If you like whimsical psychedelic pop-rock and haven’t heard The Dukes of Stratosphear, you should check out Chips from the Chocolate Fireball, the album that combines the band’s EP 25 O’Clock, which was released exclusively in Britain on April Fool’s Day 1985, with the band’s LP Psonic Psunspot, which was released in June 1987. The music contained within was created in the 80s by the English new wave/college rock act XTC, who conjured up this concept as a way to indulge their love of 60s psychedelia without alienating their fan base. Although it’s difficult to imagine that XTC fans wouldn’t be receptive to such a delightful set of music, the Dukes of Stratosphear material doesn’t belong in the XTC catalog because it’s such a blatant (and brilliant) replication of 60s psych. The band members even adopted personal pseudonyms for the occasion. Principal songwriter Andy Partridge became Sir John Johns while first mate Colin Moulding became Red Curtain. Guitarist Dave Gregory assumed the name Lord Cornelius Plum while his brother Ian, who was not a member of XTC, played the drums under the nom de guerre EIEI Owen.

The band hones in on the essence of British psychedelia to create a batch of catchy, fun, and surreal songs that are marvelously executed and expertly produced

Chips from the Chocolate Fireball wasn’t released until 2001, which is around the time that I bought the CD, listened to it, and fell in love with it. It is a truly amazing work that is full of references to and parodies of the genre but is also unique and memorable. The songs would have fit in perfectly with the British psychedelia of the 60s, and yet the music is not strictly derivative. Sure, they use some of the old tricks like backward guitar loops, sitar, Eastern influences, non-standard keys, etc., but some of the elements they use to create the psychedelic feel are fresh. Of course, The Dukes benefit from having synthesized sounds that didn’t exist back in the 60s, but they make the absolute best of it. It’s Sixties psych that has been re-visited and improved upon.