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

One of my favourite Crowded House songs. Excellent song, fantastic performance and brilliant mix. The arrangement with multiple guitars and keyboards help bring out the emotions in the lyrics and vocal performance of Neil (and to a lesser agree Paul and Nick - don't hear Tim here). The inventive arrangement may be the reason the song wasn't played all too often by Crowded House; you actually need five or six musicians on stage to do the song justice. One wonders why on earth Mark Hart and Mitchell Froom can't be on stage at the same time next year....! I don't have a source or direct quote, but if I'm not mistaken Neil has said he has reservations about performing "NBTS"or talk about it's lyrics. I look forward to reading someone's analysis of the lyrics ;-)

4.5 / 5

 

No... Sage, Gateshead and yet when I check setlist.com it makes no mention of it. However, it makes no mention of Anytime either and I know he played that since I played acoustic guitar with him.

 

On setlist.fm is what was on the printed paper set list and not what was actually played it says... Could you make an attempt at correcting the set list? (private message?)

 

This is another song on the album where I like the demo more than the finished recording, probably because of my pathological dislike of late eighties production.

To me the demo captures a beautiful song that could have been so much more. 3.5/5

 

I couldn't, it was a good few years ago and to be honest pretty much all I remember it managing to get to play guitar with him.... Oh, and White lies and alibis and Into the Sunset which were both incredible

 

These days, I mainly listen to "Temple of Low Men" either on CD or via Spotify, but when I bought the album back in July 1988, it was on LP. One great thing about LPs is that there were side A and side B (or "High Side" and "Low Side" as it said on the record for this album) so you'd get a few moments to let the songs on side A sink in while you flipped to side B. I thought then, and think now, that "Never Be The Same" is a fabulous start to side B. The intro is so full of life and energy and in particular Paul's drumming is incredible. With that start to the song, you'd expect it to be a real happy uptempo track but instead the mood changes and it's actually a lot of sadness and melancholy both in the music and the lyrics. Not for the first (or last) time during the album, it is very clear how much of a band record this is, they really sound very united, Nick, Paul and Mitchell Froom play with such feeling. Neil's singing is again stunningly good, he really sounds committed.

To me, the lyrics can be interpreted in many ways. One interpretation is that this song has the same narrator as "Into Temptation" and the spouse is now aware what happened there, either because the narrator has been found out or because the narrator has confessed himself as "the lie ain't worth the living". If one continues with this interpretation I get the feeling that the narrator and the spouse are now going through a real relationship crisis and struggling to move on from this.

Another more general interpretation is that any relationship need all sorts of compromises, as two persons can have different dreams and ambitions and respond differently to changes. Life is full of pressures, whether they be financial, professional or more personal. You become aware that any decisions, right or wrong, will affect other persons than yourself. It can be difficult to deal with these pressures which is what I think the line "We might still survive / and rise up through the maze" refer to. There is a vulnerability here - "We might still survive", not "We will still survive". The narrator does not know how this will end up and that uncertainty makes the song really poignant.

I also really like the lines "I could still have an easy life / But the lie ain't worth the living". If one chooses the first interpretation above, that it's the narrator from "Into Temptation", this could mean that he could avoid confessing and his spouse will never know - but he will know that he then lets the lie keep on living. But I think, in the context of what was expressed in "Mansion in the Slums", this could also mean that he could have an easy life if didn't strive for more success, if he was content with what has been achieved and felt that was enough - but as a self-confessed "slave to ambition" he probably knows that would be lying to himself. Life will never be the same after this and I think he wants his spouse to adapt to changes and move along with him to newer heights.

Another great track, shame it wasn't played live that much.

4,7/5.

 

From the June 1988 fan club newsletter, here are the band members' comments on "Never Be The Same":

Nick - "When I first heard it, I thought it was a clever melodic combination of melody and groove from the bass and drums. It started out as a jam."

Paul - "Another song that we've had around for a long time. We played it onstage and off for the past two years. When we first started rehearsing this Nick and I had this groove thing going which suited this song. We played it when we were a three piece and it kept being dropped and then added to the set and eventually we decided to include it with the songs for this album."

Neil - "We played onstage last year and I don't know what it's about. Very similar to Tombstone."

 

Okay Side Two: the stronger side in my opinion. Never Be The Same. Great song, always love Neil’s hookier work and this delivers. 4/5

 

The intro to this one sounds very similar, probably coincidentally, to James's later song Laid (in one of its versions).

I think Neil's vocal melody is the highlight of the rest of the song, but some of the limitations of the musicians are also apparent. Paul's drumming seems noticeably simplistic to me.

3.5/5.

 

Our votes for "Never Be the Same"

1-0
2-0
3-1
4-9
5-7
Average: 4.1941

 

Today's song is "Love This Life", written by Neil Finn.

Spotify: Love This Life

Although this seems to have been played at many concerts (I have a few versions in my library, including one Neil Finn solo version), I don't think a commercially released version came out until the Temple of Low Men Deluxe record in 2016. (Probably some of the 2010 shows that were released, since they released all of them.)

That album also included a home demo of the song. Both will be linked below.

 

Home demo:


Spotify: Love This Life - Home Demo

 

Live:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/1ggphUxaPnps1Giu1X6v5p?si=-LeXhO7kSkyXqk8LFY3RUA

This version was recorded at the Pangages Threatre, Hollywood in April 6th, 1989 and was originally released on the Fan Club album Marcia Marcia Marcia.

 

Love This Life is, for me, a good album track but again not a standout.

The lyrics appear quite simple, unless I'm missing some hidden layer of meaning. The narrator is addressing someone else, presumably someone they have shared some misery or a pessimistic outlook, telling them how the narrator is going to switch over to a more optimistic outlook and 'love this life'.

I don't know if this song is addressed to a real person. Songs such as Into Temptation suggest that this could be a fictional subject of the song, while Black and White Boy suggest it could be a real person.

Like many of the tracks on ToLM, melodically it seems more subtle than the typical debut album tracks. It does have a singable hook, but that's not as much of an ear worm as earlier (and later) CH songs.

Overall, quality, and this is one of those songs that made me think some time ago that I'd need to change over to using fractional votes as otherwise there would be too many '4's in my votes. I like this, but not quite as much as NBTS and WYC. (I hope that my votes are consistent with that opinion - It's common for me to not get things quite consistent.)

3.9/5

 

Here's what I said a few days ago about Love This Life:

I adore this song. It is musical perfection. The verses have a tension in the vocal delivery, the bass line but, most especially, in Hessie's drum pattern. Then, suddenly, we get to the bridge and the tension eases ever so slightly. It's like a window being opened slightly to let some air in: it reduces the sense of oppression. And then the chorus. Oh, the chorus. Perhaps the best example of one of Neil's uplifting choruses. That change at the phrase "turn round" gives me goosebumps to this day.

And then Hessie's playing changes again (from rim shots to the middle of the drum) and his loping style just relaxes the tension, and we soar... "Maybe the day will come when you never have to feel no pain". Even as I type this line, I can hear the melody in my head and it brings tears to my eyes. I've been listening to this song for 27 years. How can it still do this to me???

I rate Love This Life among my top five favourite CH songs. Three and half minutes of blissful perfection, CH never played anything as well as this. And where's Hessie when you want to hug him for such genius???

5/5

 

In terms of the music and the vocal melodies I can really enjoy this one. It sticks in the mind and it would have been a reasonable contender to be released as a single.

Lyrically it doesn't feel very original though and is sometimes a little clumsy.

3.5/5.

 

Love this Life is full of subtle earworm pieces and contains one of those ever popular Neilisms, tongue in the mail. I love The simple jingle with just a little bit oh jangle that has hang time after you move on to the next track. Great single material. 5/5

 

Love This Life, and love this song. I love it enough to give it a 4.5/5. It's one of my favorites off TOLM, but it doesn't quite rise to the level of Into Temptation. I see it as a message to a friend or relative having mental health issues.

The instrumental break reminds me of the instrumental bit in Hole In The River.

 

Love This Life. Another great one, takes us through a lot of moods for a pop song. Neil can pull out some interesting chords when he wants to. 4/5

 

Tongue in the mail! Some great lyrics on “Love This Life”. Another excellent “moody” song by Neil.

4/5.

 

"Never Be the Same" and "Love This Life": I've always seen these songs as somewhat similar, and they always felt like overlooked gems to me, given how rarely they've been performed. Both of them have an almost Baroque pop feel, with shimmering surfaces constructed from what sometimes feels like a nearly endless well of gorgeous (and, especially in the case of "Love This Life," remarkably tangible) sonic detail. Even the lyrics seem to work that way, being more memorable for individual images and lines like "Don't stand around like friends at a funeral" and "I get your tongue in the mail" than for any specific narratives or character studies. These songs offer up a level of craftsmanship--both at the level of songwriting and that of production, engineering, and mixing--that is truly rare, and nearly breathtaking at times.

Paul H's analysis of "Love This Life" is fantastic, and I could not agree more with each and every word!

5/5 for both tracks for me, though I wish I could give an even higher score to "Love This Life."

 

Busy today. 4.8/5.

 

“Never Be The Same”, a spontaneous request, 2010.

 

“Love This Life”, Sydney, 1988.

 

Another example of a song that builds musical tension in the verses then releases it in an effortlessly beautiful chorus--a Neil Finn specialty. Not quite at the top rank for me, but I really enjoy the song (thought I could do without "never have to feel no pain").
4/5