31. Earn Enough for Us
Artist: XTC
Album: Skylarking (1986)
Todd's role(s): producer, engineer, backing vocals
Writer(s): Andy Partridge
The song: "Earn Enough for Us" was not released as a single, but I remember hearing it played on "modern rock" stations in the '90s and it's my favorite track from
Skylarking, which many people consider to be XTC's best album. It's a brisk slice of power pop that sounds like a Rubber Soul track with the production techniques of 20 years later. In particular, Colin Moulding's melodic bass parts make the kind of contributions to this song that Paul's did to Beatles songs back in the day. Interestingly, a dispute over the bass part between Moulding and singer/songwriter/guitarist Andy Partridge led Moulding to briefly quit the band during these sessions. The bright arrangement, with all kinds of interesting guitar and percussion touches woven in throughout, contrasts with the lyrics about a man who thinks he's letting his wife down because he's stuck in a low-paying job. Partridge said it was inspired by his job in a paint shop before XTC was signed, but not having enough money was a recurring theme in his lyrics because XTC had appallingly bad contracts with its label and management and they were broke for much of their existence.
Note: This is a side 2, track 1.
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The album: Skylarking is often heralded as XTC's masterpiece, and has made Rolling Stone's and Pitchfork's lists of greatest albums of the '80s. But I don't really like it that much. I find a lot of it sterile and forced. In particular, I can't stand its most famous song, "Dear God," which I find cloying, obvious and cringe. I prefer XTC's first five albums and think they got less interesting after they stopped playing live (which was an understandable decision given Partridge's stage fright) and started obsessively tinkering in the studio. And I think some of its reception at the time came from it being an obvious throwback to the '60s, particularly the Beatles and the Beach Boys, when the trends of the day were very much not about that.
While
Skylarking is one of Todd Rundgren's best-known and most-renowned productions, it's not typical of his work at all. As I mentioned in the introductory essay, one of the hallmarks of Rundgren as a producer and engineer was that he was able to get the sounds he and his client wanted quickly, and that he wanted the performances to be as spontaneous as possible. Not much of that happened on this record, which was constructed bit by bit on separate coasts over 3 excruciating months. Part of the issue was that XTC lacked a drummer (Terry Chambers left after the band stopped playing live), so Rundgren recruited Prairie Prince from his previous client the Tubes, who recorded his parts on the West Coast after the rest of the album was recorded at Rundgren's studio in upstate New York. Part of the issue was that in Partridge, Rundgren encountered someone who was as obsessive and domineering as him, and often they did not see eye to eye.
Rundgren got the job because XTC's label Virgin Records wanted them to work with an American producer to make their sound "less English," and when a list of possibilities were provided, XTC guitarist/keyboardist Dave Gregory chose Rundgren because he was a fan of his solo work; Partridge and Moulding were not too familiar with him beforehand, but Partridge was convinced when Gregory told him that Rundgren had produced one of his favorite records, New York Dolls' self-titled debut. In contrast to some of his other production jobs, Rundgren did not need to serve as a "songcraft agitator" because Partridge and Moulding came in to the process with a bunch of songs already written. But after hearing the demos, Rundgren decided they worked as a concept album and came up with a sequence. Partridge, who was used to having complete control over XTC's albums no matter who was credited as producer, chafed at that, setting the tone for their many disputes. "Essentially, it was kind of preordained by me what the record was going to be, which was something they never endured before," Rundgren told Albumism. "I think [Colin and Dave] trusted me, but Andy never did."
Partridge also felt Rundgren was too sarcastic and belittling when he didn't like something, and he did not care for Rundgren's insistence that little mistakes not be fixed in order to preserve spontaneity. A common refrain from Rundgren during these sessions was "Andy, it won't necessarily be 'better' – it'll just be different." Partridge described the process as "two Hitlers in the same bunker."
The end result was enthusiastically received, however, and Rundgren and the band members have praised each other in subsequent interviews. Rolling Stone called it "the most inspired and satisfying piece of Beatle-esque pop since ... well, since the Beatles." Creem called it "a masterpiece." And it produced an unlikely hit in "Dear God," which was left off the first version of the album due to concerns about running time and controversial lyrics, but which was embraced by DJs when it was released as the B-side to lead single "Grass". In keeping with Virgin's push for the band to sound "less English," the album sold better in the U.S. than it did in the U.K.
The album has been remixed twice by Steven Wilson, once in 2016 and once in 2024.
I will begrudgingly link Todd's own version of "Dear God," which he covered on the (re)Production album.
https://open.spotify.com/track/5H6Cjp7dpNcn4txfjLVLOR?si=e8bfa1bbb5414dd7
Note: Some people consider XTC a new wave band, but they have always resisted being pigeonholed.
You Might Also Like: "Season Cycle" is a song that draws comparisons to the Beach Boys and actually earns them.
https://open.spotify.com/track/5eXHvRvEiq1cwgFUc1T1mG?si=9388859ebe2046b9
At #30, a song from one of the two albums that is claimed to be the first produced by Rundgren.
That part was an accident. Mostly just going with song title and Radiohead sample for the track.
