Stranger than Fiction, Larger Than Life: the Finn Brothers song-by-song discussion thread

Whichever instrument is synthesizing the guitar sound then.

 

Oh, I see what you mean.

. It’s Just Tim singing through a distortion effect, the same kind that Neil sings with on “Twisty Bass”; used a lot live in Tim’s “one man band” period of 2000-2001.

 

This post needs to be held back and re-posted when we get onto the relevant period. There is so much to say, but it's too early in the chronology.

 

It's a pleasant song, but it doesn't grab me in any real way. I wouldn't necessarily skip it, but I wouldn't go looking for it either. 3/5

 

I enjoyed the Finn album. Yes the production is stark and raw but that doesn’t bother me too much. I see it as a side project that fulfilled their creative desires.

I must say I prefer everything that Neil is involved in more than Tim alone.

The rest of this thread will be very interesting. Top input from everyone thus far.

 

Let's not get carried away - some of my posts have been real clunkers.

 

"If You Don't Know By Now" is competent but bland.

A generous 3/5

 

"If You Don't Know By Now" may be a good song but I find it hard to tell because of Andy White's lacklustre vocals - his voice just makes everything sound dull to me. The music is pleasant so I can imagine appreciating the song's melody much more with Tim singing, or even better, Neil.

Rating as is with Andy's vocals 2/5

 

"If You Don't Know By Now" is quite nice, hearing it for the first time as I am. Nice vocal blend here, and definitely more tightly arranged than on most of Altitude. I don't love the song or the lyric, but that's possibly because I'm just not a big fan of White's artistry.

3.3/5

 

Start with Twice Removed - Sloan.

 

I wasn't going to say anything, but....

 

The song reminds me of Robyn Hitchcock, I think he'd sound great singing this.

Though, to be clear, I don't have a problem with Andy's vocals, I listened to the whole album and I stand by the "mellow Joe Strummer" label -- his phrasing is very similar.
I think his melodies are rather unimaginative, but this one and the other Tim co-writes are all right.

 

Yes I know what you mean, Robyn's voice is similarly mellow but much more melodic to my ears. The style of song reminds me of maybe "The Ghost In You".

 

Speaking of Robyn Hitchcock, a song by song discussion would be really, really fun....but would take many, many years.

 

I've read HArt toured with CH before and after WF was released.

Discogs cites contribution on WF by Hart on keyboards.

Crowded House - Woodface

 

Funny that I mentioned I've grown obsessed with the Psychedelic Furs a couple of pages back. I was wondering if maybe Robyn also had a song by the same title, but, yeah, it's a cover.

 

I have a hard time rating "If You Don't Know By Now" as a Finn song, but since TF is listed as co-writer: 3/5

 

I like If You Don't Know By Now, but not enough to buy the album it's off of. It'll be interesting to see if the next few songs with Tim involvement make me decide to buy it.

2.5/5

 

Our votes for: "If YOu Don't Know By Now"

1-0
2-1
3-6
4-1
5-1
Average: 3.0889
(edited to reflect @StefanWq 's vote.)

 

I didn't know anything about Andy White before ALT, but really liked his contributions there, especially in concert. Just before the "Teenage" album was released in 1996, he did an acoustic solo show in Stockholm (As the opener for fellow Irish artist Jackie Leven). That gig was incredible and I started buying his solo albums. I think the whole "Teenage" album is brilliant and should really be heard in its entirety.
"If You Don't Know By Now" is very poetic and seemingly simple, but its very minimalism and Tim's backing vocals and empathic playing give the song a haunting character.
This song works better as track 4 on the album than as a stand-alone song but I always enjoy hearing it.
4/5

 

Today's song is "Jacqui", written by Andy White & Tim Finn. Like the last song, this was recorded at Periscope studios and was produced by Andy White, Simon Polinsky and Tim Finn. This was also released as a single/EP in Australia in 1997 with the following songs. (The album itself does not seem to have been released in Australia, though nowadays perhaps it's available digitally, as it is in Europe.)

If You Don't Know By Now




This song was also released as a single/EP in Australia in 1997 with the following songs. (The album itself does not seem to have been released in Australia, though nowadays perhaps it's available digitally, as it is in Europe as it's on Andy's own label.)
2.Get Back Home
3 Don't Be Afraid (November '94 version)
4 Mandala (ALT)
5 Ceasefire Serenade



Andy White: vocals acoustic guitar, bass
Tim Finn: piano, drums, vocals

Lyric doesn't seem to be on Google:

"I would have given you all of my loving
For now and the rest of your life
I would have given you all of my loving
But if you wanna be like the other ones
If you wanna be like the other ones
It's all right"

Burnin the cars in Shankill tonight
All the petrol heads are here
Outside your house they scorched the grass
You turned to me and you laughed about it

Jacqui
You could make a man out of nothing at all
Jacqui
Sets me Free

Your family sits around the table tonight
I can feel my troubles slipg away
The sea is splashing on the beach down the road
And you turned to me and you laughed about it

Jacqui
You could make a man out of nothing at all
Jacqui
She sets me Free

You're the one that's prepared to help them
Cause the tee-shirt boys aren't so tough
They don't know how to love themselves
And they turn to me and they laugh about it

Jacqui
You could make a man out of nothing at all
Jacqui
She sets me Free

She said "I would have given you all of my loving
I would have given you all of my loving
But if you wanna be like the other ones
If you wanna be like the other ones
It's all right"
Jacqui says "it's all right"
Jacqui sets me free
Jacqui says "it's all right"
Jacqui sets me free
Jacqui says "it's all right"
Jacqui sets me free
Jacqui says "it's all right"
Jacqui sets me free...

 

"Jacqui" is a sweeter, more poppish brand of Indie Folk than most of the record; and I like the image of this woman having dinner with family being set beside burning cars in Belfast. When I look at pictures of Belfast most of it just looks like a dump, not too different from an American city; and yet there's something kind of fascinating about it to me, maybe because I work with an older lady from there and Milkman was the best book I read last year.

I like the overall sound, of the song (Simon Polinsky a new hero to me) and it moves along. It doesn't move me quite as much as the last one; it's just a sweet little song, a welcome melodic break on the album. 3.7/5

I agree with Stefan that the album is a good indie folk record overall, almost instantly likeable; having said that I prefer the Tim co-writes on it as they have the sweetest melodies.

 

Until now, I’d only heard the re-recorded “Last Day of Summer”, which I love. The first version sounds like a song in need of attentive production.

 

I can't hear the song, but the lyric: wow! You almost see the grainy TV footage of our protagonist sitting down to dinner with his new girlfriend's family in Shankill Road, Belfast, ground zero of The Troubles, and figuring out they may not be suited to each other. Powerful stuff. Andy White, born in 1962, grew up in Belfast and must have been exposed for years to the sectarian violence of the 1970s. It's likely that he was himself one who "laughed about it" - because that was the only way to keep his humanity.

Does Tim sing on this?

 

Yes, falsetto "octave" singing, plus that distorted effect and plays drums and piano.

So I take it the song is not available either on Youtube or Spotify over there?