Apple Venus Volume 1

Apple Venus Volume 1
Vinyl sleeve art; CD cover features the same illustration rotated left by 90 degrees
Studio album by XTC
Released	2 March 1999 (1999-03-02)
Recorded	January–August 1998
Genre	Pop[1] symphonic pop[2] orchestral pop[3] alternative pop[4]
Length	50:09
Label	Idea Cooking Vinyl
Producer	Haydn Bendall Nick Davis
XTC chronology
Nonsuch (1992) Apple Venus Volume 1 (1999) Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2) (2000)
Singles from Apple Venus Volume 1
"Easter Theatre" Released: 2 April 1999 "I'd Like That" Released: 14 June 1999

Apple Venus Volume 1 is the thirteenth studio album by the English rock band XTC, released on March 2, 1999. It was the first on the band's own Idea Records label, distributed through Cooking Vinyl in the United Kingdom and TVT Records in the United States. The album relies heavily on strings, acoustic guitars and keyboards, expanding upon the more orchestral approach developed on the group's previous LP Nonsuch (1992), whilst its lyrics reflect themes of paganism, middle age, romance and rebirth. Apple Venus Volume 1 was met with critical acclaim and moderate commercial success, peaking at number 42 on the UK Albums Chart and number 106 on the Billboard 200 in the US.

Bandleader Andy Partridge, who wrote most of Apple Venus, characterised it as "orchustic" (a portmanteau of "orchestral" and "acoustic"). He meant for the album title to refer to "a beautiful woman". The album effectively marked a comeback for XTC, who spent half the decade on strike against their former label Virgin Records. Apple Venus was originally planned as a double album, but because the group did not have enough money to record all the material they had stockpiled, they elected to split the more rock-oriented songs as "volume two" (released one year later as Wasp Star).

The making of Volume 1 was fraught with personal conflicts, budgetary concerns and numerous false starts. Most of the orchestral portions were rush-recorded in one day with a 40-piece symphony at Abbey Road Studios, and had to be edited over a months-spanning period. It was the group's last album with guitarist and keyboardist Dave Gregory, who departed during the sessions due to frustrations with Partridge. By the time of its release, Partridge no longer viewed XTC as a band, and preferred it to be known as a "brand" covering his and Colin Moulding's music.

In late 1999, XTC released Homespun, a version of Apple Venus consisting of its demos. This was followed in 2002 with Instruvenus, containing the album's backing tracks. In 2003, Mojo ranked Apple Venus at number 47 in its list of the "Top 50 Eccentric Albums".^[5] The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.^[6]