Senses Working Overtime: XTC and Dukes of Stratosphear Song-by-song

Our votes for "You're a Good Man, Albert Brown (Curse You Red Barrel!)

1-1
2-3
3-8
4-15
5-6
Average: 3.3273

 

Our votes for "Little Lighthouse"

Dukes Version:
1-0
2-0
3-0
4-12
5-13
Average: 4.342

Skylarking outtake version:
3.625 (4 votes)

 

This is a lesser Dukes song, but still decent. I'm a big fan of the first 5 Byrds albums, so no wonder I appreciate this one. Although, like Mole, it's a little too on the nose with the song it is paying homage to / parodying.
3/5

 

It's good, and a definite driving rhythm. And the harmonies.

After the wacky "brown" and the stoned vibe of "Cage", this brings it up a notch in a fairly understated way (by comparison).

5/5

 

Collidescope - Andy's vocal bothers me a bit, but still 4.5/5.

You're My Drug - 5/5.

 

Oh.... Brian!

 

You're My Drug

I thought Gene Clark wrote this, but no. Anyway, pretty good, if not top tier. Short from me today, stuff to do. Enjoying the comments and debate about Andrew Partridge though...... songwriting chameleon.

4/5.

 

I thought Blackberry Way straight away with a bit of I Am The Walrus thrown in. I would recommend people investigate the two Kaleidoscope LPs. Tangerine Dream and Faintly Blowing. Later changed their name to Fairfield Parlour. I'm sure Partridge was referencing this band in the title.

 

Our votes for "Have You Seen Jackie?"

1-1
2-1
3-16
4-10
5-3
Average: 3.2935

 

“You’re My Drug” – This is another terrific song. The variety on this album has made it a much more entertaining experience so far compared to the EP. 5/5

 

Your My Drug is maybe too much a spot-on Byrds pastiche. Its pretty good, but a lesser light for me. The melody is nothing special and the production is just not much fun. 2.75/5

 

"You're My Drug" -- 3/5

What if The Rutles had parodied The Byrds instead?

At its core, the song is pretty weak, unfortunately. I'm giving it an extra point or so for successfully dressing it up as a passable pastiche with the "Eight Miles High" or "So You Want to Be a Rock and Roll Star"-type McGuinn 12-string.

 

*Monkees.

Sorry.

 

You're My Drug
This is another song that I don't have any trouble hearing as an XTC song. I do like the sound of the song- the jet sound and the percussion thing which is just here throughout. Actually, as I'm listening right now, I like this song a lot more than I thought - to me it kind of fits with Vanishing Girl but not necessarily with the other songs on the album. But maybe that's just my taste - I like relatively simple (so maybe I'm in the wrong place!) - and this is a pretty easy song to get along with.

Maybe I'm also liking the straightforward nature of this because I'm crazy busy at work and at home. Sometimes it's good to just let the brain off the hook for 3 minutes and just enjoy the swing in the hammock...

3.9/5

(Edit: upgraded my score because I've just hit repeat and I forgot to mention the bass line which is very cool, so it's already appreciating within minutes of my post!)

 

That's the British Kaleidoscope rather than the US one!

Drug - phasing masterclass, fab bass, clunky lyrics; 3.75/5

 

You’re My Drug. Wow, look at those bad reviews; interesting how disparate the reactions are. (I was also surprised at the overall positive view of Collideascope). Having come to the Dukes via the Chocolate Fireball cd, I’ve always perceived Collideascope and You’re My Drug as a one-two punch, not realizing the original vinyl has a side break in between them. At any rate this song has a very obvious derivation but nonetheless it’s a real guilty pleasure for me. Not in the same class as Collideascope but good fun. The Byrds had some pretty spicy approaches to their vocal blend and I think Andy is trying to replicate that here, possibly with results that some find jarring/ugly.

 

I love everything about this except the melody. 3.2/5

But the other elements I like so much and/or the amuse me enough to save it.

 

"You're My Drug" has a goofiness that's both nauseating and fun. The dreadful jaw-dropping lyrics and campy block harmonies (sometimes bad) feel like gorging on too much acid-laced candy, but the breezy groove, with that fantastic bass and those thwacky drums panned off-center, bounces things enjoyably along. And you had me with laser beam vs 12 string jangle guitar battle in a full-track flanging bath. It seems to know its own ridiculousness. Nowhere near the songwriting of the alleged source material, same as "Vanishing Girl", but it's equally pleasant. 3/5

 

You’re My Drug- Drug never made any kind of impression on me. If there was one observation I’d make about PP is that it’s more uneven than it’s Duke’s predecessor. 25O’Clock was so consistently excellent. PP not so much. The highs are very high and they outnumber the lows, but there are a few tracks I would consider to be disposable. Drug is one of them. The song whooshes by before it ever takes hold. It’s one of those tunes that I’m ambivalent about. I don’t love it or dislike it but it’s one of those songs that I’ve forgotten about. 3/5

 

The Byrds homage in this for some reason isn’t obvious to me in a way that jumps out to me when I’m casually listening. And that’s a good thing. Maybe it’s because Andy doesn’t really sound like Gene, Roger, or David. Another pleasant one. 3.5/5

 

Thats true. They dont sound that much like the Byrds vocally, other than a certain raggedness, but he does say that he’s aping the Animals simultaneously. I haven’t heard them enough to know if that fits or not but the percussion is basically identical to this:

 

Drug -- another song on the album that's just there. It's so obvious "Rock and Roll Star" and it's not clever enough to be that interesting. Great bass work, though! 3/5

 

You’re My Drug

I love the Byrds, and I love You’re My Drug. Most songs with an electric 12-string make my ears perk up! I also love the swirling sounds and the gear-winding-like(?) percussion sound.

4.25/5

 

"You're My Drug" may borrow a lot from The Byrds, but who hasn't? The song is better than OK and fits well within the pop sike vibe of Psonic Psunspot. I like the short guitar outro. 4/5

 

Now that you mention it, Drug has a Byrds-like feel to it. Still and all Byrds( whom I love ) influence or not the song still doesn’t connect with me. I think the biggest obstacle that PP has is that it doesn’t capture the element of surprise that 25O’Clock did. That plus about half of the songs aren’t as good. There’s a lot to recommend for PP. It has some great tunes that I absolutely love, however it lacks the immediacy and pronounced Psych feel of the debut.