In general, they seem quite neglected right now. Barely any of their proper albums are on streaming sites, and CDs are mostly OOP. Since I started this thread, I'm now at the stage where the only major hole in my Enz LP collection is a copy of the AU/NZ Mental Notes. Can I justify a return trip to Wellington to pick one up?! I'm also pretty happy with all three versions of Frenzy.
I'd say lack of interest in the US; Split Enz isn't even the best known Finn project here. Speaking of which, has anyone heard the vinyl reissue of Woodface?
There are lots of smaller and/or less successful bands whose material stays canonized. And Neil and Tim have both been continuously active. Of course there's always going to be a lack of interest in a band that no longer exists and has no material available, but I don't believe lack of fanbase is the answer. A quick glimpse at iTunes shows that Chrysalis posted the original Mental Notes (interestingly, they released the Second Thoughts tracks as Mental Notes in all prior versions of the album in the US, no?) as well as Dizrhythmia. I seem to recall these are actually the 2006 remastered versions, though not labeled as such. Meanwhile, A&M has everything available they ever did -- True Colours, Waiata, Time and Tide, Conflicting Emotions, and of course the Greatest Hits History Never Repeats -- except for one: Frenzy, for which I assume the rights reverted back to the band. None of the A&M albums are sourced from the 2006 remasters.
I wonder how these have performed in the states? They really didn't get big over here AT ALL after one minor hit with "I Got You." I always found it interesting that they did so much better in Canada than here...
While "I Got You" was certainly their biggest hit in the States, there was some exposure for "One Step Ahead," "History Never Repeats," and "Six Months in a Leaky Boat," all of which got *minor* MTV play and/or hit various lower reaches of the charts. Meanwhile, Conflicting Emotions for a short time was in every LP bargain bin in America. That had to go some length to spreading their name around.
Oh, well if we're going by bargain bins, then Tim Finn should be a US household name on par with Elvis - pretty sure his self titled album was manufactured pre-cut/pre-punched on the case/sleeve!
You jest a bit... but the second one (Big Canoe) was definitely released three years late in the U.S. and direct to bargain bins.
Overshadowed by Crowded House? I honestly don't know the answer to this question, would love a reissue campaign, although I have the silver and gold box sets, so I'm pretty much set.
Which is sad, because it's such a great pop album. It really deserves to be heard by anyone interested in the genre.
I really don't think so... I think the success of Crowded House created a lot of the interest in Split Enz, after the fact. History Never Repeats came out in 1987 with a hype sticker, "featuring Neil Finn." I'm guessing most Crowded House fans who wanted to explore Split Enz used this as a gateway. Also, look at this promo from 1998: Neil Finn - Split Enz... Crowded House... Neil Finn Clearly Split Enz was a way of promoting Neil's career and vice-versa. I'm shocked there weren't a full array of A&M reissues of the Neil Enz albums on CD by 1990 or so. True Colours is the only one they released (ca. 1988?).
They issued Conflicting Emotions on CD, but it was never easy to find. And A&M in Japan did Time and Tide, but that one's even rarer. Anyone can be forgiven for not knowing that either of these exist as A&M CDs! So that leaves Frenzy and Waiata completely untouched by A&M for CD reissue.
I'm not disagreeing but Conflicting Emotions, Time and Tide and Waiata are all bargain bin LPs in the US, the best way to hear them, and perhaps a clue to A&M that a reissue campaign would not generate a lot of interest?
I don't doubt that A&M won't reissue them now. I was only pointing out that True Colors wasn't the only Split Enz title A&M ever reissued on CD.
I'm pretty sure Spellbound is the only album currently available in Australia. Warner's have let everything else go out of print.
I agree with this and will add that Message To My Girl on the album is arguably the closest masterpiece to Don't Dream It's Over by Crowded House.
Better than Don't dream it's over IMO, Message to my girl is a great song Interesting that Waiata is known by that title everywhere except Australia where it's Corroboree
I think they're a little spotty as an album act, especially post Phil Judd, and Spellbound's a really good option as a one stop shopping trip. Their best albums, I think, are: Mental Notes - debut album, from the Phil Judd era Time and Tide - best of the later new wave albums The Beginning of the Enz - not an album, but a collection of early singles from before Mental Notes. No crossover with Spellbound, at least in the same versions of songs. There's another album of the same name that's more like a greatest hits. I covered them on my blog (Split Enz ) if anyone wants more detailed opinions.
Perhaps so not to offend sensitive Australians by using a NZ term? Neither term means anything to most Americans but Waiata is a good record.
Spellbound is a great 2 CD overview of the band, although the remastering emphasizes the bass way too much for my taste. There's also a companion 2 CD set called Other Enz they collects various side projects from band members. For those craving more excellent pop from NZ, check out The Chills, especially their 1990 album Submarine Bells.
Band was a lot of fun back-in-the-day! Haircuts, clothes, art, lasered discs, & songs. The B-side that always took me on a trip ["Six Months In A Leaky Boat"/the A-side/p.i.] was: "Making Sense of It" was/is electrifying!!!
