Skylarking

Skylarking is the eighth studio album by the English rock band XTC, released 27 October 1986 on Virgin Records. Produced by American musician Todd Rundgren, it is a loose concept album about a nonspecific cycle, such as a day, a year, the seasons, or a life. The title refers to a type of bird, as well as the Royal Navy term "skylarking", which means "fooling around". It became one of XTC's best-known albums and is often regarded as one of their finest albums. Like XTC's Dukes of Stratosphear side project, Skylarking was heavily influenced by the psychedelic music of the 1960s. Most of the album was recorded at Rundgren's Utopia Sound Studio in Woodstock, New York, with some work undertaken in San Francisco at the Tubes' studio; Tubes drummer Prairie Prince also drummed on the album. Rundgren played a large role in the album's sound design and drum programming, providing the band with orchestral arrangements and an assortment of equipment. However, the sessions were fraught with tension, especially between Rundgren and bandleader Andy Partridge, and numerous disagreements arose over drum patterns, song selections, and other details. From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skylarking) under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)