Nonsuch (album)

Nonsuch
Studio album by XTC
Released	27 April 1992
Recorded	July–October 1991 at Chipping Norton Recording Studios, Oxfordshire, England
Genre	Rock, baroque pop
Length	63:29
Label	Virgin Records
Producer	Gus Dudgeon
XTC chronology
Oranges & Lemons (1989) Nonsuch (1992) Apple Venus Volume 1 (1999)
Singles from Nonsuch
""The Disappointed"" Released: March 1992 ""The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead"" Released: May 1992 ""Wrapped In Grey"" Released: September 1992

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	(B+) [2]
Q	[3]
Q	(1997) [4]
Robert Christgau	[5]
Rolling Stone	[6]

Nonsuch is the eleventh studio album by XTC, released on 27 April 1992. In a 1992 MTV interview, Andy Partridge said that he had selected the name of the album after encountering a drawing of Nonsuch Palace and, thinking that the archaic word "Nonsuch" meant "does not exist" rather than, as he later learned, "unique". In addition, the album title may have derived from a couplet in the lyrics of the final song of Oranges and Lemons (their previous studio album) "Chalkhills and Children":

I'm skating over thin ice
while some nonesuch net holds me aloft

The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album. "The Disappointed" was nominated for an Ivor Novello award. The album reached No. 1 on the Rolling Stone College album chart and No. 97 on the Billboard album chart in the U.S.

The album produced three singles: "The Disappointed" (which reached No. 33 on the UK singles chart), "The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead" (which reached No. 71 on the UK singles chart) and "Wrapped In Grey" (which, when withdrawn by Virgin, prompted the band to go on strike).

Two promotional videos were made. A UK-only video for "The Disappointed" (the band also did a lip-sync performance of this song on Pebble Mill at One) and "The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead," which received much airplay on MTV that summer.

The band performed "Books Are Burning" live with drummer Dave Mattacks on The Late Show on BBC-TV in April 1992.

The album cover is a picture of Nonsuch Palace in Surrey, from the book A Short History of Ewell and Nonsuch, by Cloudesley S. Willis. The palace no longer exists, but its former grounds included the present-day Nonsuch Park between Ewell and Cheam.

Track listing

UK CD: CDV 2699

All songs written and composed by Andy Partridge, except where noted. 

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead"		5:02
2.	"My Bird Performs"	Colin Moulding	3:51
3.	"Dear Madam Barnum"		2:48
4.	"Humble Daisy"		3:36
5.	"The Smartest Monkeys"	Moulding	4:18
6.	"The Disappointed"		3:23
7.	"Holly Up on Poppy"		3:04
8.	"Crocodile"		3:56
9.	"Rook"		3:47
10.	"Omnibus"		3:20
11.	"That Wave"		3:34
12.	"Then She Appeared"		3:51
13.	"War Dance"	Moulding	3:22
14.	"Wrapped in Grey"		3:46
15.	"The Ugly Underneath"		3:50
16.	"Bungalow"	Moulding	2:49
17.	"Books Are Burning"		4:52

Personnel

Musicians

• Andy Partridge – vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, harmonica, tambourine, percussion, Shaker, keyboard programming, bell tree
• Colin Moulding – vocals, bass guitar, electric guitar, acoustic guitar
• Dave Gregory – electric guitar, electric 12-string guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, synthesisers, Hammond organ, backing vocals, church bell
• Dave Mattacks – drums, tambourine, drum & sitar samples, shaker, percussion

Additional musicians

• Gus Dudgeon – "ringmaster," tambourine, percussion, chorus
• Guy Barker – flugelhorns, trumpet
• Florence Lovegrove – viola
• Rose Hull – cello
• Stuart Gordon – violin
• Gina Griffin – violin
• Neville Farmer – chorus

Production

String and brass arrangements by Dave Gregory, except "Rook" and "Omnibus" by Andy Partridge and "War Dance" by Colin Moulding. Strings on "The Disappointed" arranged by Andy Partridge and Dave Gregory.

Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1992	The Billboard 200	97

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1992	"Dear Madam Barnum"	Billboard Modern Rock Tracks	18
1992	"The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead"	Billboard Modern Rock Tracks	1

References

1. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Review: XTC - Nonsuch". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. http://www.allmusic.com/album/nonsuch-r22380/review. Retrieved 18 June 2011. 
2. ^ Wyman, Bill. "Review: XTC - Nonsuch". Entertainment Weekly (Time Inc.). Archived from the original on 7 September 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080907130245/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,310412,00.html. Retrieved 18 June 2011. 
3. ^ Hepworth, David. "Review: XTC - Nonsuch". Q (Bauer Media Group). Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070927224004/http://www.q4music.com/nav?page=q4music.artist.review&fixture_review=120160&resource=120160&fixture_artist=145441. Retrieved 18 June 2011. 
4. ^ Quantick, David. "Review: XTC - Nonsuch". Q (Bauer Media Group). http://chalkhills.org/articles/qTheMusic.html#q9702. Retrieved 18 June 2011. 
5. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Review: XTC - Nonsuch". Robert Christgau. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=xtc. Retrieved 18 June 2011. 
6. ^ Azerrad, Michael. "Review: XTC - Nonsuch". Rolling Stone (Jann Wenner). Archived from the original on 17 August 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070817201411/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/xtc/albums/album/174538/review/5943455. Retrieved 18 June 2011.