeon (Tambourine), Dave Mattacks (Shaker), Colin Moulding (Brass Arrangement), Gina Griffin (Violin), Colin Moulding (?), Andy Partridge (String Arrangements), Florence Lovegrove (Viola), Dave Mattacks (Drums), David Gregory (Brass Arrangement), Gus Dudgeon (Trumpet), David Gregory (Voices), Stuart Gordon (Violin), David Gregory (Synthesizer), Barry Hammond (Engineer), Dave Mattacks (Talking), Colin Moulding (Vocals), David Gregory (Guitar (12 String)), Dave Mattacks (Drum Samples), David Gregory (Piano), Andy Partridge (Vocals), Rose Hull (Cello)
Nonsuch is an album by XTC, released on April 27, 1992. In a 1992 MTV interview, Andy Partridge said that he had selected the name of the album after encountering a drawing of the castle 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
This lyric shows Partridge misunderstood the proper meaning of the word "Non(e)such" prior to the recording of Nonsuch.
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 in Cheam.
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.
