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Versione 2
Rating: Perhaps we are here; or rather, "Today is the day".
Whatever happens, I cannot wait any longer. Because the second album by the Church, published way back in 1982, is one of those works that haunts me, buzzing in my head for decades. And I have never managed to come up with anything decent; I adore the band, I adore and own a good part of their endless discography. Yet with Steve Kilbey, Peter Koppes, and Marty Willson-Piper (the sacred trio that crafted such a recognizable sound), and particularly with this album, I have found myself in great difficulty; a sort of legitimate intimidation in facing and describing the songs that make up this masterpiece. It may seem strange, but it is all true.
Last October, the band released their twenty-fifth album, once again demonstrating an innate class; charming and intimate as in the good old days.
Despite a career nearing forty years, the Australians have not received the success they so richly deserve; and it is a shame to think that they are very often remembered as "the ones from Under The Milky Way". A song that is undoubtedly captivating, like the entire Starfish album, but the guys from Sydney and its surroundings deserve greater recognition, starting with The Blurred Crusade.
Sure, there is to consider against them an attitude, particularly from the singer and leader Steve, that is somewhat haughty and self-indulgent. Steve has always been a brilliant, extremely ambitious visionary; an absolute master who wanted things his way, leading to frequent quarrels, departures, and defections in the lineup. But in the face of the enormous scale and beauty, which still doesn't fade, of the ten songs that form the sound structure of the album, we can forgive the Church for everything.
We are facing a work that has its roots in Rock echoing the psychedelic jingle jangle; with those 12-string arpeggios from Marty that head unobstructed towards the most charming Byrds. But it certainly doesn't end there, the range of influences that can be savored upon listening since the shadow of the New Wave à la Television is put in the foreground; the remarkable one-two punch at the beginning with "Almost With You" and especially "When You Were Mine" fully demonstrates my point. Atmospheric, ethereal, lysergic, visionary; with an amazing touch that ambitiously gazes towards that Paisley Underground that was gaining ground, let us remember that we're in 1982, on American soil where the time of Wine and Roses was ripe!!
At this point in my discourse, I feel obliged to quote an old post by a colleague of ours during a listening of the album in December 2014. The user in question, whose identity I will not reveal even though it will be easy to discover given his equally strong love for the Church, in very few words gives a perfect reading of The Blurred Crusade. Much more effective than my lengthy discussion up to this point: "Perhaps it’s needless to reiterate that The Blurred Crusade is Kilbey’s aristocratic masterpiece. A first side to be passed down to posterity for its perfection, a second side that begins with 'Just for You', continues with 'A Fire Burns', quiets with the chisels of 'To be in Your Eyes', gallops with 'You Took' and closes with the early Americana of 'Don't Look Back'... behold, we named them all..." Thank you, thank you truly boy from Turin: the square of the circle...FIELD OF MARS...
Ad Maiora.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Almost With You (04:14)
See the chains which bind the men
Can you taste their lonely arrogance
It's always too late
And your face is so cold
They struggled for this opulence
See the suns which blind the men
Burnt away so long before our time
Now their warmth is forgotten and gone
Pretty maids not far behind
Who you trying to get in touch with
I'm almost with you
I can sense it wait for me
I'm almost with you
Is this the taste of victory
I'm almost with you
See the dust which fills your sleep
Does it always feel this chill near the end
I never dreamed we'd meet here once more
This laugh reserved for a friend
02 When You Were Mine (05:45)
On a day like this, a hundred lifetimes ago
You on a shore, across the point
I looked through my hands and you drew me a line
When you were mine
On a world like this, a hundred turns left to go
Deep in a room, which I've never seen
Outside it's so cold but I'm waiting for time
When you were mine
Plenty of islands between now and then
Rocks break the boats of the painted face men
And they drown, and they're born
And they live once again
And this all happens
When you were mine
In a storm like this, a hundred kisses of snow
You with another so easily sleep
What's real and what's dreamt become close and entwine
When you were mine
03 Fields of Mars (04:54)
It's a long way home from the Field of Mars
Distant, alone, beneath the platinum stars
And I turn to look, but I'm never any closer
Only just the rain makes the skin feel colder
All my life seems so far away
The air is soft in the Field of Mars
Tears and loss feed the overgrown grass
And I have to leave, but I never seem to go
Only more sad clouds where autumn winds will blow
All my dreams seem so long ago
Oh, Field of Mars
Time is past in the Field of Mars
Grief won't last in the departing cars
And I call her name, but she never, ever hears
And I call again to the cruelty of the years
Oh my love she's so far away
Oh, Field of Mars.
The Field of Mars is a large park and square in the center of Saint Petersburg with an area of almost 9 hectares. Named after the Roman god of war, the Field was for a long time the setting for military parades and drills for imperial guards regiments. Monuments to military leaders Pyotr Rumyantsev and Alexander Suvorov have been erected here. Its layout remains unchanged.
04 An Interlude (04:32)
"They're going to send you away" she said
Psychic angels spread on the top of her head
And in the compartments of my dread
The rush hour crush travels home to bed
"You never seem to hear" she smiled
Statues tiptoe for a glimpse of the child
The lawns are always lush and wild
Spacious floors bejeweled and tiled
"How are you getting home" she laughed
Mermaids drowned but I clung to the raft
It's just the water in the bath
An interlude for the busy staff
09 You Took (08:02)
You took a piece of my heart
You took a piece of my heart
And I don't know why
No I don't know why
It was clear in coming here
I must have put the horse before the cart
Before the cart
You took the lead from the start
You took the lead from the start
And I don't know why
No I don't know why
It was clear in coming here
I must have put the skin before the heart
Before the heart
You took the rest of the day
You took the rest of the day
And I don't know why
No I don't know why
Now that it's all over
Now there's just some coldness in my way
It's in my way
You took the clubs and the spades
You took the clubs and the spades
And I don't know why
No I don't know why
It's a shame it's not a game
We're playing in it's just the blurred crusade
The blurred crusade
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