The Dukes Of Stratosphear
Chips From The Chocolate Fireball

THE REVIEW

Many artists base their success on a single insight, and continue to stay afloat by exploiting every possible variation on the theme.

Others have a sensitivity that drives them to always seek new solutions. Xtc belong to the latter category.

Between the release of "The Big Express" and the gestation of what "Skylarking" will be considered by many as their masterpiece, our guys had such a happy inspiration that they had to give life to another band to express it.

The Dukes of Stratosphear were for Mr. Partridge & Co. the expedient to go back to the times when creativity was in power and escape those eighties that did not know how to appreciate their talent.

"Chips from the Chocolate Fireball" collects in a single CD the two works of the Dukes: the EP "25 O' Clock" (1985), and the album "Psonic Psunspot" (1987). Before and after "Skylarking", a fact that makes the collection somewhat stylistically uneven.

"25 O' Clock" and "Bike Ride to the Moon", evoke the atmospheres of the early Pink Floyd, the Barrett era to be clear; with a hypnotic pace the first, more lively the second, but both seasoned with Farfisa organs, fuzzy bass, and strange effects that come and go from the mix.

The brilliant "My Love Explodes" is a pleasant surprise, while "What in the World??"... by Moulding could be a "Making Plans for Nigel" in "Revolver" style.

"Your Gold Dress" is a bizarre encounter between early Roger Waters and Brian Wilson, but before you can process it, you hit the peak of the record: that the Mole From the Ministry which would not have looked out of place on "Magical Mystery Tour", and which closed the original EP, and the darker and more obsessive part of the collection. With "Vanishing Girl" the music becomes more playful and in pastel shades.

The song itself gives the idea of the Beatles trying to mimic the Byrds while singing "The Lion Sleep Tonight".

The record proceeds with its ups and downs from the masterful "Collideascope" to the refined "The Affiliated", almost mentioning all the sacred monsters of the psychedelic era, from the Byrds (You're my Drug), to Traffic, passing through the McCartney-esque "Brainiac's Daughter".

The concluding note is a heartfelt tribute to Brian Wilson of Pet Sounds, with the sweet "Pale and Precious".

A bit of a trick, a bit of a tribute to the music loved by the authors, this record is a hidden gem; not an absolute masterpiece, but a work that is enjoyable to listen to, also to uncover all the references to a mythical era for Rock music.