OK. So listening to Deep In The Shallows has made me think a little bit...
For some reason, fans of The Church tend to be a bit on the compulsive side. They are just one of those bands that people have a tendency to really really love - to the point of it being an obsession.
Now every fan has their story about how they got into the band - and I would wager a majority of them involve seeing Under The Milky Way on 120 Minutes or hearing it on the radio around that time. I'd be lying if I said Starfish wasn't my first Church album (well, CD) purchase. Thankfully, Arista rereleased their entire backcatalog at the same time so I was quickly able to get my hands on Of Skins And Heart, The Blurred Crusade, Seance, Remote Luxury, and Heyday. I played all six of those CDs non-stop for a long long time. I also stumbled upon Conception at an indie record shop and paid $25 just to get A Different Man. Yes - I was hooked and I was crazy!!!!!
But...
The first time I heard them was on MTV when I saw the video for The Unguarded Moment. I really liked the song a lot. My brother and I had a somewhat compulsive bent to really like bands with Rickenbackers too - and of course Marty has one of his Ricks sitting on a stand in the background and I'm sure my brother and I pretty much stared at the guitar the whole time. Plus, Peter looked so damn cool in his scarf and all...
I can't tell you how many times I looked at their album at the record store after hearing The Unguarded Moment. Never bought it though.
I've always wondered what would have happened if I did..
I'm sure I would have loved it. It was The Church album which was the US version of OSAH which was the mix of the original Of Skins and Heart and some of the songs from the Tear It All Away/Too Fast For You double single.
I'm sure it would have been life-changing, although to be perfectly honest I can't imagine it would have been nearly as life-changing as Starfish was.
Now, if i would have ever heard Almost With You (which I probably wouldn't have since The Blurred Crusade was only available as an import at the time and I was still too young to be able to frequent the indie stores since I couldn't drive yet!) I know I would have been hooked.
I guess things happen for a reason and everything seems to have worked out well. I have the best of both worlds - an obsession which started in the late 80s and an incredible appreciation for what they did in the early and mid-80s to fill in some of the cracks.
Sue said they're going back into the studio in September. As awesome as Uninvited Like The Clouds is I can only imagine what will come our way (hopefully) next year.
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I'm a Starfish baby too, but for some strange reason I didn't even looked for any of their earlier material for years and years. I only bought their early work recently -- within the past 5 or so years. Hell, I had several of SK's and MWP's solo ablums before I had some of the earliest Church albums. And I know this is probably considered heresy to most Church fans, but when I fist listened to Of Skins and Heart and The Blurred Crusade I have to admit I was disappointed. Strangly, I generally liked Seance (well, the first half mostly) right off, but the first two just didn't quite do it for me. I think a big part of the disappointment was because when I did finally listen to the older albums I was so used to their more recent sound -- and that more recent work is my favourite version of the Church. I still rarely listen to those first two albums, but I do tend to like the songs from them they have re-worked (or played live fairly recently), and I like the re-worked Seance songs better than the originals too. Now Heyday I loved right off. That's just a wonderful album.
I think maybe if I had first heard the earlier albums when I was in my teens and 20's instead of my late 30's I would have liked them better, but who knows. I might not ever have become a serious Church fan if those early albums had been my introduction to the band. I'm not sure they would have had the impact UTMW did on me. I loved that song; I still love that song. I'm still not sure why I didn't think to check out their back catalogue then, but overall it seems to have worked out ok for me. :-)
Now I hear the date for going into the studio has been pushed back to December. As long as get in there I'm ok with it. And we have all those solo and side projects to look forward to.
To bore eek (who has heard all this before), i first got into them in 1982 (a friend forced it on me). I had the Remote Luxury EP and played it till the grooves disappeared. Then i bought OSAH and Blurred and whatever was available at the time (not much). This was before CDs. I sold all that vinyl to finance a move. Wish i hadn't done that.
my story started with the "heyday" album. i heard "columbus" on 120 minutes and the next day went out and bought "heyday", and within the first few bars of "myrrh" i was hooked for life.
i still consider "myrrh" not only the pivotal song for me, but also the best that has ever been written by any band any time.
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