Editing XTC (section)

===''Apple Venus'' and ''Wasp Star''===
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| quote = For the orchestral ''[[Apple Venus]]'', the budget allowed a day of recording at Abbey Road [with] a 40-piece band [that failed to] match the mathematical precision of [the arrangements] [...] The [recordings had to be sampled], cut and pasted together to achieve the "[[Vaughan Williams]] with a hard-on" sound required.
| source = —Paul Morrish of ''[[The Independent]]'', 1999<ref name="Morrish1999">{{cite news|last1=Morrish|first1=John|title=Arts: The agony and the XTC|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/arts-the-agony-and-the-xtc-1071947.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/arts-the-agony-and-the-xtc-1071947.html |archive-date=7 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|location=London|date=20 February 1999}}{{cbignore}}</ref> 
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By late 1997, Partridge and Moulding had amassed a large stockpile of material.<ref name="muzik2000"/> The former's songs were an elaboration on the more orchestral style he developed with ''Nonsuch'' tracks "Omnibus", "[[Wrapped in Grey]]", and "Rook".<ref name="RB2002"/> Moulding felt that "something a bit different" was appropriate for the band at this juncture, and shared Partridge's desire for a cohesive LP similar to soundtracks such as ''[[My Fair Lady]]'' and "stuff that Burt Bacharach wrote for various [films]".<ref name="muzik2000">{{cite web|last1=Tobin|first1=Alex|title=XTC Interview with Colin Moulding|url=http://www.kindamuzik.net/achtergrond/xtc/xtc/496/|website=Kinda Muzik|date=29 May 2000|access-date=20 September 2017}}</ref> Partridge thought the new songs were "some of the best stuff, if not the best stuff, ever. It's even more intensely passionate than before."<ref name="Mojo1999" />

The group elected to divide the album into two parts: one of rock songs, and the other of orchestral/acoustic songs augmented by a 40-piece symphony.<ref name="Chicago2000" /> They found a label, [[Cooking Vinyl]], and a producer, [[Haydn Bendall]], who had engineered XTC's debut EP back in 1977 and had significant experience in recording orchestras. [[Prairie Prince]], who drummed on ''Skylarking'', returned for the sessions. It soon became apparent that the band did not have the funds to record all the material they had.<ref name="Mojo1999" /> Gregory, Moulding, and Bendall wanted to reduce the project to one disc, but Partridge insisted on spreading it over two LPs.<ref name="Chicago2000" /> It was decided that they release one album with the orchestral portions ("volume 1") and leave the rock songs for its follow-up ("volume 2").<ref name="Mojo1999" /> A session was booked at Abbey Road, but the recording was rushed, lasting one day, and had to be edited over a three-month period.<ref name="Dom2000" />

Gregory quit the band whilst in the middle of sessions due to personal issues and discord with his bandmates.<ref name="Chicago2000" /><!---  Moulding was not present for what he called an "enormous row" between Gregory and Partridge.<ref name="RundgrenRadio-Colin"/> ---> Partridge told journalists that Gregory left because he grew impatient with the recording of the orchestral material and wanted to quickly move on to the second project, which would have consisted of rock songs.<ref name="Chicago2000" /> He attributed Gregory's frustration to diabetic mood swings,<ref name="Mojo1999" /> as did Moulding.<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Randall|first1=Mac|title=XTC: The Masters Return|magazine=Launch|date=4 March 1999}}</ref> Gregory denied that his leaving pertained to "musical differences", and that it was moreso "personal problems" related to Partridge.<ref name="RundgrenRadio-Gregory"/>

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|title="River of Orchids" (1999)
|description= ''[[Apple Venus Volume 1]]'' relied almost entirely on orchestral or acoustic instruments.<ref name="Zupko">{{cite web|last1=Zupko|first1=Sarah|date=1999|title=XTC, Apple Venus Volume 1 / Transistor Blast|url=http://www.popmatters.com/review/xtc-transistor-apple/|website=PopMatters|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604162328/http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/xtc-transistor-apple/|archive-date=4 June 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>
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Released in February 1999, ''[[Apple Venus Volume 1]]'' was met with critical acclaim and moderate sales.<ref name="Sailed2006" /> It had minimal promotion.<ref name="Mojo1999" /> Comparing the album to the group's earlier work, ''Pitchfork'' reviewer Zach Hooker wrote: "''Apple Venus'' finds them picking up pretty much where they left off. Or maybe even a little bit before they left off: this record bridges the gap between the ambitiously poppy ''Oranges and Lemons'' and the pastoral ''Skylarking''. ... The music is built on simple phrases, but the relationships between those phrases becomes tremendously complex."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/8835-apple-venus-volume-one/ |title=XTC: ''Apple Venus, Volume One'' |website=Pitchfork.com |date=23 February 1999 |access-date=16 June 2011 |last=Hooker |first=Zach}}</ref> In contrast, the companion album ''[[Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2)]]'' (2000), consisting of more guitar-based material, was assumed as one of the band's "weakest" albums.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Dahlen|first1=Chris|title=Apple Box|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/9231-apple-box/|website=Pitchfork|date=21 July 2006|access-date=20 September 2017}}</ref> Upon release, its British chart peak was higher than ''Volume 1'', at number 40 in the UK,<ref name="OCC" /> while in the US it was lower, at number 108.<ref name="Billboard200" /> Partridge believed that some parts of the album was when "the [artistic] slope started to go down".<ref name="Machine09"/> {{clear left}}