Add a review or comment
| Name: | fip |
| Review Source (if not you): | Andrea Jones, The Record (Australia), March 1982 |
| Review or Comments: | It's only the Church's second album and yet already they're starting to deliver the promise. The Blurred Crusade is an opulent album, as rich in aural dimensions as it is in the sparkling psychedelic imagery of Steve Kilbey's lyrics. Veering close to traditional ballad structure, Kilbey's songs have an eerie timelessness. The melodies are a lyrical blend of folk and pure pop, an atmosphere which is enhanced by the rapid acoustic strumming of Marty Willson-Piper and the simultaneous jangling pop riffs of Peter Knoppes [sic].
American producer Bob Clearmountain has given the Church a dynamic, giant sound which defies even the limitations of a tiny stereo with a booming drum sound and an overall lushness and clarity. This is most effective on "You Took," the song from which the album takes its title. The song starts with a rippling bass line which is gradually joined by a weighty drum rhythm. These are augmented by flowing guitar melodies and Kilbey's sung/spoken vocals. Together they skillfully build and dissipate with the grace and control of an orchestral opus. Confirming their reputation as a strong-willed, assertive group, The Church have marked one side of the album "Their Side" and the other "Our Side." "Our Side" contains the single "Almost With You" and four other immediately accessible tracks. "Their Side" - presumably the record company's - is ironically more self-indulgent but equally rewarding. The Blurred Crusade is a lot more even than its predecessor. Kilbey's lyrics are still as tantalising as they are mystifying, heavily steeped in the tunnel-vision clarity of the original psychedelics: 'Psychic angels spread on the top of her head / And in the compartments of my dread / The rush hour crush travels home to bed," Kilbey sings in "An Interlude" in his deep, resonant, neo-Steve Harley vocal style. Having never been a great Church fan, this album has demanded that I change my attitude. It's a fascinating and refreshing record which I whole-heartedly recommend. |
| Name: | Warren Bishop |
| Review or Comments: | The Field of Mars is an old cemetery in the North Ryde area of Sydney. It has a nice ambiance & is a good place to go for a walk. I believe the song is about a funeral for a friend there. Great song. |
| Name: | Bigron |
| Review or Comments: | Best stoner album ever recorded you must have this in your collection! |
| Name: | Old man soon |
| Review or Comments: | I'm in my mid forty's now and jumped on the bandwagon right from the start. First saw them at the Shanndon for $1.08 cents. Loved the first album, but Blurred Crusade was something special.
'Almost With You' is as pure a pop song as will ever be written. 'Just For You' reminds me of the countless Church shows that sustain me till when they came back to tour again. Some of their live versions of this song are outstanding. Secret Corners, Fields of Mars, You Took... what can I say. I love "To Be In Your Eyes" it is so melodic and poignant. It was a great time for me when this album was released, toured constantly, and if they weren't playing then I could go see the Sunnyboys or Screaming Believers. What an album what a band. |
| Name: | evan |
| Review or Comments: | yes this album still stands out as being a quintessential church album-- it's a nice delicate balance of acoustic, prog-like rock, and just plain rawk.
and its steven kilbey at his least esoteric and as been said before most beautiful. it's cool how you can go from the delicateness of 'to be in your eyes' and the balls to the wall solo of 'a fire burns,' not to mention the excellent long rocker you took which builds and recedes and builds-- never even mind marty willson-piper's 'field of mars' which is ridiculously heartbreakingly beautiful especially when the bells come in and fade out to leave a touching music box sound. man i often think if i hadn't discovered bands like the church and echo and the bunnymen and lou reed and guided by voices when i was in high school i wouldn't be where i am today in a lot of ways. this album is great. and like rem's murmur or gbv's alien lanes or vu's banana album it has a timeless quality that is one of a kind. some of the bands like this were never able to recreate these sounds but i think it's more than enough to have done it once. |
| Name: | Richie |
| Review or Comments: | It is beyond rare that a band on their second outing produce such a beautiful album.
That being said, The Church were never like any other band, which is why there are those of us entering our late thirties that still hang onto every note or word that springs forth from the mindspring of Steve Kilbey, Marty Willson-Piper, Peter Koppes, and Tim Powles. "The Blurred Crusade" was out of print at the time that I began to collect all things Church. Luckily, there is a record store in Long Island that specializes in hard to find gems and I luckily snatched up a copy years back and put the CD on for a listen. OH MY... I will admit, I jumped on the Church bandwagon with "Under the Milky Way" along with many others. This was the late eighties when GOOD music was coming out and there was way too much stuff to digest at the time. 1987-88 was a musical renaissance of sorts for the business, with the best bands putting forth works of astonishing quality and brilliance such as U2, Midnight Oil, INXS, R.E.M., The Cure, Echo & The Bunnymen, and of course, The Church. Upon being hooked, it is only natural to see where these guys were coming from, so back-catalog hunting I went... OH MY... Almost With You... Words fail me when describing this song. Simply beautiful. When You Were Mine... A song WELL before it's time. An Interlude... If the influence here wasn't Pink Floyd, then I don't know what else to say. Only they do Floyd better than Roger Waters did here. My favorite track from this brilliant work of art. Just For You... Pop brilliance. They sounded like R.E.M. here long before there even WAS an R.E.M. ...Shimmering and lovely! You Took... At eight minutes, a masterpiece that they still play live (at least in 2004). Easily a song that could go on for an hour and I wouldn't mind. Simply put, an astonishing piece of early work that hints at the elegance that is to come and a superb sophomore effort that in unequalled in their early works. |
| Name: | Pam F |
| Review or Comments: | Fell in love with this band after hearing this album live. 100's of gig's later - BIGGER FAN THAN EVER
Where's Ploogie??? .... Thanks for all of the J'Bars Ploog & Steve - The ones in the carparks after all the 1980's Brissy Gigs - (Hiding from the police state) Lots of us haven't forgotten you... Ciao Pam |