Mummer
	Produced by Steve Nye/XTC (Track 4 by Bob Sargeant/XTC)
	Released on August 30, 1983
	UK CHART POSITION #51 . . . US CHART POSITION #145
	Find it at GEMM
GHS 4027 cover [high resolution scan]

M ummer is the very model of a modern, well-mannered, eccentric English pop album. Strings, synthesizers and soft melodies prevail; there isn’t a vulgar note on it until the end. Retaining the rustic charm of English Settlement, Mummer is yet a different world; an exotic, electronic Candyland. The result is sublime pop, exemplified in the charming “Wonderland” (best thing Colin ever wrote). Those who fondly recall “Yacht Dance” will be delighted with Mummer, since the same sartorial sounds abound here: “Great Fire,” “Ladybird,” “Me and the Wind.” Which isn’t to say that the thorns have been stripped of these roses. “Funk Pop A Roll,” “Human Alchemy” and “Beating of Hearts” are as prickly as anything from their past. The difference of Mummer is how it’s played out. The punk poseurs have put away their boots and chains and adopted a more sophisticated stance suitable to their pop smarts. Not everyone was crazy about the change; drummer Terry Chambers left after only appearing on two tracks. And Mummer may take some time to grow on you, but when it does it grows like English ivy. Appealing as it did to mature musical sensibilities, Mummer was something of a bummer commercially. Released in advance of the album, the first two singles failed to chart, and only the acoustic “Love on a Farmboy’s Wages” earned a fair showing (a neat video of “Wonderland” did catch my attention). Personally, Mummer is one of my favorites from XTC, though I do like my pop pressed pristine straight from the studio. As such, it really set the stage for their non-touring phase.

TRACK LISTING

1. BEATING OF HEARTS    (Andy Partridge)    4:01
2. WONDERLAND    (Colin Moulding)    4:43
3. LOVE ON A FARMBOY'S WAGES    (Andy Partridge)    3:58
4. GREAT FIRE    (Andy Partridge)    3:47
5. DELIVER US FROM THE ELEMENTS    (Colin Moulding)    4:34
6. HUMAN ALCHEMY    (Andy Partridge)    5:11
7. LADYBIRD    (Andy Partridge)    4:32
8. IN LOVING MEMORY OF A NAME    (Colin Moulding)    3:16
9. ME AND THE WIND    (Andy Partridge)    4:16
10. FUNK POP A ROLL    (Andy Partridge)    3:01
    
    CD reissue bonus tracks
    
11. FROST CIRCUS
12. JUMP
13. TOYS
14. GOLD
15. PROCESSION TOWARDS LEARNING LAND
16. DESERT ISLAND

CREDITS

DAVE GREGORY -- voices and instruments
COLIN MOULDING -- voices and instruments
ANDY PARTRIDGE -- voices and instruments
Peter Phipps -- drums
Terry Chambers -- drums (1,2)
Steve Nye -- engineer, mini-korg (2), mellotron (5)
Nigel Warren-Green -- strings (4)
Mark Dearnley -- engineer
Alex Sadkin -- remix
Phil Thornalley -- remix XTC -- remix
Ian Hooten -- inner sleeve photography
Ken (at A.S.) -- artwork

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