The title track “Magic Bowler Hat Ride” was an immediate F/P classic. It was a true rock’n’roller steeped in the blues tradition and laden with wacky lyrics, bop-a-long verses and a memorable Chorus. The humour was quintessentially English, the theme was that of dancer and performer Lionel Blair journeying through space wearing a bowler hat and wielding a lucky cane “Like a cricket bat”. It was rock’n’roll lunacy ! It was totally F/P and it again displayed the hallmarks of a band refusing to adhere to the unwritten laws and constitutions of the rock world.
Preceding the opener was a passage from “The Magnificent 14 Day Challenge” as narrated by Danny Collins. Recording this brief introduction, a seemingly informidable task, turned into quite an escapade with Danny frequently fluffing his lines and all three having enormous difficulties in composing themselves at the sound of his attempt at an upper-crust English accent. Eventually at about the 12th attempt they had a take but only for Chris to spoil with a slack bit of editing that meant the lead in to the album bares an unattractive (If barely noticeable) cut in the tape.
Immediately evident throughout “Magic” was Nick’s growing talent as both guitarist and song-writer. His tracks were often the standout songs on the album and his solos were simply breathtaking. Check out the ending to the solo in the title track for pure genius and also the fiery lead in “Funky Fox” that burns into the excellent opening of the piano solo.
“Funky Fox”, the second track (and dedication to a Manila night spot) was an ambitious if not totally successful attempt by the band at doing black-funk with ‘backing-chick’ singing. The vocal groove and solos sizzle but somehow the stop-start funky riff is not quite delivered tightly enough to maneuver smoothly.
The third track was the band’s best ballad to date “Rosa”. Ironically the earnest lyrics in Rosa are delivered to a fictional lover “Rosa Felipe” taken right out of “14 Days”. It is a beautiful lament rich in delicate acoustic guitars and attractive harmonies. For the song Chris chose to accompany Nick on the bongos rather than the piano adding an alluring tropical feel.
Further along “Please Don’t Go” is an excellent and adventurous track that reveals a dangerous side to Chris’ ever improving song writing credentials whilst “Follow the Breeze” finds Nick in full-throttle heavy metal mode.
“Purple Orchids” is lyrically the most mature offering on the album and displays definite signs of things to come from the band. The lyrics are romantic and exotic reflecting Chris’ love for Thailand and are delivered with a funky grinding blues riff and luxuriously dreamy bridge courtesy of Nick. It also features some healthy soloing by both parties and remains a favourite live track of the band.
“Stand Tall” is a very interesting creation of Nick’s that encompasses some lyrics of Chris dating as far back as 1988 or even 1987. The song swings from rock to ballad ending with a crashing crescendo of hard rock and furious guitar soloing and also displays a growing band fascination with vocal harmonies that will develop further in coming albums. Also on display a wonderful melodic solo from Chris, possibly his first attempt at venturing outside of the blues scales.
“Josephine” is a very classy ballad, heartfelt to the extreme and wonderfully orchestrated with Monica Foster’s excellent cello accompaniment. It also features a wonderfully “written” guitar solo that blends from plucking acoustic into lush meandering electric. “I Love You Too Much” is an incredible advancement in song writing and reveals a subtle Beatles influence which will become more commonplace in the band’s latter works. This is followed by the fun “Cruising De La Cruz” one of Chris’ least experimental tracks but a good commercial rocker non-the-less.
Also on offer are a 1992 remake of the Nick classic “I Never Said Goodbye” that benefits from a cleaner recording but doesn’t quite capture the essence of the original and “Sail Away II” a very nice sequel to the original “Nancy’s” song containing revamped lyrics and a dainty piano lullaby.
The last song on the album “Extravaganza” was an attempt at recreating the winning formula of the anthem “We Rock’n’Roll”. A decent enough song with tasty verses and a good deal of suitably extravagant soloing it weighs-in heavily at over 15 minutes and does not capture the band at its innovative best. A good idea for an album closer but in the event it was more of a wind-down than the show-stopper that they had probably hoped for.
All in all they had delivered a highly ambitious and truly groundbreaking sequel to “Nancy’s”. “Magic” exhibited a band growing and developing rapidly lyrically, musically and technically. Their arrangements were far beyond anything displayed on “Nancy’s” and the lyrical themes had matured and ventured away (for the most part) from the standard cock-rock often evident on the predecessor.
Vocally both Nick and Chris were portrayed in a better light thanks to more consideration of harmonies and care in delivery and also as enabled by the introduction of the 4-track. Instrumentally, Nick had absolutely out-performed himself excelling in all avenues and laying a formidable standard for himself to live up to on subsequent releases. Chris had been more careful in his approach and was toying with themes outside of the blues scale and more in touch with the song themes themselves. Song-writing wise they had proved to themselves that they were capable of maintaining the level of innovation and creativity shown on their debut and also demonstrated themselves capable of improving and developing the art equally.
Almost as an after-thought they plugged a bonus track “Should Have Seen It Comin’” at the end of the first side of the album. The track, recorded quickly and without the aid of the 4-track, is a little bit of a throw back to the “Nancy’s” days (it was written in 1987/8) in terms of recording quality and music but is decent enough a rocker as not to detract from the brilliant achievements of the album. Another ‘Nick” song they recorded the music track for in the same sessions as “SHSIC” “Black and White” was never finished and remains lurking somewhere in the F/P vaults.
Immediately following the release of “Magic” the boys completed their live trilogy with “Live in Northwich III”. Containing tracks from “Magic” it was an interesting live representation of the band at that point but like part 2 was not an exceptional offering by the band’s standards and is not recommended as essential listening for all but the most die hard of F/P enthusiasts ! Perhaps the most interesting feature of the album was the sleeve photograph which pictures the band in the very same location as on he first live album on a street bench in Northwich High Street. A nice nostalgic touch and far more appropriate to the bizarre ‘atop elephants’ sleeve that graced the 2nd live album.
“Magic” on the other hand required something altogether grander on the sleeve front. A brilliant new album after all deserves nothing less than a breathtaking sleeve and “Magic Bowler Hat Ride” got the full treatment.
Due to scheduling problems the sleeve of “Magic” was not completed until the late end of 1992 when the members met up in Northern Ireland to do a stunning photo shoot with Lens man Myles Ford. Incredibly (and not the only time in F/P history) this meant that for about four months the album was sleeveless !
F/P fans however considered the wait well worth it. “Magic” boasts a spectacular gatefold sleeve picture of the band perched on “Giants Causeway” the magnificent hexagonal rock formation found uniquely in County Antrim.
Legend has it that the rocks of Giants Causeway are a walkway for mythical Giants who once strode across the seas. What better a scene for rock giants themselves Fawcett / Poustie !
The band also spent a holiday in Ulster at this time where a classic bit of F/P history was made when they both backed the winner in the last horse race of the day where the 20-1 shot romped home triumphantly for punters F & P.
As 1992 neared its end Fawcett / Poustie found themselves at a peak from which they could either fly or fall. With two incredible albums under their belts the band had established itself as an act of calibre not just a fly-by-night novelty. The ever-so-crucial third album however is usually the one that makes or breaks a band and F/P realised that for their dream to continue they had to come up with something bigger and better the third time around.
What transpired the following year would prove an almighty test of the band's resilience and endurance.