XTC – Skylarking

Single LP reissue with all 15 songs. The first 1980s versions didn’t include Dear God and after it was a hit, Mermaid Smiled was dropped on some later versions to include Dear God. XTC’s frothy, beatle-esque concept album about birth, death, and the passing of the seasons is hardly soft-headed: its melodic inventiveness and lush orchestrations supports bitterness (That’s Really Super, Supergirl), displacement (The Man who Sailed Around His Soul), and agnostic tirade (Dear God) as often as it does the pleasures of sun and shower. The greatest achievement of XTC’s post- Drums and Wires career, Skylarking is a must-have for the first days of spring.