I'm baffled that, out of all the songs, "Toy Head" still makes the set list. There are at least five better songs just on that album.
Life Before Starfish was pressed by Discovery Systems. The disc looks flawless but XLD isn't able to accurately rip it. Such a shame.
"Toy Head" is one of my absolute favorites on Further/Deeper. Ian's guitar solo on that track is very cool.
I know they haven’t practiced and toured in a long time, but this entire setlist needs to be retired. Time for a completely new set of songs. It’s not like they don’t have hundreds of choices.
Last time I saw them (which I think was their most recent US tour) they did Starfish as the first set (very predictable) and then the 2nd set was a nice mix of tunes from throughout the rest of their career, with some good surprises thrown in. There are definitely a few tunes I think they could retire now.
I saw that Starfish show in NYC and it was horrible. Koppes looked miserable, the band had no energy, the songs sounded 3/4 speed. The previous three tours were much, much better.
The Starfish show that I saw was very different from that. When was it? I'm guessing you just caught a bad night. Kilbey was smiling all through this one, even when doing "Metropolis" and "Unguarded Moment" - although he'll probably kill me if he finds out I revealed that information!
It was at City Winery, admittedly a bad venue for a band since people are seated and masticating furiously. Still, it was quite dismal.
Hopefully "Grind" will make a return to the setlist. Willson-Piper has spoke highly if that tune, drum machines excepted
I hate Discovery Systems with a vengeance. Arista used them extensively for promos. I'm really tempted to pull the trigger on the "Milky Way" promo single with the edited version, but it's pressed by them. Not sure I want to pay $50 for what's most likely going to be a distorted mess. What I REALLY want is a clean, distortion-free lossless rip of Sum Of The Parts, specifically the acoustic "Spark", so I can match the EQ to the soon-to-be-shipped Intervention SACD. I have a rip but it distorts like crazy, especially during the quiet parts.
I prefer the days when Steve was cranky and refused to play or reluctantly played "Under The Milky Way" or "Unguarded Moment". That didn't last long, but the setlists were more interesting back then. They have played this current setlist to death. In no way would I feel like I needed to hear any of them live again. "Another Century" can stay since that is relatively new. Personally, if this was the setlist they were playing next time in my area, I probably wouldn't even go. I love them, but I have seen most of these songs a dozen times before. The new song sounded fantastic though, and I'm sure they will add more songs when the touring begins again. "Grind" is great, but wouldn't be the same without Marty. I feel the same away about "Reptile". The new guys just don't play it the same. I'm not complaining, I just think they have so many more songs they could be pulling out.
I have 8 Discovery Systems (other bands), 5 singles/promos- 3 albums. Luckily all were fine ripping and playback wise. One I pitched years ago, it was warped of things But agree, it's a risk especially when the price for one is a premium.
I believe you were the one who deduced that the aluminum layer was thinner on these discs and that's why the sound audibly degrades. I learned that the hard way when I bought my own copy of Life Before Starfish. Thankfully it wasn't something expensive or worthwhile, I would hate to have paid $100 for Sum Of The Parts and discovered (hehe!) how bad that manufacturer is.
Hmmm. I just ripped and played my "Sum Of The Parts" CD, and it still rips and plays perfectly (listening back to a rip as I type this). No distortion or other issues, thankfully. Of course, I've treated it with the utmost care over the decades, but at least it shows that viable copies still exist out there. I've got a mint condition copy of the "Life Before Starfish" CD, but I've never bothered trying to rip that one.
Speaking as someone who owns every officially released Church song and about 90% of the mix/performance variants, I am incredibly jealous of this.
I wonder if we will get a digital single released in advance of album like we did "Another Century". While I loved that song, nothing else on the album was even close to that level for me.
New song isn't clicking for me. I'll wait until the release for proper judgement. I'm sure it was an elated moment when they wrote it, likely after extended 2020 hiatus. Just not translating for me ATM as being in the top 50% of the band's output.
I'm erring on a very respectful side of caution with my statement. I hope the recorded version blows my mind. I really loved MWLDI, so there is hope.
I just mean this band has so many amazing songs that placing in the bottom half doesn't mean the song isn't still very good. I wouldn't put "Unguarded Moment" in my top 50%, and "Milky Way" would probably be somewhere in the middle third. And I love those songs!