Steve Still Has It
Erik J. Fortmeyer | Brooklyn, NY USA | 04/12/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Even when it is twenty years old. This CD is the result of his brother's successful effort to restore a couple of Steve's 20 year old homemade reel to reel tapes of unreleased songs. These are NOT the songs that ended up on The Church's early 1980s records. These are songs Steve did on his own and then largely forgot about before they were recently rediscovered and restored. Some drums have been added in to replace Steve's acknowledged "amateurness" at home with his old drum machine. The results are surprisingly quite remarkable. The sound quality is now close to excellent and Kilbey fans will see where Steve's solo work all got started. Fans of Steve's "Narcosis" and The Church's "Magician Among the Spirits" will really dig this CD. It is not for the casual listener or "Starfish" only fans. It is cerebral, moody, and haunting. It is also a Floyd-like sonic trip through space. Try listening to it with the lights out late, late at night. If you are a Kilbey fan (and you KNOW who you are) you will be quite pleased with this CD. Others will be puzzled. By the way, the liner notes say that several other reel to reels similar to these noodlings have been found. Stay tuned if you dig this material......"
Why 5 stars
None | California | 06/19/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I'm giving Kilbey 5 stars because he was doing things well before or isolated from Aphex Twin...things that are prescient of Aphex. It shows what a massive talent he is. I was disappointed with "Dabble" somewhat. Regardless of style or mood, "Conclusions" shows the high standard by which Kilbey is usually head and shoulders above most in the biz.A bass-driven solo artist is seemingly always at an advantage, because the song framework is probably better constructed. Maybe Squarepusher is also relevant, since he's a bass-playing drum 'n bass specialist...something of which Kilbey possibly anticipated as well.All in all, I'd put this on the level of "Unearthed" and "Remindlessness." Two of his strongest works. I want to include "The Slow Crack" into this mix, but it's somehow missing the rigor and ferment of the former two--perhaps this is supported by maybe only one track on "Conclusions" that seems drawn from this period.I like it. Get it and you might like it too."
Brilliant, Magical
M. Anderson | Indiana | 02/08/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This is a must buy for any Church or Steve Kilbey fan. For music coming from lost tapes from 20 years ago, the quality is excellent. It sounds like a well produced and modern album. These are some of the finest tracks I've heard from Steve Kilbey, I was very impressed!!! All 13 songs are hits that you can play over and over again. It is a wonder that these songs surfaced - thank God!! When I originally bought this CD, I had no high expectations, but when I listened to it, I was very impressed and surpised by the quality of the music. Steve Kilbey has always been light years ahead of others in the music industry - the CD sounds as if it was recorded in 2004, not two decades ago!! I am impressed with Steve's song writing ability as ever!! I am very happy that I can add this to my Church collection of CDs."
Track Listings (13) - Disc #1