Steve Kilbey: Solo Albums & Side Projects Discussion

After having the Church thread hijacked numerous times by solo Kilbey discussion, I thought it was time to make a dedicated thread for the solo work of Steve Kilbey. Those of you who know me know that I am a massive Church fanatic (in fact, as I type this, I'm waiting for PayPal to load so I can make the payment on the last major Church release I still need in my collection), and for a long time I was put off from SK's solo career simply because it was so unfathomably massive. I chanced upon an original CD pressing of his first solo album in a longbox back in 2018, and thus began my journey. My very expensive, probably un-complete-able journey.

This thread will be an all-purpose discussion of SK's solo career, as well as his many, many, MANY side projects with various other musicians. Currently, Steve has a flash-sale on Bandcamp where you can download about 25-30 of his albums for a total of A$100 ($75 US); if you are at all interested in his solo career, don't pass on this offer! The link can be found here - just click on an album and you'll see an option for "Buy Digital Discography". Steve Kilbey

Because his discography is so massive, I've made up this list of all his major releases. Hopefully this will benefit new and old fans alike! For newcomers, I'd recommend the Steve Kilbey albums proper, and good starting points for the side projects would be Jack Frost (a collaboration with Grant McLennan of the Go-Betweens) and Isidore (with Jeffrey Cain of Remy Zero, now an official Church member). There are so many albums and projects I can't do them all justice in this opening post, but as the discussion progresses, I'm sure all (or at least most) will be touched on.

Here is Kilbey's album discography. I've put in bold the albums I consider part of the "core discography".

1986 - Steve Kilbey - Unearthed
1987 - Steve Kilbey - Earthed
1988 - Steve Kilbey - The Slow Crack
1989 - Hex - Hex [Steve Kilbey and Donnette Thayer]
1990 - Steve Kilbey - Remindlessness
1990 - Hex - Vast Halos
1990 - Curious (Yellow) - Charms And Blues [Karin Jansson solo album featuring SK]
1991 - Jack Frost - Jack Frost [Steve Kilbey and Grant McLennan]
1991 - Steve Kilbey - Narcosis [originally an EP, expanded to full album in 1997]
1994 - Fake - Fake
1996 - Jack Frost - Snow Job
1997 - Gilt Trip - Gilt Trip [Steve and Russell Kilbey]
2000 - Steve Kilbey - Acoustic And Intimate [live]
2001 - Steve Kilbey - Dabble
2003 - Steve Kilbey - Freaky Conclusions [home demos 1977-1985]
2004 - Isidore - Isidore [Steve Kilbey and Jeffrey Cain]
2005 - Gilt Trip - Egyptian Register
2006 - Steve Kilbey - Artifacts [early '80s demos, including some Church songs]
2007 - Mimesis - Art Imitating Life [SK provides vocals only]
2008 - Steve Kilbey - Painkiller
2009 - Kilbey/Kennedy - Unseen Music, Unheard Words [Steve Kilbey and Martin Kennedy]
2009 - Steve Kilbey - Art, Man, And Technology [experimental spoken word album]
2010 - Kilbey/Kennedy - Live At The Toff In Town [DVD only]
2011 - Kilbey/Kennedy - White Magic
2011 - Steve Kilbey & Ricky Maymi - David Neil: The Wilderness Years
2012 - Isidore - Life Somewhere Else
2012 - Steve Kilbey - Garage Sutra
2012 - Steve Kilbey - AddendaOne [recordings 1960-1995]
2012 - Steve Kilbey - AddendaTwo [recordings 1996-2010]
2013 - Steve Kilbey - The Idyllist
2013 - Kilbey/Kennedy - You Are Everything
2013 - Steve Kilbey & The Hoffmenn - With Strings Attached: Live At The Fly By Night Club [live]
2013 - Kilbey/Kennedy - Songs From The Real World: Commissioned Songs, Volume 1
2014 - Steve Kilbey - Miscellanaea: Whispers In The Static [unreleased songs 2010-2013]
2014 - Kilbey/Kennedy - Songs From The Real World: Commissioned Songs, Volume 2
2015 - Kilbey/Kennedy - Inside, We Are The Same
2015 - Kilbey/Kennedy - Songs From The Real World: Commissioned Songs, Volume 3
2016 - Speed Of The Stars - Speed Of The Stars [Steve Kilbey and Frank Kearns]
2017 - Kilbey/Kennedy - Glow And Fade
2018 - Steve Kilbey - Sydney Rococo
2020 - Steve Kilbey & Gareth Koch - Chryse Planitia
2020 - Steve Kilbey, Kate Ceberano & Sean Sennett - The Dangerous Age

Other releases:

2010 - Steve Kilbey - Monsters 'N' Mirages - 8CD box set containing remastered and expanded versions of Unearthed, Earthed, The Slow Crack, Remindlessness, Narcosis, Dabble, Freaky Conclusions, and Artifacts
2012 - Bobby Birdhouse - Comeback Soundtrack - download-only EP soundtrack to a short film
2012 - Steve Kilbey - A Song For Jade - download-only single whose proceeds went to pay for Jade's medical expenses
2012 - Steve Kilbey - Vivid - download-only single
2014 - Mercator Projection - download-only live recording of a band that's basically the Church without Peter (SK/MWP/TP plus Jorden Brebach)
2020 - (title and format unknown) - box set of Kilbey's 2012-2014 albums due to be released this year

 

Always liked The Church. I think I have 4-5 of their albums. I didn't know Kilbey had such a prolific solo career. Reminds me of another Steven.

http://www.voyage-pt.de/swdisco.pdf (careful downloading this - it is 13MB with 1,150 entries - and it's five years out of date...)

Do you have a recommendation on where to start with Kilbey's solo sets?

 

My personal favorite is the self-titled Isidore disc from 2004, which is relatively cheap on CD, but I think Painkiller from 2008 is probably the best starting place for his solo career. (The Bandcamp download of this one is missing a 20-minute ambient piece at the end of the album, for some reason - the CD is cheap and common, though.) And, if you can find it, the live album Acoustic And Intimate is a great look at his songwriting prowess unadorned by his studio wizardry.

 

Thanks. I'll have a listen.

 

2016 - Speed Of The Stars - Speed Of The Stars [Steve Kilbey and Frank Kearns]

I can highly recommend this album if you like Priest = Auras

 

While the whole album hasn't quite clicked with me yet, I absolutely love "Blessed One", the hypnotic opener of Dabble.

Dabble, by Steve Kilbey

And this song... an absolute stunner.

 

That's quite good.

 

Painkiller is the cream of the solo crop for me, by a wide margin too.

The latest Kilbey/Kennedy collab called Glow and Fade is outstanding too.

 

Thanks for starting the thread, excellent.

I love the Sydney Rococo album, it’s a very accessible album for someone like me who is/was not familiar with his solo work.

I hadn’t seen the video before for the title song, which I love, pretty sleek and professional video, very good.

 

Heh, I said I'd boldface the core albums in that list and promptly forgot to do exactly that. I'll make up a separate list when I get home.

 

Excellent thread.

Are these releases going to be discussed in any sort of order or just random blurbs?

 

If you can find the 8 cd box set that is a great package that covers his core releases from the earlier years. (yikes, price may be an issue) All of the Kilbey/Kennedy releases are very good so I would start with any of those or Isidore for the side collaborations.

I would pick from this list just to filter it down some. These are some of the better more complete options.

1986 - Steve Kilbey - Unearthed
1987 - Steve Kilbey - Earthed
1988 - Steve Kilbey - The Slow Crack
1989 - Hex - Hex [Steve Kilbey and Donnette Thayer]
1990 - Steve Kilbey - Remindlessness
2001 - Steve Kilbey - Dabble
2004 - Isidore - Isidore [Steve Kilbey and Jeffrey Cain]
2008 - Steve Kilbey - Painkiller
2012 - Isidore - Life Somewhere Else
2013 - Kilbey/Kennedy - You Are Everything
2015 - Kilbey/Kennedy - Inside, We Are The Same
2017 - Kilbey/Kennedy - Glow And Fade



2010 - Steve Kilbey - Monsters 'N' Mirages - 8CD box set containing remastered and expanded versions of Unearthed, Earthed, The Slow Crack, Remindlessness, Narcosis, Dabble, Freaky Conclusions, and Artifacts

 

Here's what I would consider the essential Steve Kilbey discography, and what I meant to boldface in that first post. This is not to say excluded releases aren't worth buying, but these are the ones I would recommend first:

Steve Kilbey - Unearthed
Steve Kilbey - Earthed
Steve Kilbey - The Slow Crack
Hex - Hex
Steve Kilbey - Remindlessness
Hex - Vast Halos
Jack Frost - Jack Frost
Steve Kilbey - Narcosis
Jack Frost - Snow Job
Gilt Trip - Gilt Trip
Steve Kilbey - Dabble
Isidore - Isidore
Gilt Trip - Egyptian Register
Steve Kilbey - Painkiller
Kilbey/Kennedy - Unseen Music, Unheard Words
Kilbey/Kennedy - White Magic
Isidore - Life Somewhere Else
Steve Kilbey - The Idyllist
Kilbey/Kennedy - You Are Everything
Kilbey/Kennedy - Inside, We Are The Same
Speed Of The Stars - Speed Of The Stars
Kilbey/Kennedy - Glow And Fade
Steve Kilbey - Sydney Rococo

 

I hope to OP doesn't mind me posting this as an example of something from the side projects that might appeal to someone who likes The Church but has not explored any further.

Steve Kilbey & Martin Kennedy - "Amenia" from Inside We Are All the Same:

 

Any discussion is fair game! By all means, I don't mind anyone posting songs to generate more discussion!!

 

The new album collaboration with Gareth Koch is excellent, been listening to it a lot last few days. Some really melodic songs, Steve is in fine voice.

I had never heard of Gareth Koch, seems to be predominantly a classical guitarist which is clear in a number of the songs, they seem to gel perfectly.

 

Here's a gorgeous song from Unearthed. Free from the bedroom-demo production of the album, this is just a beautiful little tune that belongs on the as-yet-nonexistent SK best-of.

 

That's a huge list, all I have is

• Hex
  
• Jack Frost - Snow Job
• Steve Kilbey - The Idyllist

None of those is bad, Hex is my favorite

 

I really enjoy the last three full length Kilbey Kennedy releases.

 

Oh yeah... some of those early solo albums are a bit confusing with their release history:

Unearthed was originally 14 tracks, came out on LP in 1986 and CD in '87, in the Netherlands only (?) I think. In 1990 Red Eye in Australia (who released the original LP) put it out on CD with 2 bonus tracks in the middle of the album ("Nonapology" and "Transference"). In 2002 Karmic Hit reissued all his early albums, remastered with bonus tracks. This one got 4 bonus tracks added to the end, but with the 1990 bonus tracks still in the middle of the original track list. This 2002 reissue was repackaged in 2010 for the Monsters N Mirages box set.

Earthed was essentially the soundtrack to his demented freeform poetry novel. The original Ryko CD had the whole novel in the booklet. 2002/2010 reissue has 8 bonus tracks which are Steve's spoken word readings from the book. Personally I like to play them over the music. The Bandcamp download is missing 5 of those bonus tracks for unknown reasons.

The Slow Crack was originally an 8-track mini-album. Expanded to album length in 1989 with 4 more tracks, again inserted randomly into the track list. 2002/2010 reissue adds his very first solo single, "This Asphalt Eden", and its 2 B-sides as bonus tracks to the 12 other tracks - though the track list follows the original 8-track album, then the first set of bonus tracks, then the new ones.

Remindlessness was a double-LP which had two tracks cut for its first CD release. Those can be found on CD on the "No Such Thing" EP/single (Red Eye CD RED EP 20). It was remastered in 2001 with those tracks reinstated, but no other bonus tracks. That remaster was repackaged in 2010. I should point out that the 2010 box set (and its CDs which are mostly available separately) were designed by our own @Twangy. Hi Twangy!

Narcosis was a 5-track EP from 1991. It got reissued in 1997 as Narcosis Plus with a handful of bonus tracks, and again later (2004 maybe?) as Narcosis Plus More. That's the same one from 2010. I don't really know the history of this one too well. Forgive me. There's a hidden bonus track of Steve reading Rimbaud's "A Season In Hell" at the end of Narcosis Plus More.

Jack Frost - remastered sometime in the '00s with new artwork and some bonus tracks. This is the only one of his side projects to get a revised reissue that I can remember.

oh yes and these (mostly) expanded remasters are the ones you'll get from his Bandcamp. Mastering not as bad as the Church remasters, but not as good as the original discs.

 

Loved Jack Frost so much and still do. Remember seeing solo Steve very early on and him doing some remindlessness songs and a killer “providence”! So good.

 

I recommend the 1986-1991 releases, when just about everything Kilbey did was interesting and enjoyable. His post 1991 output became increasingly inconsistent.

1986 - Steve Kilbey - Unearthed
1987 - Steve Kilbey - Earthed
1988 - Steve Kilbey - The Slow Crack
1989 - Hex - Hex
1990 - Steve Kilbey - Remindlessness
1990 - Hex - Vast Halos
1990 - Curious (Yellow) - Charms And Blues
1991 - Jack Frost - Jack Frost
1991 - Steve Kilbey - Narcosis

The CD reissues have added several of his wonderful non-LP tracks as bonus.

 

I will try and rank my top 10 favorites! All of these are very close in the ranking, but all are my most played Kilbey side releases. What's crazy is I am a super fan and still haven't really spent much time with about ten of his releases. It's hard to keep up!

1. Dabble
2. The Slow Crack
3. Unearthed
4. Isidore
5. Narcosis
6. Jack Frost- Snow Job
7. Painkiller
8. Freaky Conclusions
9. Remindlessness
10. Jack Frost- Jack Frost

Love this song and the rest of the album.



and this one! I love my Kilbey psychedelic and freaky. I think a lot of Dabble is Church worthy. It was also recorded during a time when I think the Church were making some of their best and most psychedelic albums like Hologram of Baal, Forget Yourself, and After Everything. He was on fire around this time.

Silencer Steve Kilbey Dabble

 

Starting this thread made me re-listen to those early solo albums for the first time in a while (as well as buy pre-remastered CDs) and I think my favorite SK solo album (excluding side projects) is actually The Slow Crack rather than Painkiller. "Starling Street", "Favorite Pack Of Lies", and "Surrealist Woman Blues" are my favorites, but the whole album is great. I've only ever listened to the eight-song mini-album, though - I'll have to give the expanded '89 track order a play (once the CD arrives).

I still remember when I first heard this album and "Favorite Pack Of Lies" came on. I thought, "Hang on, this is Earthed! I thought I put on Slow Crack... oh, now I get it!"

 

Any fans of the Acoustic and Intimate album?

I cherry picked a few songs years ago off iTunes, figuring I would complete my album later if I enjoyed them. At some point Apple lost the rights....

 

Yeah, I dig that one. Nice to hear some of his early solo tunes without the drum machines. There was a VHS of it, too, which I have, but not sure if it ever made the jump to DVD.