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

I agree with a lot of this (and of course respect your opinion even where I think differently). But the one thing that I find puzzling is the statement that by this point Crowded House had become predictable. At this point the most recent Crowded House record had sounded nothing like the previous one, which hadn't sounded much like the two that went before. I just don't see Together Alone as more of the same.

 

Our votes for "Last Day of June"

1-0
2-0
3-1
4-3
5-11
Average: 4.5367

 

Today's song is "Suffer Never", written by Neil Finn and Tim Finn; the lead vocal is by Tim Finn.

Spotify: Suffer Never

It was released as a single and charted at number #29 in the UK and #70 in Australia.

There are a couple of remixes that were released on a promo as well, and live versions have been released by the Finn Brothers on Belvoir, Kiwi Charm, Mood Swinging Men and by Neil Finn on Encore! and DVD version of 7 Worlds Collide.

 

"Suffer Never" with its hypnotic, deeply pounding groove, its simple, brutal bass, heavy feedback-drenched psychedelic guitar, and Neil's airy floating vocal is certainly like nothing I can recall either Brothers doing hitherto. The remixes really play up the feedback and the song is better for it, in my opinion! It is one sexy, sweaty song.

I'm a bit mixed on it though: mixed between relegating it to masterpiece status or declaring it merely great: I love the sound of it, and I can really groove to it; but it doesn't actually touch me emotionally. It has a sort of grim dramatic power and menace to it though and is the kind of song that sounds great cranked.

I'm going to give it a 4.2/5.

I spent a good deal of time listening to live versions yesterday: most of the Finn Brothers versions I have feature Tim on acoustic and Neil on electric. While Neil and Tim's guitars sound better together than, say, Tim and Phil Manzanera's do on the Borderline album, there's a similar sense of something missing on those performances. They really want for those brutal drums; that groove really does a lot.

I think this song really sounds best with a more traditional two guitar, bass and drums -- and for that reason I definitely prefer the many versions that Neil has done, my favorite being one recorded in Melbourne on 12.12.1998 -- it just sounds awesome there (and actually turns into a reggae song at the end), but the Encore! version is pretty good too.

 

I love this song, and I don't know why. 5/5

 

Both brothers here, Live at the 7 Worlds Collide thing in 2001; this performance is awesome :

 

I didn't realize there was a video full of meaty thighs:

 

Sorry to be the black sheep today, but "Suffer Never" is one of my least favourite Finn songs. What I hear is this: sluggish first verse, with clumsy, heavyhanded playing by both brothers and then a very good bridge ("She'll come slowly rising") which makes me think a soaring chorus will follow to get the song really going. But no, it goes back to another sluggish verse, losing any momentum that the bridge had built up. The very good bridge comes back again, but where's the chorus? And then I realise that the bridge was actually the chorus. To my ears, this song has neither momentum nor a good melody. In addition to that, the lyrics doesn't move me at all and I think Neil has proved over and over that he is capable of much better vocal performances than this.
If this song was just a humble bonus track on a single I think I would be more generous with my grading, but this was chosen as the first single. I fully understand that they wanted a single that wouldn't sound like Woodface 2 and I applaud the intent of not wanting to play it safe, but unfortunately for me this song underwhelms me in almost every way it is possible (but I'm hoping to read a lot of positive comments about it today so that maybe I will understand better what makes it good).
1,5/5

 

Apologies for the late response re Last Day of June .
Truly one of Neil’s great ballads ,I wish Neil had of included it on Together Alone as it is worthy of a proper studio treatment as the version on the Finn album sounds like a basic studio run through which it is .
Still it shines because the song is soo good , my god how I wish Neil could write a piano ballad like this still .
4.5/5 for me

Suffer Never is an odd one , it was the 1st single and it was a bit of a shock when I 1st heard it as it did not sound like a single to me .
Still it was great to have new material as 93 felt along time ago by then .
Suffer Never 3.5/5

 

I love the verses on Suffer Never. I like how there is a line Neil sings in a higher register and then the next line is dropped down lower. Something about how his voice sounds doing that really appeals to me. I also love how the lightness of the verse melody and Neil’s almost angelic voice somehow pretty seamlessly transitions later in the song to the chugging, propulsive ending, which sets a completely different mood. Love to hear this played live.

4/5

 

I echo the comments that this was a rather underwhelming opening single and it was never likely to have huge chart success. It would have been more suited to being simply an album track.

I'm undecided as to whether the percussion on this album is wonderfully uniform or all rather clunky and overpowering.

3.5/5.

 

Suffer Never is a substantial change in tone after Last Day Of June, and I find the contrast a little jarring. Still, the sequencing wouldn't have allowed for another ballad: anything but a noisy little rocker with a groove would not have worked. Suffer Never fits the requirements and while musically it's a bit slight, lyrically a bit mysterious (but isn't almost every Neil and Tim lyric at this point a bit obscure?), and arrangement/production-wise a bit muddy, it's a good little song. Had this song come from just about anyone else it would be considered close to a masterpiece, but among songs from Neil and Tim it's only a very enjoyable curiosity.
4/5

 

Thanks for correcting that; of course I knew it was Neil on lead vocals but my fingers go on autopilot sometimes.

 

Well, I don't think I find it all that uniform, but I think I know what you mean: I think it is a bit overpowering on some songs like "Eyes of the World", "Niwhai" and "Where Is My Soul"; but it's quite subtle on "Mood Swinging Man" and a couple other ballads. Given that Tim played with a much lighter touch on the ALT songs, they clearly were in the mood for some big loud drums.

Regarding this song: there are a few live versions with Tim on drums (including the 7 Worlds Collide performance above); and I think the drums work better live; for some reason they seem sloppier and less dynamic and with fewer crescendoes on record than they do live, where I can really feel the groove of the bass drum better. That groove is somewhat essential to my full enjoyment of the song and I feel like it's underemphasized on the studio version , as are the feedback squalls, which come out better in the alternate mixes.

 

Well, you're right if you consider hitting #9 in the singles chart not to be a hit . Which kinda tells the lie to all that we think: it seems self-evident that a good song can become a great one and "cross over" if given the right production, and yet there are so many examples of songs that were given that "hit" treatment and failed, and songs that weren't and, oddly, were very successful.

And yes, I know nothing of Sloan except that very good cover.

 

Aw heck: Suffer Never is the masterpiece on this album. It's chock full of those Magical Musical Moments. Unfortunately, I won't have an opportunity to bore you all with one of my overblown and lengthy musings on just how great it is. Just pretend that I have . I would say, though, that it's one of those dance around the room, thrashing the air in the vague notion that I'm hitting some form of drum kit songs.

A full on 5/5. My favourite live version is the Pajama Club performance that glides into a cover of Are Friends Electric.

 

Suffer Never

The Finns do ambient alternative rock. It’s good for what it is but, to my ears, is seriously lacking in melody. I don’t understand why it was a single, other than perhaps it sounded like it fit in the market?

3.5/5

 

I was speaking from my American perspective. “Waterfalls” bombed here. It was Paul’s first single to completely miss the top 100 (it peaked at 106).

 

[QUOTE="Paul H, post: 23249870, member: 8359"
And yes, I know nothing of Sloan except that very good cover.[/QUOTE]

I don’t want to hijack this thread, but I could talk about Sloan all day!

All 4 members of the band write songs and sing. The cover of “Waterfalls” is sung by rhythm guitarist Jay Ferguson. The band formed in Halifax in the early 90’s, and have been based in Toronto since the middle part of that decade. They were one of the most popular Canadian bands of the 90’s. Their second album, Twice Removed, has twice been ranked “best Canadian album of all time”; first by readers of Chart Magazine. Most music writers put Sloan in the power pop category. I think that’s too narrow a view. To me, their sound is influenced by 60’s music, especially The Beatles and Stones. They’ve taken those influences and made them modern and their own. They are touring the States right now. Go see them if you can! They are a dynamic live act. Their shows are a lot of fun.

It’s nearly impossible for me to select one song for you to check out. I’ll give you a quick one; the song that often finishes their shows. The music starts at
about the 2:10 mark in this video. The first part of the video will give some insight to their individual personalities and humor. I hope you enjoy this, and will further investigate the wonderful world of Sloan.

 

Too hard for me to resist! One more from Sloan. From their album Twice Removed.

 

Love this song!!!

 

Suffer Never is another really good track, this album is much better than I remember! Really nice guitar tone on this one, too.
4/5

 

I'm not a great fan of Suffer Never, mainly because of the non-chorus as Stefan described. Weirdly, something about the song always reminds me of King Tide so that when the bridge/chorus is about to start I wish Neil would sing "and the hunger inside, won't go away...", which would make Suffer Never a much better song for me.

3/5

 

I don't know if you have seen the Brothers performing "Ballroom Blitz" on TV but I just caught it on Facebook. It's pretty funny. It doesn't start until about 1'30" but worth it.

 

"Suffer Never" is one of my three favorite tracks on Finn. On some days, I'd say that it's my actual favorite. I love the moody, grey skies feel of the song and that gloomy guitar line that runs through it. Never was too sure what the lyrics were about, which drops the song's rating a bit for me. They seem to be describing some sort of mystical, ghostly presence. Great song.

This song was released as a commercial single in the UK and Europe and a promo single elsewhere. The commercial single had the following b-sides, all from the 1989 Murchison Street demo sessions: "Strangeness & Charm", "In Love With It All", "Four Seasons in One Day", "Prodigal Son", "Catherine Wheel", and "Weather With You". We've already discussed each of these demos along with the finished versions of these songs. All except "S&C" and "Prodigal Son" have since been reissued as bonus tracks on the various CH Deluxe Edition reissues. The promo singles included some of these demos or, alternatively, a few of the other Finn album tracks as b-sides, except in the US.

In the US, no commercial single was issued (CD singles were pretty much dead by then in America), but the promo single featured remixes by Jim Scott. The "Main Mix" is really strong, I'd say. I think I prefer it over the album mix actually. I hear more and different guitar lines throughout and it has a punchier feeling to it. The promo also included an edit of this mix as well as a "Bass Up" and "Vocals Up" mix. I have not heard these last two so can't comment on them.

4.7/5