The Church - C or D/S&D/CB&TT

I must, however, say, that Marty Willson-Piper is probably one of the most pretentious human beings ever to have lived. But you can't blame that on the Australians, as he's from Liverpool anyway. You get the feeling he'd have been much happier in Echo and the Bunneymen.

Search: Heyday, Starfish, Priest=Aura, and Hologram Of Baal are the four pivotal albums IMHO, though I've never heard Seance which everybody seems to rate highly.

Now, "Dreams Even Here" -> "Inbetween Days" or "Just Like Heaven" - > "All The Way" is much more blatant (although probably also coincidental).

The big drawback for me is that on the earlier albums, (I can't comment post-Heyday, except to say that the later albums are in every bargain bin I've ever rummaged through), they're pretty half-hearted in everything they do - never really rocking, never really letting rip on the psyche influences, just kind of chugging along....hoping. The productions do them no favours - Blurred Crusade, and particularly Seance sound muted and dull. The debut does have energy, and Remote Luxury has the best choons.

Biggest drawback of all is the drummer, Richard Ploog. You just can't pull off what (I think) they're attempting with such a wooden, plodding beat. Ploog has no feel and no drive and plays like he's holding a cricket bat in each hand.

Look, I've no idea what happened after Heyday, but on the evidence of the first 4 or 5 albums these guys are also rans, for f~@cks sake!

"The Blurred Crusade has so much energy".....

.....Then we mean different things by energy, Ned. Not that all music needs energy, but if you're attempting a kinda upbeat guitar pop- rock/psyche thing you'll be needing some. Yes indeed. Not on every track, but you'd better have some gas in the tank when needed. Some examples : "In Shreds" "This Perfect Day", "Reward", "Crocodiles". These have what I mean by energy. And decent drummers.

Live, the Church RAWKED. This was always such a surprise, considering the gentle, textured, multi-layers of their albums. But when playing live, they became monster rock gods with blinding guitar solos. But when they ditched Richard Ploog for Jay Dee Daugherty, they didn't rock so much, so Ploog, in all his stoner glory, clearly was contributing something.

They're one of those weird bands who have had far more importance in my life, and on my friends' lives than they really should have.

Where the f@ck do you see Church videos, exile?

(this leak -- was it via p2p?)

"It has been confirmed that the album will be released in Australia on Cooking Vinyl through Shock Records in mid October. FY release date elsewhere is January 2004 in the USA (Spinart ) and UK/Europe (Cooking Vinyl), both special edition most likely with bonus disc, the delay being due to an error in the mastering/ manufacturing process. Australia won't miss out on the international special edition as there will be a unique re issue to coincide.....more to come.The Australian tour will start early November (stay tuned for venues and dates), and Europe and USA will be early 2004. HANG ON !!!!!Great things come slow !!!!!!"

But Ned, how did you manage to snag a listen? I thought "After Everything" was much better than I thought it would be, so I'm really looking forward to this one. And a tour, too? So cool.

x-post!

Kilbey's somewhere in the middle.

As for S&D I actually (contradicting my above statement a bit) Don't like Starfish nearly as much as Heyday or also Remote Luxury (which I feel are the 2 best). This was one of the first bands I got into when I started listening to music. They have such a nostalgia for me, and thier sound only encourages this.

Best since Priest = Aura. And P=A is my fave album of theirs.

As a Chameleons hyperfanatic, I see the point of comparison, but really I think they're two different bands with a slew of shared core influences in common, nothing more.

I wasn't very impressed to see them live. I mean it was interesting and all but they were doing a partly acoustic set and the recordings are soo much better. Maybe if I see them do a full electric set it'll be better.

that's so cool LL! I'm sure if MWP had been there you would have said hello... I saw them in Austin last week, but they played an abbreviated set because it was part of a festival so I didn't get to hear Metropolis or Kings, cry cry cry. Still, they sounded great and I still heard a few deep cuts (An Interlude and Hotel Womb the latter I guess they play all the time but I really wanted to hear it)

I was at the Tuesday night show. The band sounded great, particularly on "Tantalized", but yeah, some distinct Spinal Tap vibes with Nigel Tufnel on guitar and SK taking time on multiple occasions to explain the extremely convoluted plot of The Hypnagogue to the small crowded of mostly-seated attendees.

@ john -- wish i had known you were there! we were busy though and if you weren't in my section i probably didn't see you. agree about the heaviness -- one of the things i love most about this band! they are both transporting and grounding at the same time, pure magic. i think i caught an instrumental part of "Grind" and I was proud of myself for recognizing it without any vocals

@ f hazel -- yes, i absolutely would have debased myself to say hello to MWP. i was about to interrupt SK but it was a meet & greet thing and people had paid for their access and i didn't want to misuse my immense privilege of carrying their salads and pizzas back to the green room lol. i also did mention MWP to several of my tables to demonstrate that i am a trve head lol

@Andy - one of my tables told me they read the book and it was "better than they expected" but that he should stick to writing songs, which we all agreed he is very skilled at

v curious about this loaded dentist!!

I've certainly been skeptical of the loss of Koppes and MWP, but it is Steve's band after all.

Actually, the current lineup is playing very well - even or maybe especially on the older stuff. Seattle show had maybe the best performance of Grind that I recall seeing in person. And as much as I think Powles helped hold things together through some rough years, I think the change in drummer has paid off on this tour. (But I swear I've yet to hear Haug play MWP's part on Reptile w/o fucking up the riff at least once per performance...)

New tour-only EP is decent enough.

Have also heard the dentist rumor. Maybe on this board some time back.

Dartmouth business professor Kevin Keller (who has a very popular textbook) was "executive producer" for some recent Church albums, which is mentioned in his textbook bio. Guessing that means he partly financed them and advised on marketing.

first gay in Archie comics, ILX poster, business professor and Steve Kilbey investor

Some lovely memories here, also confirms it was due to a stroke suffered two days ago in Prague.

https://www.facebook.com/luca.signorelli.33/posts/10230859418609528

Whoops wrong thread! That sadly was for the Killing Joke thread.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXBasxt6FYo

(just posted today)

Awesome

Really great!

was present for this radio session. really excellent. I nice follow-up to the show the night before. hoping audio surfaces of the pre-session warmup (video is very unlikely).

US tour dates on the way. Also Eros Zeta... is getting a full-release
https://www.thechurchband.com

Well that's good, I'm still a bit sore they didn't have it with their merch at Hardly Strictly!

This last December my dad ran into Steve Kilbey at the local post office in our small regional little surf town. He's a massive fan, said g'day, and ended up scoring some free tickets for a solo acoustic gig that night.

Apparently Steve was a really lovely bloke to chat with and the gig was fantastic. My dad has been a fan his whole life; a very lucky encounter

That's great! Love stuff like that.

Looks like they are touring with the Afghan Whigs here?

Huge Church spree the last couple of weeks here. The post-stardom stuff has really opened up to me now.

I remember feeling let down in the "Box of Birds" era but I love how the new stuff sounds, and that KEXP recording up thread is fantastic. Sorry I missed the tour.

Man, you didn't like that era? I saw the tour for that very album and it pretty well killed.

they may not have hit the highest of highs but can't think of another band so consistently great from their debut 20+ albums into it

live they remain a FORCE

yeah I'm mad their set last year in Austin was abbreviated so I'm definitely seeing them on this tour

new one is my fav since untitled 23. great title too

Saw the kick-off show of the new tour last night - charmingly described by SK at the outset as “nearly three hours of artery-clogging nostalgia”! In the same venue I first saw them in 1990, so extra retro points.

Focus was on the first 4 LPs and it was a lot of fun, probably could have done without most of the selections from the first LP but I am not a True Fan. Highlights were just about everything from The Blurred Crusade, and Tantalized.

The very casual fans I was with were a bit underwhelmed, as with the Cure Disintegration shows here a few years ago a long set packed with deep cuts and b-sides probably isn’t making too many converts (nor is it looking to I guess).

Anyway the band sounds good - the new drummer is great! - it is a bit anonymous but still works - tho with this material it is a shame not to have the “proper” guitarists, in retrospect that dynamic of two big personalities and keen songwriters held in check by Kilbey’s talent/ego was a pretty cool creative engine room.

Anyway have enjoyed revisiting the world of The Church - a band I always enjoy listening to, even if something somehow keeps them from being essential for me.

I absolutely appreciate how he’s going for it in this late-by-default stretch. Forgot to post in this thread earlier in summer that I saw them with the Afghan Whigs in July — powerhouse of a show.

been on a deep dive with this band since seeing that show, far out The Blurred Crusade is just an incredible LP - truly wild that Capitol passed on a US release!!!

Pretty nuts! Their loss.

Would love to see the on this tour. Sprang for the new vinyl pressings of the first four and they sound fantastic.

Saw em a few years ago on what was Koppes' last tour with the band, and it was really really great. I admit I hardly knew anything from after Priest=Aura, but the band sounded great and the "new" stuff held up. But when they dropped Constant in Opal I lost my mind.

ah Constant in Opal would have been terrific - I have been spending a LOT of time with the sing-songs/persia/remote luxury EPs on Spotify and it is pretty revelatory - like, not only a clutch of totally great songs but also lots of stylistic "roads not taken" tracks like The Night Is Very Soft, Maybe These Boys, I Am A Rock, Volumes...

haha, I love Volumes, it's got silly lyrics I love anyway

yeah volumes is like some Barrett whimsy thing they never really did again

but man like they have a song this good and it is still kind of a minor song in their catalogue

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0Kep6Ifa-E

also in reply to the original post - what if they were one of Australia's greatest bands on account of being vacant druggie fucks?

Shadow Cabinet also top notch

I wouldn't say vacant.

but ... yes

yeah vacant isn't really fair - I think there is a (conscious, deliberate) escapist quality to their work that maybe means they aren't taken as seriously as they might be?

but if you take the project on its own terms, it is such an incredible body of work

They strove to be visionary and it didn't always work, but when it did it was fantastic. And I am always down with the people who really commit to the vocation as psychedelic warrior.

ha yeah was just reading about Kilbey hearing Hawkwind at a formative age

there aren't many world-building lyricists I can think of better than SK, perhaps Bid from Monochrome Set/Scarlet's Well

I agree. SK is probably my all-time favourite lyricist and the 45-year consistency of his cosmic vision is a big part of it. He has an occasional weakness for regrettable whimsy, but for someone so incredibly prolific, his hit/miss ratio is very, very impressive.

Made me think of the lyrics of "Shadow Cabinet" which are pretty much perfect

are there any other bands at all with lyrics more suited to conversion into a D&D module than the Church?

Intending no disrespect at all to D&D, aren't you doing the band a disservice with that suggestion? The uninitiated would assume that it means that SK's on some kind of swords and sorcery trip, which is most definitely not the case.

nah, that's just about one of the highest compliments I can make for a lyricist

Heh, alright then

also I'm not entirely sure he isn't on something closely paralleling a swords and sorcery trip!

I mean...the most recent main studio album (not counting the complement/followon) was a full on concept album about a weird future creature/thing so what more evidence is needed!

yeah probably more accurate to say he's more of a Gamma World guy

If you've checked out the Kilbey-Kennedy albums (especially Persephone Nimbus), the Gamma World description is too far off