Apple Venus, Volume 1 by XTC

Apple Venus Volume 1 is the 13th studio album by the English rock band XTC, released in February 1999. It was the first on the band's own Idea Records label through Cooking Vinyl and distributed in the United States by TVT Records. The album relies heavily on strings, acoustic guitars and keyboards, expanding upon the more orchestral approach developed on the group's previous LP Nonsuch (1992). Apple Venus Volume 1 was met with critical acclaim and moderate sales, peaking at number 42 on the UK Albums Chart and number 106 on the US Billboard 200. Bandleader Andy Partridge, who wrote most of Apple Venus, characterised the work as "orchustic", a portmanteau of "orchestral" and "acoustic". He meant the album title to refer to "a beautiful woman". The album effectively marked a comeback for XTC, who spent half the decade on strike against their former label Virgin Records. Apple Venus was originally planned as a double album, but because the group did not have enough money to record all the material they had stockpiled, they elected to split the more rock-oriented songs as "volume two" (released one year later as Wasp Star). The making of Volume 1 was fraught with personal conflicts, budgetary concerns and numerous false starts. Most of the orchestral portions were rush-recorded in one day with a 40-piece symphony at Abbey Road Studios, and had to be edited over a months-spanning period. It was the last album to include guitarist Dave Gregory, who departed XTC while in the middle of the sessions due to frustrations with Partridge. By the time of its release, Partridge no longer viewed XTC as a band, and preferred it to be known as a "brand" covering his and bassist Colin Moulding's music. In late 1999, XTC released Homespun, a version of Apple Venus consisting of its demos. This was followed in 2002 with Instruvenus, containing the album's backing tracks. In 2003, Mojo ranked Apple Venus at number 47 in its list of the "Top 50 Eccentric Albums". The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.