Apple Box
# Apple Box

Professional ratings :

| Review scores ||
| - | - |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | |
| Pitchfork Media | (7.8/10) |

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**

* "River of Orchids" – 5:53
* "I'd Like That" – 3:50
* "Easter Theatre" – 4:37
* "Knights in Shining Karma" – 3:39
* "Frivolous Tonight (Colin Moulding) – 3:09
* "Greenman" – 6:17
* "Your Dictionary" – 3:14
* "Fruit Nut" (Moulding) – 3:01
* "I Can't Own Her" – 5:26
* "Harvest Festival" – 4:15
* "The Last Balloon" – 6:39

**Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2)**

* "Playground" – 4:17
* "Stupidly Happy" – 4:13
* "In Another Life" (Moulding) – 3:35
* "My Brown Guitar" – 3:51
* "Boarded Up" (Moulding) – 3:23
* "I'm the Man Who Murdered Love" – 3:44
* "We're All Light" – 4:39
* "Standing in for Joe" (Moulding) – 3:42
* "Wounded Horse" – 4:11
* "You and the Clouds Will Still Be Beautiful" – 4:18
* "Church of Women" – 5:06
* "The Wheel and the Maypole" – 5:55

**Homespun**

* "River of Orchids" – 4:10
* "I'd Like That" – 4:47
* "Easter Theatre" – 4:52
* "Knights in Shining Karma" – 3:38
* "Frivolous Tonight (Moulding) – 3:06
* "Greenman" – 6:01
* "Your Dictionary" – 3:14
* "Fruit Nut" (Moulding) – 2:44
* "I Can't Own Her" – 5:06
* "Harvest Festival" – 5:17
* "The Last Balloon" – 5:17

**Homegrown**

* "Playground" – 4:25
* "Stupidly Happy" – 3:45
* "In Another Life" (Excerpt of original demo) (Colin Moulding) – 2:02
* "In Another Life" (Jug band version) (Moulding) – 3:44
* "Some Lovely" – 3:57
* "Boarded Up" (Moulding) – 2:56
* "I'm the Man Who Murdered Love" (Early 'other song' cassette idea) – 2:36
* "I'm the Man Who Murdered Love" (Tamla version excerpt) – 0:39
* "I'm the Man Who Murdered Love" – 3:33
* "We're All Light" (Early cassette idea) – 1:14
* "We're All Light" – 4:32
* "Standing in for Joe" (Lounge version) (Moulding) – 2:41
* "Standing in for Joe" (Moulding) – 3:34
* "Wounded Horse" – 4:22
* "You and the Clouds Will Still Be Beautiful" – 3:46
* "Lie for a Lie" (Cassette demo) – 1:43
* "Church of Women" – 4:36
* "The Pot Won't Hold Our Love" (Early cassette idea) – 1:38
* "Everything Decays" (Early cassette idea) – 2:26
* "The Wheel and the Maypole" – 5:33

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

* "Spiral" (Partridge)
* "Say It" (Moulding)

## Personnel

* Peter Ashworth – photography
* Ian Cooper – mastering
* Steve Gullick – photography
* Valerie Phillips – photography
* Andrew Swainson – design

### Apple Venus Volume 1

**XTC**

* Dave Gregory – piano, keyboards, keyboard programming, guitars, backing vocals (Gregory left the band during recording)
* Colin Moulding – vocals, bass guitar
* Andy Partridge – vocals, guitars

**Additional musicians**

* Mike Batt – orchestral arrangements for "Greenman" and "I Can't Own Her"
* Haydn Bendall – keyboards
* Guy Barker – trumpet and flugelhorn solo on "The Last Balloon"
* Nick Davis – keyboards
* Prairie Prince – drums, percussion
* Steve Sidwell – trumpet solo on "Easter Theatre"
* All arrangements played by The London Sessions Orchestra under their leader Gavin Wright

**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**

* Colin Moulding – vocals, bass guitar
* Andy Partridge – vocals, guitar

**Additional musicians**

* Caroline Dale – cello
* Nick Davis – keyboards
* Simon Gardner – flugelhorn
* Patrick Kiernan – violin
* Peter Lale – viola
* Holly Partridge – backing vocals on "Playground"
* Prairie Prince – drums (2, 3, 4, 12)
* Chuck Sabo – drums (1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
* Kate St. John – oboe
* Matt Vaughn – programming
* Gavin Wright – violin

**Production**

* Haydn Bendall – recording engineering
* Nick Davis – producer, mixing, recording engineering
* Simon Dawson – mix engineer
* Alan Douglas – recording engineering
* Barry Hammond – recording engineering
* Bob Ludwig – mastering

### Homespun and Homegrown

* Andy Partridge
* Colin Moulding
