Starfish

The Church | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: February 16, 1988
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Arista
• ASIN: B000002VF0
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #29,755 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #24 in Music > World Music > Europe > Scandinavia > Finland
  • #76 in Music > World Music > Australia & New Zealand

Editorial Reviews

No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: CHURCH
Title: STARFISH
Street Release Date: 02/16/1988
Domestic
Genre: ROCK/POP

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars College radio stalwarts' "one-hit wonder" mainstream success, December 31, 2004

By 

Brent A. Anthonisen "Johnny Sideburns" (Alpharetta, GA, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Starfish (Audio CD)

The Church had been mainstays of college radio (i.e., "alternative rock", without the marketing/P.R.) for years leading up to this thoroughly accessible (but no less brilliant) neuvo-psychedelic classic that scores from opening track to closing echo in a whirwind of dreamy, breathy vocals and effects-laden guitars chiming away like some ethereal clock ticking away to enlightenment.

ANYONE over the age of 35 should be familiar with the band's signature track "Under The Milky Way", one of the tracks from 1988 which pretty much set the table for the rise of college radio as mainstream "alternative rock" in the early '90's ("Head Like A Hole" from Nine Inch Nails and "Mountain Song" by Jane's Addiction being two others); it is a simple song given a lush arrangement and production values that fly under the radar...until you try to play the song yourself and realize that your effort, note-perfect thought it may be, sounds nothing like the Church's album version. Any band would be thankful to be associated by default with such a beautiful song.

And though it may be the most recognizable track and the one most likely to be remembered by casual fans, the strength of this album is that there are no throwaway tracks to be found (with the possible exception of "Spark", perhaps not incoincidentally one of the tracks bassist/main lyricist/vocalist Steve Kilbey does NOT sing lead vocal). "Destination", The opening track sets the mood perfectly, a single guitar followed by bass and drums, each seeming to attempt more restrain than the other follow, leading to a crescendo that takes you instead back to the beginning as Kilbey begins the first verse. "Under The Milky Way" is a perfect successor track. "Blood Money" is a bit of a let-down in the three spot; it seems to be two (at least) partial songs combined to form one with decidely mixed results.

"Lost", however, is an absolute joy to listen to. It's a total stoner vibe (I still remember the Rolling Stone write-up where Kilbey said "It might help to take a lot of acid to better understand my lyrics") that you just can't help laying back and closing your eyes to as you drift off to...somewhere. "North, South, East and West" brings you back, splash-of-cool-water-in-the-face style with a fantastic guitar riff that announces the most up-tempo and aggressive song on the album. Fantastic guitar work by both Marty Willson-Piper and Peter Koppes.

Track 6, the afore-mentioned "Spark" would lead off Side 2 of this album on LP or cassette, weakly in my opinion. Its attitude is out-of-place on this album, and I almost never listen to it. "Antenna" is a different story, though. A finer waltz beat in pop music hasn't been heard since the days of the Doors. "Reptile", the second single/video, is another up-tempo song with an almost schizophrenic distinction between verse and chorus. Steve Kilbey's bass slithers between the guitars of Koppes and Willson-Piper as the defining instrument of the song.

Peter Koppes turns the lead vocal on the longing "New Season", jingle-jangly Byrds-like guitars a-plenty and "Hotel Womb" closes the album on an upbeat note, praising the endless succession of sanctuaries found on the road, the hotel rooms where it IS possible for travelling musicians to avoid more trouble than they can get into.

It could be said that the Church never released an album as cohesive as "Starfish" again, though the musicianship from this album remains a constant. This is the most accessible effort the Church would ever produce, and anyone who appreciates good songwriting, artful arrangement, and general psychedelia will find a regular rotation slot for this CD. It is absolutely one of the finest albums of the 1980's and produced so sufficiently free of the gimmicks of that era that it still sounds relevant today. Not an easy trick for most of that decade's better releases.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Church album gets second disc in re-release making this a worthwhile addition, May 31, 2007

By 

WTDK "If at first the idea is not absurd, the... (My Little Blue Window, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Starfish (Bonus CD) (Dlx) (Audio CD)

"Starfish" one of The Church's best and biggest selling albums receives the deluxe treatment on this reissue import. The sound is louder and here than the previous edition. I haven't compared this head to head on my computer to see if the dynamic range is crushed to create this effect but it sure sounds good to my average ears. The big reason to get this, though, is the second disc of EP/single b-sides that didn't make the album. Many of these tracks appeared on "A Quick Smoke at Spots" but not all of them. Also, ther remastered sound on the second disc of those tracks is much better--crisper sounding--than "Spot's" which sounded rather flat and dull by comparison. YOu get the good with the bad though as the sound is loud with little dynamic range so just be aware of that. Certainly this is a five star album for the content and the bonus disc but the mastering is another matter...

We also get the trio of acoustic tracks that the band released on their CD single "Under the Milky Way" (which was selling for a princely sum on Ebay). All three acoustic tracks are worthwhile for fans to have. These aren't stripped down versions but new recordings of the same songs that were done around the same time. While some of these tracks did appear on the band's acoustic album (and on Steve Kilbey's acoustic album as well), these are terrific takes for fans to have. There are also some unusual songs here that I haven't heard before and can assume that they were never released.

Track listing for second disc:
1. Texas Moon (from "Spot's")
2. Perfect Child (From Spots)
3. We Both know Why We're Here (from Spots)
4. Frozen and Distant (From Spots)
6. Nose Dive (from Spots)
7. Afterlife (from Spots)
8. Under the Milky Way (acoustic)(CD Single)
9, Antenna (Acoustic)(CD single)
10. Spark (Acoustic)(CD Single)
11. Warm Spell
12. Musk (EP b-side)

If you have "Spots" then you may not feel the need to get this or if you're an avid collector of the band you probably have most of these songs on other discs. For those of us who couldn't afford to buy everything at the time this is a nice summation of many of the b-sides/Spots songs that were released. The rest of the Spots songs are on the second disc of "Gold Afternoon Fix" (which also has some unique material as well).The booklet has additional photos from the recording sessions but I am disappointed that we don't get song lyrics.

"Starfish" became The Church's biggest selling album. Breaking through to the top 50 (it peaked at #41), Arista had hopes they would be the new U2 but The Church are a bit too idiosyncratic to fit into the narrow confines of a mainstream band. Nevertheless, "Starfish" is a terrific album with nice production by Waddy Wachtel and Greg Lanyani. The duo cleaned up the band's sound a bit producing a crisp, clean sounding recording that appealed to radio particularly with the first two singles "Under the Milky Way" and "Reptile" charting in the United States as singles (their biggest selling ones to date). The Church aren't just a one hit wonder however, they've consistently made compelling albums AFTER this album. When they reformed as a quartet with Tim Powles as their drummer and engineer), they produced a startling array of rich, terrific albums.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Church Lose Their Virginity, January 31, 2000

By 

Brendan Staunton (San Francisco, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Starfish (Audio CD)

The Church - 'Starfish'

Prior to this album, Australian rockers The Church, were known mainly for floppy hair, jangly guitars and a repertoire of cute sixties-revivalist songs. If they weren't always comfortable with this image, at least it set them apart from their antipodean peers - INXS, Midnight Oil, Men-At-Work and all those other worthy toilers who've come to define the Australian rock sound.

With this album, though, The Church began to challenge people's expectations. Where previously they'd always sounded as buttoned up as their paisley shirts - their songs all marching strict tempo to Richard Ploog's fussy 4/4 hi-hats - the 'Starfish' album added fresh new dynamics to their sound. It was like they lost their collective musical virginity.

Certainly I never expected anything like 'North, South, East and West', a gloriously sensuous rocker which starts with a rousing great riff and drives through each spacey grooving verse towards the glorious re-affirmation of the chorus. Written about LA, where the album was recorded, this is simply one of the best evocations of a city I've ever heard. You can almost see the traffic cops, hear the sirens, smell the pollution. Kilbey's voice is icily sensuous as his lyrics both celebrate and denigrate the ultimate city - horrified and yet strangely exhilarated by its size, its variety, its multiple manifestations.

If this is the first really rocking Church album, it's also the first album where Kilbey's singing really comes to the fore. He always had the voice; a rich yet strangely undernourished-sounding rasp seasoned with both melancholy and contempt in its smooth delivery. It's not an especially expressive voice, nor particularly original, drawing from a long line of demure, petulant and predominantly English, drawlers such as Donovan, Steve Harley and, perhaps most of all, Pete Perrett, the brilliant, but wasted genius who fronted the late lamented Only Ones.

The difference, certainly on this album, is that Kilbey never even tries to commit any real feeling to his vocal performance. He gets away with it because his lyrics and the beautifully expressive guitar playing of Marty Willson-Piper and Peter Koppes supply all the emotion the album needs. And it works. Boy, how it works. Because, make no mistake, out of everything this band has done whether solo or together, this album remains, for me, their single, definitive statement. If you like your songs beautifully crafted with gorgeous melodies and evocative lyrics; if you like punchy production and exciting guitar work; if the power and passion of rock and roll still reaches you, then you'll love this album. 'Starfish' is a minor classic and deserved to be much more.