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

I published a Finn-related post on my blog yesterday too - apologies for the self-promotion and please let me know any factual errors.:
https://albumreviews.blog/2019/08/20/semi-detached-by-split-enz-great-b-sides

 

I first heard "Can't Carry On" as a bonus track on the "World Where You Live" 12" single, which I bought in late May 1987, some eight months after I got the LP. By that time, I had been listening to the album more or less every day and I didn't get the CD until several years later. Partly because of that, "Can't Carry On" is still a bonus track to me and a good one at that, but I don't think it really fits in between "Hole In The River" and "I Walk Away". In my ears, it sounds a bit pedestrian between those two.

As a stand-alone song I particularly like the lyrics, about being stressed out by "the burden of inaction" and seeking refuge in alcohol and partying. This is not a common theme in Neil's songs and he sings very convincingly about it.

Ultimately, I think this is a good song, but in comparison with the other songs on "Crowded House" it falls a little short.
3/5.

 

Our votes for "Can't Carry On":

1-0
2-0
3-6
4-4
5-2
Average: 3.6333

 

Today's song is 'I Walk Away", written by Neil Finn and produced by Mitchell Froom.
Earlier we talked about a version of the song released by Split Enz, produced by Jim Barton & Split Enz here:
Stranger than Fiction, Larger Than Life: the Finn Brothers song-by-song discussion thread
We also discussed two Split Enz demos ("Love and Success"and "Your Inspiration" that were developed into this song:
Stranger than Fiction, Larger Than Life: the Finn Brothers song-by-song discussion thread
Stranger than Fiction, Larger Than Life: the Finn Brothers song-by-song discussion thread

The song was quite drastically rearranged for Crowded House by Mitchell Froom and Neil Finn.

Spotify: I Walk Away

A live version of the song appears on 2010's North American Travelogue set, recorded in Seattle, Washington in a two-song medley that included the Split Enz classic "History Never Repeats."

"I Walk Away" was released as a B-side in several countries to "Something So Strong."

 

The Crowded House version of “I Walk Away” has a more “organic,” rockist-friendly arrangement so we’re supposed to like it better than the dated, so-1984 Split Enz take... and yet somehow when I belatedly heard the latter, I thought to myself, this actually feels to me like it’s how the song is supposed to be.

 

This song, which was definitely inspired by the break up of Split Enz, but is ambiguous enough to apply to any situation, contrasts with the earlier version in a number of ways: while the optimistic promise of the original version is somewhat retained in this muscular power-pop arrangement, the arrangement of the song's lyrics as well as Neil's anxiety-ridden screaming towards the end and the moody, uncertain instrumental middle 8 play up the complexities embedded in the song: while there is the optimistic promise of freedom and new vistas, there is also anxiety and fear of the unknown; along with a certain sense of guilt for having left the relationship.

I think this song as presented here is another masterpeice; I just love the exhuberant, crunching guitars, the pounding drums and Neil's vocal. I feel the arrangement here really shapes the song into something special. At the end, almost as a conclusion, Neil, exhalting in anxiousness and guilt, screams: "I'm just a slave to ambition, tension, your permanent condition". The line was in the original song, but placed differently: here, placed as the resolution to the searching instrumental break, just as the music leaps up a gear into the coda, it is the emotional center of the song and one of my favorite musical moments...ever.

Great drumming on this one too.

5/5

 

I wonder whether the order in which one heard the two versions of I Walk Away matters. I first heard the CH version and, although I think Neil's vocals are too shouty, it tramples all over the Enz version, making the former seem like a demo. I love the way the thump of Paul's drum punctuate the opening lines: "You came - THUMP - out of the world to me" etc. My favourite part is the riff that occurs after the title line. It's played with especial vigour towards the end (the may even be a hint of a pause for effect which seems to work so well). But - odd though it sounds - this is one of those recordings that have such a brilliant outro that it makes me want to go back to the beginning. 5/5

 

You’re right about the order, Paul. I heard the CH version two years after the Split Enz original had been a radio and TV staple in NZ. The new arrangement seemed unnecessary to my ears and I’ll always prefer the Enz recording.

 

I've just visited your blog and read what you wrote about "Semi-Detached" and the Split Enz albums. Very well written, I highly recommend this blog. Keep up the great job!

 

Beyond the obvious - that he thought the original was sub-par and could be improved - I wonder what drew Neil to re-record that song. If I was going to pick any Enz song to re-do, it probably would have been Message to My Girl, which was just crying out for a more stripped back, ballad arrangement. But again, maybe that's because I first heard it as a ballad played live by Neil.

 

I personally don't see it as Neil thinking it wasn't up to par; personally, I think it was an artistic decision.

The earlier one is all upbeat optimism whereas this one has a lot more dark emotion in it.

I think that his attitude towards the song and the situation had changed somewhat in the year or so that he had floundered trying to get a record contract and trying to get Crowded House recorded. Being on his own, even in a band, was a lot scarier than being in an established, if rather fading, cult band. At least he had steady work with Split Enz and could command sizable crowds in AU and NZ. The Mullanes struggled, by contrast. He was still happy to have "walked away" for the most part; but now he couldn't brush off the uncertainty of the situation any more.

This is the narrative I tell myself to explain and justify the new arrangement.

For me both versions are great, just different ways of looking at the same situation/emotion.

It's also possible that the original was not quite what he intended, being under a big influence from Eddie Rayner, especially. And maybe he felt that the song was good enough to deserve a wider audience.

 

It was a good song that Americans didn’t know.

 

"I Walk Away" is a good song, but coming after the amazing three-pack of "Something So Strong", "Hole In The River", and "Can't Carry On", it seems considerably weaker by comparison. Hearing it on its own, I appreciate it more than in the context of the album. I do generally prefer the Crowded House version of the song to the Split Enz original - it seems more emotionally powerful, with a better lead vocal and a more muscular arrangement. This is another good lyric that continues the more direct approach of "Can't Carry On" and which covers similar emotional territory. These two songs are largely inseparable in my mind, although I do much prefer CCO.

As we've noted, this song was omitted from the original AUS release of the album, probably because the song had been a single from See Ya 'Round just two years before. It was included on most international versions in place of "Can't Carry On" (sheer insanity, I tell you!), but was available on the b-side of the "Something So Strong" single for the good people Down Under. Later, it was added to the AUS CD reissue. One minor oddity is that the version on the deluxe edition reissue of Crowded House runs about 25 seconds longer than the previously available version - the song degenerates into a cacophonous jam before fading. I'm not sure if this was done intentionally or by mistake, but I prefer the shorter edit that I've known all of these years myself (even if I prefer the mastering on the DE to that of my old CD).

4.3/5

 

I won't change my vote from before, despite the wonders of free airplane WiFi. I'm interested to see the number of people who like both versions. I do think that the intro to the Split Enz version is slightly incongruous, but I still like it. There are a number of SE songs that are perhaps a bit clumsy in their arrangements, but which work for me. E.g. 'Hello Sandy Allen'.

 

Well, yeah, but so were most of the songs in the Enz catalogue...

 

Your comments read as if you're referring to I Walk Away here, but I'm assuming you're referring to Can't Carry On which was faded out early on AUS/NZ pressings apparently. I've only ever known the longer version so, to me, the shorter version just fades away. One thing I like about much of CH's work is that several of their songs have full endings.

 

No, "I Walk Away" is different on the deluxe edition than on the previous CDs and LPs (and singles) where it had appeared. It's the same track and mix but it just runs longer before fading out.

 

I can confirm what Rob says. My original cassette and CD versions both had a shorter song that faded out earlier, not too long after "giving you a sore head -- I Walk Away!", then the desending guitar figure that you mentioned @PaulH played a few time but then faded out. The deluxe one goes on quite a bit before it too fades.

I have no particular preference to either, actually.

 

I gave the earlier version 3.5/5 and stated at the time that I preferred that one.

This one loses points due to being a cover and, in my opinion, the drumming is really weak. It is incredibly plodding, but I guess this was sometimes the style in the 80s. This also features Neil exhibiting the kind of vocal that I don't really care for.

2.5/5.

 

I Walk Away is 4/5 for me. I like the slight tension in the opening and the just the short burst of jingle jangle. This is one I always sing along with and I lose track of how loud my sing along is.

 

On a side note, can we talk about album artwork, too? I've always liked the cover art and never understood most of it. But playing these tunes on my tablet I get to stare at them at length and get fascinated all over again.

 

I don’t see why not. Nick Seymour wrote in the deluxe edition liner notes that he was influenced by Frida Kahlo and political expressionist Sue Coe. Paul is “astral traveling” in pajamas because he was a “bed guy.”

 

5/5 for me. Thanks to the difference in tone and energy, I see this and the other version as almost completely different songs that share some words, but they both work.

 

A touch strident for my tastes, so a 3.

 

I mean that the Split Enz version hadn’t even been released in the United States. Though I’m sure die hard Enz fans got their hands on it.