It’s a pity Duke Jupiter couldn’t fulfill their promise built up over a number of years. With numerous releases they got better with each one as they went on culminating in this closet classic.
Written by: GDMOnline
ARTIST: Duke Jupiter
ALBUM: The Line Of Your Fire
LABEL: Tamla Motown
SERIAL: 6162
YEAR: 1985
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
LINEUP: Marshall James Styler – vocals, keyboards * Greg Walker – guitars * Ricky Ellis – bass * David Corcoran – drums
TRACK LISTING: 01 Dancin’ On The Ice * 02 (Come On Baby) We Might Fall In Love * 03 Only You * 04 I Want To Love You * 05 You’re My Hero * 06 The Line Of Your Fire * 07 Since You’ve Been Gone * 08 Turnin’ Me On * 09 Never Say Goodbye * 10 Sounds Like Love
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Background
A real history behind this album. Caught between a heart of a rock (sic) and a hard place, an album they had to contractually release, on a label that didn’t give a shit. I mean Tamla Motown?? Please, Coming hard on the follow up to 1984’s ‘White Knuckle Ride’, albeit on the Motown subsidiary Morocco (also responsible for the Kidd Glove album that same year), these boys appeared to be at the end of their tether.
This effort to me appears to be an album of two halves: side one containing a swagger of Bob Halligan Jnr co-writes, while side two contains songs that continue on where ‘White Knuckle Ride’ left off, with the production just dropping a tad in comparison.
The Songs
Duke Jupiter, perhaps the finest band to come out of the upstate New York area (go Rochester), really rocked on this one. When they sat down around the boardroom table to decide who they should sound like, someone must have put their finger up and said White Sister! Marshall James Styler, lead singer and keyboardist is doing his damnedest to rip off Dennis Churchill-Dries it’s scary.
Some of the arrangements swerve very close to Pomp Boulevard with ‘Dancing On The Ice’ pulsing along in grand style. This sounds like a White Sister outtake! Similarly too with ‘I Want To Love You’. Ricky Ellis’ synth bass, taurus pedals and Styler’s analog synths come alive on ‘(Come On Baby) We Might Fall In Love’ while the title track ‘The Line Of Your Fire’ boogies along in a AORified ZZ Top sort of way.
In Summary
It’s a pity Duke Jupiter couldn’t fulfill their promise built up over a number of years. With numerous releases they got better with each one as they went on culminating in this closet classic. To get a fuller picture on the Jupiter biography, surf to Greg Walker’s Duke Jupiter page referred to above, or read our separate interviews with Greg and Rickey Ellis here at GDM. Fascinating reading all round.
Video
Entire Album (Select Tracks)
