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

Drop Out has bits that are very nice. In the quieter sections I'm never sure if his vocal is a guide vocal that he couldn't improve on, or it the vulnerability was what he was aiming for all along. I don't much care for the louder sections (which brought the overall score down a bit), but the fade is really very pretty.

3.75/5

 

"Drop Out" is pretty good. I like the ideas in, although not entirely the execution of, the lyrics and the music has an appealing loud-soft-loud-soft construction to it. I don't think that any of the specific parts are great, but it all adds up to a quality listen for me. Steel City is definitely turning out to be a lot more enjoyable than I might have anticipated.

3.4/5

 

This could have been a really good song, establishing a lazy tropical groove. But the disparate chorus comes crashing in, ruining the mood. As Lance said above, these mashups sometimes work. For me, this one doesn't. 3.3/5

 

I first heard Drop Out when Tim played 2 nights in Sydney on the 5th and 6th of September 1997 .
I remember it vividly as the 6th was the day of Princess Diana’s funeral so the mood was a bit weird to say the least .

Tim was living in Sydney by this time so it was the start of him playing quite a few surprise gigs . He had no band with him so for these dates it was Tim on accoustic and with Greg Hitchcock on electric .

The set list was amazing as we got to hear quite a few new songs such as
Death of a popular song
Drop Out
Flying Dream
Underwater Mountain
Road Trip

so I have some fond memories of Drop our and was thrilled it was on the Steel City CD
To me the verses and the chorus works really well .
Drop Out 4.5/5 for me .

 

I quite like "Drop Out" and the blend of the softer verses and the rockier chorus. There's also a lot going on in the arrangement beneath Tim's vocals, I discover new details every time I hear this song.
However, I think the chorus is the weakest part of the song. It seems a little forced rather than being a natural flow of the song.
3,5/5

 

Solid Tim song but nothing that's captivating me or moving my heart... l agree with the folks saying the chorus is a weak point.

3/5... perhaps a kind 3/5.

 

Our votes for "Drop Out"

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2-0
3-3
4-2
5-3
Average: 3.86

 

Today's song is "Walking", written and produced by Tim Finn. Engineered/mixed by Peter Contini and recorded at Sun Studios in Brisbane.

• Joe Acaria: – drums
• Dario Bortolin: – bass guitar
• Greg Hitchcock: – guitar, bass guitar
• Laurence Maddy: – Hammond organ, trombone, guitar, sound effects

 

Horrible. 1.4/5

 

Eh?

 

Ooooh I’ve missed a lot!

What album are we on?

Have we done TWT yet?

 

Try Whistling This should start around the 20th or 21st. Then it will be 20 straight days of Neil songs.

 

I’ll have to go back and read the 96 CH breakup period.

 

Nothing much, but I've dug up a tiny bit of information about Steel City here.

 

"Walking" is a very generic instrumental. Not sure these tracks are even worth rating, it's kinda like trying to rate TV background music.
I'm hoping there are a few more vocal tracks?

 

Oh, I like most of the instrumentals. Though NOT this one.

There are three more vocal tracks.

 

"Walking" is an odd one. It just sounds completely thrown together from a bunch of discarded bits. I like the opening part but not much after that. The latter part just seems like a jam session without much in the way of compositional direction. Really just filler.

2.1/5

 

"Walking" is unremarkable, it sounds like a generic instrumental for a musical with a rockier style. If it had featured some well-written lyrics sung by Tim I think it would have been more memorable.
2/5 (the new Forenzics song with the same title, now that is a stunningly great piece of music!)

 

"Walking" sounds like three different rock songs, none of which appeal to me. 1.5/5

 

There's nothing *wrong* with any of this... it's just background music... but theres nothing right about it either... at no point do I listen to this and think to myself "Oh, I bet something really badass is going on during this song."

2/5

 

Walking...well I guess I'll give this 2/5 since Tim wrote it.....guess you had to be there!

 

Our votes for "Walking":

1-1
2-5
3-0
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Average: 1.8333

 

Today's song is "Smoko Duet", another instrumental written and produced by Tim Finn. Engineered and mixed by Peter Contini and recorded in Sun Studios in Brisbane.

• Joe Acaria: – drums
• Dario Bortolin: – bass guitar
• Greg Hitchcock: – guitar
• Laurence Maddy: – Hammond organ, trombone, guitar, sound effects

Electric piano and percussion uncredited.

 

Now this is more like it. Unlike the last instrumental this has enough going on as composition to keep my interest. The first part, a sort of rock ballad instrumental, features a good riff the guitar work is lovely; there's a contemplative feel to it; and then it explodes into a funk rock out that, to me, just feels really good to me, before going briefly back to the quieter part at the beginning.

A good listen and good background music -- which is not a bad thing in my book.

3.0/5

 

I've missed the last few days, so...

Steel City - A fairly undistinguished rocker and Tim does his best Bruce Springsteen impersonation. 2.5/5
Overture - An uninteresting yet competent instrumental. Not something that merits a second listen. 2/5
Truss Dance - Dull and overlong. 1.5/5
Spirit Level - A relief to hear some vocals, but far too repetitive. 2/5
Old Car - This works when it simply attempts to rock out, it doesn't work the rest of the time. 2.5/5
Drop Out - The best so far. Tim is vocally within his comfort zone and a decent song. The heavier sections are less successful. 3/5
Walking - A dull and leaden rocker with intrusive drums. 1.5/5
Smoke Duet - Again, slowing things down proves a smart move. The best instrumental so far. 3/5