Reptile (song)

Last updated

"Reptile"
Reptile - The Church.jpg
Single by The Church
from the album Starfish
Released1988
Genre
Length4:56
Label Arista Records
Songwriter(s) Marty Willson-Piper / Peter Koppes / Richard Ploog / Steve Kilbey
Producer(s) Greg Ladanyi, Waddy Wachtel, The Church
The Church singles chronology
"Under the Milky Way"
(1988)		"Reptile"
(1988)		"Antenna"
(1988)
Music video
Reptile on YouTube

"Reptile" is a song by Australian alternative rock band The Church. It was released as a single from their 1988 album Starfish , and the songwriting credits are given to all four members of the band.

Contents

Inspired by a real-life encounter with a reptile, "Reptile" is based around a prominent guitar riff. The song saw moderate commercial success as a single and has become one of the band's most famous songs.

Background and composition

Marty Willson-Piper, Peter Koppes, Richard Ploog, and Steve Kilbey were all credited with writing the song. In the sleevenotes for the 2010 CD reissue of Starfish, Willson-Piper described the process; "sometimes a song can be mainly one person's idea augmented by everyone else. Other times a song really is the sum of the parts working magically together. This was the case with ‘Reptile’". [3]

Sung by Kilbey, the song features lyrics inspired by an encounter Kilbey had after going with a woman to her hotel room. Kilbey explained, "I went home with this woman one night I met in Canters Deli. I went in the bathroom ... and there was a sound behind the shower curtain. I look behind the shower curtain and there was a great big ... lizard in there, looking at me. ... And the woman goes, 'Oh, you met Bruford' or whatever his ... name was. ... I guess that had something to do with it". [4]

Musically, the song, as Stewart Mason of AllMusic described, is based on a "nagging stop-start guitar riff that continues, almost unchanged, throughout the entire song, building a palpable tension through the verses that is only partially alleviated by Steve Kilbey's sneering chorus". [5] Using one unchanging riff while the rest of the song moves around it was a device The Church had used in several earlier songs, such as "One Day" from 1983's Seance . Willson-Piper recalled, "I wrote the riff in a rehearsal room somewhere in Sydney; it just fell out of my guitar like a diamond". [3]

Mason continues, "The rattling rhythm section only adds to the effect, with Richard Ploog's kinetic hi-hat work driving the beat". [5] Kilbey said, "I think 'Reptile' did something we never quite managed to do again, and that is the way the parts all play against each other. Like the Church has always been a band where its not everything just doing the same thing at the same time. Everything's working like a machine. I think that was the best ever example of that". [4]

Release history

"Reptile" was released as a single in the US, Canada and Australia.

The US 7" had two tracks on the B-side, "Under the Milky Way (Acoustic Version)", and "Tantalized" in a 3:58 edit from the version on Heyday. [6] A US cassette single, playing all three tacks on both sides, was also released. [7] The same tracks appeared on the Canadian 7" release. [8]

In Australia, the 7" release on Mushroom Records featured "Texas Moon" on the B-side, and was issued in both black vinyl [9] and limited edition green vinyl [10] formats.

Additionally, there was a promotional US 7" released, featuring the album version and a 3:56 edit. [11] , and a promotional US 12" featuring a 4:44 "Reptile (Rock Radio Remix)" on both sides. [12]

Reception

"Reptile" peaked at number 27 on the U.S. Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in 1988. [13] The song was well received by critics upon its release. Ned Raggett of AllMusic compared it to "the sheer punch of Heyday's most frenetic moments with a slightly more restrained but still strong, smart performance." The chorus was "rushing", the guitars were "epic" and "melancholic", and the atmosphere was set by "a sudden mid-song slow dive bomb break, guitars howling down into the void." [14]

Personnel

Chart performance

Chart (1988)Peak
position
Australia (ARIA) [15] 94
U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks Chart [13] 27

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Church (band)</span> Australian rock band

The Church are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1980. Initially associated with new wave, neo-psychedelia, and indie rock, their music later came to feature slower tempos and surreal soundscapes reminiscent of alternative rock, dream pop, and post-rock. Glenn A. Baker has written that "From the release of the 'She Never Said' single in November 1980, this unique Sydney-originated entity has purveyed a distinctive, ethereal, psychedelic-tinged sound which has alternatively found favour and disfavour in Australia." The Los Angeles Times has described the band's music as "dense, shimmering, exquisite guitar pop".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marty Willson-Piper</span> English guitarist and singer-songwriter

Martin Howard Willson-Piper is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter best known as a former long-time member of the Australian psychedelic rock band The Church. He joined in 1980 after seeing an early gig where they were performing as a three-piece. He was an integral member of the band for 33 years. He was also the guitarist for the English alternative rock band All About Eve from 1991 to 1993 and again from 1999 to 2002. He has also worked with Swedish progressive rock band Anekdoten.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Koppes</span> Australian guitarist

Peter Koppes is an Australian guitarist, best known as a founding and almost-continuous member of the independent rock band The Church. He is a multi-instrumentalist, also playing mandolin, drums, piano, and harmonica. He has also released various solo albums and various recordings with his group The Well (1989-1995). Koppes lives on the Australian Central Coast in NSW but sometimes spends time on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland where he sometimes produces albums and has previously conducted seasonal 'song writing' and 'performance for demo recording' short courses at Nambour TAFE, as well as offering private tuition in guitar, bass, drums and song writing. His daughters are Tatiana 'O' Koppes and Neige Koppes who had their own band, Rain Party but now have independent solo careers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Under the Milky Way</span> 1988 single by the Church

"Under the Milky Way" is a single by Australian alternative rock band The Church, released on 15 February 1988, and appears on their fifth studio album Starfish. The song was written by bass guitarist and lead vocalist Steve Kilbey and his then-girlfriend Karin Jansson of Curious (Yellow). It peaked at No. 22 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart, No. 24 on the United States Billboard Hot 100 and No. 25 on the New Zealand Singles Chart; it also appeared in the Dutch Single Top 100. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1989, the song won 'Single of the Year'. It was issued simultaneously in both 7" vinyl and 12" vinyl formats by Arista Records (internationally) and Mushroom Records.

<i>Of Skins and Heart</i> 1981 studio album by The Church

Of Skins and Heart is the debut album by the Australian psychedelic rock band The Church, released in April 1981 by EMI Parlophone. It peaked at No. 22 in the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart.

<i>The Blurred Crusade</i> 1982 studio album by The Church

The Blurred Crusade is the second album by the Australian alternative rock band the Church, released in March 1982 by EMI Parlophone. Moving away from the new wave leanings of their debut, it was stylistically more complex and "a smoother, fuller release". "With its mystical lyrics the second album ... brought the group's own style more into focus". The album peaked at No. 10 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart and "Almost With You" reached No. 21 on the related Singles Chart.

<i>Singsongs</i> 1982 EP by The Church

Sing-Songs is the second EP by the Australian psychedelic rock band The Church, released in December 1982.

<i>Seance</i> (album) 1983 studio album by The Church

Seance is the third album by the Australian psychedelic rock band The Church, released in 1983. More atmospheric and brooding than its predecessor The Blurred Crusade's jangling psychedelia and upbeat rock, it shows a greater use of keyboards, with the guitars taking largely textural roles on many songs. While numerous tracks have become fan favorites over the years, the album saw considerably less success in Australia than previous releases and had limited exposure internationally. Apart from the psychedelic noise experiment "Travel By Thought", which prefigures the band's extended improvised tracks of the 1990s and beyond, all songs were written solely by Steve Kilbey.

<i>Persia</i> (EP) 1984 EP by The Church

Persia is the fourth extended play by the Australian psychedelic rock band the Church, which was released in August 1984. It was the follow-up to their earlier 1984 EP Remote Luxury, and continued in a similar stylistic vein.

<i>Remote Luxury</i> (album) 1984 compilation album by The Church

Remote Luxury is the first compilation album by the Australian psychedelic rock band the Church, released in 1984. The band had recently signed to Warner Bros. in the United States and their new label decided to re-release the band's most recent Australian material, the Persia and Remote Luxury EPs, as an album with a new running order. They also released "Constant In Opal" as a single in the US. The version of "No Explanation" included here has a 20-second instrumental jam at the beginning.

<i>Heyday</i> (The Church album) 1985 studio album by The Church

Heyday is the fourth album by the Australian alternative rock band The Church, released in November 1985. The album marked the first occasion when group compositions dominated one of the band's releases. Steve Kilbey has said: "The demo situation was getting to us - me writing the songs on my eight-track and bringing them along to the band. It sounded too stiff. We'd reached this new energy level on stage which by far superseded anything we'd ever recorded, so we knew the only way to get sounding like that was for the whole band to write together."

<i>Starfish</i> (album) 1988 studio album by The Church

Starfish is the fifth album by the Australian rock band The Church, released in February 1988 by Mushroom Records in Australia and by Arista Records internationally. The band's international breakthrough album, Starfish went gold in America and has remained their most commercially successful release. The album sold 600,000 copies in the United States alone. The first single, "Under the Milky Way", charted on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #24, and at #2 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, leading to significant exposure of the then relatively underground Australian act. In Australia "Under the Milky Way" climbed to #22, and Starfish reached #11 on the album charts.

<i>Gold Afternoon Fix</i> 1990 studio album by the Church

Gold Afternoon Fix is the sixth album by the Australian alternative rock band the Church, released in April 1990. It was their second album for Arista Records in the US and was expected to capitalise and build on the success of 1988's Starfish. The album saw considerable promotion upon its release, but despite moderate success in the US, with the single "Metropolis" reaching the top of the Modern Rock Tracks chart, the release failed to deliver mass commercial appeal.

<i>Priest=Aura</i> 1992 studio album by The Church

Priest=Aura is the eighth album by the Australian alternative rock band The Church, released in March 1992. It peaked at No. 25 on the ARIA Albums Chart.

<i>Forget Yourself</i> 2003 studio album by The Church

Forget Yourself is the fifteenth album by the Australian alternative rock band The Church, released in October 2003. It was recorded at drummer Tim Powles' Spacejunk studios in Australia and features many straight-to-tape recordings with few overdubs.

<i>Sometime Anywhere</i> 1994 studio album by The Church

Sometime Anywhere is the ninth album by the Australian alternative rock band the Church, released in May 1994.

<i>Magician Among the Spirits</i>

Magician Among the Spirits is the tenth album by the Australian alternative rock band The Church, released in August 1996. The album title was inspired by a book written by Harry Houdini and C. M. Eddy, Jr. (uncredited) in 1924, in which the famed magician discussed his investigations of spirit mediums. A photographic negative of Houdini is incorporated as the centrepiece of the album artwork. The album was reissued with a revised track listing as Magician Among the Spirits And Some in 1999.

<i>After Everything Now This</i> 2002 studio album by The Church

After Everything Now This is the thirteenth album by the Australian alternative rock band The Church, released in January 2002. It was produced by group member Tim Powles and the rest of the band.

<i>Untitled 23</i> 2009 studio album by The Church

Untitled #23 is the 23rd album by the Australian alternative rock band The Church, released in March 2009. It was their 23rd Australian album-length collection of original studio recordings, counting the four outtakes albums, the covers album A Box of Birds and the acoustic albums El Momento Descuidado & El Momento Siguiente.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metropolis (The Church song)</span> 1990 single by the Church

"Metropolis" is a song by Australian alternative rock band the Church. It was released as the lead single from their sixth album, Gold Afternoon Fix (1990), and the songwriting credits were given to all four members of the band. The song topped the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and reached number 19 in Australia. A music video directed by David Hogan and produced by Chris O'Brien was made for the song.

References

  1. ↑ Terich, Jeff (5 April 2012). "10 Essential Dream Pop Albums". Treble. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  2. ↑ Mason, Stewart. "Reptile - The Church | Song Info". AllMusic . Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  3. 1 2 Willson-Piper, Marty. "Sleevenotes - Starfish". Marty Willson-Piper. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  4. 1 2 "Reptile by The Church". Professor of Rock. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  5. 1 2 Mason, Stewart. "Reptile - The Church | Song Info". AllMusic . Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  6. ↑ "The Church – Reptile". Discogs. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  7. ↑ "The Church – Reptile". Discogs. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  8. ↑ "The Church – Reptile". Discogs. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  9. ↑ "The Church – Reptile". Discogs. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  10. ↑ "The Church – Reptile". Discogs. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  11. ↑ "The Church – Reptile". Discogs. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  12. ↑ "The Church – Reptile". Discogs. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  13. 1 2 "Billboard > The Church Chart History > Mainstream Rock Songs". Billboard . Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  14. ↑ Raggett, Ned. "Starfish – The Church". AllMusic . Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  15. ↑ Scott, Gavin. "This Week In 1988: September 11, 1988". chartbeats.com.au. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.