Song of the Day 4/28/09

Every day, our top 666 songs of alltime countdown gets one step closer to #1. Tuesday’s song is #456:

The Church – Field of Mars

Unlike the best-of lists at those ineffable other music sites (no names), anything goes here – we didn’t put any kind of limit on how many songs a single band can have on this list. If you’ve been following the daily countdown here, you’ve noticed that this is the first appearance by these iconic Australian art-rockers. There will be many more. Matching the jangle and clang of the Byrds, the epic grandeur of Pink Floyd and the visionary lyricism of Elvis Costello, the Church were arguably the best rock band of the 80s and are inarguably one of the best of alltime. This isn’t frontman Steve Kilbey’s first song about a ghost, but it is one of his best, punctuated by a rich, watery Peter Koppes guitar solo. Twelve-string player Marty Willson-Piper sings. The Field of Mars referred to here isn’t the one in Paris, it’s a cemetery in Sydney, Australia. From The Blurred Crusade, 1982 (link will take you to a download). Look for the band on US tour this summer, and a new album as well as solo efforts from Kilbey and Willson-Piper.