As we first reported last week, The Church is embarking on a major reissue campaign to mark its 30th anniversary, and today Second Motion Records announced the first phase: a 2CD singles anthology called Deep in the Shallows, plus expanded reissues of the Australian rockers’ first four albums.
On Oct. 19, Second Motion will release the 32-track singles collection — an updated version of a 2007 Australian release that now spans the band’s 1980 debut “She Never Said” through last year’s “Operetta” — plus reissues of Of Skin and Hearts (1981), The Blurred Crusade (1982), Seance (1983) and Heyday (1986), each with one or two bonus tracks appended (see full tracklists for all five releases below).
The “fully remastered” discs will come in vinyl-style “soft-pack” sleeves with 12-page booklets featuring new liner notes by guitarist Marty Willson-Piper. Of the bonus tracks, many “are available for the first time outside of Australia and/or CD or digital formats.”
According to the East Lansing, Mich.-based label, fans who pre-order all five albums — the bundle is priced at $89.99 — by Oct. 19 will have them shipped on that date; those ordering after Oct. 19 won’t have the discs shipped until “early November,” and neither the Seance nor Heyday reissues will be sold individually until Nov. 16. Furthermore, those who pre-order the discs will be able to download digital copies “immediately.”
As for the next round, Second Motion reports that expanded 2CD editions of Starfish (1988), Gold Afternoon Fix (1990), Priest=Aura (1992) and Sometime Anywhere (1994) — as well as a box set featuring reissues of the Tear It All Away (1981) Singsongs (1982), Remote Luxury (1983) and Persia (1984) EPs — are “coming in early 2011.”
See tracklists for the Church’s reissues after the jump…
Tracklist: The Church, Deep in the Shallows: The Classic Singles Collection
Disc 1
1. “She Never Said”
2. “The Unguarded Moment”
3. “Too Fast For You”
4. “Tear It All Away”
5. “Almost With You”
6. “When You Were Mine”
7. “A Different Man”
8. “It’s No Reason”
9. “Electric Lash”
10. “Constant In Opal”
11. “Already Yesterday”
12. “Tantalized”
13. “Columbus”
14. “Disenchanted”
15. “Antenna”
16. “Reptile”
17. “Destination”
18. “Under The Milky Way”
Disc 2
1. “Metropolis”
2. “You’re Still Beautiful”
3. “Russian Autumn Heart”
4. “Ripple”
5. “Feel”
6. “Two Places At Once”
7. “Welcome”
8. “Comedown”
9. “Louisiana”
10. “Numbers”
11. “Song In Space (short trip)”
12. “Block”
13. “Pangaea”
14. “Operetta”
Tracklist: The Church, Of Skins and Heart
1. “For A Moment Were Strangers”
2. “Chrome Injury”
3. “The Unguarded Moment”
4. “Memories In Future Tense”
5. “Bel-Air”
6. “Is This Where You Live”
7. “She Never Said”
8. “Fighter Pilot – Korean War”
9. “Don’t Open The Door To Strangers”
10. “In A Heartbeat” *
11. “Busdriver” *
*Bonus tracks
Tracklist: The Church, The Blurred Crusade
1. “Almost With You”
2. “When You Were Mine”
3. “Field of Mars”
4. “An Interlude”
5. “Secret Corners”
6. “Just for You”
7. “A Fire Burns”
8. “To Be in Your Eyes”
9. “You Took”
10. “Don’t Look Back”
11. “Life Speeds Up” *
12. “The Golden Dawn” *
*Bonus tracks
Tracklist: The Church, Seance
1. “Fly”
2. “One Day”
3. “Electric”
4. “It’s No Reason”
5. “Travel By Thought”
6. “Disappear?”
7. “Electric Lash”
8. “Now I Wonder Why”
9. “Dropping Names”
10. “It Doesn’t Change”
11. “Someone Special” *
12. “Autumn Soon” *
*Bonus tracks
Tracklist: The Church, Heyday
1. “Myrrh”
2. “Tristesse”
3. “Already Yesterday”
4. “Columbus”
5. “Happy Hunting Ground”
6. “Tantalized”
7. “Disenchanted”
8. “Night of Light”
9. “Youth Worshipper”
10. “Roman”
11. “As You Will”
12. “The View”
13. “Trance Ending” *
*Bonus track
PREVIOUSLY ON SLICING UP EYEBALLS
- The Church reissuing first 8 albums, touring Australia to mark 30th anniversary
- Milestones: Steve Kilbey is 56 today; watch The Church live on Italian TV in 1988
- Q&A: Robert Lurie, author of ‘No Certainty Attached: Steve Kilbey & The Church’
- The Church plots ‘An Intimate Space’ 30th anniversary acoustic tour of U.S.
- The Church releasing new ‘Operetta’ EP, reissuing ‘Back With Two Beasts,’ ‘Shriek’
- The Church issues new ‘Untitled #23′ album, plots summer tour of U.S.
The “Deep in the Shadows” singles collection isn’t technically new. It came out in Australia in 2007.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000PUB3OW/ref=s9_simh_gw_p15_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1S2A2410CDWKD425TXVA&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846
The cover is the same, but it looks like the new version has a slightly different track listing. The Australian version had two remixes at the end of Disc 2.
Thanks, Don. I hadn’t been aware of that release. I’ve updated the post.
It is called “Deep in the Shallows”, same as the Aussie version except it tacks on the two latest singles to the 2nd disc
It’s a shame that the 2nd part of these reissues never made it to frutation since Steve Kilbey’s breakdown and the re-org of The Church and new lineup of band members. Such a shame that Marty Willson-Piper was doing the band a favor or reissuing all of these gems but since he’s no longer a member this will never happen unfortunately. He was also responsible for the sleeve notes with the new releases, which dove into depth and clarity of what was going on with each album. Such a shame really.