52 Songs #12 - Dukes of the Stratosphear, Pale and Precious

This week: Dukes of the the Stratosphear, Pale and Precious, from the lp Psonic Psunspot , released in 1987.


Do you know about the Dukes of the Stratosphear? No? OK, go here and read this.

I had been an XTC fans for a long time and was thrilled when they released this stuff; we played the records - RECORDS, cos they were only released as lps at first - in the record store all the time. Each track is such a deft homeage/parody/infusion of specific bands and sounds of the 1960s - you can spend hours figuring out where certain hooks and vocal lines came from. But I've picked the most obvious example: this is pure Beach Boys, and just as good as the original. Andy Partridge has such a lovely voice on this track - sweet and honest without being overly respectful. Things really get moving at about the 2:30 mark. And there's a theramin (I think).




Come back next Monday for another of the 52 songs!