Skylarking

[J. Peter Alfke <alfke@csvax.caltech.edu>]

>NOW!  As promised!  This month's presentation of the Andrew Award
>for Sophistication, Originality and Complexity in a Post-70's Album!
>Established in honor of Andrew Marvick in 1987, the Andy can
>be given ONLY to those albums which EQUAL or BETTER the work of
>Kate Bush in ALL THREE of the above categories.  Here comes Spuds
>McCollins with the envelope... the winner is...
>
>	XTC, _SkyLarking_

Argh!  I've been beaten to it!  After buying and listening to the 4"
version of the album (the iridiscent frisbee, the box o' bits, you know)
I became convinced that it could, Andrew, be held up IN YO' FACE as a
worthy companion in Kate-ness to Kate's masterpieces themselves.  Only
XTC's lyrics don't quite match, but then if you call them simplistic and
romantic we can just come back and call Kate's overwrought bombastic Art
101 exercises.
In summary: Kate Bush makes the most Katelike music around.  But give
"Skylarking" a listen, it comes close.

(Oh yes, the 7" of "The Meeting Place" is on, gasp, clear vinyl, hold me
tight before I faint, but the 12" features four unreleased demos recorded
at home at various times.  Andy has a nice little note on the back sleeve
explaining this.  Didn't buy it.  The full album set me back enough as it
is, and I'm going to try very hard not to get seduced by the scent of
pristine freshly-wrapped bits wafting at 44.1kHz out of the back of Poo
Bah.  Not for a few weeks at least.

(BTW, after more listenings I have become convinced that both "Element of
 Light" and "Bad Moon Rising" are excellent albums.  Question: just what
 kind of chemicals does one need to ingest to sound like the speaker on
 "Justice Is Might"?  That song unnerves me, it do.  (Not that I would
 want to try such chemicals, I'll stick with my favorite mentholated, not
 to mention methoxylated, goodies.  After all, anything with the same name
 as the people who brought you "Black Sea" must be good for you...))

						--Peter Alfke again
						  same old address
"Just when I thought that my skies would be golden in hue
 1000 umbrellas open to swallow the view..."
"Let X = X"