Seance [Enhanced, Import, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

The Church | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 1, 2002)
• Original Release Date: 1983
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Enhanced, Import, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: EMI Import
• ASIN: B000069AUD
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #267,543 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Fly

2. One Day

3. Electric

4. It's No Reason

5. Travel By Thought

6. Disappear?

7. Electric Lash

8. Now I Wonder Why

9. Dropping Names

10. It Doesn't Change

Disc: 2

1. Someone Special (Single B-Side) [*]

2. Autumn Soon (Single B-Side) [*]

3. It's No Reason [*][Multimedia Track]

Editorial Reviews

To celebrate the 30th Anniversary from Australian legends, The Church, Second Motion Records proudly continues the series of reissues of their catalog with the next batch, Seance and Heyday. The albums are in a vinyl style soft-pack sleeve and feature a 12-page booklet of classic photos and lyrics, as well as extensive liner notes from guitarist Marty Willson-Piper! Both albums are digitally remastered-- Seance features two bonus tracks and Heyday features three bonus tracks! --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At Their Best, August 24, 2004

By 

OgreVI "OgreVI" (Huntington, WV) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Seance (Audio CD)

I know, I know, everyone loves Starfish, presumably because of "Under the Milky Way." And those that want to go back farther always mention Heyday and The Blurred Crusade. But, for my money, this is the greatest Church album ever, and I include it on my personal list of the seven greatest rock albums, period. "Disappear?" is my favorite Church song ("Wake to find you gone, a note pinned to my sleeve/and it wasn't just the things you took, it was the things you had to leave"), "Electric" is the essence of their famous discordant, moody sound, "It's No Reason" is as simple and beautiful as anything they've done, and "Electric Lash" and "One Day" are just a blast; you turn 'em on and immediately just start feeling good. Nobody since Dylan has gotten as much out of a bad singing voice as Kilbey, and this is the record where he stopped being self-conscious about it. And the ethereal guitar sound is already fully developed here. If you don't have this album, you don't really know the Church. It is a must buy.

All that having been said, if you DO already have the original release (and judging from sales figures, most of you don't), I can't really recommend buying this in addition just to get the added material. The bonus songs, it turns out, were left off the original record for the simple reason that they aren't very good. But, if you're a serious fan, it's probably worth the money.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Demonstrates The Church's diversity, July 21, 2005

By 

trainreader (Montclair, N.J.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Seance (Audio CD)

Of all The Church's albums, "Seance" is probably the most representational, in that the various styles of the band are present. For instance, "One Day" and "Dropping Names" contain one guitar (I think Koppes) repeating a phrase, and the other (I think Willson-Piper) creating the framework of the melody. Some of The Church's best songs (i.e. "Reptile" from the later album "Starfish") fit this pattern. "It's No Reason," "Disappear?" and "Now I Wonder Why" represent The Church in their dreamy melodic mode. "Fly," "Electric," "Travel by Thought," and "It Doesn't Change" show off the band's more psychedelic, experimental side. "Electric Lash," could have been a top forty hit, if only The Church had received their fair share of radio play.

All the songs include Kilbey's enigmatic lyrics, heavy in metaphor and allusion (i.e., from "Fly" -- "Baby smiled like a tiny child/ She talks her head off, and the land lies wild/ tossed and turned on a teardrop sea/ and all those dark clowns (clouds?) that are following me." From "Its No Reason" -- "Crocodile skin water, city shadows wait/ Put your head in your hands, the ending is so great"). I'm not sure what it all means, but it's certainly unique and thought provoking.

"Seance" is definitely one of the better Church albums. In my opinion, the transition from "Fly" to "One Day" is one of the band's best moments. I also think, however, that some songs go on a bit too long and become somewhat tedious. In the coming albums, The Church would occasionally have this problem, but this does not detract from the music of what I think is one of the most underrated rock bands of all time.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Again, September 13, 2002

By 

Wallace V. French III (Boston MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Seance (Audio CD)

EMI recently re-released four Church cd's. Each one of them with b-sides and videos on the second cd. Unless you have a very well trained ear for such things you can't notice a difference in the "digitally remastered" recording as compared to the original cd. However, if you don't have this on cd now would be a good time to buy it. Even if you have it on cd already it is worth the purchase because the b-sides and videos cd is very cool. You need a plug-in for your computer in order to get the videos to work. Once they work though it is very cool to watch them again since they don't play them on T.V. anymore. The videos are not full-screen, but they are big enough on your monitor to enjoy them. Quality of the video is very good. A must purchase for The Church fan.