BelAirLandlord--

First, welcome aboard. Your thoughts are welcome here. Its never too late to become a Church fan, and I'll be looking forward to hearing how you came on board with MATS, the Church's most-forgotten album.

But I take exception to the notion that Fraulein has "not really then understood where the band has been headed all along." Elsewhere on the Womb, you have indicated that you haven't heard their work prior to Starfish, so perhaps a little research is in order. Fraulein has a preference for the earlier stuff...if I were you, I'd read his posts with an open mind, then check out the early stuff yourself before drawing conclusions about "where the band has been headed all along". There's some excellent music back there! And I say this as one with a slight preference for the later albums you are familiar with.

On the Womb, we have lots of fun arguing the merits of this album vs that one, or where the band used to be vs where they are now vs where they're headed. I'm sure none of it matters a bit to the band, who probably think we're ALL wrong. Bottom line is, we wouldn't be here if we all weren't weird, obsessive geeks when it comes to the Church.

One other thing...you actually compared several HOB songs to REO Speedwagon...now I'm from the midwest, and once upon a time you couldn't be in a band if you didn't play "Ridin' the Storm Out" and "Keep On Loving You"...and NOTHING, I mean NOTHING the Church has done, even in their weakest moments, is anywhere NEAR that bad! Fine if these HOB tracks aren't songs you care for, but it's simply SLANDEROUS to EVER compare the Church to something like REO.

OK, I feel better now...

Michael aka Random Pan