For the film production crate, see Apple box. For the Australian tree, see Eucalyptus bridgesiana.
Apple Box
Box set by
XTC
Released31 October 2005
RecordedJanuary–August 1998 (volume one); April–December 1999, Idea Studios, Wiltshire and Chipping Norton Recording Studios, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom (volume two); Home studios of Colin Moulding and Andy Partridge (volumes three and four)
GenrePop rock
Length215:02
LanguageEnglish
LabelIdea
ProducersHaydn Bendall and Nick Davis (volume one), Nick Davis (volume two), XTC (volumes three and four)
XTC other chronology
Waspstrumental
(2002) 		Apple Box
(2005)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllmusicStarStarStarHalf star [1]
Pitchfork Media(7.8/10) [2]

Apple Box is a box set by XTC compiling Apple Venus Volume 1 and Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2) along with their respective demo albums Homespun and Homegrown. It is the third box set of their career following Transistor Blast: The Best of the BBC Sessions and Coat of Many Cupboards, released by Idea Records.

Track listing

UK CD: IDEACD 007

All songs written by Andy Partridge, except where noted.

Apple Venus Volume 1
  1. "River of Orchids" – 5:53
  2. "I'd Like That" – 3:50
  3. "Easter Theatre" – 4:37
  4. "Knights in Shining Karma" – 3:39
  5. "Frivolous Tonight (Colin Moulding) – 3:09
  6. "Greenman" – 6:17
  7. "Your Dictionary" – 3:14
  8. "Fruit Nut" (Moulding) – 3:01
  9. "I Can't Own Her" – 5:26
  10. "Harvest Festival" – 4:15
  11. "The Last Balloon" – 6:39
Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2)
  1. "Playground" – 4:17
  2. "Stupidly Happy" – 4:13
  3. "In Another Life" (Moulding) – 3:35
  4. "My Brown Guitar" – 3:51
  5. "Boarded Up" (Moulding) – 3:23
  6. "I'm the Man Who Murdered Love" – 3:44
  7. "We're All Light" – 4:39
  8. "Standing in for Joe" (Moulding) – 3:42
  9. "Wounded Horse" – 4:11
  10. "You and the Clouds Will Still Be Beautiful" – 4:18
  11. "Church of Women" – 5:06
  12. "The Wheel and the Maypole" – 5:55
Homespun
  1. "River of Orchids" – 4:10
  2. "I'd Like That" – 4:47
  3. "Easter Theatre" – 4:52
  4. "Knights in Shining Karma" – 3:38
  5. "Frivolous Tonight (Moulding) – 3:06
  6. "Greenman" – 6:01
  7. "Your Dictionary" – 3:14
  8. "Fruit Nut" (Moulding) – 2:44
  9. "I Can't Own Her" – 5:06
  10. "Harvest Festival" – 5:17
  11. "The Last Balloon" – 5:17
Homegrown
  1. "Playground" – 4:25
  2. "Stupidly Happy" – 3:45
  3. "In Another Life" (Excerpt of original demo) (Colin Moulding) – 2:02
  4. "In Another Life" (Jug band version) (Moulding) – 3:44
  5. "Some Lovely" – 3:57
  6. "Boarded Up" (Moulding) – 2:56
  7. "I'm the Man Who Murdered Love" (Early 'other song' cassette idea) – 2:36
  8. "I'm the Man Who Murdered Love" (Tamla version excerpt) – 0:39
  9. "I'm the Man Who Murdered Love" – 3:33
  10. "We're All Light" (Early cassette idea) – 1:14
  11. "We're All Light" – 4:32
  12. "Standing in for Joe" (Lounge version) (Moulding) – 2:41
  13. "Standing in for Joe" (Moulding) – 3:34
  14. "Wounded Horse" – 4:22
  15. "You and the Clouds Will Still Be Beautiful" – 3:46
  16. "Lie for a Lie" (Cassette demo) – 1:43
  17. "Church of Women" – 4:36
  18. "The Pot Won't Hold Our Love" (Early cassette idea) – 1:38
  19. "Everything Decays" (Early cassette idea) – 2:26
  20. "The Wheel and the Maypole" – 5:33

Purchase of the box set also provides instructions for downloading two non-album XTC tracks:

  1. "Spiral" (Partridge)
  2. "Say It" (Moulding)

Personnel

Apple Venus Volume 1

XTC
Additional musicians
Production
  • Haydn Bendall – original production, engineering
  • Nick Davis – additional production, engineering, mix
  • Simon Dawson – mix assistance
  • Alan Douglas – recording engineer
  • Barry Hammond – recording engineer
  • Tim Young – mastering

Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2)

XTC
Additional musicians
Production

Homespun and Homegrown

References

  1. ^ McClintock, J. Scott. Apple Box at AllMusic
  2. ^ Pitchfork Media review