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

I like this song! The funky backbeat, the pretty chorus melody, and: Claudia Fontaine! 4/5

Thank you, djmover, for recommending North American Travelogue. Didn't know it existed! I have the Kufala discs Intriguer Live Start to Finish and August 23 2010 San Francisco (which I attended), and I just ordered NAT.

 

@Djmover and @Michael Rofkar just inspired me to finally pick up North American Travelogue, too. And at a decent price.

(I had ordered Start To Finish a couple of weeks ago. Maybe this thread will turn out to be more expensive than I thought it would.)

 

Yes, my wife makes her own clothes as a hobby and she will only use wool from New Zealand, American cotton and Chinese silk. It's also becasue New Zealand wool is also gathered more humanely, apparently, nowadays.

 

Haha, ....I think I've spent $700 on Finn stuff this year. Maybe more.

 

Our votes for "Always Never Now"

1-0
2-2
3-2
4-2
5-3
Average: 3.6778

 

Today's song is "Walk You Home", written by Tim Finn, produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, engineered by Danton Supple.

Walk You Home

This song also features on the Live at the Borderline promo album released at the same time as Before and After; and that version was also released on the Hit the Ground Running double EP in the UK.

Bass – Steve Lewinson
Drums – Pete Lewinson
Electric Guitar – Michael Denelzen
Keyboards – Steve Nieve
Percussion – Thomas Dyani
Voice [Spoken] – Bette Bright

 

Thanks for the warm welcome!

 

"Walk You Home" is an outstanding song, in my opinion. It straddles the line between real expressive emotion and artfully contrived craft and I think is one of the greatest songs Tim has written.

Here Tim's typically romantic role is set on its side: setting himself in the part of the Strong Protector offering to walk the object of his desires home, to keep her safe in "a strange and silent quarter" there's an underlying uneasy edge to the music, a tension that explodes in the middle 8, where Tim sings

When the days drag on too long
When your strong resolve is broken
Resistance merely token
I'll be there beside you
When the night comes crashing down
Stars will fall and sky will thunder
You'll hesitate and blunder
I'll be there to walk you home

I feel that here Tim Finn is making a promise to be there for the woman, but at the same time he is almost wishing her ill, so that he can put himself into the role of protector and "save her" and thus obtain her love. He wants to walk her safely away from the "lava river" but he was the one who invited her out there in the first place. Best of all, the protagonist seems totally unaware of this sinister dark side to his romantic projection...But the woman feels differently. She doesn't want his protection. She doesn't want his company. The would-be romantic hero is rejected and possibly for good reason.

This is a startling song in my opinion, it only seems less so because it's such as subtle story. But when I think of the earnest romantic songs of Big Canoe, the "Hyacinth"s and "Carve You In Marble"s and compare them to this one, I feel that Tim the man has learned something deep about human relationships in the 6 years between; and Tim the songwriter/lyricist has grown expressive enough to express it. This is the comic incel of "I See Red" and "Nobody Takes Me Seriously" grown into a mature man who is not nearly as nice as he thinks he is.

On the live version Tim accompanies himself on piano and it's nice enough, but ideally teh song would be somewhere between that and this one. There's a demo version that floats around and it's excellent; much simpler than the album version, and you can really feel the swishing, Cuban-influenced back beat on that and imagine would a version would sound like with simpler production. Here, I feel that Langer/Winstanleys sparkling production does a little too much -- as on many of their songs on the album, perhaps. I like the sound of the track, especially the percussion and guitar, but I wish it was a little less densely packed. But once again, I don't think it ruins the song or anything;the song is just too excellent for that. I just wish there were a different mix that took a few of the elements out.

I'm still giving it a 5/5

 

If I can comment on Always Never Now, I’ll note that it feels like such a burst of relief and joy. Probably my favorite Langer/Winstanley track on the album. It moves seamlessly from the noiresque spoken verses to the exhilarating, Gospel-influenced pre-chorus to that sunny chorus. And there’s a nice Hammond organ part that warms things up and brings up memories of Tim’s previous work with Mitchell Froom. 4/5

Walk You Home- Reggae meets spy theme... On the surface it sounds like a pretty standard song of devotion but there are some slightly unsettling twists like the random mention of a lava and the tone that rotates from caring to overly-persistent. All of this comes together with the tense music (Den Elzen’s fiery guitar licks and the distorted vocals in the coda) to create something that feels uncanny. 3.5/5

 

I like this tune - it's always felt to me like an overture towards someone who maybe isn't going to be receptive, but he's gotta try anyway - either someone who's not interested or an olive branch after things have already come to an end. I will say I always thought of the lava river as a source of comfort - since it's "rising up from the cold earth" I figured he was saying he'd guide them someplace warm in the cold. Either way, it's sweet but at the same time not terribly hopeful.

4/5

 

Hey just thought I'd mention some tracks I found on the internet a while ago, the Before & After Demos (also called the Still Life Demos) seems like quite a few of these are songs Tim never officially recorded. I've never really listened to them much, they sound like they are sourced from a cassette. Here's the track list:
Funny Way
Don't Break Down
He's In Love
Secret Heart
Things I Never Had
Try Something
Walk You Home
Hardly Here at All
Persuasion
Hit The Ground Running
One Side Only
No More Tears
Not Made of Stone
You've Changed

 

Some of those were released and will be discussed. I’ll probably refrain from holding the rest of them up for discussion. They are HIGHLY interesting though.

 

Just to put down the (edited) timetable for the discussion, especially for you fans of Crowded House who may not be familiar with or fond of Tim's work:

7th: I Found It
8th: Before and After general discussion
9th: No More Tears
10th: You've Changed
11th: Secret Heart
12th: Making a Mockery [demo]
13th: Remember and Forget [demo]
14th: Persuasion (acoustic) Tim Finn with Richard Thompson
15th: Runs in the Family Tim Finn with the Record Company
16th: Lindalou
17th: the Lullabye of Lonely Lions
18th: (Ignatius Binz &) Valentina Lookwell
19th: Blue Hills Darryl Braithwaite
20th: Stand Back Wendy Matthews
21st: Happy Wendy Matthews
22nd: Happy Chrismas (War Is Over)
23rd: Sweet Secret Peace Neil Finn

24th-26th: break

27th. Live at the Borderline/Tim Finn live B Sides
28th. Kare Kare --Crowded House
etc

If I've forgotten anything or am ignorant about anything from Tim in 1993 or 1994, I'll do it before "Kare Kare", unless I find out after we've started Together Alone; in which case I'll do it in the next inter-album period; but I think this list is pretty complete now.
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"Walk You Home" has been a real grower for me over the years of listening to this album. I used to think it was a bit dull and melancholy but gradually I began to appreciate the subtleties Lance describes so eloquently above. For me the middle 8 is the best Tim has ever written, especially after the first 4 lines end and it continues into "when the night comes crashing down".

And amazingly the Langer/Winstanley production is bearable this time and doesn't ruin the song.

4/5

 

Might I suggest taking a longer festive break, Lance? I don't know about others, but I'm likely to struggle to find time to access my pc and join in discussions. Missing the discussion on Together Alone would be the cruellest blow (although I could just offer my scores now by way of spoiler. It won't take long ).

 

Oh man I understand; but at this point I need this thread to get me out of bed. I feel like I’m going to have withdrawals with a three day break. Maybe I could do some of these unreleased demos dthomas mentioned just to keep my momentum going, even though only a few people will join in. I’ll think and post on this tomorrow (European time) perhaps with a revised schedule.

 

Maybe start a new song every other day just to offer a second chance?

 

Re Walk You Home. I need to give this another listen given the love it seems to generate. I've never felt it, personally. I'll offer my verdict as it stands: this is typical penultimate track filler. It really doesn't offer me anything much at all. 2/5. Perhaps further listens will change that. Perhaps this is just a reflection of my lesser affection for Tim's stuff.

 

I love your thoughts on “Walk You Home” Lance. I always look forward to and enjoy your very thoughtful posts about every song!

This is another Tim classic. He must have been particularly well inspired at this point in his life to have written or co-written all those wonderful songs from 1988-1993. Tim’s patch was indeed quite purple back then.

5/5.

 

"Walk You Home" is an interesting one. For a long time, I didn't rate it very highly, thinking of it as album filler. Its positioning at track 11 on a 12 track album probably didn't help. I now appreciate it more than I ever have in the past. Its melodic charms are subtle, but quite evident in the studio version. I still find the faux-Cuban rhythm distracting and somewhat artificial coming from a Kiwi artist, but the production here is far less intrusive than on the other Langstanley tracks on the album. The lyrics are again quite strong. The solo piano live version that was released as a b-side on the "Hit The Ground Running" single is far less appealing to me. I get bored about halfway through.

3.6/5

 

"Walk You Home" is a track I felt was an okay album filler, but not more than that. It has grown though and now I like it much better. I do prefer the acoustic live version where the song itself really shimmers, to me the album version is let down a bit by its production which feels rather "safe" in order to not upset any potential radio listeners. Again I wish Mark Hart had produced it instead.

Very interesting to read all thoughts about the lyrics. I have never thought of the more sinister side of it but it certainly gives the song an extra edge. I've always interpreted to be a song where the narrator is really addressing himself, trying to convince himself that the things that cause fear, stress and other negative feelings aren't really as bad as they might seem in the moment and if he can listen to his more rational self he will be safe. So in a way it is fitting that the production of the song makes it sound so safe and soothing...

The song at its core is very good so I'll give it 4/5.

 

"Walk You Home" is another fine song on what is up to this point Tim's finest solo album. 4.5/5

 

OK, @Paul H . I've slept on it. And here's the deal. I don't want to stop for more than three days. Not even Jesus did that.

Momentum is actually important to me on a project like this. Like most of us I have a lot on the go: I won't bore you with the details of my fantastically busy life with teaching, running a school, having a family, attending to my wife, etc. But I do look forward to writing these entries first thing in the morning and seeing replies splayed out over the day.

So writing these entries is something I generally do in the very early morning when I get up: I look forward to them, as I wake up and they start my day and don't want to stop. Due to the way I personally function, I have to get up at 4.30 or 5.00 a.m. for work and having these actually helps me to rise in that ungodly hour. That's what I meant when I said "these get me up in the morning." So that it's not misunderstood, I didn't mean to suggest that I have some sad life or I'm depressed or anything.Quite the opposite. I'm a lucky man in all areas excepting health, I suppose.

I simply meant that this thread is a healthy motivator to get me going, as I write it and drink my morning espresso. It's much better than raging against the cruel fate that got me out of bed.

However, in deference to others who have not made it a "first-thing-in-the-morning"committment like I have I suggest the following:

• I'll hold off on "Kare Kare" and Together Alone until January 3rd.. I will fill the six days with these unreleased Still Life demos.
  
  Note: this will be an exception. I generally only want to do songs that have been released somehow: either as physical product or as a stream at some point in the past with the artists' blessings. That includes MySpace songs, film songs or stuff on the Kitchen Sink or even stuff from the fangradio broadcast that Neil has made available, for however limited a time (not the ones that were stolen and put on YouTube recently, but the ones that are or have actually been on Neil's site. And so I also plan on including the songs from Parables, Lullabys and Secrets for example, which Neil put on nilfun.com back in the day which counts as a "release" to me. Obviously these obscurities will not be linked to publicly, so participation on them will be limited to those who have heard them.
  
  (By contrast I have about half a dozen songs maybe ten songs from White Cloud Black Shadow and other Tim projects from the '10s that sound like they were recorded on a phone at an intimate live performance. I will not be discussing.. Although I actually think that they are good songs (though I've only had time to listen to them maybe twice) and I think that Tim is still at the top of his game in the last decade, for whatever reasons, he has decided not to record or at least release these songs and so I am going to respect his wishes, as he owns the music. If he's put them out in a Myspace/Reverbnation stream or on a fanclub release, I think they are fair game to talk about though.
  
  
• When "Kare Kare" starts, I'll go one song every two days for the duration of Together Alone. On the off-day I'll post the demo or some live version of the song in discussion, just to keep my momentum going. We don't have to rate those songs, it will just be to help keep the thread going.

So after Christmas we'll do...:

27th: Live at the Borderline/Before and After live B-sides
28th: Don't Break Down [demo]
29th: He's In Love [demo]
30th: Things I Never Had
31st: Try Something
1st: Hardly Here At All
2nd: One Side Only
January 3rd: Kare Kare
January 5th: In My Command....etc....

By the way the 20th of January will be the 365th day of this thread...and it also, weirdly, happens to be my birthday. (now you see the thread was a present to myself: my motivations revealed.) I want a huge stereo system with speakers as big as me, so I can better analyze, in excruciating detail, the degradation of sound quality in modern remastered albums.

 

Our votes for "Walk You Home"

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2-1
3-0
4-5
5-3
Average: 3.9556

 

Today's song is "I Found It", written by Tim Finn and produced by Tim Finn and Ricky Fataar, engineered by Paul Kosky and mixed by Divine Intervention.

Spotify: I Found It


Bass, Electric Guitar – Michael Denelzen
Drums – Ricky Fataar
Keyboards – Tim Finn