The Church "The Blurred Crusade" 1982

..and yes - it is still a classic!
For their second lp, The Church completely abandoned the new wave side of their debut and replaced it with a Byrds-like use of plenty of 12-string guitar (courtesy of Marty Willson-Piper). Another notable change is that some tracks are much longer here, and a couple are much shorter. Mix in the generally superior talents of the two guitarists, and what results is an album that often comes across like something from an accomplished progressive rock band.
The first 2 tracks, "Almost With You" and "When You Were Mine," quickly lay out a sound that for many is quintessential Church. "Field Of Mars," sung by Marty rather than Steve Kilbey, is a patient, mellow atmospheric work-out that adds a little bit of tubular bells for just the right accent. The rest of the album is dominated by several strong songs of varying speed (but not mood), notably "Just For You," a song that opens with a door knock, a "who is it?", an acoustic guitar thrown carelessly onto the floor, a door squeak...and there enters the song. Other fine tracks are "A Fire Burns," "In Your Eyes" and "You Took." This is the most consistent Church album before Heyday, and is probably the best place to start for those unfamiliar with the band, after the compilations. Reviever: astradyne2
THE CHURCH:
Steve Kilbey (Lead Vocals, Bass, All Keyboards, Slide Guitar) / Peter Koppes (Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals, Percussion, Tubular Bells, Piano on "You Took") / Marty Willson-Piper (Electric and Acoustic 12 and 6 String Guitars, Lead Vocal on "Field of Mars") / Richard Ploog (Drums, Percussion)

traxfromwax:
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
Ripped from Vinyl by RYP with Audacity 3.3.3 : Thorens TD 318/Audio-Technica 95E - Yamaha A-S301 - Q Acoustics 3020i / Yamaha NS-SW050