To help celebrate Steve Kilbey's 70th birthday Bespoke Wheels And Winged Heels is being released, this is the first best of his solo works outside of The Church. The songs were recorded between 1986 and 2020 and released either on solo albums or other projects Steve was part of, including Kilbey Kennedy, Jack Frost and Speed Of The Stars. For anyone not familiar with Steve's solo albums, like this reviewer, this is a great entry point, giving a good hint to which ones you should look for during Easy Action Records current re-issue program.
The album opens with Woman No.9 who appears to want to run Steve's life in the most delightful ways, or are they tortures to him, well listen and figure out what this sophisticated pop song , about one of the Eleven Women in Steve's life at the time.
Wolfe is a burnished, crafted indie chamber pop Painkiller. Keeper finds Steve having a dabble with slow ruminative neo folk song, about how the latest love is a Keeper.
Desert Ship finds Steve sailing on that Desert Ship on The Road To Tibooburra, a rattling desert rock tune with very evocative lyrics, that have a vision like quality.
Shot through With Change has an insistent piano line, on one of the totally solo songs, this Idyllist lays out his stall. Limbo is even more stripped back from the heart of Narcosis deep bass punctuations, Steve points out that Hollywood won't touch you and Jesus doesn't love you either, whatever have you done, or who is the target of such ire, before the well-chosen samples arrive to add a Singapore sling like twist.
Nero is a Song From Another Life where Steve was a Spanish guitar wizard, who has no fear, on this dark twisted fratricidal story, unfurling disturbingly against the Spanish guitar.
The Panthalassic Sea has chiming bells among the ringing guitars of this love song, that Whispers In The Static searching for pearls deep within the ancient Panthalassic sea.
Ninevah takes us on a religious journey to the heart of how to use auto tune creatively, while chanting the Garage Sutra with consummate subtlety.
Aviatrix (Single Edit) is with Grant McLennan who were trying out Colonel Parkers Snow Job strategy, dreaming of flying away in their own personal jet, are they on the radio yet.
Providence is another chilly co-write with Grant McLennan back when they thought they were Jack Frost, looking like skinny wastrels backed by a Fairlight and some acoustic guitars.
Forgetfulness was Unearthed all the way back in 1986 in Steve's bedroom and is introspective, like all Bedroom troubadours should be.
Transaction has an 80's drum sound with Indian influenced Swan guitar from Donnette Thayer, Steve has a slow crack at figuring out just how the next deal is going to go down, will they get enough to last them till the end of the binge.
The Neverness Hoax is a rabbit hole Steve dived down like a wine bar jazz crooner, in the deep throes of Remindlessness searching for new meaning in the internet age, figuring out he will never be paid royalties in the same way again.
A Love Letter From Sydney was earthed like a cloudberry sundae of slow jangling guitars, cool casual strings floating over the harbour.
Lorelei has Kilbey Kennedy in her sights, they splutter You Are everything bewitched, entranced in a wall of kaleidoscopic guitars.
Heliotropic is super slow considering it comes from Speed Of The Stars, unless of course that speed is really slow spread out over millennia, this laid back, chill out tune helps you relax and listen to the lyrics.
When Time Has Run Out really ought to be the last song on the album, but as in the Strange Life Of Persephone Nimbus it is of course third from the end, this cocoons you in sparkling guitars, time is really up and his friends are leaving for the next bardo, he's not sure how easily he can carry on.
Rendezvous go on meet up with Kilbey Kennedy on the outskirts of Jupiter where they will serenade you over a cup of milky tea.
The album closes with Love Song Yet To Be Named a cool missive from The hall of Counterfeits, yet there is nothing counterfeit on this album, Steve Kilbey shows what a great creative talent he has been over the last 5 decades, he's sent them away to the pressing plant, so you can go out and buy this album.
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