Oranges and Lemons (album)
Encyclopedia
Oranges & Lemons is the tenth studio album
by the British band XTC
, released in 1989. The name of the album may have been taken from the lyrics to Skylarking's
"Ballet for a Rainy Day," which in turn may have come from the old English nursery rhyme
:
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.
", the only XTC song ever to hit the US Hot 100 charts. The album was a commercial success, reaching the charts in both the US and Britain. "The Mayor of Simpleton" video, which resembled the opening credits of a The Avengers
-type TV show, 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 15 May 1989 in Boston and ended on 31 May 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 30 June 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
.
gold-plated "Ultradisc" CD remaster (UDCD 682) was released in 1997.
On the 2001 remastered edition (CDVX 2581) "Garden of Earthly Delights" is a new edit (removing the brief gap between the fade-in section and the first verse), "King for a Day" is an alternate mix (with more low-end information and an emphasised woodblock part) and "One of the Millions" has a shorter introduction (omitting the first two rings of the bell in the fade-in section).
Single
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by the British band XTC
XTC
XTC were a New Wave band from Swindon, England, active between 1976 and 2005. The band enjoyed some chart success, including the UK and Canadian hits "Making Plans for Nigel" and "Senses Working Overtime" , but are perhaps even better known for their long-standing critical success.- Early years:...
, released in 1989. The name of the album may have been taken from the lyrics to Skylarking's
Skylarking
Skylarking is XTC's eighth studio album, released on 27 October 1986 and produced by American musician Todd Rundgren. Skylarking is a "life-in-a-day" semi-concept album which displayed songwriting and arranging heavily influenced by The Beatles, The Beach Boys and The Kinks...
"Ballet for a Rainy Day," which in turn may have come from the old English nursery rhyme
Oranges and Lemons
"Oranges and Lemons" is an English nursery rhyme and singing game which refers to the bells of several churches, all within or close to the City of London. It is listed in the Roud Folk Song Index as #3190.-Lyrics:Common modern versions include:...
:
Orange and lemon
Raincoats roll and tumble
Together, just liked fruit tipped from a tray
The band was sent to Los Angeles to record the album, and Paul Fox
Paul Fox (producer)
Paul Fox is an American record producer, who is best known for producing such bands as Faker; The Green Children; Björk; Gene Loves Jezebel; 10,000 Maniacs; XTC; Phish; Sunfall Festival; Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians; The Sugarcubes; Too Much Joy; They Might Be Giants; Edwin McCain; Semisonic...
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
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
head Richard Branson
Richard Branson
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin Group of more than 400 companies....
through the initial meeting with a glad-handing Paul Fox, and the actual recording.
Album information
The album produced a minor hit, "The Mayor of SimpletonThe Mayor of Simpleton
"The Mayor of Simpleton" is a song by English band XTC released as the first single from their album Oranges & Lemons.The song reached No. 72 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and No. 1 on its Modern Rock chart, becoming the band's best performing single in the United States.-Charts:...
", the only XTC song ever to hit the US Hot 100 charts. The album was a commercial success, reaching the charts in both the US and Britain. "The Mayor of Simpleton" video, which resembled the opening credits of a The Avengers
The Avengers (TV series)
The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...
-type TV show, also saw significant airplay on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
, especially on the alternative music show "120 Minutes
120 Minutes
120 Minutes is a television show in the United States dedicated to alternative music, originally airing on MTV from 1986 to 2000, and then on MTV's sister channel MTV2 from 2001 to 2003....
."
The album produced three hit singles: "The Mayor of Simpleton" - reaching No. 1 on the US Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
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 15 May 1989 in Boston and ended on 31 May 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
Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman is a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC that was created and hosted by David Letterman. It premiered in 1982 as the first incarnation of the Late Night franchise and went off the air in 1993, after Letterman left NBC and moved to Late Show on CBS. Late Night...
on 30 June 1989; "Pink Thing," which was a classic XTC double-entendre; "Chalkhills and Children," which lead singer Andy Partridge
Andy Partridge
Andrew John "Andy" Partridge is an English singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He has been known as Sir John Johns and Melchior and rose to fame as a founding member, guitarist and chief songwriter of the pop/new wave band, XTC. He lives in Swindon, Wiltshire, where he was raised.Partridge also...
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
Milton Glaser
Milton Glaser is a graphic designer, best known for the I Love New York logo, his "Bob Dylan" poster, the "DC bullet" logo used by DC Comics from 1977 to 2005, and the "Brooklyn Brewery" logo. He also founded New York Magazine with Clay Felker in 1968.-Biography:Glaser was born into a Hungarian...
.
UK CD: CDV 2581
Oranges & Lemons was also available as a limited edition 3-MiniCD box set (CDVT2581), with a slightly different running order. A Mobile Fidelity Sound LabMobile Fidelity Sound Lab
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab is a company known as an innovator in the production of audiophile-quality sound recordings. All releases are advertised as being produced from the first-generation analog master recordings, and using proprietary technology, which MFSL claims allows for improved sound...
gold-plated "Ultradisc" CD remaster (UDCD 682) was released in 1997.
On the 2001 remastered edition (CDVX 2581) "Garden of Earthly Delights" is a new edit (removing the brief gap between the fade-in section and the first verse), "King for a Day" is an alternate mix (with more low-end information and an emphasised woodblock part) and "One of the Millions" has a shorter introduction (omitting the first two rings of the bell in the fade-in section).
Personnel
- Colin MouldingColin MouldingColin Ivor Moulding is a bassist, songwriter and vocalist. He is a founding member of the band XTC. Though less prolific than bandmate Andy Partridge, Moulding wrote many of the group's most popular songs, including their first three UK hit singles: "Life Begins At The Hop", "Making Plans For...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Andy PartridgeAndy PartridgeAndrew John "Andy" Partridge is an English singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He has been known as Sir John Johns and Melchior and rose to fame as a founding member, guitarist and chief songwriter of the pop/new wave band, XTC. He lives in Swindon, Wiltshire, where he was raised.Partridge also...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocals - Dave Gregory – guitars, vocals, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
- Pat MastelottoPat MastelottoPat Mastelotto is a rock drummer who has worked with Mr. Mister and King Crimson, amongst others. For King Crimson he initially formed part of the "double trio" lineup, joining Bill Bruford on drums...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Additional personnel
- Mark IshamMark IshamMark Isham is an American trumpeter, synthesist, and film composer. He works in a variety of genres, including jazz, electronic, and film.-Life and career:...
– hornsHorn sectionIn music, a horn section can refer to several groups of musicians. It can refer to the musicians in a symphony orchestra who play the horn . In a British-style brass band it refers to the tenor horn players. In popular music, it can also refer to a small group of wind instrumentalists who augment a... - Paul FoxPaul Fox (producer)Paul Fox is an American record producer, who is best known for producing such bands as Faker; The Green Children; Björk; Gene Loves Jezebel; 10,000 Maniacs; XTC; Phish; Sunfall Festival; Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians; The Sugarcubes; Too Much Joy; They Might Be Giants; Edwin McCain; Semisonic...
– keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... - Franne GoldeFranne GoldeFranne Golde is a songwriter, musician, singer and writer. Her songs have appeared on more than 100 million records worldwideFranne has received BMI awards for singles with The Pussycat Dolls , Randy Travis’s "A Man Ain't Made of Stone", The Kinleys' "Somebody's Out There Watching" from the Touched...
– backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
Charts
Album| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | The Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... 200 |
44 |
| 1989 | The UK Top 40 | 28 |
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 |