The Hypnogogue /Eros- I am a big Prog Rock, Floyd, Bowie fan and this album has all that and get is still very much The Church: I find the whole concept pretty trippy and fascinating as well. I can listen to it straight through, as well as EZATPG album. Two perfect albums. 1. Hypnogogue/Eros Zeta ( I count this as a double album) 2. Priest =Aura (The Dissilusionist is sublime. Also Chaos and Ripple) 3. Starfish (Reptile, Destination and Blood Money) 4. Heyday ( Tristesse, Myrrh, Tantalized) 5. Sometime Anywhere ( The Maven, Day of the Dead, Two Places at Once) 6. Untitled 23 (Pangea, Happenstance, Lunar). I adore So Love May Find Us 7. Further Deeper (Pride Before the Fall, Globe Spinning, Vanishing Man) 8. Uninvited, Like the Clouds (Block, Space Needle, She'll Come Back For you Tomorrow) 9. Forget Yourself (Sealine, Telepath, Lay Low) 10. Magician (Lady Boy, Magician, Welcome) 11. MWlDI (Another Century, Submarine, Undersea) 12. After Everything (Numbers, After Everything, The Awful Ache) 13. Blurred (Field of Mars, You Took, Almost With You) 14. Of skins (Ungarded, Chrome Injury, Fighter pilot) 15. Seance (Fly, Electric Lash, travel By Thought) 17. GAf (Pharoah, Metrpolis, You're Still So Beautiful 18. Hologram (No Certainty Attached, This Is It, Glowworm)
I can't believe I watched all of that. Ha! It was cool seeing others' ranking. Mine, using the same 15: 15. Of Skins and Heart - Bel-Air, Fighter Pilot, Tear It All Away (... since it counts) 14. Magician Among the Spirits - Ladyboy, Comedown, Ritz 13. Remote Luxury - A Month of Sundays, Maybe These Boys, Shadow Cabinet 12. Forget Yourself - Telepath, June, Maya 11. Uninvited Like the Clouds - Day 5, Block, Unified Field 10. Blurred Crusade - An Interlude, A Fire Burns, Secret Corners 9. Gold Afternoon Fix - Laughing, Metropolis, City 8. Untitled 23 - Space Saviour, On Angel Street, Sunken Sun 7. Seance - One Day, Disappear, It's No Reason 6. Sometime Anywhere - Authority, Two Places at Once, Day of the Dead 5. Heyday - Already Yesterday, Disenchanted, Tristesse 4. Priest = Aura - Aura, Mistress, Feel 3. After Everything Now This - The Awful Ache, Invisible, Reprieve 2. Hologram of Baal - Louisiana, Tranquility, Buffalo 1. Starfish - Hotel Womb, Lost, Antenna
My top 10 Albums from The Church:1. Priest = Aura (Simply sublime, snuck through the cracks in '92. Still amazing to this day. An album I buy all my friends for Xmas and/or Birthday presents!)2. Of Skins and Hearts (Just a great rocking Aussie album. Sounds as fresh today as it did in '82)3. Heyday (The Church really begin to hone there skills and unique sound here)4. Forget Yourself (Amazing 'guitar rich' album - 'June' is one of the best tracks I have ever heard. 'Nuf said...)5. Sometime Anywhere / Somewhere Else (I know, this is a double album, but this is a great album to play when it is cold outside with thunderstorms brewing on a dark Sunday afternoon) 6. Blurred Crusade (The Church jingle / jangle flawlessly here...)7. After Everything Now This (S.K at his poetic best here. Great to put on in bed when you can't sleep - great to let the mind wander...)8. Starfish (The 'break-through' album... 'Antenna' is a little gem)9. Further Deeper ('Pride Before the Fall' - what an amazing track. 35 years on and these guys just continue to surprise)10. Untitled #23 (Great record - Pete & Marty's guitar interplay is just brilliant throughout)Honourable mention: GAF - Great 'singles' album
Great video! Such an underappreciated band, at least here in the U.S. I have been listening to them since 1985 and I think the latest albums are the best work they've done, being very consistent, even if they don't always hit as many of the high points of earlier albums. But there is some incredible stuff on Untitled #23, Further Deeper, Uninvited Like The Clouds, and After Everything Now This. They have managed to grow and still sound like The Church which is an amazing feat. I can't think of many bands from the 80s that are still worth listening to today. Have to say, Space Saviour was my least favorite song on that album, but Operetta and Ankorage are fantastic. Really wish they would do more multi-part vocals as on Operetta, that was quite a surprise.
I was in high school when Under the Milky Way was a hit and I loved; however, I hated the middle eight section with the bagpipes and couldn't get passed it. Wow! What a fool I was! I am im my 40's and I am just getting into them and listening to their music. I have really missed out all these years hearing all the great songs and seeing them live. (I just saw them for the first time in 2016, and I was just blown away! They sounded amazing... Anyway, thank you so much for making this video. I am really looking forward to hearing many of the albums for the first time. Currently, my favorite albums are Priest = Aura and The Blurred Crusade. Cheers, fellas!
what an amazing content. thank you. as you say hard for any the church fan to pick out one best songs. i heard the ungraded moment on spring break blown away. that song prompted to run out and pick up every church LP i could get my hand on. i was a convert then and there. yes there have been some disappointment, can always find a gem on any of them. again thank you so much for your perspective and insight. regards, Brian
Thank you so very much. This Band is a lifetime favorite and I am only aware of two albums as they never got any play in Philly from 1978 to 2000 that I lived there. You just never heard of them nobody talked of them so I gave up on them. My Mistake as they have obviously put out some great work I had no idea of. I am just so ready to find there full catalog now. Starfish still makes me happy to listen too. I have played them for the better part of 30 years.My God it's been that long.I feel tired and old now. Take Care My Friends. Steve @VT&A
Church have a knack for writing brilliant opening tracks: Destination, Pharaoh, Day of the Dead, Myrrh, etc. one could make an outstanding comp with just their opening tracks.
I'm currently listening to the dreary, Magician Among the Spirits. What a deep dive into a world of such darkness and an endless stream of suffocating bass lines. It's so intense and moody, and an album that gets better and better with each listen. I certainly miss your FOTT features. May they resurface in the future!
Thanks for the inspiring a playlist of both you guys' favorites that I will explore further. I agree that The Church is all about which ever albums and songs you "lived in" the most. After Everything is the top of my list. I was amazed and obsessed with Hologram. What a re-invention of a band! I lived in that Box of Birds as well. So when Everything came out, I couldn't believe a band could be so great. I want to shout out for one of my earliest Church favorites... "Warm Spell". It's poppy and hypnotic, with great lyrics. I love that the Starfish deluxe version still sounds as warbly and distorted as the flexi-disc that I lived in as a teen. The instrumental break is kind of proggy, and the synth outro is kind of kraut rock.
Jim Barton Thanks Jim! I have that flexi single for 'Warm Spell' - I need to revisit that this weekend, so thanks for mentioning it. Thanks for sticking with us for 54 minutes and for taking the time to share your thoughts on those albums and songs. Cheers. - Bret
I recently discovered The Church and have been losing my mind over them for months now. When I first heard Seance I couldn't believe my ears, it was so good! Thank you for the great video.
Hi Bret, I'm a big Church fan from Australia, and loved watching your ranking of their albums. Thank you for all the videos you've done, including the ranking of albums of The Cure, which is my all time favourite band. My friend and I recently were motivated to do a similar list of The Church's albums after we watched yours and Robert Lurie's excellent review. Of course, as always happens, as soon as we completed it, "Further/Deeper" was released, so I've included it in my list. I've taken into account that a new album iswalways appealing from a freshness perspective, and have listend to it numerous times now, as well seen them play it in full live in Sydney recently. But even taking that into account, "Further/Deeper" is a very strong entry into their list of magnificent albums and for mine ranks quite highly. So here's my list, together with the three best tracks on each.. 1. Priest = Aura (Aura, Dome, Film) 2. Hologram of Baal (Anaesthesia, Tranquility, Buffalo) 3. After Everything Now This (The Awful Ache, Reprieve, Invisible) 4. The Blurred Crusade (Almost With You, You Took, When You Were Mine) 5. Further/Deeper (Vanishing Man, Love Philtre, Miami) 6. Untitled # 23 (Cobalt Blue, Anchorage, Operetta) 7. Gold Afternoon Fix (Laughing, Fading Away, Metropolis) 8. Forget Yourself (Sealine, Telepath, Lay Low) 9. Sometime Anywhere (Day of the Dead, Dead Man's Dream, Two Places At Once) 10. Uninvited Like the Clouds (Pure Chance, Untoward, Block) 11. Starfish (A New Season, Hotel Womb, Under the Milky Way) 12. Of Skins and Hearts (Is This Where You Live?, The Unguarded Moment, Bel Air) 13. Magician Amongst the Spirits (The Further Adventures of the Time Being, Romany Caravan, Grandiose) 14. Heyday (Happy Hunting Ground, Already Yesterday, Tristesse) 15. Remote Luxury (A Month of Sundays, No Explanation, Constant in Opal) 16. Seance (Fly, It's No Reason, One Day) As you can see, I tend to favour their more recent, more psychadelic albums. However, like you, I really don't have a bad word to say about any of their songs, and it's such a difficult task ranking the albums as there are some tremendously high quality tracks in even the lowest ranked albums. I too love Starfish, but I just haven't ranked it as highly as most as I believe their best work came after that with albums like Priest=Aura etc. They really are a band that has got better and better with age. It's even harder to list my top 3 tracks of all, but I do have a clear no.1 and that is "Anaesthesia", the opening track from "Hologram of Baal". Just a perfect, wonderful track in every respect, I never get tired of listening to it. My next two would be "Aura" and "Happy Hunting Ground". Thank you again for your reviews, they are simply fascinating and you clearly have a great love, knowledge and appreciation for the bands you review. I will send you my list of The Cure's albums in time. Cheers.
Captain Mainwaring Thanks for taking the time to watch, comment and leave your own detailed list. Always cool to compare notes with other fans of The Church. Cool to see that you've included Further/Deeper into it. Thank you for the kind words, really appreciate it. :) - Bret
Thank you for putting this together - it was great to walk with you through these albums. Can't remember if Back With Two Beasts was eligible for this video, but I feel like "Snowfaller" is such a great track that it at least deserves a mention. Cheers to all Church fans.
As a big Church fan, I loved this...I could go on and on about my favorite albums, songs, and experiences listening to them. You made a great point about Reptile, it's amazing to hear how different the bass and 2 guitar lines are, and I too marveled at Steve's ability to play that bass line while singing. You guys mentioned most of my favorites, but one song you didn't mention that I think deserves attention is Terra Nova Cain from Gold Afternoon Fix. That was the first Church album I bought (found a used CD super cheap and decided to try them out since I liked the songs I'd heard on the radio) and that song is what made me a Church fan. "She put her foot down on the oscillation pedal, she was a trans-dimensional speeder"... that sold me. What other band could come up with a line like that? Plus the guitars are great on that song... they always have a great 2 guitar interplay, and it's had a huge influence on the playing styles of bands I've been in. I don't know if I could pick an absolute favorite song, but for years I'd venture to say An Interlude from The Blurred Crusade is the one song that does it for me. Once again, great guitar interplay, and the outro is so powerful. I've already rambled too long, but I have to say Forget Yourself would have been much higher up for me. I saw them twice on tour for this one and the songs were really great live. Steve is also an entertaining storyteller. He should release a spoken word album just rambling on about the cities he's played in.
15. Sometime Anywhere 14. Magician Among The Spirits 13. Remote Luxury 12. Forget Yourself 11. Of Skins And Heart 10. Uninvited Like The Clouds 9. Hologram Of Baal 8. Gold Afternoon Fix 7. After Everything Now This 6.Seance 5. Blurred Crusade 4. Priest Aura 3.Untitled 23 2. Starfish 1. Heyday Thanks for sharing!
Thanks gentlemen. Very late to the party. I appreciate your rankings. As a fan, I'll submit mine for only the albums I have. There's still a few that need to be researched. Also ranked them on the 1-5 star system. 12 Further/Deeper (3) 11 Untitled #23 (3.5) 10 Hologram of Baal (3,5) 9 Remote Luxury (4) 8 Heyday (4) 7 Seance (4) 6 Priest = Aura (4.5) 5 After Everything Now This (4.5) 4 Gold Afternoon Fix (5) 3 Of Skins and Heart (5) 2 Starfish (5) 1 The Blurred Crusade (5)
I'm an expert like all of you :-) too me, Forget Yourself is not only my favorite Church album, but my favorite album of all time!!! I guess I got under the album's skin the first time I listened to it. I love it. Plus, I saw them in London this tour. Great show
What a cool video. Long time Church fan (since 1988, like a lot of people in the States), just saw them live in San Diego to support Further/Deeper. The show was a little disappointing, but I got reintroduced to some of their older stuff that I had in my collection (but ignored). Thanks for putting this together, I'm going to give the songs you both chose another listen. BTW: 'June' is such a monster track, so glad to see you both chose it.
Jackov Altraydz Hey Jack, thanks for stopping by. Strange that the SD show was at such a small venue - too bad they couldn't have had it at the House of Blues.
Mr. Lurie was kind enough to mention me in his book about the Church...Lord knows why.. I'm now going to see the Church at the Fine Line in Mpls tomorrow night. A fine, overlooked rock n roll combo.
Thanks for sharing guys ! For me, Starfish remains to be my favorite Church album because not only it has some of the most memorable songs and delicate arrangements, but it really stood out for its perfect production quality, all the vocal and instrumental details were presented flawlessly here. Besides Starfish, i think most of the other albums were equally great in their own terms, and sometimes my preference would change if i have a new understanding with the album. Anyhow, here's my favorite album rankings by The Church for the time being ( + my 3 favorite songs from each one )... 1. Starfish - Lost, Reptile, North South East West 2. Priest= Aura - Ripple, Feel, Paradox 3. Untitled 23 - Operetta, Happenstance, Cobalt Blue 4. Blurred Crusade - To be in your eyes, An interlude, You Took 5. Hologram of Baal - Buffalo, Louisiana, Another Earth 6. After everything now this - After everything, Seen it coming, Radiance 7. Heyday - Happy Hunting Ground, Columbus, Tristesse 8. Of Skins and Hearts - Tear it all away, Bel Air, She never said 9. Gold Afternoon Fix - Metropolis, Laughing, Grind 10. Sometime Anywhere - Angelica, Lullaby, Business Woman 11. Magicians among the spirit - Magician among the spirits, Welcome, After-image 12. Forget Yourself - Telepath, Reversal, Appalatia 13. Seance - Electric Lash, One day, Now i wonder why 14. Uninvited like the Cloud - Easy, Pure Chance, Song to Go 15. Remote Luxury - No Explanation, A month of sundays, Into my hands
Great video, and good to see Robert again - he and I correspond intermittently over Facebook since I read his book. I am thinking of, when the new album is released, doing my own version of this video in response :) Best band on the planet, no question, and I'm only 24. Greetings from England.
Of Skins and Heart (2nd best album): *For a Moment We're Strangers, Bel-Air, Is This Where You Live, She Never Said & Fighter Pilot .. Korean War* ------ The Blurred Crusade (best album): *When You Were Mine, Just For You, A Fire Burns & You Took* - my favourite songs on each album!
Every Church fan is an expert but not everyone is capable of writing a book on them. The countdown was a lot of fun to watch. You and I preach the same Church bible. I love Heyday and Starfish too. Although Robert's pick for numero uno was right on the money. I completely forgot how brilliant 'Blurred Crusade' is. I love 'When You Were Mine' and 'Just For You'. The first time I saw them was in 1984. I also saw them in 1988. Both times at the Paradise in Boston. Where did you see them? How many times did Robert see them? Have a great weekend Bret. Really enjoyed this. Rob/Boston "I see you slither away with your skin and your tail, your flickering tongue and your rattling scales, like a real reptile"
Paneeks1960 Thanks Rob - great to hear from you. The Blurred Crusade is indeed worthy of a #1 pick - good to see that you and Robert agree on that one. Believe it or not, I've only been able to catch them live once - the time they toured before, I had an Audra show on the same night.. and before that, I can't recall. The show I saw was at Rams Head in Annapolis, Maryland. It was brilliant. Not sure how many times Robert has seen them - I'll get back to you on that one. What a great quote from Reptile you put there. :) Have a great weekend, Rob. - Bret
she never said,night of light,dropping names,and an interlude are amongst my favourite songs of theirs and somehow over the years when i look back..it does't change...oh and THE best for me lyrically and musically;- 'ROMAN'
My Favorite Church Records from 1-18 1.Starfish 2.Priest=Aura 3.The Blurred Crusade 4.Heydey 5.Further/Deeper 6.Of Skins and Hearts 7.Uninvited Like The Clouds 8.Remote Luxury 9.After Everything Now This 10.Magician Among The Spirits 11.Forget Yourself 12.Séance 13.Untitled 23 14.Hologram of Baal 15. A Box of Birds(I know you didn't include it but it is an excellent covers record) 16.Back with Two Beasts(download record only initially but released in limited run in Australia only I believe) 17.Sometime Anywhere 18.Gold Afternoon Fix Well that's my list great video Mr.Helm
Starfish is the Shakespeare of Church albums, not a wasted note, everything with a purpose 17:08 can some talented musician do a remix of Metropolis with this sound 😄 Would love to hear an updated list including the latest releases
Wow...Just saw this. Excellent video and so much fun. I would absolutely LOVE to have another "Ranking of the Church" video,after each release!! (now that we have "Further/Deeper")...It's so hard to rank the albums without shuffling positions ... and I am pretty sure "Gold Afternoon Fix" will climb the top 15 next time....!! (by the way Bret: I totally appreciate how you are so "into" music--- there are others out here,like myself,that are as well.....)....
Absolutely Love This!!!!! You guys rocked this video. Thank you for posting. Love it when bands I really like get noticed especially for nearly 40 years of material. Shit that's a long time!.!.!. What a career spanning catalogue of music. Great vid. One more note or question, Bret, has anyone ever told you that you sound and kinda look like Jason Bentley?????? Hmmmmm...... Very interesting.......no? Maybe it's just me
Ben Costello Hey Ben, thanks for sitting through 54 minutes! If you haven't already, give the track 'Reptile' a listen - I think that'd be right in your wheelhouse. :)
Oh yes you should. They are subliminally almost forgotten, yet ultimately memorable. Kilbey is the real deal. Check out his recent works with Martin Kennedy - just beautiful and timeless - and that's probably why the sound of he and his collaborators - including The Church, endures - and also probably why a couple of lads like this, over there in the US have done a wonderful retrospective like this.
Watched it start to finish. Really enjoyed it. I liked the comment that went something like "every big church fan is an expert" it's true. I was kind of surprised you guys didn't talk about some of the the producers: Waddy wachtel, Bob Clearmountain, Peter Walsh, but that's not a rip. Thanks
Thank you for the spectacular video! I've only gotten into The Church late last year. So excited to explore the rest of their discography even more so now, so thank you! Just wanted to know your opinion on the albums that they published after this video was released. Either way, thank you for the video, it was a joy to watch. Best wishes from Melbourne!
Thank you for watching! I've definitely enjoyed everything that has been released since this video. Perhaps someday it will be time to do an updated version.... :) - Bret
Robert! You had me yelling at the screen :) Authority/Business Woman as two of your faves off Sometime Anywhere...for shame! I'd have chosen Day of the Dead, Dead Man's Dream and Fly Home. Also, Steve's half of Two Places at Once is an excellent story. But Authority/BW are, if I'm remembering right, songs they wrote at the record company's request for something more commercial. They (the band) didn't really like them which is why they're on the bonus disc, not the main album. Feels good to stretch my "Church opinion" muscles, haven't done that for a while :) Very glad you guys made this video.
great work guys - really enjoyed that - i knew after reading Robert's book that we had opposite views on great church albums/tunes, but i was surprised to see you BOTH put Forget Yourself so low on your lists - It was the album that got me hooked, and will probably be my number one (closely followed by Seance, Hologram of Baal and Back with Two Beasts!!!) ( i heard of the church through my older brother, who was a fan since the 80s, and cousin who was a roadie with them at the time too - but i was too busy listening to REM... took me to be a 22yo really get them) - anyway, i wonder where the new album will rate in our lists - times like these we really gotta be thankful to have such a great band like the church - see you guys around.
Very much enjoyed the video and your selections guys. I first saw The Church live in 1981 at a High School Hall in Sydney!! Growing up with their earlier stuff I still feel a stronger attachment to their music from 1981-1988. My Top 5 would be......1) The Blurred Crusade 2) Heyday 3) Starfish 4) Remote Luxury + Persia 5) Of Skins & Heart.....Priest = Aura would be my fave from their later stuff. thanks for doing the video!
Really cool video. Monumentally great band, The Church. One of those bands where many of the non-hit songs are some of the best for me. Just a veritable goldmine of gems in their discography. Quite underrated and overlooked here in the States (save for _'Starfish'_) in my opinion, which is a shame to me. All in all, one of the best bands many people have only glanced at, unfortunately. Your pick of 'Metropolis' as your fave Church song reminded me of it's really cool B-Side, 'Much Too Much', which I also enjoyed.
Very nice video and fun idea. The Church is fantastic, one of my favourite bands. I discovered them somewhere in early 2000 when I bought "Gold afternoon Fix", a used LP. The special thing about them is that they have in my view put out their best stuff in later years, during the 2000's, usually it works the opposite way. And they are still going strong putting out very inspired stuff! I listened through their albums and made my own ranking, and and made 1-3 picks from each. it's very different than your list, because I'm not a fan of their pre-Heyday stuff. I rank 18 albums, some albums share the same position. 16. The Church - Of Skins And Heart (1981) None 15. The Church - Remote Luxury (1984) Shadow Cabinet - the only okay song 14. The Church - The blurred crusade (1982) Non appealing songs (to me). 13. The Church - Sometime Anywhere (1994) Weak, but I like Business Woman and perhaps My Little Problem. 12. The Church - Seance (1983) Fly is nice, I don't care for the rest 11. The Church - Back With Two Beasts (2005) Snowfaller 10. The Church - Beside Yourself (2005) Jazz 10. The Church - Gold Afternoon Fix (1990) Fading Away, Disappointment 9. The Church - Priest/Aura (1992) Feel is great in spite of stiff drum machine. Dome is great! 8. The Church - Hologram Of Baal (1998) Louisiana 8. The Church - Uninvited, Like The Clouds (2006) Never Before (a favourite) and Day 5 7. The Church - Magician among the spirits (1996) Romany Caravan and Ladyboy 6. The Church - Further Deeper (2014) Pride Before A Fall, Love Philtre (so great songs) 5. The Church - After Everything Now This (2002) Radiance , Song for the Asking 4. The Church - Untitled #23 (2009) Deadman's Hand, Cobalt Blue, On Angel Street 3. The Church - Starfish (1988) A New Season , Destination, Lost 2. The Church - Heyday (1985) As You Will, Already Yesterday, Happy Hunting Ground 1. The Church - Forget Yourself (2004) Sealine, Nothing Seeker, I Kept Everything
Postscript for Bret: I was at the 2009 Annapolis show as well. Six feet or less from Peter! My table-mates were banging their heads in ecstasy during You Took. Great to see the band in such an intimate environment.
as an American i like i think most people first heard The Church when "Under The Milky Way" way was getting a decent amount of airplay, i was 15 at the time and about a year later i started learning all sorts of things about more obscure music and genres and discovering all sorts of things. but at the time was still mostly just a clueless top 40 radio or more precisely MTV listener, i would sometimes watch 120 minutes when i would catch it and i didnt even know what kind of music it was i only knew it by the term College Rock. but there were bands on there that had more atmospheric moody music i liked and didnt know what to call or how to look more into it, and i remembering hear "Under the Milky Way" that first time and just thinking "YES!!! this is it this is what i am looking for". so i bought Starfish Milky Way and Hotel Womb and some of the songs were good but i fell in love with "Destination" probably one of my all time favorite songs. but really a lot of the tracks just sort of blend in to me and dont stand out. a few years later i saw the video for "Metropolis" and again instantly loved it with that great riff and that great voice, so i went out and got the album and i absolutely loved "Pharaoh" and "Metropolis" but most of the rest of it all just sort of blended together for me. and as i dug into their older albums it sort of remained a pattern, and i think that is The Churches problem. they are a great band with a great sound but in my opinion they have never had a great album, their albums all have a few really great stand out tracks and then a bunch of pretty atmospheric sparkly tracks but that all just sort of blend together. tracks that dont stand out, that are all sort of at the same medium pace with the same shimmering background chords and they dont sound bad but at the same time they are just sort of album filler. and its a shame because they sort of represent a paisley underground kind of style that too few bands today embrace.
after watching this whole thing it really occurs to me how much some of the song titles ruin it for me. talking about what a bad title "Business Women" is and i agree. i think "Space Savior" is a pretty cheesy title too personally. and "Hotel Womb" was one of the first Church songs i ever liked but i always hated that title, i think if they didnt use the word Womb i would probably like the song ten times as much.
Interesting and informative. I've been curious about this band, but didn't know where to start. Didn't want to stream the music before hand either. Now I feel equipped to go into a record store and pick one of their albums, many thanks guys.
best band in the universe!!! great video Bret, I have the Robert book ;) my 3 fav: Heyday, Blurred, Priest=Aura, special affection to Skins (first church album that I listen complete, love it), many people put Sometime Anywhere to low but after many plays I started to like a lot; maybe my least favorite is Hologram Of Baal; one thing that Church in my opinion start to get worse after Sometime Anywhere are the cover arts... very low production artworks like Magician Among The Spirits and Back With Two Beasts (good album by the way), again great show.
Great video idea, I loved it. I am now going to have to dig deeper into The Church's discography. I have their albums from Of Skin and Heart to Starfish, and love them all. For some reason I never bought anything after Starfish. I really got into metal around the same time that Starfish came out, and just never really bought anything after 88.
Harmless Rebel Thanks! I would definitely recommend grabbing Priest=Aura (CD copies are pretty common, vinyl is really rare)... and their most recent, Untitled #23. Those two would be a great bookend to the time frame you're unfamiliar with.
Clearly this must have come out right before the release of Further Deeper. It’s funny because my thoughts about Starfish vs Priest = Aura and why they don’t get the top spot mirror Robert’s, and I have almost said so, verbatim, many times. I wonder if Robert would agree with me that Further Deeper knocks Blurred Crusade out of the top spot for having the gritty, muscular drive of Starfish combined with the ethereal, expansive quality of Priest = Aura? Excellent video, thanks for sharing!
Well done lads. Big thumbs up. The Church have proven themselves to be the best we have, have had, and probably ever will have in Oz. btw: check out Kilbey & Kennedy, i guarantee you wont be disappointed.
Moo01100 Thank you! I actually did a Friday On The Turntable feature on the vinyl release of the latest K&K album: [Friday On The Turntable] Steve Kilbey & Martin Kennedy - You Are Everything (Vinyl Edition): Review - White Magic was also excellent. Thanks for the kind words - Bret
Moo01100 Thank you! I actually did a Friday On The Turntable feature on the vinyl release of the latest K&K album: [Friday On The Turntable] Steve Kilbey & Martin Kennedy - You Are Everything (Vinyl Edition): Review - White Magic was also excellent. Thanks for the kind words - Bret
Awesome job, guys. Really terrific video about one of rock's great unsung bands. There are no casual Church fans! Hopefully, this will encourage rock fans to really dig deeper into the amazing living musical legacy of this band. Just to chime - I think one of the their best songs is the Marty-sung track "Russian Autumn Heart" on GAF.
1. Priest= Aura 2. Hologram of Baal 3. Seance 4. Starfish 5. Forget Yourself 6. Uninvited Like the Clouds 7. Of Skins And Heart 8. Remote Luxury 9. Gold Afternoon Fix 10. MATS (+some) 11. After Everything Now This 12. Blurred Crusade 13. Sometime Anywhere 14. Heyday 15. Untitled #23 This was a bit tough after the first 5! P=A has the best songs,the best drumming, and the best production. Not way too shiny like Heyday and not a pile of mud like U23 (and admittedly also HOB and FY..though the songs still shine through). Great reviews guys, I love the format.
Glad to see "June" get some love from both of you! My list: 15. Sometime Anywhere 14. Magician Among the Spirits 13. Hologram of Baal 12. After Everything Now This 11. Gold Afternoon Fix 10. Seance 9. Remote Luxury 8. Untitled #23 7. Forget Yourself 6. Uninvited Like the Clouds 5. Of Skins and Heart 4. Priest = Aura 3. Heyday 2. Starfish 1. The Blurred Crusade
My band recently recorded a version of "June." I was surprised to learn from Paul Webb's gigography and song database that The Church have never played that song live!
Thank you and I look forward to reading the book. Tough to rank them all. I got into them back with Blurred Crusade. Dropped out in the 90's then fully rediscovered recently and wow what I've missed! I enjoy their 21st century stuff as well as their 80's. I would rank Priest=Aura favorite and other favorites Uninvited like the Clouds, Blurred Crusade and Heyday. Truly though, every album is worth listening hard too, even if you're not into jangly Rickenbaker guitars and way out words.
I agree with the lower ranking of "Sometime, Anywhere", but how do other The Church fans feel about the song "The Maven"? Its my favorite track from the album. Great video guys. Thanks for taking the time to put it together.
I remember getting the album and loving most of it I think Day of the Dead great, My Little Problem, The Maven, Angelica, Business Woman, Two Places, and Dead Mans Dream all very cool I still listen to it a lot - can't go wrong with The a Church my friend, enjoy
I know that Hindsight is a compilation of bits and pieces from the early days but I think it's worth a shout because it contains difficult to source gems such as Sisters, Life Speeds Up, and Trance Ending. Life Speeds Up has to be one of the best b-sides EVER, and it's weird to think of it just being a kind of throwaway curio.
Like you said there are good songs off every album, so it's hard to choose. At the top of my list (top 5) is Heyday, Gold afternoon fix, Forget Yourself, Sing Songs, , Priest=Aura
And to think that now, Peter and Marty are out of the band. So many changes down the years, Steve is the only one who's there from the beginning. Also very interesting to see your rankings. It's so different than mine.
Glad you made the comment that they haven't made a bad album - that's true. Thoroughly enjoyed the list and looking at the comments with the lists. Ranking is very difficult - one thing I learnt in ranking by tier Tier 1 - absolute classic Tier 2 - almost wonderful Tier 3 - pretty damn good Tier 1 - Priest=Aura, Gold Afternoon Fix, Starfish, Blurred Crusade, Remote Luxury Tier 2 - Untitled 23, Hologram of Baal, Seance, Heyday Tier 3 - The rest Hologram came with an additional disc in the UK of improvisational pieces, and it's fantastic. Priest is the 1st album I got, and loved it immediately that Aura came in. Got Gold Afternoon and Starfish next - the earlier ones I had to wait and get when travelled to London. So much quality in every release Got the new album on pre-order Loved the segment, very interesting points and great to see such a cool discussion. Nice one.
paul elliott Paul! I somehow missed replying to this. Yeah, The Church is one of those bands where even if it falls at the bottom of the list, it's still pretty damn good - well said! Cheers. - Bret
Great job guys! Brings back Memories of the albums and the tours that fallowed, when I would capture them with my Camera Lens. Robert, will contact you soon! pv
I would place After Everything Now This and Hologram of Baal in my top 5 with Starfish, Priest=Aura, and Blurred Crusade. Songs that would be missing from my list: Two Places at Once, Lay Low, She'll Come Back for You Tomorrow, Chromium, Ricochet, Buffalo, It's no Reason, Happenstance, Field of Mars, Secret Corners, Myrrh, and Lustre
Great stuff. I don't necessarily agree with your rankings and song choices (I'll come up with my own soon - you've inspired me!) but no love for the Mementos or Quick Smoke? Did you not consider these as studio albums per se?
yessir, in that wonderful wide and shallow space. Had a nice little chat with Marty afterwards :) Also saw them several times at the 9:30 Club and the State Theatre. Good times.
Great video! My turn, if you're interested. Agree that The Church never made a truly bad album. Any negative comments of mine are relative to the greatness of the band's work as a whole. I also respect the opinions of all Church fans who like the albums I'm not as fond of. So here goes: 15. Untitled #23. Never warmed up to it. Never listen to it. 14. Remote Luxury (U.S. LP version). Dated production, some real songwriting clunkers. Shadow Cabinet is the saving grace. 13. Uninvited Like the Clouds. Very hit-and-miss. Block is a great start, but not enough good songs, no real direction. 12. Magician Among the Spirits (Plus Some version). A bit aimless. First four songs are very good, especially Man. The rest of the songs try to be P=A Part 2, but don't succeed. 11. Forget Yourself. Far too long. Not the best sound quality, special effects getting repetitive. Some very good songs (Maya the favorite), mixed in with average filler. 10. Seance. Good concept for an album, marred by unfortunate production errors and a few songwriting duds. An early attempt at slower-moving, thoughtful music that the band would do better in the '90s and the '00s. Deep cut favorite: It Doesn't Change. 9. Of Skins and Heart (U.S. Arista reissue). Good energy, not always the best execution. Fresh in spirit, but dated production makes some songs hard to listen to. Bel Air, Tear It All Away, and Sisters are all sterling favorites. 8. Hologram of Baal. Nice to have Tim fully onboard and Pete back in the band. Consistently good, but rarely as great as their best albums. Louisiana and Buffalo set the pace beautifully. 7. After Everything Now This. Good set of songs, good production, good overall feel and direction. Again, rarely great, but creates a languid, decadent ambience. Seen It Coming and Invisible are wonderfully bittersweet and moving to close things out. 6. Sometime Anywhere. I like the experimentation and the risks that Steve and Marty took with this album. Too long, doesn't always succeed, but stylistically it's a breath of fresh air. Very happy to hear Day of the Dead and Two Places at Once during the '98 tour. 5. Gold Afternoon Fix. I seem to like this album better than most devout Church fans (and the band members). Chalk it up to happy memories when the album came out. Able to block out fake drums and studio-slickness for gems like Disappointment, Laughing, Grind. 4. Priest=Aura. First of the Top 4, all of which are far above the rest. P=A is the break point between Old Church and New Church - sets the tone for all future music the band would create. Great songwritng, lyrics, production, and performances (especially by Steve). In fact, only drawback is that at times it feels almost like a Kilbey solo album. Chaos is too over-the-top, but more than made up for by Paradox, Feel, and especially Aura (candidate for best Church song ever). 3. Heyday. Unique in the catalog, Heyday may be the "happiest" album the band have ever recorded. Still sounds fresh and invigorating - I've probably played this album more than any other over the past 10 years. Mostly excellent songs and performances; Marty truly steps up his game on the guitar. The last three songs drop off a bit (I've replaced them with the b-sides from '85/'86 on my Heyday playlist). Tantalized rocks, Tristesse charms, and Myrrh is perfect - another candidate for best Church song ever. 2. The Blurred Crusade. A guitar-lover's dream, with many of Peter's best-ever moments on lead. The bass and drums are also world-class. Musically as close to perfection as I could ever hope for. I wish Bob Clearmountain had produced all of the Church albums pre-Heyday. Rocks better than almost any other album from the '80s. Only drawbacks are average lead vocals, and occasionally silly lyrics. The first four songs plus You Took are all clear favorites. 1. Starfish. Has to be number one because it was my introduction to the band, as it was for so many people outside Australia. Still love the songwriting, the performances, the lyrics and vocals, the energy of the faster songs, the beauty of the slower songs. In retrospect, I can see why the slick studio production is criticized, but at the time, it worked like a charm. Destination, UTMW, Antenna, Reptile, A New Season - all wonderful. But Hotel Womb is my vote for the best Church song of all time. A true desert-island album, to be enjoyed for the remainder of my days.
I found Bret's choices a little bit predictable, but Robert's on the other hand were very interesting, which is why I took a greater interest in his list. Personally though, my number one Church album is 'Back With Two Beasts'; love everything about it. Number two is 'untitled 23', followed by P=A, Blurred Crusade and Remote Luxury. My least favourite is Sometime Anywhere. I like the idea of an experimental album, but the vibe is just too scrambled to enjoy. I believe that the only song worth listening to on this album is My Little Problem.
1. Heyday 2. Priest = Aura 3. Remote Luxury 4. Seance 5. Starfish 6. Hologram of Baal 7. The Blurred Crusade 8. Magician amongst the Spirits 9. Untiled 23 10. Of Skins and Hearts 11. Gold Afternoon Fix 12. Sometime Anywhere 13. Uninvited like the Clouds 14. After Everything Now This 15. Forget Yourself Great video guys. Best song - A month of Sundays. Man he's a good songwriter. Thanks!
AUSTRALIAS MOST UNDERATED BAND . PEOPLE THINK OF INXS MEN AT WORK ICEHOUSE MONDO ROCK AND THE MODELS. AUSSIE BANDS IN THE 80s INCREDIBLE.MARTY WAS BORN IN LIVERPOOL ENGLAND CAME TO AUSSIE IN 1980.
@@BretHelmsLifeOnThisPlanetBlog I am Scott Wilkinson and I was in that Band. I remember when Jim Booth played Unguarded Moment for me in a Van. When we started playing gigs, we only had to original songs and the rest of our two sets were all Church songs. We also once called Steve Kilbey "collect" from a pay phone in PV Mall. We were such fans. You could probably hear the influence the Church had on us.
It's a great idea to make such a ranking! It is of course a question of taste especially with a band of the greatness of the Church - there is no really weak album.. I have a similar opinion with many album the exception is "Sometime Anywhere". Robert puts it on the last place and Bret on 13th place. In my eyes it is one of the best outputs of the whole band history and has always be completely underrated. In my ranking it would be 1st together with "After Everything Now This" and "Priest = Aura". For me the worst album by far is "Seance". Actually great songs but the productions destroys it completely.
Oh sh*t...Loved your book...I'm going to have to sober up and get into this...if P=A and Heyday aren't 2 of the top five I'm going to be really interested in the reasoning.
Wonderful use of 54 mins - thank you. Try as I do to like it I just find myself reaching for the 'skip track' function each time I hear the opening bars of Maybe these Boys. Its just so un Church like.
Great job guys. Ranking The Church albums is no easy task that's for sure. I liked both of your #1 choices but personally, my favorite would have to be Heyday. I'll be curious to hear how the upcoming "Further/Deeper" album sounds. It would be cool if you two did a Friday On The Turntable once it comes out and compared opinions on the new album as well.
Echovoice17 Mark, Heyday is definitely a great choice for #1. You must have read my mind, because that's exactly what I'm planning for the new album. :) I already have an advance for it, and have been enjoying it for the last week or so. I'm hoping they secure a domestic release / distribution for it. Thanks for watching!
@@BretHelmsLifeOnThisPlanetBlog And Now you have to compare. Man Woman Life Death Infinity. Blew my mind. Can't believe it's the work of a 40 year old band as it's as fresh as anything I've heard.
Certain albums have their own ebb and flow ; the albums that I think have the best, and in no certain order, are THE BLURRED CRUSADE, PRIEST =AURA, STARFISH and HEYDAYand depending on the social lubricant- PRIEST=AURA if smoking and HEYDAY if drinking and STARFISH if chemical (X or blotter)
Thnks for this. It's always interesting to see how others rate their albums. For me, the Blurred Crusade would not be number one, but nor would Starfish. I like Heyday the best. With perhaps an occasional nod to Priest=Aura. I note you two both had Priest=Aura at number three--and I guess I'd downmiss it to number three myself because I hate JD Daugherty's drumming. on the album. He doesn't have the intuition that Richard Plooog had. He almost puts the same drumbeat on every song. Even if that's an exaggeration, Richard Ploog would have done a better job. It's a pity he burnt out.
![[Friday On The Turntable] Ranking David Bowie - From Space Oddity to Scary Monsters](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/L9yzLrMQ2FE/mqdefault.jpg)
The Hypnogogue /Eros- I am a big Prog Rock, Floyd, Bowie fan and this album has all that and get is still very much The Church: I find the whole concept pretty trippy and fascinating as well. I can listen to it straight through, as well as EZATPG album. Two perfect albums.
1. Hypnogogue/Eros Zeta ( I count this as a double album)
2. Priest =Aura (The Dissilusionist is sublime. Also Chaos and Ripple)
3. Starfish (Reptile, Destination and Blood Money)
4. Heyday ( Tristesse, Myrrh, Tantalized)
5. Sometime Anywhere ( The Maven, Day of the Dead, Two Places at Once)
6. Untitled 23 (Pangea, Happenstance, Lunar). I adore So Love May Find Us
7. Further Deeper (Pride Before the Fall, Globe Spinning, Vanishing Man)
8. Uninvited, Like the Clouds (Block, Space Needle, She'll Come Back For you Tomorrow)
9. Forget Yourself (Sealine, Telepath, Lay Low)
10. Magician (Lady Boy, Magician, Welcome)
11. MWlDI (Another Century, Submarine, Undersea)
12. After Everything (Numbers, After Everything, The Awful Ache)
13. Blurred (Field of Mars, You Took, Almost With You)
14. Of skins (Ungarded, Chrome Injury, Fighter pilot)
15. Seance (Fly, Electric Lash, travel By Thought)
17. GAf (Pharoah, Metrpolis, You're Still So Beautiful
18. Hologram (No Certainty Attached, This Is It, Glowworm)
I feel Seance is criminally underrated. "Disappear" is one of my top 10 Church songs.
Agreed
I can't believe I watched all of that. Ha! It was cool seeing others' ranking.
Mine, using the same 15:
15. Of Skins and Heart
- Bel-Air, Fighter Pilot, Tear It All Away (... since it counts)
14. Magician Among the Spirits
- Ladyboy, Comedown, Ritz
13. Remote Luxury
- A Month of Sundays, Maybe These Boys, Shadow Cabinet
12. Forget Yourself
- Telepath, June, Maya
11. Uninvited Like the Clouds
- Day 5, Block, Unified Field
10. Blurred Crusade
- An Interlude, A Fire Burns, Secret Corners
9. Gold Afternoon Fix
- Laughing, Metropolis, City
8. Untitled 23
- Space Saviour, On Angel Street, Sunken Sun
7. Seance
- One Day, Disappear, It's No Reason
6. Sometime Anywhere
- Authority, Two Places at Once, Day of the Dead
5. Heyday
- Already Yesterday, Disenchanted, Tristesse
4. Priest = Aura
- Aura, Mistress, Feel
3. After Everything Now This
- The Awful Ache, Invisible, Reprieve
2. Hologram of Baal
- Louisiana, Tranquility, Buffalo
1. Starfish
- Hotel Womb, Lost, Antenna
My top 10 Albums from The Church:1. Priest = Aura (Simply sublime, snuck through the cracks in '92. Still amazing to this day. An album I buy all my friends for Xmas and/or Birthday presents!)2. Of Skins and Hearts (Just a great rocking Aussie album. Sounds as fresh today as it did in '82)3. Heyday (The Church really begin to hone there skills and unique sound here)4. Forget Yourself (Amazing 'guitar rich' album - 'June' is one of the best tracks I have ever heard. 'Nuf said...)5. Sometime Anywhere / Somewhere Else (I know, this is a double album, but this is a great album to play when it is cold outside with thunderstorms brewing on a dark Sunday afternoon) 6. Blurred Crusade (The Church jingle / jangle flawlessly here...)7. After Everything Now This (S.K at his poetic best here. Great to put on in bed when you can't sleep - great to let the mind wander...)8. Starfish (The 'break-through' album... 'Antenna' is a little gem)9. Further Deeper ('Pride Before the Fall' - what an amazing track. 35 years on and these guys just continue to surprise)10. Untitled #23 (Great record - Pete & Marty's guitar interplay is just brilliant throughout)Honourable mention: GAF - Great 'singles' album
This is so cool you guys. I feel like I'm there. It's the only way in my town to meet other Church fans. Thanks!
Thanks for watching, Dean! - Bret
That was great! I very much enjoyed listening to such knowledgeable Church fans talk about their albums. Thanks guys!!!
Richard A. Lambert Jr. Thanks for watching, Richard. Glad you enjoyed. :)
Great video! Such an underappreciated band, at least here in the U.S. I have been listening to them since 1985 and I think the latest albums are the best work they've done, being very consistent, even if they don't always hit as many of the high points of earlier albums. But there is some incredible stuff on Untitled #23, Further Deeper, Uninvited Like The Clouds, and After Everything Now This. They have managed to grow and still sound like The Church which is an amazing feat. I can't think of many bands from the 80s that are still worth listening to today. Have to say, Space Saviour was my least favorite song on that album, but Operetta and Ankorage are fantastic. Really wish they would do more multi-part vocals as on Operetta, that was quite a surprise.
Box of Birds is one of my favorite albums ever. Best cover album I've ever heard by a mile.
And to this date , August 2023, they have just started to tour behind “ The Hypnogogue” their 25th (depends on how you count)
Gold Afternoon Fix, helped to keep me alive. Proves rankings are solely subjective.
Subjective indeed. Every song / album means something different to each listener. Thanks for watching, Sen.
I was in high school when Under the Milky Way was a hit and I loved; however, I hated the middle eight section with the bagpipes and couldn't get passed it. Wow! What a fool I was! I am im my 40's and I am just getting into them and listening to their music. I have really missed out all these years hearing all the great songs and seeing them live. (I just saw them for the first time in 2016, and I was just blown away! They sounded amazing...
Anyway, thank you so much for making this video. I am really looking forward to hearing many of the albums for the first time. Currently, my favorite albums are Priest = Aura and The Blurred Crusade.
Cheers, fellas!
Okay I'm ranking this episode as the best one I've seen. The 54 minutes flew by. Robert is a great guest. Thanks to both of you.
Bob Roth Thanks Bob! I appreciate the kind words. Robert will definitely be making a return in future episodes. :)
what an amazing content. thank you. as you say hard for any the church fan to pick out one best songs. i heard the ungraded moment on spring break blown away. that song prompted to run out and pick up every church LP i could get my hand on. i was a convert then and there. yes there have been some disappointment, can always find a gem on any of them. again thank you so much for your perspective and insight. regards, Brian
Thanks Brian! Glad you enjoyed the video. - Bret
Great seeing Robert, and you guys overviews are excellent. 🤩👍
Thanks!
Thank you so very much. This Band is a lifetime favorite and I am only aware of two albums as they never got any play in Philly from 1978 to 2000 that I lived there. You just never heard of them nobody talked of them so I gave up on them. My Mistake as they have obviously put out some great work I had no idea of. I am just so ready to find there full catalog now. Starfish still makes me happy to listen too. I have played them for the better part of 30 years.My God it's been that long.I feel tired and old now. Take Care My Friends. Steve @VT&A
Church have a knack for writing brilliant opening tracks: Destination, Pharaoh, Day of the Dead, Myrrh, etc. one could make an outstanding comp with just their opening tracks.
I'm currently listening to the dreary, Magician Among the Spirits. What a deep dive into a world of such darkness and an endless stream of suffocating bass lines. It's so intense and moody, and an album that gets better and better with each listen.
I certainly miss your FOTT features. May they resurface in the future!
Thanks for the inspiring a playlist of both you guys' favorites that I will explore further. I agree that The Church is all about which ever albums and songs you "lived in" the most. After Everything is the top of my list. I was amazed and obsessed with Hologram. What a re-invention of a band! I lived in that Box of Birds as well. So when Everything came out, I couldn't believe a band could be so great. I want to shout out for one of my earliest Church favorites... "Warm Spell". It's poppy and hypnotic, with great lyrics. I love that the Starfish deluxe version still sounds as warbly and distorted as the flexi-disc that I lived in as a teen. The instrumental break is kind of proggy, and the synth outro is kind of kraut rock.
Jim Barton Thanks Jim! I have that flexi single for 'Warm Spell' - I need to revisit that this weekend, so thanks for mentioning it. Thanks for sticking with us for 54 minutes and for taking the time to share your thoughts on those albums and songs. Cheers. - Bret
I recently discovered The Church and have been losing my mind over them for months now. When I first heard Seance I couldn't believe my ears, it was so good! Thank you for the great video.
bentarantella Seance is so good - what a great place to start. Glad you enjoyed the video! - Bret
Hi Bret,
I'm a big Church fan from Australia, and loved watching your ranking of their albums. Thank you for all the videos you've done, including the ranking of albums of The Cure, which is my all time favourite band.
My friend and I recently were motivated to do a similar list of The Church's albums after we watched yours and Robert Lurie's excellent review. Of course, as always happens, as soon as we completed it, "Further/Deeper" was released, so I've included it in my list. I've taken into account that a new album iswalways appealing from a freshness perspective, and have listend to it numerous times now, as well seen them play it in full live in Sydney recently. But even taking that into account, "Further/Deeper" is a very strong entry into their list of magnificent albums and for mine ranks quite highly.
So here's my list, together with the three best tracks on each..
1. Priest = Aura (Aura, Dome, Film)
2. Hologram of Baal (Anaesthesia, Tranquility, Buffalo)
3. After Everything Now This (The Awful Ache, Reprieve, Invisible)
4. The Blurred Crusade (Almost With You, You Took, When You Were Mine)
5. Further/Deeper (Vanishing Man, Love Philtre, Miami)
6. Untitled # 23 (Cobalt Blue, Anchorage, Operetta)
7. Gold Afternoon Fix (Laughing, Fading Away, Metropolis)
8. Forget Yourself (Sealine, Telepath, Lay Low)
9. Sometime Anywhere (Day of the Dead, Dead Man's Dream, Two Places At Once)
10. Uninvited Like the Clouds (Pure Chance, Untoward, Block)
11. Starfish (A New Season, Hotel Womb, Under the Milky Way)
12. Of Skins and Hearts (Is This Where You Live?, The Unguarded Moment, Bel Air)
13. Magician Amongst the Spirits (The Further Adventures of the Time Being, Romany Caravan, Grandiose)
14. Heyday (Happy Hunting Ground, Already Yesterday, Tristesse)
15. Remote Luxury (A Month of Sundays, No Explanation, Constant in Opal)
16. Seance (Fly, It's No Reason, One Day)
As you can see, I tend to favour their more recent, more psychadelic albums. However, like you, I really don't have a bad word to say about any of their songs, and it's such a difficult task ranking the albums as there are some tremendously high quality tracks in even the lowest ranked albums. I too love Starfish, but I just haven't ranked it as highly as most as I believe their best work came after that with albums like Priest=Aura etc. They really are a band that has got better and better with age.
It's even harder to list my top 3 tracks of all, but I do have a clear no.1 and that is "Anaesthesia", the opening track from "Hologram of Baal". Just a perfect, wonderful track in every respect, I never get tired of listening to it. My next two would be "Aura" and "Happy Hunting Ground".
Thank you again for your reviews, they are simply fascinating and you clearly have a great love, knowledge and appreciation for the bands you review. I will send you my list of The Cure's albums in time.
Cheers.
Captain Mainwaring Thanks for taking the time to watch, comment and leave your own detailed list. Always cool to compare notes with other fans of The Church. Cool to see that you've included Further/Deeper into it. Thank you for the kind words, really appreciate it. :) - Bret
Thank you for putting this together - it was great to walk with you through these albums. Can't remember if Back With Two Beasts was eligible for this video, but I feel like "Snowfaller" is such a great track that it at least deserves a mention. Cheers to all Church fans.
Thanks for watching!
As a big Church fan, I loved this...I could go on and on about my favorite albums, songs, and experiences listening to them. You made a great point about Reptile, it's amazing to hear how different the bass and 2 guitar lines are, and I too marveled at Steve's ability to play that bass line while singing.
You guys mentioned most of my favorites, but one song you didn't mention that I think deserves attention is Terra Nova Cain from Gold Afternoon Fix. That was the first Church album I bought (found a used CD super cheap and decided to try them out since I liked the songs I'd heard on the radio) and that song is what made me a Church fan. "She put her foot down on the oscillation pedal, she was a trans-dimensional speeder"... that sold me. What other band could come up with a line like that? Plus the guitars are great on that song... they always have a great 2 guitar interplay, and it's had a huge influence on the playing styles of bands I've been in.
I don't know if I could pick an absolute favorite song, but for years I'd venture to say An Interlude from The Blurred Crusade is the one song that does it for me. Once again, great guitar interplay, and the outro is so powerful.
I've already rambled too long, but I have to say Forget Yourself would have been much higher up for me. I saw them twice on tour for this one and the songs were really great live. Steve is also an entertaining storyteller. He should release a spoken word album just rambling on about the cities he's played in.
15. Sometime Anywhere 14. Magician Among The Spirits 13. Remote Luxury 12. Forget Yourself 11. Of Skins And Heart 10. Uninvited Like The Clouds 9. Hologram Of Baal 8. Gold Afternoon Fix 7. After Everything Now This 6.Seance 5. Blurred Crusade 4. Priest Aura 3.Untitled 23 2. Starfish 1. Heyday
Thanks for sharing!
bigslam2727 Excellent picks. Glad you enjoyed the video!
Thanks gentlemen. Very late to the party. I appreciate your rankings. As a fan, I'll submit mine for only the albums I have. There's still a few that need to be researched. Also ranked them on the 1-5 star system. 12 Further/Deeper (3) 11 Untitled #23 (3.5) 10 Hologram of Baal (3,5) 9 Remote Luxury (4) 8 Heyday (4) 7 Seance (4) 6 Priest = Aura (4.5) 5 After Everything Now This (4.5) 4 Gold Afternoon Fix (5) 3 Of Skins and Heart (5) 2 Starfish (5) 1 The Blurred Crusade (5)
Thanks Todd! Hopefully you've been enjoying the new album, Hypnogogue.
Very fun and informative session, forgot about these guys!....on my vinyl list now.
***** Thanks!
I'm an expert like all of you :-)
too me, Forget Yourself is not only my favorite Church album, but my favorite album of all time!!!
I guess I got under the album's skin the first time I listened to it. I love it. Plus, I saw them in London this tour. Great show
This is my 3rd viewing of this. Loved Roberts book.
Excellent! Thank you.
What a cool video. Long time Church fan (since 1988, like a lot of people in the States), just saw them live in San Diego to support Further/Deeper. The show was a little disappointing, but I got reintroduced to some of their older stuff that I had in my collection (but ignored). Thanks for putting this together, I'm going to give the songs you both chose another listen. BTW: 'June' is such a monster track, so glad to see you both chose it.
Jackov Altraydz Hey Jack, thanks for stopping by. Strange that the SD show was at such a small venue - too bad they couldn't have had it at the House of Blues.
Mr. Lurie was kind enough to mention me in his book about the Church...Lord knows why..
I'm now going to see the Church at the Fine Line in Mpls tomorrow night.
A fine, overlooked rock n roll combo.
Hey Patrick! Have a great time at the show!
Thanks for sharing guys ! For me, Starfish remains to be my favorite Church album because not only it has some of the most memorable songs and delicate arrangements, but it really stood out for its perfect production quality, all the vocal and instrumental details were presented flawlessly here. Besides Starfish, i think most of the other albums were equally great in their own terms, and sometimes my preference would change if i have a new understanding with the album. Anyhow, here's my favorite album rankings by The Church for the time being ( + my 3 favorite songs from each one )...
1. Starfish - Lost, Reptile, North South East West
2. Priest= Aura - Ripple, Feel, Paradox
3. Untitled 23 - Operetta, Happenstance, Cobalt Blue
4. Blurred Crusade - To be in your eyes, An interlude, You Took
5. Hologram of Baal - Buffalo, Louisiana, Another Earth
6. After everything now this - After everything, Seen it coming, Radiance
7. Heyday - Happy Hunting Ground, Columbus, Tristesse
8. Of Skins and Hearts - Tear it all away, Bel Air, She never said
9. Gold Afternoon Fix - Metropolis, Laughing, Grind
10. Sometime Anywhere - Angelica, Lullaby, Business Woman
11. Magicians among the spirit - Magician among the spirits, Welcome, After-image
12. Forget Yourself - Telepath, Reversal, Appalatia
13. Seance - Electric Lash, One day, Now i wonder why
14. Uninvited like the Cloud - Easy, Pure Chance, Song to Go
15. Remote Luxury - No Explanation, A month of sundays, Into my hands
Kenn Sun Thanks for the list, Kenn. Enjoyed reading your choices. - Bret
Great video, and good to see Robert again - he and I correspond intermittently over Facebook since I read his book. I am thinking of, when the new album is released, doing my own version of this video in response :)
Best band on the planet, no question, and I'm only 24. Greetings from England.
RocketsandBlueLights Thanks for watching!
Of Skins and Heart (2nd best album): *For a Moment We're Strangers, Bel-Air, Is This Where You Live, She Never Said & Fighter Pilot .. Korean War* ------ The Blurred Crusade (best album): *When You Were Mine, Just For You, A Fire Burns & You Took* - my favourite songs on each album!
Every Church fan is an expert but not everyone is capable of writing a book on them.
The countdown was a lot of fun to watch. You and I preach the same Church bible. I love Heyday and Starfish too. Although Robert's pick for numero uno was right on the money. I completely forgot how brilliant 'Blurred Crusade' is. I love 'When You Were Mine' and 'Just For You'.
The first time I saw them was in 1984. I also saw them in 1988. Both times at the Paradise in Boston. Where did you see them? How many times did Robert see them?
Have a great weekend Bret. Really enjoyed this.
Rob/Boston
"I see you slither away with your skin and your tail, your flickering tongue and your rattling scales, like a real reptile"
Paneeks1960 Thanks Rob - great to hear from you. The Blurred Crusade is indeed worthy of a #1 pick - good to see that you and Robert agree on that one. Believe it or not, I've only been able to catch them live once - the time they toured before, I had an Audra show on the same night.. and before that, I can't recall. The show I saw was at Rams Head in Annapolis, Maryland. It was brilliant. Not sure how many times Robert has seen them - I'll get back to you on that one. What a great quote from Reptile you put there. :) Have a great weekend, Rob. - Bret
she never said,night of light,dropping names,and an interlude are amongst my favourite songs of theirs and somehow over the years when i look back..it does't change...oh and THE best for me lyrically and musically;- 'ROMAN'
My Favorite Church Records from 1-18
1.Starfish
2.Priest=Aura
3.The Blurred Crusade
4.Heydey
5.Further/Deeper
6.Of Skins and Hearts
7.Uninvited Like The Clouds
8.Remote Luxury
9.After Everything Now This
10.Magician Among The Spirits
11.Forget Yourself
12.Séance
13.Untitled 23
14.Hologram of Baal
15. A Box of Birds(I know you didn't include it but it is an excellent covers record)
16.Back with Two Beasts(download record only initially but released in limited run in Australia only I believe)
17.Sometime Anywhere
18.Gold Afternoon Fix
Well that's my list great video Mr.Helm
Andrew Mills Great choices, Andrew. Happy to see the new record ranked at #5! - Bret
Starfish is the Shakespeare of Church albums, not a wasted note, everything with a purpose
17:08 can some talented musician do a remix of Metropolis with this sound 😄
Would love to hear an updated list including the latest releases
Totally cool to know that there are other Church fans out there. Awesome video!!! Brandon
VinylPatrol Thanks Brandon!
Wow...Just saw this. Excellent video and so much fun. I would absolutely LOVE to have another "Ranking of the Church" video,after each release!! (now that we have "Further/Deeper")...It's so hard to rank the albums without shuffling positions ... and I am pretty sure "Gold Afternoon Fix" will climb the top 15 next time....!! (by the way Bret: I totally appreciate how you are so "into" music--- there are others out here,like myself,that are as well.....)....
Thanks for the kind words, Jimmy!
Absolutely Love This!!!!! You guys rocked this video. Thank you for posting. Love it when bands I really like get noticed especially for nearly 40 years of material. Shit that's a long time!.!.!. What a career spanning catalogue of music. Great vid.
One more note or question, Bret, has anyone ever told you that you sound and kinda look like Jason Bentley?????? Hmmmmm......
Very interesting.......no?
Maybe it's just me
Great show, lads. Had no idea who this band were. Yet I watched all 54 mins of this. I must have a listen to these guys.
Ben Costello Hey Ben, thanks for sitting through 54 minutes! If you haven't already, give the track 'Reptile' a listen - I think that'd be right in your wheelhouse. :)
Thanks, Bret. Great job with this vid!
Oh yes you should. They are subliminally almost forgotten, yet ultimately memorable. Kilbey is the real deal. Check out his recent works with Martin Kennedy - just beautiful and timeless - and that's probably why the sound of he and his collaborators - including The Church, endures - and also probably why a couple of lads like this, over there in the US have done a wonderful retrospective like this.
Watched it start to finish. Really enjoyed it. I liked the comment that went something like "every big church fan is an expert" it's true. I was kind of surprised you guys didn't talk about some of the the producers: Waddy wachtel, Bob Clearmountain, Peter Walsh, but that's not a rip. Thanks
Thanks for watching, Jeff!
Thank you for the spectacular video! I've only gotten into The Church late last year. So excited to explore the rest of their discography even more so now, so thank you! Just wanted to know your opinion on the albums that they published after this video was released. Either way, thank you for the video, it was a joy to watch. Best wishes from Melbourne!
Thank you for watching! I've definitely enjoyed everything that has been released since this video. Perhaps someday it will be time to do an updated version.... :) - Bret
Robert! You had me yelling at the screen :) Authority/Business Woman as two of your faves off Sometime Anywhere...for shame! I'd have chosen Day of the Dead, Dead Man's Dream and Fly Home. Also, Steve's half of Two Places at Once is an excellent story. But Authority/BW are, if I'm remembering right, songs they wrote at the record company's request for something more commercial. They (the band) didn't really like them which is why they're on the bonus disc, not the main album.
Feels good to stretch my "Church opinion" muscles, haven't done that for a while :) Very glad you guys made this video.
"Fly Home" is definitely a stand-out track from Sometime Anywhere. One of the best on that album.
great work guys - really enjoyed that - i knew after reading Robert's book that we had opposite views on great church albums/tunes, but i was surprised to see you BOTH put Forget Yourself so low on your lists - It was the album that got me hooked, and will probably be my number one (closely followed by Seance, Hologram of Baal and Back with Two Beasts!!!) ( i heard of the church through my older brother, who was a fan since the 80s, and cousin who was a roadie with them at the time too - but i was too busy listening to REM... took me to be a 22yo really get them) - anyway, i wonder where the new album will rate in our lists - times like these we really gotta be thankful to have such a great band like the church - see you guys around.
therealisation Thanks for watching! Been enjoying the new album - Robert and I may have to get together for a collective review here soon. :)
Very much enjoyed the video and your selections guys. I first saw The Church live in 1981 at a High School Hall in Sydney!! Growing up with their earlier stuff I still feel a stronger attachment to their music from 1981-1988. My Top 5 would be......1) The Blurred Crusade 2) Heyday 3) Starfish 4) Remote Luxury + Persia 5) Of Skins & Heart.....Priest = Aura would be my fave from their later stuff. thanks for doing the video!
Glenn Shaw Thanks Glenn! Must've been really cool to see the band back in their infancy.
Really cool video. Monumentally great band, The Church. One of those bands where many of the non-hit songs are some of the best for me. Just a veritable goldmine of gems in their discography. Quite underrated and overlooked here in the States (save for _'Starfish'_) in my opinion, which is a shame to me. All in all, one of the best bands many people have only glanced at, unfortunately. Your pick of 'Metropolis' as your fave Church song reminded me of it's really cool B-Side, 'Much Too Much', which I also enjoyed.
Awesome! I've had "Starfish" since the '80s but have recently become interested in investigating them further, so I can't wait to dig into this.
SirHatchporch Right on. :)
Very nice video and fun idea. The Church is fantastic, one of my favourite bands. I discovered them somewhere in early 2000 when I bought "Gold afternoon Fix", a used LP. The special thing about them is that they have in my view put out their best stuff in later years, during the 2000's, usually it works the opposite way. And they are still going strong putting out very inspired stuff!
I listened through their albums and made my own ranking, and and made 1-3 picks from each. it's very different than your list, because I'm not a fan of their pre-Heyday stuff. I rank 18 albums, some albums share the same position.
16. The Church - Of Skins And Heart (1981) None
15. The Church - Remote Luxury (1984) Shadow Cabinet - the only okay song
14. The Church - The blurred crusade (1982) Non appealing songs (to me).
13. The Church - Sometime Anywhere (1994) Weak, but I like Business Woman and perhaps My Little Problem.
12. The Church - Seance (1983) Fly is nice, I don't care for the rest
11. The Church - Back With Two Beasts (2005) Snowfaller
10. The Church - Beside Yourself (2005) Jazz
10. The Church - Gold Afternoon Fix (1990) Fading Away, Disappointment
9. The Church - Priest/Aura (1992) Feel is great in spite of stiff drum machine. Dome is great!
8. The Church - Hologram Of Baal (1998) Louisiana
8. The Church - Uninvited, Like The Clouds (2006) Never Before (a favourite) and Day 5
7. The Church - Magician among the spirits (1996) Romany Caravan and Ladyboy
6. The Church - Further Deeper (2014) Pride Before A Fall, Love Philtre (so great songs)
5. The Church - After Everything Now This (2002) Radiance , Song for the Asking
4. The Church - Untitled #23 (2009) Deadman's Hand, Cobalt Blue, On Angel Street
3. The Church - Starfish (1988) A New Season , Destination, Lost
2. The Church - Heyday (1985) As You Will, Already Yesterday, Happy Hunting Ground
1. The Church - Forget Yourself (2004) Sealine, Nothing Seeker, I Kept Everything
Postscript for Bret: I was at the 2009 Annapolis show as well. Six feet or less from Peter! My table-mates were banging their heads in ecstasy during You Took. Great to see the band in such an intimate environment.
This is bloody great. Thank you so much for doing stuff like this
Paul Fitzgibbons Thanks Paul. Glad you enjoyed! - Bret
It was great. I have subscribed.
That was pretty cool. My choices are different, yeah. This was cool to see. Thank you.
CAme back to watch this to get your verdict on Seance - I just got a copy VCLT. Happy holidays, Brett.
as an American i like i think most people first heard The Church when "Under The Milky Way" way was getting a decent amount of airplay, i was 15 at the time and about a year later i started learning all sorts of things about more obscure music and genres and discovering all sorts of things. but at the time was still mostly just a clueless top 40 radio or more precisely MTV listener, i would sometimes watch 120 minutes when i would catch it and i didnt even know what kind of music it was i only knew it by the term College Rock. but there were bands on there that had more atmospheric moody music i liked and didnt know what to call or how to look more into it, and i remembering hear "Under the Milky Way" that first time and just thinking "YES!!! this is it this is what i am looking for". so i bought Starfish Milky Way and Hotel Womb and some of the songs were good but i fell in love with "Destination" probably one of my all time favorite songs. but really a lot of the tracks just sort of blend in to me and dont stand out. a few years later i saw the video for "Metropolis" and again instantly loved it with that great riff and that great voice, so i went out and got the album and i absolutely loved "Pharaoh" and "Metropolis" but most of the rest of it all just sort of blended together for me. and as i dug into their older albums it sort of remained a pattern, and i think that is The Churches problem. they are a great band with a great sound but in my opinion they have never had a great album, their albums all have a few really great stand out tracks and then a bunch of pretty atmospheric sparkly tracks but that all just sort of blend together. tracks that dont stand out, that are all sort of at the same medium pace with the same shimmering background chords and they dont sound bad but at the same time they are just sort of album filler. and its a shame because they sort of represent a paisley underground kind of style that too few bands today embrace.
after watching this whole thing it really occurs to me how much some of the song titles ruin it for me. talking about what a bad title "Business Women" is and i agree. i think "Space Savior" is a pretty cheesy title too personally. and "Hotel Womb" was one of the first Church songs i ever liked but i always hated that title, i think if they didnt use the word Womb i would probably like the song ten times as much.
Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts.
Interesting and informative. I've been curious about this band, but didn't know where to start. Didn't want to stream the music before hand either. Now I feel equipped to go into a record store and pick one of their albums, many thanks guys.
juodaavis Thanks for watching! Happy to provide you with a launching point into their catalog. :)
best band in the universe!!! great video Bret, I have the Robert book ;)
my 3 fav: Heyday, Blurred, Priest=Aura, special affection to Skins (first church album that I listen complete, love it), many people put Sometime Anywhere to low but after many plays I started to like a lot; maybe my least favorite is Hologram Of Baal; one thing that Church in my opinion start to get worse after Sometime Anywhere are the cover arts... very low production artworks like Magician Among The Spirits and Back With Two Beasts (good album by the way), again great show.
Priest=Aura=top 5 album all time from any band
Great video idea, I loved it. I am now going to have to dig deeper into The Church's discography. I have their albums from Of Skin and Heart to Starfish, and love them all. For some reason I never bought anything after Starfish. I really got into metal around the same time that Starfish came out, and just never really bought anything after 88.
Harmless Rebel Thanks! I would definitely recommend grabbing Priest=Aura (CD copies are pretty common, vinyl is really rare)... and their most recent, Untitled #23. Those two would be a great bookend to the time frame you're unfamiliar with.
Clearly this must have come out right before the release of Further Deeper. It’s funny because my thoughts about Starfish vs Priest = Aura and why they don’t get the top spot mirror Robert’s, and I have almost said so, verbatim, many times. I wonder if Robert would agree with me that Further Deeper knocks Blurred Crusade out of the top spot for having the gritty, muscular drive of Starfish combined with the ethereal, expansive quality of Priest = Aura? Excellent video, thanks for sharing!
Thanks for watching, Philip. Robert and I are due for an updated ranking!
Superb video, very entertaining and informative
Well done lads. Big thumbs up. The Church have proven themselves to be the best we have, have had, and probably ever will have in Oz. btw: check out Kilbey & Kennedy, i guarantee you wont be disappointed.
Moo01100 Thank you! I actually did a Friday On The Turntable feature on the vinyl release of the latest K&K album: [Friday On The Turntable] Steve Kilbey & Martin Kennedy - You Are Everything (Vinyl Edition): Review - White Magic was also excellent. Thanks for the kind words - Bret
Moo01100 Thank you! I actually did a Friday On The Turntable feature on the vinyl release of the latest K&K album: [Friday On The Turntable] Steve Kilbey & Martin Kennedy - You Are Everything (Vinyl Edition): Review - White Magic was also excellent. Thanks for the kind words - Bret
Awesome job, guys. Really terrific video about one of rock's great unsung bands. There are no casual Church fans! Hopefully, this will encourage rock fans to really dig deeper into the amazing living musical legacy of this band. Just to chime - I think one of the their best songs is the Marty-sung track "Russian Autumn Heart" on GAF.
chinaskiband Thanks! Glad you enjoyed. Really excited for their new record.
1. Priest= Aura 2. Hologram of Baal 3. Seance 4. Starfish 5. Forget Yourself 6. Uninvited Like the Clouds 7. Of Skins And Heart 8. Remote Luxury 9. Gold Afternoon Fix 10. MATS (+some) 11. After Everything Now This 12. Blurred Crusade 13. Sometime Anywhere 14. Heyday 15. Untitled #23
This was a bit tough after the first 5! P=A has the best songs,the best drumming, and the best production. Not way too shiny like Heyday and not a pile of mud like U23 (and admittedly also HOB and FY..though the songs still shine through). Great reviews guys, I love the format.
Glad to see "June" get some love from both of you! My list: 15. Sometime Anywhere 14. Magician Among the Spirits 13. Hologram of Baal 12. After Everything Now This 11. Gold Afternoon Fix 10. Seance 9. Remote Luxury 8. Untitled #23 7. Forget Yourself 6. Uninvited Like the Clouds 5. Of Skins and Heart 4. Priest = Aura 3. Heyday 2. Starfish 1. The Blurred Crusade
Thanks for watching, John. - Bret
My band recently recorded a version of "June." I was surprised to learn from Paul Webb's gigography and song database that The Church have never played that song live!
Thank you and I look forward to reading the book. Tough to rank them all. I got into them back with Blurred Crusade. Dropped out in the 90's then fully rediscovered recently and wow what I've missed! I enjoy their 21st century stuff as well as their 80's. I would rank Priest=Aura favorite and other favorites Uninvited like the Clouds, Blurred Crusade and Heyday. Truly though, every album is worth listening hard too, even if you're not into jangly Rickenbaker guitars and way out words.
Epic, I will have to check out some more Church albums.
bubbles34343434 You gotta, Paul.
Enjoyed that, and learned a bit. Thanks guys!
Right on! Thanks for watching, Aaron.
I would also recommend Uninvited like The Clouds,a great dreamy record and probably their best later era work !!!
I agree with the lower ranking of "Sometime, Anywhere", but how do other The Church fans feel about the song "The Maven"? Its my favorite track from the album.
Great video guys. Thanks for taking the time to put it together.
TBoMax You're very welcome. Thanks for taking the time to spend 54 minutes with us! :) - Bret
I remember getting the album and loving most of it
I think Day of the Dead great, My Little Problem, The Maven, Angelica, Business Woman, Two Places, and Dead Mans Dream all very cool
I still listen to it a lot - can't go wrong with The a Church my friend, enjoy
I know that Hindsight is a compilation of bits and pieces from the early days but I think it's worth a shout because it contains difficult to source gems such as Sisters, Life Speeds Up, and Trance Ending. Life Speeds Up has to be one of the best b-sides EVER, and it's weird to think of it just being a kind of throwaway curio.
Like you said there are good songs off every album, so it's hard to choose. At the top of my list (top 5) is Heyday, Gold afternoon fix, Forget Yourself, Sing Songs, , Priest=Aura
And to think that now, Peter and Marty are out of the band. So many changes down the years, Steve is the only one who's there from the beginning. Also very interesting to see your rankings. It's so different than mine.
Glad you made the comment that they haven't made a bad album - that's true. Thoroughly enjoyed the list and looking at the comments with the lists.
Ranking is very difficult - one thing I learnt in ranking by tier
Tier 1 - absolute classic
Tier 2 - almost wonderful
Tier 3 - pretty damn good
Tier 1 - Priest=Aura, Gold Afternoon Fix, Starfish, Blurred Crusade, Remote Luxury
Tier 2 - Untitled 23, Hologram of Baal, Seance, Heyday
Tier 3 - The rest
Hologram came with an additional disc in the UK of improvisational pieces, and it's fantastic.
Priest is the 1st album I got, and loved it immediately that Aura came in. Got Gold Afternoon and Starfish next - the earlier ones I had to wait and get when travelled to London.
So much quality in every release
Got the new album on pre-order
Loved the segment, very interesting points and great to see such a cool discussion.
Nice one.
paul elliott Paul! I somehow missed replying to this. Yeah, The Church is one of those bands where even if it falls at the bottom of the list, it's still pretty damn good - well said! Cheers. - Bret
Great job guys! Brings back Memories of the albums and the tours that fallowed, when I would capture them with my Camera Lens. Robert, will contact you soon! pv
Pablo Vazquez Thanks for watching, Pablo. :)
The Church - Sometime Anywhere ( 1994 ) is a Phenomenal album
Just reading Robert Lurie's book about The Church, No Certainty Attached. Very interesting so far.
That's great to hear, Alan! I imagine you're enjoying the new Church album today? :)
@@BretHelmsLifeOnThisPlanetBlog only heard C'est la vie so far.
I'll have to order the album.
I would place After Everything Now This and Hologram of Baal in my top 5 with Starfish, Priest=Aura, and Blurred Crusade. Songs that would be missing from my list: Two Places at Once, Lay Low, She'll Come Back for You Tomorrow, Chromium, Ricochet, Buffalo, It's no Reason, Happenstance, Field of Mars, Secret Corners, Myrrh, and Lustre
Michael Rochelle Right on, Michael. Cool to see you putting those 2 in the Top 5. Thanks for watching. - Bret
Great stuff. I don't necessarily agree with your rankings and song choices (I'll come up with my own soon - you've inspired me!) but no love for the Mementos or Quick Smoke? Did you not consider these as studio albums per se?
Priest=Aura is their Dark Side of the Moon.
pretty sure I was at the Annapolis show you were at, "You Took" was fabulous that night.
kobayashiMaroo Rams Head Tavern?
yessir, in that wonderful wide and shallow space. Had a nice little chat with Marty afterwards :) Also saw them several times at the 9:30 Club and the State Theatre. Good times.
kobayashiMaroo Very cool. I just happened to be out there on a little trip. Loved that venue - sat at a table, stage right. Good times indeed.
Great video! My turn, if you're interested. Agree that The Church never made a truly bad album. Any negative comments of mine are relative to the greatness of the band's work as a whole. I also respect the opinions of all Church fans who like the albums I'm not as fond of. So here goes:
15. Untitled #23. Never warmed up to it. Never listen to it.
14. Remote Luxury (U.S. LP version). Dated production, some real songwriting clunkers. Shadow Cabinet is the saving grace.
13. Uninvited Like the Clouds. Very hit-and-miss. Block is a great start, but not enough good songs, no real direction.
12. Magician Among the Spirits (Plus Some version). A bit aimless. First four songs are very good, especially Man. The rest of the songs try to be P=A Part 2, but don't succeed.
11. Forget Yourself. Far too long. Not the best sound quality, special effects getting repetitive. Some very good songs (Maya the favorite), mixed in with average filler.
10. Seance. Good concept for an album, marred by unfortunate production errors and a few songwriting duds. An early attempt at slower-moving, thoughtful music that the band would do better in the '90s and the '00s. Deep cut favorite: It Doesn't Change.
9. Of Skins and Heart (U.S. Arista reissue). Good energy, not always the best execution. Fresh in spirit, but dated production makes some songs hard to listen to. Bel Air, Tear It All Away, and Sisters are all sterling favorites.
8. Hologram of Baal. Nice to have Tim fully onboard and Pete back in the band. Consistently good, but rarely as great as their best albums. Louisiana and Buffalo set the pace beautifully.
7. After Everything Now This. Good set of songs, good production, good overall feel and direction. Again, rarely great, but creates a languid, decadent ambience. Seen It Coming and Invisible are wonderfully bittersweet and moving to close things out.
6. Sometime Anywhere. I like the experimentation and the risks that Steve and Marty took with this album. Too long, doesn't always succeed, but stylistically it's a breath of fresh air. Very happy to hear Day of the Dead and Two Places at Once during the '98 tour.
5. Gold Afternoon Fix. I seem to like this album better than most devout Church fans (and the band members). Chalk it up to happy memories when the album came out. Able to block out fake drums and studio-slickness for gems like Disappointment, Laughing, Grind.
4. Priest=Aura. First of the Top 4, all of which are far above the rest. P=A is the break point between Old Church and New Church - sets the tone for all future music the band would create. Great songwritng, lyrics, production, and performances (especially by Steve). In fact, only drawback is that at times it feels almost like a Kilbey solo album. Chaos is too over-the-top, but more than made up for by Paradox, Feel, and especially Aura (candidate for best Church song ever).
3. Heyday. Unique in the catalog, Heyday may be the "happiest" album the band have ever recorded. Still sounds fresh and invigorating - I've probably played this album more than any other over the past 10 years. Mostly excellent songs and performances; Marty truly steps up his game on the guitar. The last three songs drop off a bit (I've replaced them with the b-sides from '85/'86 on my Heyday playlist). Tantalized rocks, Tristesse charms, and Myrrh is perfect - another candidate for best Church song ever.
2. The Blurred Crusade. A guitar-lover's dream, with many of Peter's best-ever moments on lead. The bass and drums are also world-class. Musically as close to perfection as I could ever hope for. I wish Bob Clearmountain had produced all of the Church albums pre-Heyday. Rocks better than almost any other album from the '80s. Only drawbacks are average lead vocals, and occasionally silly lyrics. The first four songs plus You Took are all clear favorites.
1. Starfish. Has to be number one because it was my introduction to the band, as it was for so many people outside Australia. Still love the songwriting, the performances, the lyrics and vocals, the energy of the faster songs, the beauty of the slower songs. In retrospect, I can see why the slick studio production is criticized, but at the time, it worked like a charm. Destination, UTMW, Antenna, Reptile, A New Season - all wonderful. But Hotel Womb is my vote for the best Church song of all time. A true desert-island album, to be enjoyed for the remainder of my days.
I found Bret's choices a little bit predictable, but Robert's on the other hand were very interesting, which is why I took a greater interest in his list. Personally though, my number one Church album is 'Back With Two Beasts'; love everything about it. Number two is 'untitled 23', followed by P=A, Blurred Crusade and Remote Luxury. My least favourite is Sometime Anywhere. I like the idea of an experimental album, but the vibe is just too scrambled to enjoy. I believe that the only song worth listening to on this album is My Little Problem.
1. Heyday 2. Priest = Aura 3. Remote Luxury 4. Seance 5. Starfish 6. Hologram of Baal 7. The Blurred Crusade 8. Magician amongst the Spirits 9. Untiled 23 10. Of Skins and Hearts 11. Gold Afternoon Fix 12. Sometime Anywhere 13. Uninvited like the Clouds 14. After Everything Now This 15. Forget Yourself
Great video guys. Best song - A month of Sundays. Man he's a good songwriter. Thanks!
Ned plays MC Thanks for writing up a list - enjoyed your choices. 'A Month of Sundays' is one of my favorites for sure. Thanks for watching! - Bret
My ranking:
1) The Blurred Crusade (1982)
2) Seance (1983)
3) Of Skins and Heart (1981)
4) Heyday (1986)
5) Remote Luxury (1984)
6) Starfish (1988)
7) Priest=Aura (1992)
8) Gold Afternoon Fix (1990)
9) Magician Among The Spirits (1996)
10) Uninvited, Like The Clouds (2006)
11) Hologram of Baal (1998)
12) Sometime Anywhere (1994)
13) After Everything Now This (2002)
14) Untitled #23 (2009)
15) Forget Yourself (2003)
I SATELLITE Great choices. Thanks for stopping by!
AUSTRALIAS MOST UNDERATED BAND . PEOPLE THINK OF INXS MEN AT WORK ICEHOUSE MONDO ROCK AND THE MODELS. AUSSIE BANDS IN THE 80s INCREDIBLE.MARTY WAS BORN IN LIVERPOOL ENGLAND CAME TO AUSSIE IN 1980.
Do you remember a band in the 1980s in Phoenix AZ called "Jagged Rocks on the Perimeter"?
I do. I instantly saw that album cover in my mind. I know I have it (or had it in the collection).
@@BretHelmsLifeOnThisPlanetBlog I am Scott Wilkinson and I was in that Band. I remember when Jim Booth played Unguarded Moment for me in a Van. When we started playing gigs, we only had to original songs and the rest of our two sets were all Church songs. We also once called Steve Kilbey "collect" from a pay phone in PV Mall. We were such fans. You could probably hear the influence the Church had on us.
It's a great idea to make such a ranking! It is of course a question of taste especially with a band of the greatness of the Church - there is no really weak album.. I have a similar opinion with many album the exception is "Sometime Anywhere". Robert puts it on the last place and Bret on 13th place. In my eyes it is one of the best outputs of the whole band history and has always be completely underrated. In my ranking it would be 1st together with "After Everything Now This" and "Priest = Aura". For me the worst album by far is "Seance". Actually great songs but the productions destroys it completely.
Oh sh*t...Loved your book...I'm going to have to sober up and get into this...if P=A and Heyday aren't 2 of the top five I'm going to be really interested in the reasoning.
Wonderful use of 54 mins - thank you. Try as I do to like it I just find myself reaching for the 'skip track' function each time I hear the opening bars of Maybe these Boys. Its just so un Church like.
macgreiner Glad you enjoyed!
Great job guys. Ranking The Church albums is no easy task that's for sure. I liked both of your #1 choices but personally, my favorite would have to be Heyday. I'll be curious to hear how the upcoming "Further/Deeper" album sounds. It would be cool if you two did a Friday On The Turntable once it comes out and compared opinions on the new album as well.
Echovoice17 Mark, Heyday is definitely a great choice for #1. You must have read my mind, because that's exactly what I'm planning for the new album. :) I already have an advance for it, and have been enjoying it for the last week or so. I'm hoping they secure a domestic release / distribution for it. Thanks for watching!
@@BretHelmsLifeOnThisPlanetBlog And Now you have to compare. Man Woman Life Death Infinity. Blew my mind. Can't believe it's the work of a 40 year old band as it's as fresh as anything I've heard.
Hey man. Great videos/reviews. I was wondering if you could maybe review my favourite ever album: Hex by Bark Psychosis?
SonicJaneStooge Thanks! Will definitely keep that in mind for the future. :) - Bret
Bret Helm's Life On This Planet Blog Thanks man. You won't be disappointed. Other than the fact that the album is now out of print.
Now where would you put The Hypnogogue? Which is fantastic
Hello there. We have a planned updated re-ranking coming soon! It’ll include the 3 albums released since this video. Thanks for watching!
1 Priest = Aura
2 Starfish
3 After everything, now this
4 Further deeper
5 Forget Yourself
Love the church
wonder how you guys would rate " Further / Deeper " ? what would be its ranking in your list ?
Kenn Sun Not sure yet, Kenn. Still need some more time with it. Definitely digging it a lot though.
#1 Seance #2 Of Skins and Heart #3Priest= Aura #4 Blurred Crusade #4 Heyday #5 Starfish #6 Man, Women, Life, Infinity, #7 Further Deeper..
Favorite Church Albums:
1.The blurred Crusade
2.Starfish
3.Priest=Aura
4.Hologram of Baal
5.Untitled #23
6.After Everthing Now This
7.Seance
8.Remote Luxury
9.Heyday
10.Of Skins & Hearts
11.Uninvited Like The Clouds
12.Gold Afternoon Fix
13.Magician Among The Spirits
14.Forget yourself
15.Further Deeper
16.Sometime Anywhere
kanfall66 Right on. Thanks for posting your list. - Bret
The Church and Rush! 1. Heyday 2. Priest=Aura 3. Starfish 4. Blurred Crusade 4. Remote luxury 5. Seance.
All great albums. Thanks for tuning in.
Certain albums have their own ebb and flow ; the albums that I think have the best, and in no certain order, are THE BLURRED CRUSADE, PRIEST =AURA, STARFISH and HEYDAYand depending on the social lubricant- PRIEST=AURA if smoking and HEYDAY if drinking and STARFISH if chemical (X or blotter)
Thnks for this. It's always interesting to see how others rate their albums. For me, the Blurred Crusade would not be number one, but nor would Starfish. I like Heyday the best. With perhaps an occasional nod to Priest=Aura. I note you two both had Priest=Aura at number three--and I guess I'd downmiss it to number three myself because I hate JD Daugherty's drumming. on the album. He doesn't have the intuition that Richard Plooog had. He almost puts the same drumbeat on every song. Even if that's an exaggeration, Richard Ploog would have done a better job. It's a pity he burnt out.
Luv the shining