No matter what you've seen
Or wherever you have been
Seven churches understand
For the time is now at hand
When four horsemen come riding
Stars turning colliding
The future stands frozen
The time of the chosen
Churches Churches
Churches Churches
Churches Churches
Churches Churches
With the shadow of the lamb
In the eyes of every man
666 approaching fast
And it must surely come to pass
Four horsemen come riding
Stars turning colliding
Earth merges with heaven
The number is seven
Churches Churches
Churches Churches
Churches Churches
Churches Churches
Seven candles waiting here
As the seven stars appear
For the time is now at hand
Seven candles understand
The four horsemen come riding
Stars turning colliding
When all men stand shaken
The future is taken
Churches Churches
Churches Churches
Churches Churches
Churches Churches
Churches Churches
Churches Churches
Churches Churches
Churches Churches
Someone said the magic words today
Someone said the magic words today
Someone said the magic words today
Someone said the magic words today
Someone said the magic words today
Someone said the magic words today
Someone said the magic words today
Someone said the magic words today
Just to put some of these comments in context, the date had reached Saturday 7th July 2007 when 'Churches' was next in line for review...
Churches. Churches.
Churches. Churches.
Churches. Churches.
Churches. Churches.
It doesn't sound like the most inspiring chorus does it? It's easy to dismiss this track as "repetition gone mad". My son, presented with this track and a handful of other NM outings on his MP3 player, approached it with some incredulity at first. "All it says is Churches!" he bemoaned.
When I came to refresh his player, I offered to delete this track to make some space. "No way!" he proclaimed.
Yes, the boys can weave their magic into the most unlikely of raw material.
This track bristles with classing NM touches. The metronomic beat is present and correct. That chorus is possibly their definitive vocoder moment. But the painstaking use of multilayered reverse recording is perhaps the most impressive detail. It's subtle. It's easy to miss. But it's there, ever present in the vocal sections and in the beat-less middle-8's.
The vocals caused some controversy I hear. "666 Approaching fast". "Four Horsemen come riding". Cue the Devil Worship gossip.
But there's also "Seven churches understand". "Seven Candles Waiting Here". "As the seven stars appear". "Seven candles understand". "Earth merges with heaven the number is seven".
This track is the "living by numbers" of 'Anywhere', most notably Seven - Pythagoras called it the perfect number.
But wait, the chorus has 8 churches in it. Tony's got it wrong!
But of course, he always knew we'd be reviewing this on the 7th day, of the 7th month, of the 7th year of the millennium.
"Someone said the magic words today" indeed.
(Graham G)
Spooky - I'm amazed! Great track.
(Kesbol)
To be honest, this was never one of my favourites at the time, but it's grown on me over the years. The soundscape outweighs the repetition. Typical of Tony, its subtle bits don't grab you immediately. I like the little quiet bits in it.
(Rich E)
"Churches" kicks off with an unusual and nice warbly intro, before the tight bass and fast 'beatbox' percussion provide the classic liveliness we have come to know NM for.
It's a song about religion - an unusual topic for a pop song. And there are a lot of words to it! You are certainly left in no doubt as to its title - vocodered "churches" repeat through the chorus and extensively later on in the song. Subtle and effective - as ever.
Unlike some of the tracks on Anywhere, the mood isn't one of sadness.
The emotion is more neutral.
Typical imaginative touches abound throughout, such as the two instrumental breaks (with clever studio effects) at 1:38 and 3:03, which add intrigue and variation. Very appropriately, there's synthesised choral effects. Reversed cymbal also features. Tony sings two vocals in parts if you listen carefully. Toward the end there's a classic Mansfield lyrical 'smart touch', with the repeated "Someone said the magic words today" lyric. Now where have we heard that before?... It's a simple concept to re-use your old lyrics, but I can't think of anyone else thought of doing it. Typical TM resourcefulness!
94/100
(Richard M)