Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2) is the fourteenth studio album by the English rock band XTC, released 23 May 2000 on Cooking Vinyl/Idea Records. Defined by bandmember Andy Partridge as the "eclectric" counterpart to 1999's Apple Venus Volume 1, it consists of rock-based material largely written between 1994 and 1996.[9] Wasp Star reached number 40 on the UK Albums Chart. In 2002, the group released an instrumental version of the album entitled Waspstrumental. XTC dissolved in 2006, leaving Wasp Star their last studio album to date.
| Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 23 May 2000 | |||
| Recorded | April–December 1999 | |||
| Studio | Idea Studios, Wiltshire and Chipping Norton Recording Studios, Oxfordshire, England | |||
| Length | 50:54 | |||
| Label | Cooking Vinyl | |||
| Producer | Nick Davis | |||
| XTC chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2) | ||||
| ||||
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 75/100[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| NME | 7/10[3] |
| Pitchfork | 8.0/10[4] |
| PopMatters | 9/10[5] |
| Q | [6] |
| Robert Christgau |  [7] |
| Rolling Stone | [8] |
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Andy Partridge, except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Playground" | 4:17 | |
| 2. | "Stupidly Happy" | 4:13 | |
| 3. | "In Another Life" | Colin Moulding | 3:35 |
| 4. | "My Brown Guitar" | 3:51 | |
| 5. | "Boarded Up" | Moulding | 3:23 |
| 6. | "I'm the Man Who Murdered Love" | 3:44 | |
| 7. | "We're All Light" | 4:39 | |
| 8. | "Standing in for Joe" | Moulding | 3:42 |
| 9. | "Wounded Horse" | 4:11 | |
| 10. | "You and the Clouds Will Still be Beautiful" | 4:18 | |
| 11. | "Church of Women" | 5:06 | |
| 12. | "The Wheel and the Maypole" | 5:55 | |
| Total length: | 50:54 | ||
Personnel
editXTC
- Colin Moulding – vocals, bass guitar, harmonica on "In Another Life", guitar on "Boarded Up"
- Andy Partridge – vocals, guitar
Additional personnel
- Caroline Dale – cello
- Nick Davis – keyboards
- Simon Gardner – flugelhorn
- Patrick Kiernan – violin
- Peter Lale – viola
- Holly Partridge – backing vocals on "Playground"
- Prairie Prince – drums (2–4, 12)
- Chuck Sabo – drums (1, 6–11)
- Kate St. John – oboe
- Matthew Vaughan – programming
- Gavyn Wright – violin
Production
- Haydn Bendall – recording engineering
- Nick Davis – producer, mixing, recording engineering
- Simon Dawson – mix engineer
- Alan Douglas – recording engineering
- Barry Hammond – recording engineering
- Bob Ludwig – mastering
Charts
edit| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart[10] | 40 |
| US Billboard 200[11] | 108 |
References
edit- ^ "XTC - Wasp Star (Apple Venus, Volume 2)". Metacritic. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2000). "Review: XTC - Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2)". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
- ^ "Review: XTC - Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2)". NME. 12 September 2005. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
- ^ Hooker, Zach (23 May 2000). "Review: XTC - Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2)". Pitchfork. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
- ^ Schabe, Patrick. "Review: XTC - Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2)". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 17 May 2008. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
- ^ Aizlewood, John. "Review: XTC - Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2)". Q. Bauer Media Group. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
- ^ Christgau, Robert. "Review: XTC - Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2)". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
- ^ Moon, Tom. "Review: XTC - Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2)". Rolling Stone. Jann Wenner. Archived from the original on 11 April 2009. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
- ^ "XTC: Take Another Bite..." Lexicon. No. 11. 1999.
- ^ "XTC - Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2)". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
- ^ "XTC - Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
External links
edit- Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2) on Chalkhills
- Wasp Star at Discogs (list of releases)
- Wasp Star at MusicBrainz (list of releases)