Skylarking is the ninth studio album by XTC. It was released on October 27, 1986 by Virgin Records. Produced by Todd Rundgren, it is a loose concept album about a nonspecific cycle, such as a day, a year, the seasons, or life. The title of the album refers to a bird called skylark, as well as the Royal Navy term "skylarking", which means "fooling around". It became one of XTC's best-known albums and is generally regarded as their finest work.
Like XTC's previous Dukes of Stratosphear side project, Skylarking was heavily influenced by the music of the 1960s. In 2010, it was discovered that a wiring error made during the mastering process caused the album to have a "thin" sound. The problem was corrected on subsequent remasters.
Track listing[]
Original vinyl[]
| Side one | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | ||||||||
| 1. | "Summer's Cauldron" | 3:19 | ||||||||
| 2. | "Grass" | 3:05 | ||||||||
| 3. | "The Meeting Place" | 3:14 | ||||||||
| 4. | "That's Really Super, Supergirl" | 3:21 | ||||||||
| 5. | "Ballet For A Rainy Day" | 2:50 | ||||||||
| 6. | "1000 Umbrellas" | 3:44 | ||||||||
| 7. | "Season Cycle" | 3:21 | ||||||||
| Side two | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | ||||||||
| 8. | "Earn Enough for Us" | 2:54 | ||||||||
| 9. | "Big Day" | 3:32 | ||||||||
| 10. | "Another Satellite" | 4:15 | ||||||||
| 11. | "Mermaid Smiled" | 2:26 | ||||||||
| 12. | "The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul" | 3:24 | ||||||||
| 13. | "Dying" | 2:31 | ||||||||
| 14. | "Sacrificial Bonfire" | 3:49 | ||||||||
2016 expanded edition[]
| 2016 stereo mix | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | ||||||||
| 1. | "Summer's Cauldron" | 3:20 | ||||||||
| 2. | "Grass" | 3:07 | ||||||||
| 3. | "The Meeting Place" | 3:16 | ||||||||
| 4. | "That's Really Super, Supergirl" | 3:23 | ||||||||
| 5. | "Ballet For A Rainy Day" | 3:07 | ||||||||
| 6. | "1000 Umbrellas" | 3:29 | ||||||||
| 7. | "Season Cycle" | 3:31 | ||||||||
| 8. | "Earn Enough for Us" | 2:58 | ||||||||
| 9. | "Big Day" | 3:33 | ||||||||
| 10. | "Another Satellite" | 4:26 | ||||||||
| 11. | "Mermaid Smiled" | 2:29 | ||||||||
| 12. | "The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul" | 3:27 | ||||||||
| 13. | "Dear God" | 3:40 | ||||||||
| 14. | "Dying" | 2:35 | ||||||||
| 15. | "Sacrificial Bonfire" | 3:49 | ||||||||
| Bonus 2016 mixes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | ||||||||
| 16. | "Extrovert" | 3:40 | ||||||||
| 17. | "Let's Make a Den" | 2:19 | ||||||||
| 18. | "The Troubles" | 3:30 | ||||||||
| 19. | "Little Lighthouse" | 3:22 | ||||||||