Poll--The Weakest Link: Crowded House WOODFACE, Round 2

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Joey Self, Mar 26, 2017.

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  1. Joey Self

    Joey Self Red Forman's Sensitivity Guru Thread Starter

    "All I Ask" saw its request to move on denied, "Italian Plastic" felt we were pathetic and "Fame Is" didn't get into our blood.

    Two more need to go this time.

    Discussion question: When did you last play WOODFACE? Has your opinion of it changed since you first heard it?

    T12 All I Ask
    T12 Fame Is
    T12 Italian Plastic
     
  2. lightbulb

    lightbulb Not the Brightest of the Bunch

    Location:
    Smogville CA USA
    I almost forgot how bad "Chocolate Cake" tastes...almost...
     
  3. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Last played... a couple years ago? Dunno.

    I probably like it more now. As noted in the last thread, I wasn't all that wild about it at the time, but it's aged pretty well.

    And I don't even hate Tim Finn anymore! :D
     
  4. Joey Self

    Joey Self Red Forman's Sensitivity Guru Thread Starter

    I've never quite understood the hate for that song. It isn't on my MP3 player with a half-dozen or so from this album, but I like it just fine when I play it.

    That isn't to be read as challenging your opinion, or anyone else's, I just don't think it's a bad song. Not the best choice as a single or maybe even as the album opener, that much I do see.

    JcS
     
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  5. Joey Self

    Joey Self Red Forman's Sensitivity Guru Thread Starter

    DQ: I think I last played it from start to finish about 7 years ago. I have many of the tracks on my MP3 player/Spotify playlist, so I hear the ones I really like with some frequency. With a better knowledge of the catalog now--before and after--I suppose I could be less impressed that my initial "wow," but I'm not. It's still a great album that has held up well over the past quarter century.

    JcS
     
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  6. Hawkfire269

    Hawkfire269 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Indianapolis, IN
    No surprises in round 1 (I do like All I Ask as a guilty pleasure, but it obviously doesn't fit in on the record and is clearly a Tim solo piece). This round I went for Tall Trees, which is short, snappy, and inoffensive, but really filler for an "upbeat/rock" tempo. As Sure As I Am, I enjoy quite a bit but is also less important than the other songs here. Chocolate Cake hanging by a thin thread at this point, and then we have to start to make some really tough cuts...
     
  7. BadJack

    BadJack doorman who always high-fives children of divorce

    Location:
    Boston, MA
    "Tall Trees" and "There Goes God", again.

    I last listened a month or two ago when I got the deluxe. My opinion hasn't really changed but I'm embarrassed that the beauty of "She Goes On" never quite hit me before.
     
    Tim Wilson likes this.
  8. Tim Wilson

    Tim Wilson Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kaneohe, Oahu, HI
    I agree! My criticisms about its weak tracks notwithstanding, I play this a LOT. The last time maybe a month or two ago, but as is my way, I'm revisiting it as we play to really break these down one at a time from here.

    To your question upthread, I don't hate Chocolate Cake, but it's not one of Neil's greatest moments of insight. Wow, Americans are fat? We think Elvis is alive? You don't say! Hey, I'm as pinko as the next commie, but I expect my anti-Americanism/consumerism to be a little more nuanced. :laugh:

    I mean, contrast the leaden Tammy Bakker reference here (Tammy Bakker WHAT? What are you trying to tell me???) with the haunting, haunted treatment of Jimmy Swaggart on "Kill Eye", that "I beg you, forgive me" whisper at the beginning, which elevated what could have been another boring anti-TV diatribe into something special: a push-pull between failure, forgiveness, triviality, mortality, damnation, and oh yeah, television.

    This? Not special. It's flat.

    I saw Elvis Presley walk out of a Seven Eleven
    And a woman gave birth to a baby and then bowled 257
    The excess of fat on your American bones
    Will cushion the impact as you sink like a stone

    Can I have another piece of chocolate cake?
    Tammy Bakker, Tammy Bakker
    Can I buy another cheap Picasso fake?
    Cheap Picasso, cheap Picasso fake
    Can I have another piece of chocolate cake?
    Kathy Straker, boy, could she lose some weight
    Can I buy another slice of real estate?
    Liberace must be laughing in his grave

    I skipped the line, "Here comes Mrs. Hairy Legs," one of my least favorite in their discography, just because I felt like I quoted enough into that chunk to make my point that the song is so not worth quoting. :laugh: There! Done! :laugh:

    Now, the 9 songs that appear to be the ones remaining after this round, THOSE are special! Yeah, @Hawkfire269, maybe "Tall Trees" and "Sure As I Am" feel a little soft, but so's "She Goes On"...but really, they're all at least "really good" in my book, all the way up to a handful of genuine classics imo. That's why relistening as we play is so worthwhile to me. And who knows whether my "classics" will get to the end anyway. That's why we play the game!

    Ha! Another victory for real-time reevaluation! THAT's why we play the game!

    btw, @Alexlotl mentioned in the first round that Recurring Dream is one of the best hits comps, and I have to agree. It also reminded me that my one of my all-time favorite Crowded House concert bits (and wow, sooooo amazing live) was on the 1991 tour, when they snuck "Recurring Dream" into the middle of "There Goes God".

    This recording was one of my favorite bootlegs back in the day, now happily ensconced in pieces for your YouTube delectation. Here's dessert first:



    If you don't know them live, this is a terrific place to start. For example, I heard this version of "Tall Trees" MUCH more often than the studio version for many years (I played CH boots more than their studio releases for quite a while there), and it's much more muscular live. Yet another reason I'm relistening to the studio versions so closely, to vote for those versions rather than the live ones. :D
     
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  9. BadJack

    BadJack doorman who always high-fives children of divorce

    Location:
    Boston, MA
    This is a very good point. The lyrics are just so obvious and anyone who has seen the Finns live knows that they are genuinely funny guys, but like you say, the words just fall flat. And the line about poor Kathy Straker would be unnecessarily cruel if she actually existed!
     
    Tim Wilson likes this.
  10. Tim Wilson

    Tim Wilson Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kaneohe, Oahu, HI
    Alas, you can find a handful of them on Facebook! I hope they know that it's nothing personal!

    Certainly a catchy-enough tune, and a spirited performance (again, especially live)...but fortunately, the Finns are usually much better than this lyrically, even when aiming at the lower end of their spectrum of sophistication....
     
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  11. AFOS

    AFOS Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brisbane,Australia
    Why would you hate Tim Finn?

    Re. Woodface it's been ages since I listened to the cassette back in 1990. Of course I know the four great singles & I remember Chocolate Cake...may not be great but it's memorable! Will have to give it another listen. Also because of Tim's involvement I've always thought it to be a quasi Split Enz album
     
  12. joepepitone

    joepepitone Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    As a casual observer to this WL, when I heard Chocolate Cake for the first time a couple of days ago I liked the song. Then I head the lyric about the fat Americans and just kinda lost interest, not only in the song, but maybe in the entire collection.
     
  13. thekid87

    thekid87 Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Netherlands
    Whispers + As Sure

    DQ: I used to play this albums lot, but now I only play my iTunes playlist with about half of the songs. Some if their best songs are on this album.
     
  14. Tall Trees and Chocolate Cake

    My opinion hasn't really changed, although I remember I didn't hate Tall Trees and Fame Is as much back in 1992 as I do now.
     
  15. richbdd01

    richbdd01 Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    This is one of those instances where I find the album VERY top heavy overall. Side A is pretty much great to me, but Side B lets it down a bit...
     
  16. Joey Self

    Joey Self Red Forman's Sensitivity Guru Thread Starter

    I have a few boots I picked up in the mid to late 90's. I enjoy them all. That Town And Country show was my favorite.

    JcS
     
  17. audiomac

    audiomac Forum Resident

    I think the lyrics to chocolate cake are good. They're funny and scan well. But it was a bit strange for them to come out with something like that.
     
  18. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Discussed in Round 1, but mainly because he came across as such a jerk when I saw the band live in 1991. It also seemed opportunistic for him to join his more successful younger brother's band at that time - though one could argue it was quid pro quo since Neil had joined his then-more successful OLDER brother's band years earlier! :D
     
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  19. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Yeah, I agree that the lyrics are heavy-handed. I still like the song and I think it gets more criticism than it really deserves, but I get the disenchantment with the ham-fisted lyrics.

    Do we know for sure that Neil wrote the lyrics and not Tim? It's co-credited to both...
     
  20. Almost Simon

    Almost Simon Forum Resident

    Chocolate Cake and She Goes On

    Last played it a few months back, wonderful summer record. Many memories of just having learnt to drive, getting my first car back in '91 and playing the cassette of this.

    I have the deluxe edition on my birthday list. Heard the outtakes on cd on that radio new Zealand podcast, cant wait to get this. Love the album. Never liked Chocolate Cake, a weak song to start a great album.
     
  21. BadJack

    BadJack doorman who always high-fives children of divorce

    Location:
    Boston, MA
    Taking a quick look at the "Something So Strong" book, it seems that the original idea was Tim's, Neil took the idea and ran with it, and the "Mrs. Hairy Legs" line was a contribution of the young Liam Finn. And they didn't even credit, or blame, the poor kid!
     
  22. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Thanks! :wave:
     
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  23. AFOS

    AFOS Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brisbane,Australia
    Hate seems a tad strong. Pop stars can be jerky at times, may have had a bad day. Seems like a cool guy. Neil approached Tim re using some Finn songs for Woodface. Tim's songs that he co-wrote with Neil for a Finn project saved Woodface when it was initially rejected by Capitol.
     
  24. arob71

    arob71 Capitol JAX

    It's not their best song, but here's a pretty good performance:

     
  25. Mooserfan

    Mooserfan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Eastern PA
    Someone save "As Sure As I Am". It might not be their best song, but I always found it sadly beautiful.
    Please let me go with you
    I'll wear the smile on your face
     
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