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Split Enz, Crowded House and Finn BrothersAlbums ReviewedDizrythmia (1977)Time and Tide (1982) See Ya 'Round (1984) Spellbound (1997) Crowded House (1986) Temple of Low Men (1988) Woodface (1991) Together Alone (1993) Recurring Dream (1996) Recurring Dream (Live) (1996) Afterglow (1999) Before And After (1993) Say It Is So (2000) Finn (1995) Everone is Here (2004) ENZSO (1996) ENZSO 2 (1998) Try Whistling This (1998) One Nil (2001) Split EnzMental Notes(1975)Second Thoughts(1976)I've never actually heard either of the group's first two albums - I really should pick up Mental Notes sometime as it's reportedly among the group's best albums, while the Phil Manzanera-produced Second Thoughts is considered less essential, half comprised of reworked songs from the debut. I really enjoy all the material from this era on the double-disc compilation I have, and I assume that Mental Notes is definitely the place to start if you want to examine their early art-rock period. Dizrythmia(1977)Dizrythmia was a transitional album for New Zealand's most influential pop-group, shifting away from Roxy Music and Genesis inspired art-rock to more conventional song-driven pop-rock. Based in England, Split Enz were also undergoing a number of line up changes around this time, most notably Neil Finn replacing founder Phil Judd as a guitarist at the tender age of eighteen and joining his brother Tim, the group's lead singer. English rhythm section Nigel Griggs and Malcolm Green also enlisted around this point, joining core members keyboard player Eddie Rayner and percussionist and costume-designer Noel Crombie to form the nucleus of the group that would later enjoy commercial success with True Colours and Waiata. Despite its obviously transitional status, this album is satisfying nonetheless; some of these songs are short and catchy, while others are artier multi-part efforts, but they all share a similar quirkiness and catchiness. 'Bold as Brass' and 'My Mistake' are concise and accomplished pop songs, both featuring undeniable instrumental hooks (the solo in 'My Mistake' is a stridently whistleable melody). The multi-part 'Jamboree' evokes The Beatles' 'For The Benefit of Mr Kite', while the ballad 'Charlie' became a live favourite. I don't think that Split Enz were necessarily a consistent album band, and it's their new wave singles that they're best known for, but Dizrythmia is easily one of their most cohesive statements and is well worth tracking down. 
Frenzy(1978)This one continues the transition towards more pop-oriented material, but less comfortably than Dizrythmia. I used to have it on cassette, and I was never particularly impressed; there are a few standout tracks like 'I See Red', the ballad 'Stuff and Nonsense', the quirky 'Hermit McDermitt' and Neil's songwriting debut 'Give It A Whirl', but it's pretty unfocused overall. Strangely, 'Semi-Detached', a standout outtake from the period, wasn't included. True Colours(1980)Waiata/Corroboree(1981)I have True Colours on vinyl and I'll try and review it sometime, but I've never heard Waiata (renamed for the Australian market). They're the group's commercial highpoint, stacked with their most commercial hits like Neil's 'I Got You', 'History Never Repeats' and 'One Step Ahead' and Tim's 'I Hope I Never', 'Shark Attack' and 'Hard Act To Follow'; I'm just not that excited about this era of the group - general consensus is that Waiata is a paler imitation of True Colours. Time and Tide(1982)After jumping on the pop gravy train with 1980's True Colours and 1981's Waiata/Corroboree, Split Enz headed back into artier territory with Time and Tide. Neil Finn's songwriting veers suddenly into the realm of fantasy, with efforts like 'Log Cabin Fever' and 'Giant Heartbeat'. Coupled with Finn's attempted guitar heroics and Rayner's impressively ominous synthesisers, the latter in particular feels inspired by progressive rock. His writing is still short of the level that he reached on Crowded House's albums (he was still only 23 even at this point), but all his songs are very punchy and enjoyable. His highlight is the jaunty 'Take A Walk', with some lovely piano work from Rayner. On the other hand, Tim Finn's songs are more personal than ever before, particularly the jaunty sea-shanty autobiography 'Haul Away'. Tim's major contribution is the epic 'Six Months in a Leaky Boat', which goes a long way towards explaining New Zealand's national insecurity ("the tyranny of distance."); amusingly, the song was banned by the BBC, as it was released uncomfortably hard on the heels of the Falklands War. Meanwhile, 'Dirty Creature' is a tale of Tim's anxieties represented as a nasty beast (pictured as a taniwha in one verse): "Probably gonna chew my brain/He's got me in a vice-like grip/He said "one slip and you're dead."" All of the above mentioned songs are fantastic, but the level of Time and Tide is bought down by some nondescript writing from Tim ('Lost for Words'), and a group-penned closer ('Make Sense Of It') that's not as effective as it should be. Still, Time and Tide is certainly the best of the group's later albums, and a Finn essential. English drummer Malcolm Green left after Waiata, and percussionist/set-designer Noel Crombie took over as drummer, although he's no virtuoso and this is the only album he drummed full time on. The producer is Hugh Padgham, who also worked with The Police, Genesis and on XTC's English Settlement.
 Conflicting Emotions(1983)I used to have this one on cassette as well, and again I don't think it's among their best work; Neil comes up with the classic 'Message To My Girl', as well as solid album tracks like 'Our Day', 'Strait Old Line' and 'Bullet Brain And Cactus Head', but Tim's contributions are singularly unimpressive. See Ya 'Round(1984)After Time and Tide, Tim Finn channelled the songs that he felt were inappropriate for Split Enz into a solo album Escapade. Distracted with solo success ('Fraction Too Much Friction' was a hit) and a relationship with actress Greta Scaatchi, Tim's contributions to 1983's Conflicting Emotions were substandard and he left Split Enz soon afterwards. The group soldiered on for one last album as a five piece; Crombie was relegated back to percussionist, while future Crowded House member Paul Hester signed up as drummer. Sibling rivalry was always an important factor in the Finn's songwriting in Split Enz, while Neil was only accustomed to only contributing four or five songs to previous albums. His solution for See Ya 'Round is to write the first side of the record himself, and for each of his bandmates to contribute a song to the second side. While it wasn't surprising that See Ya' Round was Split Enz' final studio album, it turned out surprisingly well despite the fact that it is almost willfully second-rate. The album, especially the second side, is aided by more energy than would be expected from a group in its death throes; 'This Is Massive', with Hester on lead vocals, is arguably the most frenetic song Split Enz ever recorded. Rayner's synthesisers are also impressive, adding interest to the record without ever becoming too intrusive. Finn's songwriting is there or thereabouts without ever being completely convincing on the first side; 'Years Go By' is musically compelling but uncharacteristically lyrically shallow ("Years go by/Wonder what you did/But in a minute you can change your life/It all depends on your state of mind/One thing to be sure of is we live and die."), while 'One Mouth is Fed' also has shallow sentiments. 'I Walk Away' and 'Breaking My Back' are nice, if a little too overtly commercially, while 'Voices' is plain gorgeous. The second side is surprisingly interesting; Rayner's 'The Lost Cat' and Griggs' 'Adz' are surprisingly captivating, while the jokish vocals on Crombie's Ninnie Knees Up' are also entertaining. See Ya 'Round doesn't have the self-consciousness or grandeur of a final album, but it doesn't have the lethargy either. Tim rejoined the group for a farewell tour and live album (The Living Enz), and the group have reformed periodically since for live performances, often with early members like Paul Crowther and Mike Chunn in place of Green and Griggs.
Spellbound(1997)Split Enz are probably still unchallenged as New Zealand's most culturally significant band, over a decade long recording career that saw them transform from mid-seventies art-rockers to early eighties new wave pop sensations. They also launched the careers of some of New Zealand's most successful musicians, the Finn brothers, Phil Judd (who fronted the band in their early albums, and went on to record the hit 'Counting The Beat' with The Swingers, as well as leading Schnell Fenster) and keyboard virtuoso Eddie Rayner (now resident musician on New Zealand Idol). They're more significant, however, in terms of individual songs than albums, and their best moments are captured in transcendent singles like the new wave hits 'I Got You' and 'History Never Repeats', while their album output is relatively spotty. That's a long winded way of saying that a compilation's a pretty good option for exploring their catalogue, and this double disc, featuring excellent remastered sound quality that's a long way above their other releases, is a good option. It's not without its problems - the sequencing is all over the place (the first disc is generally dedicated to the hits and the second to the more idiosyncratic material, but it's confusing and a simple chronological approach would have been more satisfying), the packaging is tacky and the booklet clinically uninteresting, and there are a few surprise omissions (particularly the hit 'Hard Act To Follow' from Waiata) - but it does manage to put 39 of Split Enz's best songs in one place, and it's an excellent one stop purchase. Interesting features include a remixed version of 'Stuff And Nonsense' that blows the Frenzy version out of the water, the previously unreleased 'Semi-Detached', a paranoid Tim song that's among the best the Enz ever recorded, complete with some uncharacteristic guitar hero soloing from Neil, and 'Another Great Divide', an excellent early song that never made it onto a studio album. Having all their eras mixed together in one place, it's noticeable that perhaps it's their early work that's most consistent and has arguably stood the test of time the best; songs like 'Sweet Dreams', 'Maybe' and 'Another Great Divide' still sound lush and bouncy, even as synth dominated hits like 'Poor Boy' and 'Shark Attack' are tied to their early eighties era. If you're a fan of Beatles-derived pop music (Squeeze are a good reference point for the Enz's later work) and you've never heard hits like 'Message To My Girl', 'History Never Repeats' and 'I See Red', it's definitely worth tracking this down. There's also a sixteen track Australasian compilation available, History Never Repeats, that concentrates on their early eighties hits - it's an extremely coherent and enjoyable record (when I bought it, the first Finn-related album that I ever heard, I played nothing else for a couple of weeks straight), and if you want to bypass the group's earlier work it's a better option than this more comprehensive collection.
Crowded HouseCrowded House(1986)Breaking up Split Enz after feeling too much pressure to fill Tim's shoes, Neil Finn retained Paul Hester from the final reincarnation of the Enz and set about to create something more manageable. They recruited Australian bass player Nick Seymour (brother of Hunters and Collector's lead singer Mark), and went straight for a record deal without bothering to tour or build a following first. They managed to secure an American contract, but their career remained low key until the single 'Don't Dream It's Over' suddenly hit number two on the American charts, single handedly making them the biggest pop act to ever come out of New Zealand. It's unfortunate then, that although riding on the back of the hit, Crowded House is the least interesting of the group's four albums; Finn's song writing is less developed than on subsequent efforts ('Don't Dream It's Over' is easily the standout), while the group's sound is inclined towards generic guitar-pop. A few eighties elements creep in with tasteless horn sections in 'Mean to Me' and 'That's What I Call Love', and a guitar intro to 'I Walk Away' (recycled from See Ya 'Round) that sounds suspiciously like Bryan Adams. 'Hole in the River' would particularly benefit from a folkier treatment, but is haunting even with a synthesiser dominated arrangement. It might be the least of Crowded House's albums, but's it's still enjoyable; 'Don't Dream It's Over' is one of the best records of the eighties, featuring producer Mitchell Froom's wonderful organ solo and almost timeless compared to most other 1986 products. 'Love You 'Til The Day I Die' and 'Now Where Getting Somewhere' are nice upbeat pop songs, although 'Something So Strong' takes the saccharine pop approach a step too far. The lyrics are almost exclusively love songs, but they're such sincere love songs; it's no surprise that Neil has sustained a 20 year marriage with attitudes like 'Love You 'Til The Day I Die' and 'Don't Dream It's Over' (on the other hand, Tim's Split Enz song 'Stuff And Nonsense', with the lyrics "and you know that I love you/here and now not forever", was a self-fulfilling prophecy of his relationship problems). The low point of Crowded House is the abrasive 'Mean to Me'; Neil Finn isn't a good screamer and the horn section is horribly dated. It's a good first up effort though; while Neil was an important part of Split Enz, he had to stand here without the support of important musicians like Tim Finn and Rayner for the first time, and managed to gather more international attention than the Enz ever did.
Temple of Low Men(1988)Crowded House's second album is also their second best, although it failed to make the impact of its predecessor due to the lack of an upbeat single like 'Something So Strong' or 'It's Only Natural'. While many songwriters, such as Bryan Ferry or Joe Strummer, have tended to lose their muse and become relatively boring after they hit the age of thirty, Neil Finn reached a new maturity in his compositions. Even the lesser tracks like 'Love This Life' would not disgrace any album, while 'When You Come' successfully incorporates the cumbersome meteorological term cumulo nimbus. The standout track on Temple of Low Men is the beautiful ballad 'Into Temptation', with a soaring bridge, inspired by the morals from Neil's Catholic childhood, while 'Better Be Home Soon', 'I Feel Possessed' and 'Never Be The Same' are similarly gorgeous. These are balanced by the more uptempo 'Kill Eye' (opening with a sample of Jimmy Swaggart), 'Sister Madly' and 'When You Come'. The trio of Finn, drummer Paul Hester and bassist Nick Seymour are augmented by producer Mitchell Froom's keyboards, Tim on backing vocals and Fairport Convention guitarist Richard Thompson, who plays some snappy solos on 'Sister Madly'. While Temple of Low Men is lacks the individuality of 1993's Together Alone, Crowded House's crowning achievement, it is still an excellent piece of work.
Woodface(1991)Woodface was the child of two different recording sessions; an attempt at a third Crowded House album, and Neil Finn's collaboration with his older brother Tim. The sessions for the Crowded House album were not particularly fruitful, and the Finn's album was only half completed, so Neil decided that the best solution would be to combine the two. Not surprisingly Woodface comes out disjointed, even though the same producer (Mitchell Froom for the third consecutive album) worked on both projects. Woodface contains some of Crowded House's best work, notably the signature singles 'Weather With You', 'Four Seasons in One Day' and 'Fall At Your Feet' as well as the highly irreverent 'There Goes God' (with the highly irreverent line "And he can't stand Beelzebub/'Cause he looks so good in black"). Tim gets a nice solo piece with the torch song 'All I Ask', which is utterly unlike anything else Crowded House ever attempted. But in between, the album is not as substantial; although most of the Finn brothers material is fine, many of the songs in the second half of the album without Tim aren't particularly interesting. 'She Goes On' starts as a beautiful pastoral song but loses continuity with the irritating line "We owe it all to Frank Sinatra." Drummer Paul Hester's 'Italian Plastic' is awfully average as well. It's one of the most two tiered albums that I've ever encountered; half is brilliant, and the other half is decidedly average, with most of the best material concentrated towards the beginning. By the time the evocative bridge ("Cos I want you to see/Round the world round the world/Is a tangled up necklace of pearls") of the closer 'How Will You Go' appears, the momentum of Woodface is lost. Woodface is certainly a good album, but it doesn't contain enough quality material to support the brilliant singles as they deserve.
Together Alone(1993)Crowded House's final studio album was recorded in a lonely beach studio in the north of New Zealand, the first time Finn had ever recorded an album there. Producer Youth (better known for his work in dance music) tried to bring more spontaneity to the recording process with holistic techniques, such as asking the guitarists to play in a stone circle 200 metres away from the studio, or making the group run around naked before recording to lose their inhibitions. Regardless of the methods, Together Alone is the group's finest hour. With the addition of second guitarist Mark Hart, rockers such as 'Black and White Boy' and 'Locked Out' are far more intense than their counterparts on previous albums, while 'Private Universe' and 'Nails in My Feet' are their most beautiful songs. Previous Crowded House albums could be accused of being too mainstream and mannered; Together Alone tears down such boundaries and captures them more raw and emotional than ever before. Unique New Zealand ethnic elements are seamlessly incorporated, such as the Polynesian percussion in 'Private Universe' and the Maori choir in the title track. As a result extra impetus and uniqueness is given to an album that already had strong songs. Many fans, along with Neil Finn himself, would nominate the surreal 'Private Universe' as their favourite Crowded House recording. Other particularly poignant tracks include the single 'Distant Sun' ("I don't pretend to know what you want/But I offer love."), 'Nails in My Feet' and the gentle 'Fingers of Love'. The group composed title track sets the scene with an evocative description and musical representation of the landscape, while the epic 'Catherine Wheels' (with a Tim co-write and backing vocal) is another moody piece at a much slower tempo. 'Locked Out' and 'Black And White Boy' are dense and frenzied alternative rock. Even the weakest track, Hester's 'Skin Feeling', is enjoyable, especially the usually shy Hart's vocal improvisations at the end ("I want to roll in the sand like a horse."). Together Alone is easily the most stunning project either Finn has been involved in and should be tracked down immediately.
Recurring Dream The Very Best Of(1996)While Neil Finn has made albums with several entities, including Split Enz, the Finn Brothers and a solo career, perhaps his best known work was written during the course of Crowded House's four studio albums. Some of the best loved songs ever produced by a New Zealander are compiled on Recurring Dream: 'Don't Dream It's Over', a timeless ballad with a memorable organ solo, the jingle-jangle of 'Weather With You', and the sensitive ballad 'Better Be Home Soon'. The selections from each album are solid, although the democratic policy of allowing exactly four songs from each albums means that great Woodface songs 'There Goes God' and 'Chocolate Cake' miss out at the expense of inferior tracks such as Crowded House's 'Mean to Me.' The three new songs recorded for Recurring Dream are a disappointment; 'Everything is Good For You' is quite possibly the worst track that Crowded House ever recorded, 'Not the Girl You Think You Are' may be Beatlesque but it isn't particularly interesting, while 'Instinct' is merely the best of a bad lot. Recurring Dream inexplicably ends with new song 'Everything is Good For You', rather than 'Better Be Home Soon' which is tailor-made for the position. Despite its faults, Recurring Dream is a good introduction to Crowded House, containing key album tracks such as 'Into Temptation' and 'Private Universe', although fans will want to dig deeper especially into Together Alone, and it might be simpler just to get each of their four albums individually.
Recurring Dream Bonus Disc(1996)I'm not usually too excited about live albums, but this record, released as a bonus disc to Recurring Dream is good enough to stand enough on its own; as a bonus it's simply superlative. There's also very little crossover with the greatest hits tracks, as only four songs appear on both discs, and it covers a bunch of excellent Crowded House songs that didn't make the cut. 'There Goes God', 'Whispers and Moans' 'Kill Eye' and 'Love You Til The Day I Die' all could have held their own on Recurring Dream, and they're all presented in excellent live versions, making the 2CD version a much more valuable Crowded House anthology than the first disc alone. There are also a couple of otherwise unreleased songs - the catchy and atmospheric 'Newcastle Jam' and 'Left Hand'. Most of the recordings come from the 1990s, with Mark Hart featuring as the keyboard player or second guitarist - he's almost the ideal foil for the band, either able to reproduce or improve the original arrangement. While Hester and Seymour were fine musicians their influence wasn't always that apparent on record, but they were much more integral on stage - Hester's pranks (an extreme example entailed coming on alone for an encore in a Santa suit playing metal guitar riffs, stripping naked, then making obscene noises in the mike) were an important part of the band's charm. I'm rather indifferent to the live versions of the Together Alone material here; 'In My Command' lacks the energy of the studio version and 'Pineapple Head' and 'Private Universe' lack a bit of atmosphere, but otherwise these songs are pretty much all at least as enjoyable as their studio counterparts. Particular highlights include 'There Goes God', much punchier here than on record, while the epic ten minute take on 'Hole In The River', ending with traditional Irish ballad 'The Parting Glass', blows away the studio version and might be my favourite Crowded House track ever. Lots of compilations throw on a couple of otherwise unavailable songs to entice completists, but there's a whole disc of first rate material here that any Crowded House fan will want to hear; it's not too hard to find copies of the bonus disc edition in New Zealand, but overseas fans may struggle to track it down.
Afterglow(1999)A couple of years after their demise, Crowded House released an album of outtakes and b-sides. Unless you're a hardcore fan who has collected b-sides and bootlegs, most of this material will be new to you - there's an alternate version of 'Private Universe' from Together Alone, and 'Left Hand' turned up on the live disc from Recurring Dream, but the rest of these songs are appearing for the first time on a long player. Afterglow doesn't collect every single Crowded House leftover - it's more the best of the leftovers in an attempt to make a self-contained forty five minute album that stands alongside their original albums. In fact, I'd go as far to say that it's better than half of their studio albums - it's less handicapped by commercially oriented material and production than their first two records, and more consistent than Woodface. As a New Zealander, hearing 'Something So Strong' and 'It's Only Natural' all over supermarkets and sports games does nothing for my appreciation for their parent albums, but these songs are largely untouched. There aren't any major classics hiding here, but the more relaxed atmosphere helps to bring out a less starched version of the band, which does a lot to compensate. And for starters, the simmering, majestic 'I Am In Love' would be a standout track on any of their albums, while the guitar arpeggios of 'Recurring Dream', one of the band's earliest songs with original guitarist Craig Hooper still in the band, would have made for one of the best songs on the debut. The word play of 'I Love You Dawn', which alternates between referring to dawn and Finn's wife, whose middle name is conveniently Dawn, is also gorgeous, while 'Time Immemorial' is a pretty waltz. Some of this stuff's a little lightweight, like Hester's throwaway 'My Telly's Gone Bung' but it's one of the things that gives Afterglow a different charm than the group's studio albums. Most of the lesser material comes from the sessions that were merged with the Finn brothers material to create Woodface; 'Dr Livingston' and 'Anyone Can Tell' are more of the pop blandness that marred that record in places. Regardless, as an outtakes collection, Afterglow is a surprisingly satisfying compilation, and if you like Crowded House's other stuff, by all means grab this too.
Classic Masters(2004)I've seen copies of this budget compilation floating around, and it looks pretty interesting. I'd definitely recommend Recurring Dream as the compilation to get, as this one leaves off too many key hits like 'Better Be Home Soon', 'Fall At Your Feet' and 'World Where You Live', but the tracklist on this almost looks like they grabbed my twelve favourite Crowded House songs, with great album tracks like 'Never Be The Same', 'Hole In The River' and 'Nails In My Feet' alongside the strongest hits like 'Weather With You' and 'Don't Dream It's Over'. Tim FinnReader Comments: You left out one of the best albums of all time - Tim's self titled album. Produced by Mitchell Froom. 1989. Capitol. 7777-48735-2.Before And After(1993)After years of hiding behind a manic persona in Split Enz, Tim returned to New Zealand after breaking up with actress Greta Scaatchi, and reevaluated his lifestyle. The results of these changes are palpably visible; Tim is no longer hiding behind hiccoughs, but instead scoring with simple and direct pop songs. He uses a variety of instrumentalists and producers, including Crowded House's Mark Hart and Beach Boys' drummer Ricky Fataar, resulting in a disjointed album, but it is of little consquence as most of these songs are good enough to stand on their own. It's a revelation how gorgeous Tim's voice is when he sings normally, crooning his way through the lovely 'In Your Sway' and showcasing his falsetto in 'I Found It'. The first five songs of Before And After are practically infallible. 'Hit The Ground Running' rides a funky groove into a gorgeous high chorus, while 'Protected' adds a moodiness to another groove. 'In Love With It All' was inexplicably omitted from Woodface, but is captured here with Ireland's The Hothouse Flowers, Eddie Rayner and Neil all contributing parts. The single 'Persuasion' is a charming folkish song cowritten with Richard Thompson, while 'Many's The Time (In Dublin)' finds Tim exploring his Celtic heritage to wonderful effect. It's hardly surprising that Before And After is unable to maintain such a high level, but the rest of the album is solid enough if a little wooden. 'Always Never Now' survives a dorky spoken section, while the musically and lyrically clichéd 'Funny Way' is the only major misstep. While Before And After doesn't do quite enough to dispel my impression that Tim is less talented than his younger sibling, it's well worth getting your hands on a copy.
Say It Is So(2000)Tim's first studio album since Before And After, although he had been working on other projects such as the first Finn Brothers album and ALT, a collaboration with members of the Hothouse Flowers, in the meantime. In the intervening seven years, Tim spent enough time out of the spotlight to the point where he largely ceased to be a commercial musical force, and this album was self-released on his own record label. Approaching fifty (it's easy to remember his birth year, since he announces it in the lyrics of Time and Tide's 'Haul Away') Finn at this point is getting to the stage where he's not a particularly potent musical force, and he's doing the right thing here by making music for himself, and growing old gracefully, rather than attempting another commercial pop record like Before And After. Say It Is So was recorded in Nashville, largely because Tim's appreciation of alt-country in general, and Wilco in particular; it's not a coincidence that then Wilco drummer Ken Coomer is one of the sidemen. Julie Miller also lends her beautiful voice to several of the tracks, contrasting with Tim's more gravelly tones. Tim's voice, still a gorgeous instrument on his previous solo album, has aged significantly in the intervening seven years. It's still pleasant, but doesn't soar like previously, using lower ranges and more roughness. Say It Is So is solid enough most of the way through, and it's perfectly respectable without pandering to popular trends or falling into sentimentality, but it's hard to imagine anyone outside Tim's loyal fan base becoming too excited by it. There are some standout tracks; 'Twinkle' marries a gorgeous melody to a smooth modern arrangement, that's almost akin to trip-hop. The closing 'Rest' is gently anthemic, with a hint of Maori influence in the melody, evident even before the Maori lyrics come in, like a less bombastic 'Together Alone', featuring some gorgeous guitar tone. 'Death Of A Popular Song' is also kind of interesting, but not as exciting as its title implies. Not all of the songs are particularly exciting either, with predictable fare like 'Need To Be Right', and mundane songs like 'Good Together' and 'Some Dumb Reason' (which justifies its uber-conventional lyrics with the lines "It's hard to keep it off the record when you feel this way"). This album's pleasant and all, but I'm not totally enamoured with it - if you're a Tim devotee you're going to want to hear it, but it's not up with the man's most significant work.
The Finn BrothersFinn(1995)Tim and Neil Finn joined forces in 1995 to record the low-key Finn album. Tim plays drums and piano while Neil plays guitar. The only outside musicians are Dave Dobbyn, who contributes some meaty basslines to 'Kiss The Road of Rarotonga', and the Avarua Presbyterian Choir who contribute backing vocals to 'Paradise'. As demonstrated on the collaborative tracks on Woodface, the Finn's lyrics become more cryptic and less personal when they write together. Instead of the confessional songs they tend to write individually, Neil and Tim's joint lyrics abound with surreal in-jokes: "Feeling just a little surprised/Like you discovered Engelbert Humperdink or something/Inside the fairy light." Because most of the instrumental parts are straightforward and low-key, the focus is often directed onto the song writing. Apart from the staid, tuneless 'Bullets in My Hairdo', the melodies on Finn are lovely. 'Last Day of June' may be the most beautiful song Neil has written, and its low-key arrangement celebrates its fragility. 'Angels Heap', a lovely nostalgic ode to a vintage car, spotlights a similarly enchanting melody. When the Finns undertake fuller bodied arrangements on 'Suffer Never' and 'Kiss the Road of Rarotonga', they also sound fantastic. While Finn doesn't contain a focal point like 'Six Months In a Leaky Boat' or 'Private Universe', it does deliver some of the pair's most solid songwriting. Confirming that consumers are stupid, later editions of Finn are retitled Finn Brothers.
Everyone Is Here(2004)While the Finn Brothers hardly disappeared off the radar completely since their first album together in 1995, it's fair to say that the years between that record and Everyone Is Here have been relatively low profile, with just a handful of solo releases each. Accordingly, it's not hard to view this record as a bid to regain commercial acceptance, complete with a large budget; Everyone Is Here was originally completed with Tony Visconti as producer, before being scrapped and rerecorded with Mitchell Froom. The brothers' first album as a duo was practically an indie record, with an off the cuff flavour, and Everyone Is Here is almost the exact opposite, shooting for straightforward accessible songs, emphasising melody and harmony. The record does achieve these aims; it's a pleasant listen, almost going down too easily for its own good. It's unfair to complain too much given that the brothers have an established style and it's a solid showcase of what they do best, but this record is a little too safe and mannered to be really satisfying despite some excellent songs. This impression isn't helped by the lyrics, often based around the themes of ageing, which help to take even more of an edge off. It's the gentlest songs that make the biggest impression; 'Edible Flowers', which originally surfaced on Neil's Seven Worlds Collide live album, uses his vulnerable upper register, 'Disembodied Voices' is delicate and pretty, while 'Gentle Hum' is an excellent atmospheric piano-driven closer. The most routine songs include 'Luckiest Man Alive', which feels like its constantly in risk of dropping into CSNY's 'Helpless', and 'Homesick' which takes the nostalgic themes a step too far and drops into sentimentality. They're still able to channel energy successfully into some of the upbeat material like the single 'Won't Give In', 'Part Of Me, Part Of You' and 'Nothing Wrong With You', which showcase some surprisingly energetic harmonies, which do help to add some character to a record that occasionally teeters towards blandness. The Finns are heading into a stage in their career where they're unlikely to attract too many new fans, and Everyone Is Here is the type of workmanlike record that will satisfy their existing fanbase without setting the world alight, especially older fans who'll relate to the themes they explore here. I kind of feel like I've underrated a lot of records on this page, and that I can't really justify giving this more marks than the first Finn brothers record, but it is teetering fairly close to four stars.
ENZSOENZSO(1996)It's pretty easy to demarcate a target market for this collection of Split Enz reworkings: the yuppies who grew up with the group's hits in the early 1980s, before growing into "serious" music like Andrew Lloyd-Webber, and fifteen years later are delighted to find their tastes retrospectively vindicated. ENZSO was the brainchild of Eddie Rayner, always the musical virtuoso of Split Enz, who re-recorded some of the group's catalogue with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and the National Youth Choir. Most of the early eighties Enz line-up is involved; Rayner plays piano, the Finn's sing most of the lead vocals (along with Dave Dobbyn and the largely forgotten Annie Crummer) while Noel Crombie makes a cameo appearance on spoons in 'Strait Old Line. It is admirable that ENZSO covers every Split Enz album over its twelve songs, ranging from the art-rock of 1975's debut Mental Notes to the straightforward pop of 1984's swansong See Ya' Round. Still, it's not the kind of thing that I'd voluntarily buy or choose to listen to; I only have this album because I won it in a radio contest. While Rayner claims in the liner notes that some of the songs were "begging for an orchestral arrangement", I'd still rather listen to the original versions in most cases; the synth bleeps of 'Poor Boy' are more interesting than the string backing on this record to my ears. Twelve tracks spread over seventy minutes is bad news for most bands, and this is no exception. While there are some great moments, particularly with the more ambitious material, there are also stretches where the album sounds like a bunch of pop songs slowed down and drawn out to six minutes, slathered with orchestration and fronted by singers who don't have the technical faculty to pull it off; songs like 'Voices' and 'I Hope I Never' weren't particularly exciting in the first place, and are even more torpid in this setting. Elsewhere, at least ENZSO draws attention to some overlooked material; the gorgeous ballad 'Stuff And Nonsense' gained profile after being featured here, while 'Message To My Girl' is a great song even in this drawn out form. Most of the highlights are at the end of the album; 'I See Red' benefits from a dynamic arrangement, starting off as a tender ballad, while poet Sam Hunt is surprisingly effective fronting 'Under The Wheel'. The multi-part structure of 'Stranger Than Fiction'/'Time For A Change' is also better suited to the orchestral format than the more pop-oriented material. Overall, this project does have some merit - it's far less embarrassing than it could have been and retains a lot of the Enz idiosyncrasies - but I find it a struggle to sit through seventy minutes of it.
ENZSO 2(1998)The first ENZSO album sold like hotcakes to thirty five year old yuppies, so it's hardly surprising that a sequel followed a couple of years later. On the positive front, Rayner's learned from the experience of the first album, and as a result the sequel has richer orchestration, with brass and woodwinds playing interesting lines rather than the piano and strings approach of the first record. It's also kept to a more manageable length, which makes it easier for non-enamoured listeners like me to make it through in one sitting. On the neutral front, the tracklist isn't much weaker than that of its predecessor; there are still plenty of hits like 'Six Months In A Leaky Boat', 'Shark Attack' and 'History Never Repeats' to go around, while it digs up more early gems like 'Maybe' and 'Semi-Detached'. On the bad news front, the Finns were both unavailable due to solo commitments, so Rayner was forced to recruit a bunch of New Zealand b-grade celebrities like Jon Stevens and Boh Runga to complement Dobbyn and Hunt, who reprise their roles from the earlier album. Opera diva Dame Kiri Te Kanawa is burdened with 'Bon Voyage', one of the most generic songs in the entire Split Enz catalogue. Again, it's the early songs that lend themselves best to orchestration. Dobbyn's swaggering take of 'Maybe' is in the spirit of the original, naively throwing out lines like "I'm just a country boy, can't you see that I'm still green." Margaret Urlich does a great job on obscure b-side 'Semi-Detached', originally released in 1979; it's one of Tim Finn's best compositions, originating on the Rootin' Tootin' Luton tapes that were later watered down to create Frenzy. The instrumental takes on 'Pioneer', 'Six Months in a Leaky Boat' and 'Frenzy' are also entertaining enough. Unfortunately the rest of the album's pretty straightforward and not that interesting; while Rayner's arrangements of songs like 'One Step Ahead' and 'I Walk Away' are interesting, they hardly supplant the originals; the most successful ground for the ENZSO albums is the group's early more complex work, and it's a shame that the second album doesn't tend more in this direction. It would have been interesting to hear songs like 'Late Last Night', 'Sweet Dreams' and 'Bold As Brass' attempted, although of course it'd be hard to sell too many copies without the hits attached. Still, it's quite an accomplishment that this sequel measures up to the original despite the absence of the Finn brothers; Rayner definitely has an aptitude for orchestration, and it's a shame he's not constantly working with more appropriate material.
Neil FinnTry Whistling This(1998)For his first solo record, Try Whistling This, Finn made an intentional effort to distance himself from Crowded House (hence the title; daring listeners to find catchy tunes), dabbling with new textures and collaborating with Midnight Oil guitarist Jim Moginie on some songs. While I don't pretend to welcome Finn shying away from more conventional pastures, he manages to partially reinvent himself successfully. However, while the gorgeous 'Sinner' is arguably the finest song Finn has ever written, Try Whistling This is his weakest set of songs since his Split Enz days. A great deal of Try Whistling This is forgettable, with a cold and uninviting atmosphere. The last four songs are particularly mediocre, with surprisingly colourless lyrics ("In time you'll see that some things travel faster than light/In time you'll recognise that love is larger than life," or "Lightweight, dream date/Fly or fall, it's my call") and low profile melodies. Despite my whining the remainder of Try Whistling This does largely measure up with Finn's meticulous standards, although it drags without enough catchy melodies or upbeat tempos. The single 'She Will Have Her Way' has both, but is too simplistic to retain any long lasting appeal. Along with 'Sinner', the most interesting songs are the rockers 'Souvenir', 'Twisty Bass' and 'Loose Tongue'. While moments of class inevitably shine through, Try Whistling This is still Finn's worst album since Split Enz. You might want to note, however, that I'm about the only person I know who doesn't think that this album's really good, so you might want to take this with a grain of salt.
One Nil(2001)I ignored this record for a long time, mostly because I didn't enjoy Try Whistling This all that much and because my friends were lukewarm about it, but having finally caught up with it, I think it's one of the better things that Neil Finn's been involved with. After the more experimental Try Whistling This, it's a return to the song based approach of Crowded House, although Finn's aiming for more subtle material here; it's not overtly commercial and it never feels like he's trying to write another populist anthem like 'Weather With You'. Instead, these songs are more personal, often touchingly about his love for his wife ("It's 3am and I'm awake/Imagine the light upon your blue transparent face" is the opening couplet of 'Wherever You Are'), almost consciously cementing a decision to write for his fans and for himself, rather than trying to appeal to a wider audience. The textures are a little rougher than his Crowded House work, pushing more into light alternative territory rather than straight up pop, courtesy of Tchad Blake, who was also involved with Crowded House. More unexpected support comes from former Prince collaborators Wendy and Lisa, who add a slightly funky edge to songs like 'Rest Of The Day Off' and 'Hole In The Ice'; it's not as an extreme juxtaposition as it sounds on paper, and these songs dovetail into the rest of the album nicely. There's no single masterpiece song on this record, but it's almost consistently full of modest, well crafted efforts like the charming melodic 'Wherever You Are' and 'Last To Know', with its gentle verse and climactic chorus, There are plenty of accessible and emotional pop tunes like 'Turn and Run' and 'Anytime', while 'Into The Sunset' ends the album on a gorgeous note with its beautiful coda. There's hardly anything trail blazing or instantly catchy about this record, but it's eminently likeable; if you're already a fan of Finn's melodic and thoughtful pop, it's hard to go too far wrong with One Nil. There's also a newer version of the album for the American market titled One All, which supplants a couple of the weaker songs (the awkward rocker 'Don't Ask Why' and the interesting atmospheric 'Elastic Heart') with a couple of new tracks, as well as some resequencing and remixing.
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Written 2001-2009, Graham Fyfe
