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Its quite an old release now -- the follow-up Wasp Star - Apple Venus 2 has been and gone - and yes those are great songs for the season, they've also released Homespun which is the home demos of the Apple Venus 1 LP which is very different and we have the CD Singles also of the two songs you menton because it has a writers commentary of how the songs are written. Other high points are River of Orchids (a song about dreaming of a day there would be no cars) starting gently with the Plops of water and the single bass note at the start leading into a myriad of pizzicato strings building the whole thing up and up and up like Easter Theatre -- which is just plain full on fun and games in the Major/Minor keyshift that Partridge/Moulding have perfected since Their pop epic "Statue of Liberty". Apple Venus 1 was Produced by Haydn Bendall of Sky Production fame and its on Cooking Vinyl so the pressing is of consummate quality -- the CD is inferior (and I bought both). If you are talking about an MP3 then I don't want to know.

Its a very clean, very studied, very Abbey Road recording, very precise and quirky sound -- the way XTC should be. I've takein in a $7000 Koetsu Onyx cartridge (male jewelery I know, Its one of my dodgy deals) which leeches off nuances and intonations you would not believe...

Funny really - XTC started as proto-punk modernists and became english folk baladeers. Swindon's finest I reckon.

Ask to have it played on the Übersystem next time you visit. I promise you for a treat.