"Metropolis" is a song by Australian

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band the Church. It was released as the lead single from their sixth album, ''

Gold Afternoon Fix ''Gold Afternoon Fix'' is the sixth album by the Australian alternative rock band the Church, released in April 1990. It was their second album for Arista Records in the US and was expected to capitalise and build on the success of 1988's ''Sta ...

'' (1990), and the songwriting credits were given to all four members of the band. The song topped the US ''

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Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart and reached number 19 in Australia. A music video directed by David Hogan and produced by Chris O'Brien was made for the song.

Background and composition

Marty Willson-Piper Marty Willson-Piper (born 7 May 1958) is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter best known as a former long-time member of the Australian psychedelic rock band The Church. He joined in 1980 after seeing an early gig where they were perform ...

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. ...

Richard Ploog Richard John Ploog (born 29 October 1962) is an Australian drummer, songwriter, producer and singer who was a member of rock band The Church between 1981 and 1990. Ploog also drummed for Beasts of Bourbon in 1983, Damien Lovelock in 1988 and with ...

, and

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

were all credited with writing the song. The lead guitar produced a quickly falling then softly ascending melody. A complicated web of guitar overdubs appears later in the song, and a soft, mandolin-sounding melody was added as an additional hook.

Release and reception

"Metropolis" peaked at number one on the US ''

chart and number 11 on the Album Rock Tracks chart in 1990. In addition, it peaked at number 19 in Australia and number 41 in New Zealand. Critically, Ned Raggett of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

praised "the almost desperate edge in Steve Kilbey's vocals" as a testament to the song's quality. Raggett added that the Church's "ear for a triumphant yet somehow downbeat ending akesthis an underrated gem in the band's body of work."

Track listings

Australian and US 7-inch single :A. "Metropolis" – 4:44 :B. "Much Too Much" – 4:46 Australian maxi-CD single # "Metropolis" # "Much Too Much" # "Ride into the Sunset" UK 7-inch single :A. "Metropolis" :B. "Monday Morning" UK and European maxi-CD single # "Metropolis" – 4:44 # "Monday Morning" – 2:44 # "Much Too Much" – 3:50

Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the Australian 7-inch single and ''

'' liner notes. Studio * Recorded at Ocean Way Recording Studios (Los Angeles) * Pre-produced at S.I.R. (Los Angeles) and Fat Boy Studios (Sydney, Australia) * Mastered at

Artisan Sound Recorders Artisan Sound Recorders was one of Southern California's premier disk mastering facilities. It was founded by Robert M. MacLeod Jr. in the 1960s, and acquired by Kent Duncan in 1979 when MacLeod retired. In the early 1990s, it was sold to Jon Lo ...

(Los Angeles) Personnel * The Church – production ** Steve Kilbey – writing, vocals, bass, keyboards ** Marty Willson-Piper – writing, guitar ** Peter Koppes – writing, guitar ** Richard Ploog – writing, drums *

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, Stevie Nicks, Kim Carnes, Randy N ...

– production, mixing * Shep Lonsdale – mixing, engineering * Joe Schiff – assistant engineering *

Greg Fulginiti Gregory Fulginiti (born February 13, 1951 in Cape May Court House section of Middle Township, New Jersey) is an American recording and mastering engineer. Fulginiti grew up in Wildwood, New Jersey and graduated from Wildwood High School in 1969 ...

– mastering

Charts

Acoustic versions

The band performed the song, as well as "

Under the Milky Way "Under the Milky Way" is a single by Australian alternative rock band The Church (band), The Church, released on 15 February 1988, and appears on their fifth studio album ''Starfish (album), Starfish''. The song was written by bass guitarist a ...

", for ''

MTV Unplugged ''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV showcasing musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999 and less frequently from 2000 to 2009, when it was usually billed as ''MTV Un ...

'' on 30 January 1990 at the National Video Center in New York City. The episode aired 18 March 1990. An acoustic version was included on the 2004 album '' El Momento Descuidado''.

References

{{Authority control 1990 singles 1990 songs Arista Records singles The Church (band) songs Mushroom Records singles Songs written by Steve Kilbey