The Church

Under The Milky Way + Metropolis = Classics

 

I have Starfish. It seems like everyone should have that one. I haven't picked up anything else though. I probably should.

 

Lisen to some of their other stuff via Internet soundbytes. I bet you would like Tantalized, The Unguarded Moment and many others.

http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=1071142&BAB=E

 

See also: The Church - Anyone compared orig. early CDs to Inglot remasters? Latest remasters?

 

I received el momento siguiente from CD Wow today. After a couple of listens I'd say I'll be getting more mileage out of this one than I did their first acoustic collection, el momento descuidado. The new one is a bit more varied; there's a female singer joining Kilbey on a couple of songs and Amanda Brown (from the classic late-80's lineup of The Go-Betweens) plays violin on several songs along with cellist Sophie Glasson.

It's odd, when el momento descuidado came out I thought of it as something of a holding action... keeping fresh product in the bins without pushing themselves too hard (in fairness, these guys are extremely prolific). But with a second album it's more like the second in a series and I'll be looking forward to a third if they ever choose to record one.

The "unplugged" gambit may be overplayed, but it focuses the listener's attention on the song rather that the production. There's so much going on sonically on The Church's electric albums - layer upon layer of wonderful guitar - that the songs are sometimes obscured in my minds' ear. Not so with this new album.

Very welcome, and coming less than a year after the wonderful Uninvited, Like The Clouds. A group of working musicians who love their work.

 

Tantalized is the song for me!

 

What does "a box of birds" mean? Is it Australian slang? Why use it for a title? I understand that "birds" is British slang for girls or women, and I sort of think of "a box" as possibly a photograph album or a literal box holding photographs, but few of the songs on this covers albums pertain outright to women.

Thanks, Dr. Weber

 

I bought Starfish way back when. It came with a free EP, with 4 or 5 extra songs. I expected them to become hugh. Something like U2.
Of course that never happened.

Were those extra songs ever released on cd?

 

Heyday, Starfish, Priest = Aura,

from the more recent stuff, Hologram of Baal & Forget Yourself are both very good

 

I actually love Heyday (it's still my fav) the EMI remaster of a couple of years ago sounds pretty good (slightly fuller than the Bill Inglot mastered edition) --it's got some better clarity but a bit too compressed. It has a great bonus track (and one that isn't so great).

The Australian masters sound horrible compared to Inglot's--they are flat, have no depth and sound like they were pulled from second or third generation tapes. I haven't heard the latest batch of remasters though.

 

I love this band and own practically everything by them. I saw them in 1986 and again in 1998. My favorite album is Heyday, followed by Gold Afternoon Fix and Priest = Aura.

 

I just did an order through their web page and since one of the CD's was not in stock and there was a week delay they threw in a free promo CD single. Great service!!

 

I think Heyday is a great place to start. I did that release on vinyl, cassette, and what looks like a mid- or late-'80s Australian CD.

When they started to gain popularity around "Milky Way," I remember wondering what took everyone so long to catch on!

Rick

 

They don't get much press anymore, but the Church have been very prolific for the past several years, averaging a new release every year or year-and-a-half.

(If anyone here has an extra Arista CD copy of Remote Luxury, let me know! )

 

I prefer the albums before Heyday.

 

I prefer the pre-Milky Way stuff too, but Heyday was my introduction and is still a fave!

Rick

 

Really? You don't like the last three albums?

I was a big fan of The Church back in the early days when I was in Oz, then I went off them for quite a few years. I've come back - based on the last three CDs.