"The Unguarded Moment" 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, released in March 1981.
It was the second single from their 1981 debut album, ''
Of Skins and Heart''.
It was written by
Steve Kilbey
Steven John Kilbey (born 13 September 1954) is an English-Australian singer-songwriter and bass guitarist for the rock band the Church. He is also a music producer, poet, and painter. As of 2020, Kilbey has released 14 solo albums and has col ...
, the group's frontman, singer and bass guitarist; and Mikela Uniacke (a.k.a. Michelle Parker),
[ Note: User may have to search again and provide details at 'Titles' e.g Unguarded Moment; or at 'Performers' Church] who were married at the time.
The song reached No. 22 on the Australian
Kent Music Report
The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July ...
Singles Chart,
[ Note: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1974 until ]Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing th ...
(ARIA) created their own charts
A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabul ...
in mid-1988. In 1992, Kent back calculated chart positions for 1970–1974. and was the band's first
radio hit.
It peaked at No. 19 on the
New Zealand Singles Chart
The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Music ...
.
The single and the album were released on
EMI Records
EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company of the same name in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succ ...
then newly revived
Parlophone
Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...
label.
Kilbey later said, "The song just doesn't appeal to me. It doesn't give me any pleasure at all. Maybe it was exciting for people who thought the country was going to be bogged down with
The Human League
The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their third album ''Dare' ...
and
Buggles for the decade."
In January 2018, as part of
Triple M
Triple M is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 40 radio stations broadcasting a mainstream rock music format and 5 digital radio stations.
The network dates back to th ...
's "Ozzest 100", the 'most Australian' songs of all time, "The Unguarded Moment" was ranked number 57.
Reception
Garry Raffaele of ''
The Canberra Times
''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times.
History
''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...
'' described the track in June 1981, which "starts out with a bow towards the Beatles, then into a tightly constructed, powerfully written and pulsingly performed piece. And written so well... phrases like 'men with horses for hearts', 'friends with cameras for eyes'."
In August 2002 it was reviewed by ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
's''
David Fricke
David Fricke is an American music journalist who serves as the senior editor at ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, where he writes predominantly about rock music. One of the best known names in rock journalism, his career has spanned over 40 years. I ...
as "The Church's 1981 jangling gem".
''
Roadrunner
The roadrunners (genus ''Geococcyx''), also known as chaparral birds or chaparral cocks, are two species of fast-running ground cuckoos with long tails and crests. They are found in the southwestern and south-central United States and Mexico, us ...
'' claimed, "They've ripped off the riff from "
Ticket to Ride". I don't care. It's what you do with stolen goods that counts, and the Church do good things with this." They also predicted, "If given a chance – a hit."
Track listing
References
External links
"The Unguarded Moment"at
Allmusic.com
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 ...
"The Unguarded Moment"at
Discogs.com
Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the l ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Unguarded Moment
1981 singles
The Church (band) songs
Songs written by Steve Kilbey
1981 songs
Parlophone singles
Song recordings produced by Bob Clearmountain