Starfish

33⅓ Oceania #2

by Chris Gibson, Jon Dale (Series Editor), Jon Stratton (Series Editor)

After a string of commercial disappointments, in 1986 Australian rock band The Church were simultaneously dropped by Warner Brothers in the US and EMI in Australasia. The future looked bleak. Seemingly from nowhere, their next record, Starfish, became an unlikely global hit. Its alluring and pensive lead single, 'Under the Milky Way', stood in stark contrast to the synth pop and hair metal dominating the 1980s. A high watermark of intelligent rock, Starfish musically anticipated alternative revolutions to come. Yet in making Starfish, The Church struggled with their internal contradictions. Seeking both commercial and artistic success, they were seduced by fame and drugs but cynical towards the music industry. Domiciled in Australia but with a European literary worldview, they relocated to Los Angeles to record under strained circumstances in the heart of the West Coast hit machine.

This book traces the story of Starfish, its background, composition, production and reception. To the task, Gibson brings an unusual perspective as both a musician and a geographer. Drawing upon four decades of media coverage as well as fresh interviews between the author and band members, this book delves into the mysteries of this mercurial classic, tracing both its slippery cultural geography and its sumptuous songcraft. Situating Starfish in time and space, Gibson transports the reader to a key album and moment in popular music history when the structure and politics of the record industry was set to forever change.

Genres: Music

160 pages, Paperback

First published June 16, 2022

Reviews

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely little book. Published by Bloomsbury Academic, which is fitting. A lot of attention is paid to musical notation, arrangements, chord changes, etc., alongside tales of how the songs were written and recorded. As with books of this type, the reader is often left wanting more details and stories and interviews etc. But it abounds with many interesting tidbits I never knew about the making of the Starfish album. It is also a plus that the author is a musician, a music journalist and an academic geographer, which helps give the book more depth and scope. The author loves The Church but this is not simply a book written by a fan. A must-have for lovers of The Church and readers of 80s music journalism.

After reading this I am intrigued to check out other entries in the 33 1/3 series.

[Paulo Nuin · Rating 1 out of 5]

What can I d say? One of my favourite bands, one of my favourite records and one of my leasrt favourite books of the decade.

If you can find an used copy for cheap (or online for free), go ahead, read it as the book has some good facts about the time. But, IMHO, the author thinks he (?) can write, thinks he writes well and thinks he can execute a plan for a whole book.

Well, Chris, you failed miserably, as you contradict yourself over and over, try to make you4rself more important than the band and fails to understand the time when this record was made and the environment surrounding them. Not surprising Chris is an academic professor.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very thoughtful look at Starfish, a fantastic album by The Church. There are recollections about the recording of it, analysis of the music and lyrics of the songs, and broader examinations of the band and the music industry. I was able to read it in a few hours with some breaks to stare at the lake where we are vacationing. I suspect I will be into the album again for a bit and may fall down a The Church rabbit hole as well (this is not a bad thing).

[Cameron U. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the album this book is based on. But beforehand, I was yet to truly understand the context in which Starfish was made. Steve Kilbey had told details about the recording process, and just how fraught it would sometimes get. However I hadn't truly connected the dots, but Chris Gibson does it in such a seamless way that I can fully trace how each recording decision came to be developed by the context, and how the Church utilised the bleak LA landscape they were engulfed to make an wholly unique album, a lighting-in-a-bottle moment that was never truly repeated again. This book does lose steam in the second half, each chapter gets shorter and shorter as it feels like Gibson runs out of steam and exhausts the topics he wants to write about. But overall, a great read.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this little book. I loved the organization and writing. This is an excellent addition to the book series.

Having read a lot of the 33 1/3 books, I put this near the top of my favorites. The writing is clear and not overly academic. There are a lot of interviews with the musicians, interviews that were conducted just for this book. Finally, the book is organized into chapters based on each individual track, so the reader gets to hear about every song on the album.

Finally, the author is just a good writer overall. He is a cultural geographer, so he works in his expertise into the prose, but in a helpful--not distracting--way. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I am planning on reading Gibson's Sound Tracks book soon.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Real nice piece of a great album. If it had included even more nerdy stuff about chord progressions or dissonant notes I would have given it five stars.

[Mia · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was an excellent slice of music journalism. gibson isn’t too heavy handed with lyric interpretation, and even considers starfish through a more diverse, inclusive lens, which is rare to see in 80s music retrospectives. i enjoyed the blend of geography and songs, which made this take on the church feel even more unique. gibson has a really lovely narrative voice, and it’s nice to see the album considered from all points of view.