Customer Reviews

Parallel Universe

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

 

 

The Amazon[.com] reviewer is apparently not a Church fan and his assessment that they exist just to please themselves seems unfair given the generally accessible quality of their music. That said, however, even a longtime Church fan like myself has to admit that Parallel Universe is a tad self-indulgent. At least that's true of Disc One of this two disc set. Disc One contains remixes of the material on the Church's prior studio album After Everything Now This. I am not a fan of these remix albums and this one, while better than most, does not alter my opinion. AENT is some of the Church's finest work but unfortunately you wouldn't know it from the Parallel Universe remixes. The remixed versions are interesting curiousities that may please some fans, but Disc One certainly won't spend much time in my CD player. And that's how I ultimately judge the success of any set of music.

The saving grace, however, is the second disc, which contains previously unreleased material. While this disc is not the equivalent of a full new Church album (there are only 6 tracks), the music is solid and a couple of the tracks are as good as some of the material on AENT. The songs are not as fully realized as the tracks on AENT but overall this disc makes an entertaining "mini-album" somewhat in the style of its predecessor. Disc Two alone makes Parallel Universe a worthwhile addition to the collection of any Church fan. Newcomers to the Church, however, are advised to start elsewhere.

For those of you who have yet to hear this, may I suggest the following: Get up at the crack of dawn, while the morning light is just barely beginning to illuminate the room. Curl up in your rocker with a cup of tea or whatever else may coax you into your day, put disc 2 on the box, medium volume. No other sounds in the house. Close your eyes and let the journey begin... 1st destination, The Moon. Dream away! Awaken to all those beautiful subtle layers of delicate sound that we've come to expect now from this constantly evolving group of musicians. Many rythyms and textures explored here, none seeming out of place as they work thier way through your psyche. Steve's magical voice and wonder-inducing lyrics. What's this? Focus turns to Peter, and the highlight of the album - aptly named Reward. This, folks, is worth the price alone! Travel on, more beauty and wonder, detouring for occasional doses of reality/unreality. There you go - haven't we visisted this person before? Resign yourself to joy and sadness, drift away into starry eyes...

The cult of The Church may be growing smaller but the band is growing bolder. This, their second album this year, consists of unusual remixes of tracks from After Everything Now This. Some of the songs are nearly unrecognizable while others are fascinating glimpses of roads not taken. The real gem here, though, is the 37 minute second disc of new material. Many of these tracks were recorded with minimal overdubbing and live by the band. The second disc will be what draws fans to this album while the first disc creates a fresh prespective on one the finest albums The Church have made.

All of this at the cost of one CD. Unlike U2's latest Greatest Hits compilation, you're not being charged for a two disc set. Instead, you get the "new" Church album with the remix as a bonus (or vice versa). So how's the new material? A bit ragged around the edges but, on the whole, very good. Clearly the band didn't have time to prune the 6 songs on the second disc like they did AENT but that really doesn't matter. The second disc works on the strength of the material and the fact that it isn't over done.

Listen, I love U2 but their latest two disc greatest hits collection does take advantage of fans that purchased the singles for their b-sides. It's also priced much higher than a conventional single disc might have been. Church fans have the best of both worlds with Parallel Universe.

3 stars for disc 1 (the remixes) and 4 stars for disc 2 (previously unreleased material). Just a note--the original version of AENT received 4 stars from me. It's one of their finest albums and the only reason the remix disc doesn't get four is that it isn't quite as strong as AENT.

...prepare for the trip. Parallel Universe's remixes present a tasty shift.

The new double CD release features remixes of each song from After Everything Now This (released earlier this year), plus six new outtakes from the AENT sessions. On first listen, the remixes seemed challenging and overwrought, but on subsequent listens, the cohesion and painstaking care that went into the remixes suddenly clicked, and now I can't stop playing the remixes, which are rich with enough texture to turn the heads of the most diehard Boards Of Canada or DJ Shadow fans. I'm a long-time Church fan and fan of AENT, so I can't comment on whether being familiar with the original tracks could hinder the experience; I sense that the remixes would stand on their own.

The remixes expand on many of lead singer Steve Kilbey's preoccupations with splicing and reconfiguring his own solo recordings (solo fans, think "Remindlessness" and "The Slow Crack"); the full-on dance remix of "Under the Milky Way", which they played before their Seattle "Box of Birds tour" show, was probably a dry run for Parallel Universe. The band has finally figured out how to do it right. Drummer Tim Powles was at the knobs for part of the adventure, and I'm sure his touch added a level of quality the release otherwise wouldn't have achieved.

I have to depart from other reviewers about the B-sides. Each of the six songs is curious, but three are among the weakest tracks the band released, and could've stayed in the vaults. However, both "Twin Stars" and "Treason" are both very good ... definite standouts.

If the remixes grab you or if you're a veteran Church fan, I would buy this record in a heartbeat, and take the outtakes exactly for what they are: outtakes (for those particularly interested in Church B-sides, I highly recommend "A Quick Smoke at Spot's" and "Hindsight"). If you're new to the Church, I'd start with "Starfish" before taking the leap to "Parallel Universe", unless your primary interest lies in electronic music, then I'd definitely start here. Once you get here, prepare for tasty, moving, mind-altering pleasantries.

I like the remixes the more and more I hear them, and they always make me want to listen to AENT (the best Church CD to date) again, and again, and again for something else I missed the first few thousand listens. BUT, on CD2, as a previous reviewer mentioned quite accurately, is one of the best Church songs ever...the song called Reward. What a haunting song. An absolute Church classic. You will not get it out of your head. If that CD only had the song Reward on it alone it is worth the purchase price, but you'll get a lot more than that, so it's a steal. Twin Star is a great guitar closer, in the vein of You Took. Buy it, and enjoy your REWARD!

I first heard this album last month playing over the loudspeakers in the elevator of my office building. Oddly enough, the first CD was played in it's entirety on the way up and the second played on the way down. (It is a slow elevator.) I questioned the security guards in the lobby to see who the band was, as I hadn't heard the music before. After being strip-searched and deprived of food for six hours, I was told that this magnificent work was by the group, The Church. I was released on the condition that I never wear pink womens underware again while at the office. After venturing home and puttin on some green panties, I drove to my local Sam Goody and instantly yelled at the clerk for not having this item in stock. I then ran all the way home (my car got stolen) and found the album here on Amazon[com].

First disc is regular Church songs meant to be found on some dancefloor.

Second disc is the parallel universe of their music. Something totally different! They are stepping in an other world and it's a beautiful one. My favorite track is "Twin star". Deliciously noisy at start but reached a beautiful guitar-harp sound in the middle part with magical lyrics "she's got two tiny stars in her eyes ..." and it becomes more noisy again and ends softly with that harp-guitar sound. Second favorite is "1st woman on the moon" I enjoy every seconds of that 11 minutes song, love that over-emphasis on the bass and the lovely percussion. Very sensual.

Nice album.

I'll start by saying that Im a long time fan but I quit buying Church albums after Hologram of Baal, so I havnt heard "After Everything Now This"(yet). To me Hologram was pretty basic and just was'nt as trippy as Priest=Aura and Magician among the spirits, and it turned me off to there later stuff. So I run into this double cd and reluctantly buy it.

Being also a fan of progressive and psychedelic rock (Porcupine Tree, Massive Attack, Pink Floyd...), this double cd instantly became my favorite church album ever.

There are remixes on the first cd, but I would'nt have known it not hearing the original, it sounds really solid and polished on its own. Though its not there style, its basically the Church progressive, with electronica, keyboards, echos, horns, noises ect. Looking at the other reviews, some regular church fans did'nt like this new approach, but then again, non-church fans may absolutely love it but dislike there earlier albums. My favorites are track 2, 3, 8, 10, and 11.

I will agree with everyone else about the 2nd cd with the B sides. It has a few 7+ minute songs which are really amazing.

I don't think that any of the songs here are bad, but like I said earlier, I like trippy stuff and some of you church fans don't. Im glad they did this, it reestablished my respect for this band, and I hope they do it again.

5 stars everyone

The Church seem to just keep getting better and better. Their earlier release of 2002, 'After Everything Now This' is a veritable alt-artrock masterpiece! I feel it is the best release of 2002 so far. I'ts ebb and flow is purely magical, and the recording/mastering quality is first rate (for those of you with high end audio systems). The same goes for 'Parallel Universe'. In short, 'Parallel Universe' delivers strongly. The first disc of remixes is absolutely superb, as is the second disc of six new songs. This is perhaps one of the best remix CD's ever created! The twists and embellishments they add to the mix work very well as a whole, and are fresh, bold, and daring! The Church have most definitely 'hit their stride' this year, and I truly hope that their 2 releases are precursors of what lies ahead from this monumental and influential band!!