April Fools Day, 1985....and XTC releases 25 O’Clock, a six-song EP under the pseudonym Dukes of Stratosphear. Conceived 6 years earlier, the band got to work on the project in 1984. Modeled on 1967-68 British psychedelia, no more than two takes were allowed on any tune, vintage instruments - including an old mellotron picked up on the cheap – were used when possible, and the madcapery was laid on thick. The joke, though, was on them, as the resulting EP – 25 O’Clock – outsold the previous XTC release, The Big Express.
What we have today, Dukes of Stratosphear & Sources, is the 25 O’Clock, coupled with the Dukes’ subsequent album, Psonic Psunspot. Each song is followed by the track (or tracks) that it evokes, at least for me. Some connections are instrumental, some thematic, and yet others stem from the use of effects and treatments that were, as they say, “of their time.”
Comments
Post a Comment