Classics of the 80's: "Skylarking" XTC
Sorry for the one day delay here, but we’re back to the good ol’ 80s series after a brief thanksgiving holiday. So pull your collective belts tighter and get ready to stuff some yummy music in after all that turkey and stuffin’
Our second classic nineteen hundred and eighties album is a record by who I like to refer to as “The Beatles of the 80s.” Smart pop rock with innovative hooks, evocative lyrical lines, and superb orchestration. The genius of Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding (XTC’s founders) clashed in a hard, tumultuous rumble with the lush, glossy production style of 70s Prog-Freak Todd Rundgren on Skylarking.
The result was one of absolute discontent for XTC. Rundgren and Partridge grappled radically over the sounds on the record and the overall concept of the finished product. But this struggle is ultimately what made XTC’s brilliance more immediate and apparent to the listener. English Settlement and Black Sea only hinted at accomplished sounds on Skylarking.
How the songs blend so seamlessly on this one is just incredible. The opening medley of “Summer’s Cauldron/Grass” automatically earns your trust and from then on, it’s like the second coming of Abbey Road. “Earn enough for us” and “Another Satellite” are two more gems just familiar enough and just experimental enough to work.
The record ends with the most controversial song- a song that was one of the first outright Atheist anthems. The Christian community lashed out at the single “Dear God,” but to any educated person, the song comes off more as an ultimatum to the people that fight over religion and make the world a horrible place for everyone. Given the right-wing power in the U.S. currently and the radical Islamic terrorism in various places, the song is very resonant 20 years after its release.
Download Skylarking from this link on 
What say you?!