Customer Reviews

No Certainty Attached: Steve Kilbey and The Church

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Church now bears the distinction of being one of the HANDFUL of artists who've successfully endured a decade (in this case, longer) of commercial disfavor...during which time they continued to progress.

The reasons for the stalling of their commercial career are, ostensibly, the usual stuff of rock bios - addiction, poor decisions, etc.

But what's singularly inspiring about the story of Kilbey & The Church is how intransigently DOGGED they've been about carrying on.

Comebacks/re-inventions are one thing for artists established on a more substantial scale - usually, upbeat pop musicians.

But carrying on is quite another matter when you're a maestro in the subsets where melancholia and psychedelia overlap.

Not exactly commercial.

Best known to the general public for "Under the Milky Way," The Church crested with their mid-period Arista recording (Starfish, 1988). Fortunes began declining shortly after this "breakthrough moment." But Kilbey/The Church managed to persevere, eventually accumulating a remarkable catalogue spanning solo releases, collaborations, session work, & production credits.

A testament to purist pursuit of a singularly uncompromising vision. Maybe the public will catch on.

Meanwhile, supplement the reading of this book with Kilbey's weblog - [...]- probably the most deprecating, challenging, & insightful daily glimpse at the psyche of an unjustly overlooked industry veteran available anywhere, published or virtual.

Robert Lurie's book on the Australian band, The Church, is welcome for those us with more than a passing interest in the group and its bassist, lyricist and lead vocalist Steve Kilbey. It required a determined fan to take on the project, as the band are not a popular enough subject for a by-the-numbers journalist to tackle. They passed the point long ago when their story could be perceived as a surefire check waiting to be cashed. So who will read this? People like me, that are obsessed with the music and the myth of Steve Kilbey and wanted an in depth examination of the history--the rise, the disintegration and the resurrection of my favorite musical group to emerge in the 80s, and their unique, mysterious and haunting musical offerings.

Vacillating between a fan's ernest attempt at an objective but sympathetic biography, and an ernest fan's need to elevate his random opinions of albums, songs and lyrics to published status, the book both illuminates and frustrates. His persistence is admirable and the access he was granted to Kilbey and Peter Koppes, one of the bands guitarists, does make this a valuable document. Photos and reminiscences from friends and associates do give us a reasonable glimpse of the brilliant and purposefully enigmatic Kilbey. He does not shy away from the sensationalistic aspects of the story or dwell excessively upon them; they are essential to understanding the erratic course of the band's tenure.

It is his insistence upon subjecting the reader to his evaluation of particular songs, albums and lyrics (usually ones he can't abide) that undermine the virtues of his research, and drag the book down to the level of a fan's chat room. We really don't care how little he likes Michael Stipe and REM, but it is when he offhandedly dismisses a major album like Uninvited Like The Clouds, while relentlessly examining a minor one like Seance, that he fails utterly as a rock critic. There is no discography, something the vast Church canon truly requires--official albums, bootlegs, side projects, solo works etc. It would have served the fans well to have this information in printed form.

As a biography I give it 4 stars, his writing is not particularly strong, but works well enough considering he is really a musician and a fan first. As a critic he gets 2 stars for inconsistent and arbitrary analysis of the music. I do recommend it to any die hard fan of the group, we may never see another thorough study of the band's origins and career. As to whether Kilbey really is captured here, it does seem to pull away a couple layers of his mystique, and present the man and artist honestly. You do get the feeling, however, there is much more that will never be told.

This is a great read for both fans of The Church OR fans of rock & roll history in general. Of course the long time fans will be eager to read this - but unlike many rock-biographies, I believe this book would be an enlightening & enjoyable read for a much broader audience.

This book covers so many facets of Steve Kilbey's life (and the band's as well). It explores the early formulative years & experiences which helped shape the artist, the early encounters that allowed the musician to grow & the band to form. NO CERTAINTY also gives brilliant insights into what went on behind the scenes during the tours, the demoing & studio recordings of the albums, the hardships & struggles. It gives insight into the creative processes, the lyrics and the evolution of the band as well as the artist.

Well written, fascinating to read and full of thought provoking narrative that will keep you turning the pages! I have missed sleep three nights in a row over this book :-)

GET IT!

An extremely well-written and informative read; enjoyable (and highly recommended) for even casual fans of Steve Kilbey or The Church. Why 4 stars instead of 5 then? The author is a musician and longstanding fan of the band (admitted by the author up front), and this perspective greatly overtakes the latter part of the book. Starting around the mid-1990s in the book's narrative, and increasing thereafter, the author offers more personal reflection (and critique) than objective insight or information. But its his book so its his right, of course, and I still found myself unable to put the book down until finished.

Books about Steve Kilbey and the Church are in short supply. Actually, are there any other ones? Let me check...nope, none that I could find. That being said, the audience for Kilbey and his band is pretty narrow. So it consequently takes a fan to write this book. Robert Dean Lurie is a fan. I've read some rock band biographies from respective fans (Weezer, XTC, Yes), but the fandom was pretty much kept in check throughout these books. Lurie can't resist intertwining his own fandom and personal Church experiences into a Steve Kilbey biography (anyone seen "Adaptation"?) That's not so shocking, given the Church's selective audience. They no longer have any casual fans. You either love the band or you've never heard of them.

So Lurie imposing himself onto the history of the Church doesn't really bother me. What does throw me for a loop is how the book, in turns, becomes an editorial. For instance, there are some paragraphs in those early-days chapters where Lurie gets critical all over Kilbey's lyrics and underdeveloped singing style. Big, fat opinions keep coming in over the course of the book, mostly targeting the lyrics and how they aren't deep enough or something along those lines. His assessment of individual albums comes across as weird, as if he can somehow prove scientifically that one Church album is more frustrating to listen to than another. Fans like myself can probably spend all day arguing over what's underrated, what's genius, and what's passable in the Church catalog. But it's so odd for Lurie to have the last word...especially when he doesn't dig a song like "Almost With You."

Alongside the many critical and commercial ups and downs the Church's music experienced through their long existence, Steve Kilbey also lead a very rough life. His backfiring smart mouth and excessive drug use offers up plenty of drama for those of you who couldn't get enough of the "VH1: Behind the Music" formats back in the day. But wow...towards the end of the book, Robert Lurie makes some very big judgment calls against his subject. To read it is unnerving. Not because I want to protect Steve Kilbey from insults, but because it feels like a biographer/subject line had been crossed. Here he was writing the man's biography. Then, he reads him the riot act.

It could be that Lurie wants to obfuscate his superfan status by cutting Steve Kilbey and his band little slack. Or I should say, no slack at all? Seriously, nothing in Kilbey's career is safe from the scrutinizing eye (and ear) of Robert Lurie. Everything gets put through the wringer; lyrics, vocalizing, bass frequencies, drug transactions, mood swings, love affairs...yikes.

It's a swift read though. I started it on a Sunday and finished it that Wednesday. And strangely enough, it comes with Kilbey's approval despite the unflattering picture it paints of him. So what do I make of it? I don't know. I didn't think it was great, but I don't regret reading it either. How does 3 stars sound? Good? Good.

I'll admit I was a bit wary when I realized this book was written by a fan, but the honestly, grace and intelligence in which the author handled this fact actually added an interesting dimension. After all, aren't ALL biographies affected and subjective based on the authors like or dislike for his subject? Most importantly, the author did not let his obvious love of the band cloud his judgement. If you truly love something, you want to get to the heart of why, and you want to tell the truth, even if that truth may be unflattering at times, and Lurie gives us the whole truth.

Even when the band was mired in egotism, drugs, disagreements, missed opportunities, music business garbage and bad luck they STILL created some of the most interesting and challenging music on the planet....and they're STILL doing it!! You will actually admire them more for what they've been through. This is a rare intimate look into the creative process and personality of one of the most prolific, original, and frankly just plain courageous bands alive today. A written declaration of the fact that The Church have never sold out, and they never will.

Kudos to Kilby who was brave enough to let it happen.

The title is great, but I have mixed feelings on the content. On one hand, It is awesome that anyone wrote any kind of book about the Church and/or Steve Kilbey. The musical output from both has been so varied, fascinating & thoroughly enjoyable that I have always wanted to learn more behind-the-scenes details. This book provides some insight, but very few exclusive musical related details. We learn loads about Steve's drug habits & the author's musical skills but almost nothing about the first Jack Frost album, countless Church related non-LP releases, EPs, soundtrack only releases and guest sessions (for example). If you already enjoy Kilby's music and have read next to nothing about the artist, then you will enjoy this read. If you are a fan & have already scoured the internet for articles and/or you are simply looking for an entertaining music related book - skip this one. Check these out first: NO ONE HERE GETS OUT ALIVE (the Doors), HEROES AND VILLAINS (The beach boys), HEAVY LOAD: THE STORY OF FREE, TIMELESS FLIGHT (the Byrds), SAUCERFUL OF SECRETS (Pink Floyd), CROSBY, STILLS & NASH: THE BIOGRAPHY. WITHOUT YOU : THE TRAGIC STORY OF BADFINGER, or AMERICAN WOMAN: THE STORY OF THE GUESS WHO. If you have already read those & are getting frustrated looking for something new - then you are not alone.

Firstly, I would like to extend a huge "Thank You" to Mr Lurie. All worthy bands could benefit from having such an aficionado of their music endeavor to write their biography. As a long time fan of The Church, I recently re-immersed myself into their tunes, purchasing albums in the catalog that I didn't have and giving the cd's quite a few spins. I managed to find this book (much to my surprise) on Amazon at the perfect time. Like most Church fans in North America, my exposure to them began in 1988 with the release of "Starfish". It is still their high-water mark, however there are other gems in The Church catalog which were waiting for me to mine--what a pleasant discovery these 20+ years later!

Lurie gives us great glimpses of The Church throughout their career--from the minor success they achieved with their first album "Of Skins and Heart" (the single "The Unguarded Moment" made them players in the Australian music scene) the triumph with the release of "Starfish" that gave them world-wide acclaim to the band surviving the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune that have comprised the rest of their career. While the book is definately Kilbey-centric it also provides balanced content and input from all members of the band--past and present.

The book contains detailed reviews of all the albums and interesting tidbits concerning the production of each record. My only criticism of the book is that while it provides the track listings and in-depth song reviews for the majority of The Church albums, these details are largely missing for the two biggest sellers in the Church catalog-- "Starfish" and its successor "Gold Afternoon Fix". Having said that, I would strongly recommend this book to any ardent Church fan. My library is lined with many rock bios and I put this one up there with the best of them.

By the way, having consumed massive quantities of The Church music over the past couple of weeks I would also recommend fans avail themselves to these albums "Starfish", "Hologram of Baal", "Gold Afternoon Fix", "Heyday", "Priest=Aura", "The Blurred Crusade", "Remote Luxury" and lastly "Of Hearts and Skin" (to see where it all started).

Happy hunting ground, and Steve, you were wrong! Many fans still give a damn about The Church. Long live Kilbey, Koppes, Willson-Piper & Powles (Ward, Ploog & Daugherty too)!

Very detailed biography of Steve Kilbey of the Church. Also gives great insight into various events in the Church's career. If you really like the band, you should read this book.

To diehard fans (myself included), The Church are one-of-a-kind: mercurial, melodic, sardonic, sentimental, at times rocken, at times reflective. Their music carves a strange path through decades of passing fads with its own unique blend of guitar wonder and Steve Kilbey's lyrical dexterity. Their songs aren't just catchy; they hook into your brain at some deep, visceral, emotional level and stay there forever. That they have lasted so long as a band, all the while producing music with such little regard for prevailing orthodoxies in popular music, is a miracle.

I can imagine no better accompaniment to The Church's long and curious career than Rob Lurie's biography. Normally I loathe rock biographies and their insipid, cliquey idolatry. This one was refreshingly different. Just like the band it sits squarely outside conventions and categories: it is essentially a combination of chronological explorations of the band's work, personal lives, music and challenges, and Lurie's own account of personal transformation - from being a besotted teenage fan into a fully-fledged researcher and writer about the band. Lurie manages to balance historical detail with discussion of social and cultural context; adding equal doses of the genuine joy of his fandom to his own critical appraisal of albums and songs. Lurie is at times painfully honest - fessing all about his fantasies of collaborating with Kilbey; coming to terms with his disappointment at meeting Kilbey and discovering that, as well as being a lyrical genius, he can also be cantankerous. At times the detail about Kilbey and the band is jarringly honest too - drugs, photos of embarrassing trousers, tender stories of families and friends. But his sympathy for Kibley, respect for the band, and love for the music shine through in the end, without ever being saccharine.

For lovers of The Church's music, this is a must. Be warned: you will lose two nights' sleep as you insist on not putting this book down. If you don't know much about the band, but like the music you have heard and want to know more, read this in combination with staggered purchases of back catalogue albums (Lurie's own assessment of their albums, highs and lows, is pretty much 100% spot on, so follow his lead). If you know nothing about the band but like rock biographies and want to read one which spins a neat twist on the usual plot - this is well worth buying. It's well-written and will make you want to dive deep into the music, which is after all, the point of such books in the first place.