''Gold Afternoon Fix'' is the sixth album by the Australian

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band the Church, released in April 1990. It was their second album for

Arista Records Arista Records ( ) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...

in the US and was expected to capitalise and build on the success of 1988's ''

Starfish Starfish or sea stars are Star polygon, star-shaped echinoderms belonging to the class (biology), class Asteroidea (). Common usage frequently finds these names being also applied to brittle star, ophiuroids, which are correctly referred to ...

''. 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 Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

chart, the release failed to deliver mass commercial appeal.

Background and recording

Following their tour for the ''Starfish'' album in 1988, the band members went home for a four-month break before reconvening to begin work on the next album. Arista demanded demos of all the tracks before the official recording process could begin. These demos were recorded in Sydney at Fat Boy Studios by a young engineer by the name of Cameron Howlett. The band was tired of the material by the time the recording sessions commenced in late 1989. Further difficulties arose when the band wanted ex-

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

bassist

John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 – July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-born naval officer who served in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War. Often referred to as the "Father of the American Navy", Jones is regard ...

to produce, but the record label wanted to team the band again with L.A. session musician

Waddy Wachtel Robert "Waddy" Wachtel (born May 24, 1947) is an American musician, composer and record producer, most notable for his guitar work. Wachtel has worked as session musician for other artists such as Linda Ronstadt, Beth Hart, Stevie Nicks, Miranda ...

and engineer

Greg Ladanyi Greg Ladanyi (July 6, 1952 – September 29, 2009) was an American record producer and recording engineer of Hungarian descent, known for his work with many musicians, including Jackson Browne, Warren Zevon, The Church, Caifanes, Anna Vis ...

, not wanting to change what had been a winning formula. Arista feared a Jones/Church collaboration might turn out too arty and non-commercial and vetoed the venerable musician in favour of the safer (and commercially tested) Wachtel, although Ladanyi was left out. Band members repeatedly noted how much they had disliked recording ''Starfish''. That album's song "North, South, East And West" had been an indictment of Los Angeles' shallower aspects. The recording sessions for the album were particularly fraught and in-band tensions led to drummer

Richard Ploog Richard John Ploog (born 29 October 1962) is an Australian drum kit, drummer, songwriter, producer and singer who was a member of rock band The Church (band), The Church between 1981 and 1990. Ploog also drummed for Beasts of Bourbon in 1983, Dami ...

being ostracised. While some of the bare, open sound that characterised ''Starfish'' punctuates the recording, the use of programmed drums instead of Ploog's live performances on all but four tracks resulted in the album being criticised as somewhat stiff and cold. According to biographer Robert Dean Lurie, the demo recordings for ''Gold Afternoon Fix'' were more successful than the finished album, despite their roughness. Ploog left the group for good following the recording and former

Patti Smith Group Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter, author, and photographer. Her 1975 debut album '' Horses'' made her an influential member of the New York City-based punk rock movement. Smith has fu ...

drummer

Jay Dee Daugherty Jay Dee Daugherty (born March 22, 1952) is an American drummer and songwriter most known for his work with Patti Smith. As a member of the Patti Smith Group, he has been nominated twice to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Biography Moving to Ne ...

was brought in for the tour. Despite the album's title, Steve Kilbey was not yet using

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

at this point. He only started smoking (not fixing) the drug after the subsequent tour, having been introduced to it by

Grant McLennan Grant William McLennan (12 February 19586 May 2006) was an Australian alternative rock singer-songwriter-guitarist. He co-founded the Go-Betweens (1977–89, 2000–06) with Robert Forster in Brisbane in 1977 and issued four solo albums: '' Wat ...

the Go-Betweens The Go-Betweens were an Australian indie rock band formed in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1977. The band was co-founded and led by singer-songwriters and guitarists Robert Forster (musician), Robert Forster and Grant McLennan, who were its only co ...

. The title actually derives from a stock market term relating to the daily price which is set for gold.Robert Dean Lurie. ''No Certainty Attached: Steve Kilbey and The Church''. Portland OR: Verse Chorus Press, 2009, Footnote 14, p. 211 The album is unique among the Church's releases in the absence of any 12-string electric guitar. The missing trademark sound was due to guitarist

Marty Willson-Piper Martin Howard Willson-Piper (born 7 May 1958) known as Marty Willson-Piper is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter famous for his work as a former long-time member of the Australian ARIA Hall of Fame inductees, psychedelic rock band The ...

's 12-string

Rickenbacker Rickenbacker International Corporation is a string instrument manufacturer based in Santa Ana, California. Rickenbacker is the first known maker of electric guitars, with a steel guitar in 1932, and produces a range of electric guitars and bass ...

having been stolen during the previous tour.

Track listing

All songs written by Kilbey/Koppes/Ploog/Willson-Piper except where noted. # "Pharaoh" (3:54) # "

Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural area for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big city b ...

" (4:44) # "Terra Nova Cain" (Kilbey/Willson-Piper) (5:10) # "City" (3:22) # "Monday Morning" (2:47) # "Russian Autumn Heart" (4:08) # "Essence" (5:16) # "You're Still Beautiful" (3:09) # "Disappointment" (Kilbey/Koppes/Willson-Piper) (6:13) # "Transient" (Kilbey/Koppes/Willson-Piper) (4:27) # "Laughing" (4:35) # "Fading Away" (3:38) # "Grind" (6:07) A 3-track EP entitled ''Megalopolis'' was included with U.S. promo copies, which contained: # "Metropolis" (4:44) # "Monday Morning (edit)" (2:44) # "Much Too Much" (3:50)

2005 EMI Australia Remaster

This edition included a second disc which contained: # "Much Too Much" (3:52) # "Take It Back" (4:04) # "Desert" (2:50) # "Forgotten Reign" (4:21) # "Dream" (2:57) # "Ride Into The Sunset" (Kilbey/Koppes) (4:32) # "You Got Off Light" (3:30) # "The Feast" (Kilbey/Jansson/Koppes/Ploog/Willson-Piper) (4:49) # "Metropolis (acoustic)" (4:19) # "Grind (acoustic)" (5:38) * All of these tracks, except the two acoustic versions, had appeared on the 1991 rarities compilation ''A Quick Smoke at Spot's: Archives 1986-1990''.

Personnel

Steve Kilbey Steven John Kilbey (born 13 September 1954) is an English born Australian singer-songwriter best known as the lead singer and bass guitarist for the rock band The Church. He is also a music producer, poet, and painter. As of 2020, Kilbey has r ...

: lead vocals, bass guitar, keyboards *

Peter Koppes Peter Koppes (born 21 November 1955) 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. ...

: guitars, lead vocal on "Transient" *

: guitars, lead vocal on "Russian Autumn Heart" *

: drums, percussion (1, 5, 6 & 9)

Notes

{{Authority control 1990 albums The Church (band) albums Albums produced by Waddy Wachtel Arista Records albums