Oranges and Lemons (album)

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Oranges & Lemons
Studio album by XTC
Released	February 27, 1989
Recorded	1988, Ocean Way Recording, Los Angeles
Genre	Pop rock
Length	60:50
Label	Virgin Records
Producer(s)	Paul Fox
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Robert Christgau (B-) link Rolling Stone link
XTC chronology
Skylarking (1986)	Oranges & Lemons (1989)	Nonsuch (1992)

Oranges and Lemons is an album by the British band XTC. The name of the album may have been taken from the lyrics to Skylarking's "Ballet for a Rainy Day."

The band was sent to Los Angeles to record the album, and Paul Fox was retained to produce it. As it was his first producing job, Fox tried to be easy to work with. The album was lushly produced with multiple overdubs on almost every track, yielding the psychedelic feel. The album didn't meet with significant approval by XTC, but the band was under pressure to create a hit single and the label liked it, so they didn't argue much. As part of the promotional materials for the album, XTC produced a quasi-puppet show called The Road To Oranges And Lemons making fun of the entire history of the album, from a meeting with Virgin Records head Richard Branson through the initial meeting with a glad-handing Paul Fox, and the actual recording.

Contents 1 Album information 2 Track listing 3 Personnel 3.1 Additional personnel 4 Charts

[edit] Album information

The album produced a minor hit, "The Mayor of Simpleton," the only XTC song ever to top the US charts. The album was a commercial success, reaching the charts in both the US and Britain. "The Mayor of Simpleton" video also saw significant airplay on MTV, especially on the alternative music show "120 Minutes."

The album produced three hit singles: "The Mayor of Simpleton" - reaching No. 1 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, No. 72 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 46 on the UK singles chart. "King for a Day" which reached No. 10 on the US alternative / modern rock charts and "The Loving" which was released in August 1989 in the UK. The album reached No. 1 on the US college / alternative album chart, No. 44 on the US Billboard Top 100 chart and No. 28 on the UK album chart.

To promote the album and appease the stage-shy Andy Partridge the band went on a two-week acoustic radio-station tour of the US, on which they performed a few songs from the album and a few medleys of earlier hits. The tour commenced on May 15, 1989 in Boston and ended May 31, 1989 at Eastern Sound Studios in Toronto before a live studio audience of two hundred people.

Also of note: "King For a Day," which the band performed on Late Night With David Letterman on June 30, 1989; "Pink Thing," which was a classic XTC double-entendre; "Chalkhills and Children," which lead singer Andy Partridge considers one of his favorite compositions.

The album cover is directly inspired by a 1965 WOR-FM 98.7 radio advert poster by Milton Glaser.

The British edition of the Oranges and Lemons album was available as a limited edition 3 MiniCD box set (CDVT2581).

[edit] Track listing

All songs written by Andy Partridge, except where noted.

1. "Garden of Earthly Delights" – 5:03
2. "The Mayor of Simpleton" – 3:58
3. "King for a Day" (Colin Moulding) – 3:37
4. "Here Comes President Kill Again" – 3:35
5. "The Loving" – 4:11
6. "Poor Skeleton Steps Out" – 3:34
7. "One of the Millions" (Moulding) – 4:35
8. "Scarecrow People" – 4:13
9. "Merely a Man" – 3:27
10. "Cynical Days" (Moulding) – 3:17
11. "Across This Antheap" – 4:51
12. "Hold Me My Daddy" – 3:47
13. "Pink Thing" – 3:48
14. "Miniature Sun" – 3:57
15. "Chalkhills and Children" – 4:56

[edit] Personnel

• Colin Moulding – vocals, bass
• Andy Partridge – guitar, vocals
• Dave Gregory – guitars, vocals, keyboards
• Pat Mastelotto – drums

[edit] Additional personnel

• Mark Isham – horns
• Paul Fox – keyboards
• Franne Golde – backing vocals

[edit] Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1989	The Billboard 200	44

Single

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1989	"King for a Day"	Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	38
1989	"King for a Day"	Billboard Modern Rock Tracks	11
1989	"The Mayor of Simpleton"	Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	15
1989	"The Mayor of Simpleton"	Billboard Modern Rock Tracks	1

XTC
Andy Partridge | Colin Moulding Dave Gregory | Terry Chambers | Barry Andrews
Discography
Studio albums White Music (1978) | Go 2 (1978) | Drums and Wires (1979) | Black Sea (1980) | English Settlement (1982) | Mummer (1983) | The Big Express (1984) | Skylarking (1986) | Oranges and Lemons (1989) | Nonsuch (1992) | Apple Venus Volume 1 (1999) | Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2) (2000) The Dukes of Stratosphear releases: 25 O'Clock (1985) | Psonic Psunspot (1987) | Chips from the Chocolate Fireball (1987) Compilations, instrumentals, demos, live and tribute albums: Take Away / The Lure of Salvage (1980) | Waxworks: Some Singles 1977-1982 (1982) | Beeswax: Some B-Sides 1977-1982 (1982) | The Compact XTC (1987) | Explode Together: The Dub Experiments 78-80 (1990) | Rag and Bone Buffet: Rare Cuts and Leftovers (1990) | BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert (1992) | Drums and Wireless: BBC Radio Sessions 77-89 (1994) | A Testimonial Dinner: The Songs of XTC (1995) | Fossil Fuel: The XTC Singles 1977-92 (1996) | Upsy Daisy Assortment (1997) | Transistor Blast: The Best of the BBC Sessions (1998) | Homespun (1999) | Homegrown (2001) | Coat of Many Cupboards (2002) | Instruvenus (2002) | Waspstrumental (2002) | Apple Box 2005 Fuzzy Warbles albums: Fuzzy Warbles Volume 1 (2002) | Fuzzy Warbles Volume 2 (2002) | Fuzzy Warbles Volume 3 (2003) | Fuzzy Warbles Volume 4 | (2003) | Fuzzy Warbles Volume 5 (2004) | Fuzzy Warbles Volume 6 (2004) | Fuzzy Warbles Volume 7 (2006) | Fuzzy Warbles Volume 8 (2006) | Hinges (2006)
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