The Church - Heyday

It was the Heyday for those shirts.

So this is the fourth Church LP, which also means it was their fourth classic in a row. What a winning streak they had going in the 80s. Heyday was then followed up with Starfish another classic. The winning streak was then interrupted by the follow up to Starfish. Anyway I'm talking about Heyday because of those recent Scott Walker posts. It is an impeccably produced record with great songs and arrangements. It was Scott walker's main man Peter Walsh at the desk. This is the sound of 80s Australia in the best possible sense. I could bang on about the coolest sounding lyrics ever, the dual guitar interplay of Koppes and Wilson-Piper and the wonderfully intuitive drumming of Ploog. Also saying Ploog is great. Richard Ploog the coolest rock drummer ever! Anyway you've probably heard all that before what I want to highlight is the production and arrangements and how well Walsh and the Church got it so so right.

Night of Light

The strings and horns are arranged here by both Steve Kilbey and Peter Walsh. Can you believe this wasn't even a single. Incredible arrangements, so mesmerising up there with the strings and horns on Forever Changes.

Youth Worshipper

Horns and strings by SK alone this time. Some really weird and unexpected changes in this track. It starts off all nice and jangley then goes down some strange paths. Those horns are so fucking cool the whole thing still amazes me to this day. A high water mark in a career already filled with peaks. These are two of my favourite tunes from this classic album. I wonder why The Church never worked with Peter Walsh again? It's not like the results weren't outstanding or anything.

RE: Scott Walker Bish Bosch

er...That's the cover.

Fabulous little look at some of the techniques used in this new record.

 

 

Master & Apprentice

 

 

The Classic Wickerman from Pulp's We Love Life LP.

As mentioned in the previous post produced by Mr Engel

 with Mr Peter Walsh assisting at the desk.

 

 

Found this while I was lookin for that Pulp track.

How weird is the Internet? 

Scott Walker - Bish Bosch

Farmer In The City

From Tilt

Be warned if you've never heard this prepare to

have your mind blown. Surely one of the

greatest songs of the 20th century.

"I'll punch a donkey in the streets of Galway" 

Jolson & Jones

From The Drift

It's all happening now. Scott Walker has a new LP out 5 years early. I'm still processing/getting used to The Drift. Geez man give me some time. He must be going through a creative period I mean The Drift was only released in 2006, The one before that Tilt was '95 and if memory serves Climate of The Hunter was like 1984. Slow down man you'll give yourself a heart attack! Anyway I've had a quick listen to Bish Bosch and well it's what you would expect. How do I describe that? I'll get back to you on that. There did seem to be little cracks of light here and there. One track almost had a groove happening. Another had a little Bossa Nova/Tropicalia/Samba? interlude going on. Hang on am I sure? Diehards don't be disheartened these were very brief moments if they happened at all. It's the usual esoteric Walker walking into a future like no other. Some choice lyrics are 'Nothing clears a room like the removal of a brain' and another where he compares himself to a 'Wildflower Garden, an English Garden'. There are even some rock like textures on Phrasing with 70s metallic riffs popping up randomly amongst other little surreal psych bits.  One track Pilgrim has this great percussive backing while he he sings about a room full of mice and blowing bullfrogs with a straw. Then he sings about staring into the bullfrogs eyes before they burst, you know the usual kind of of lyrics for a song. On The Day The "Conducator" Died (An Xmas Song) the final track, the backing could be Slint on really strong painkillers with sleigh bells for percussion and then there is a mini Jingle Bells riff on the bells right at the end   I love these people who get more hardcore and don't become complacent and boring in their old age. It's definitely worth aspiring to this being an awkward renegade who doesn't give a damn what anyone thinks. I can imagine him now in his old age still drinking a truckload in the company of sophisticated women with maybe a little something else on the side to get himself going/not going, know what I mean. Or I can see him as being a quiet, solitary, studious and creative man in his abode occasionally going for a walk in the park. Maybe he's somewhere in between which could explain a few things.

Havin' a little sip old skool stylee.

Scott has a secret weapon in Peter Walsh his producer who also accompanied Walker on production duties for Pulp's  underrated but tremendous final LP We Love Life.  Walsh has been with him since The Climate Of The Hunter. If I have this right he also produced one of the greatest Church LPs ever Heyday from 1985. That was such a beautifully produced record that it is much to my amazement they never used him again. I always thought Heyday was produced by The Apartments Peter Milton Walsh until today. Anyway i thought both Peters were the same Peter so it made no difference to me. Maybe Peter Milton Walsh should get Peter Walsh to produce the next Apartments LP.

Boy Child from Scott 4

Couldn't resist some old School Scott from '69.

Who else was doing shit like this back then?