XTC mastermind Andy Partridge took to Twitter this morning to announce that the band’s 1992 album Nonsuch will receive a new 5.1 Surround mix by Steven Wilson, the frontman for prog-rock act Porcupine Tree who has worked on remasters for King Crimson, Emerson Lake and Palmer and Jethro Tull in recent years.
It’s not known whether this is part of a new series of reissues or a one-off project involving the 20-year-old album. The last such release Partridge touted on Twitter — an audiophile vinyl pressing of 1979’s Drums and Wires to follow up the vinyl reissue of Skylarking — still has not surfaced, nearly a year-and-a-half later.
UPDATE: Partridge has added, via Twitter, that, “Hopefully Steven will work on the whole catalogue, that’s if EMI can find the tapes.”
Steven Wilson is currently working on 5.1 surround mix of the NONSUCH album,hooray!
— XTC (@xtcfans) December 11, 2012
PREVIOUSLY ON SLICING UP EYEBALLS
- Vintage Video: XTC performs for ‘Rockpalast’ on German TV in 1982 — full 70-minute gig
- Andy Partridge prepping ‘nice new vinyl cut’ of XTC’s ‘Drums and Wires’ for reissue
- Milestones: Andy Partridge is 57 today; watch XTC perform 3 songs live in 1989
- XTC reveals ‘banned’ pubic-hair cover art for upcoming ‘Skylarking’ vinyl reissue
- XTC’s ‘Skylarking’ vinyl reissue ‘30% better sounding,’ will restore original artwork
- Vintage Video: ‘XTC at the Manor,’ 1980 doc about recording ‘Towers of London’
- XTC reissuing ‘Skylarking’ on vinyl ‘as it was intended to sound, but never has’
Fantastic news. Love the album and it should sound great in 5.1. I have a few T Heads DVD audio in 5.1 (Fear, Remain and Speaking) and Jerry Harrison did a great job on them. They really are amazing.
Good news indeed, but I can think of at least four of their other albums I would prefer to see this done for.
Nonsuch is a very good start! What’s next, Apple Venus Vol 1, Mummer??….can’t wait!
I second that charles…this album is definitely at the bottom of my list, right before Wasp Star as their worst effort. Should be Skylarking or Mummer instead.
‘Nonsuch’ their second worst album? Really? Made of great, moving songs from start to finish, I’d call it their best if it wasn’t for all the rest at the same level of greatness. ‘Drums and Wires’, ‘English Settlement’, ‘Skylarking’, ‘Oranges and Lemons’…’Wasp Star’. ‘Go 2’ is the one I never listen to, never could get ‘into’ it.
Sarah, I totally concur, for me it would be ESettlement, Nonsuch, Oranges, Skylarking, Black Sea, –Heck I would even have Big Express ahead of Mummer…