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

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Lance LaSalle, Jan 21, 2019.

  1. HitAndRun

    HitAndRun Forum Resident

    My ears say it's a processed vocal. My ears have been wrong often enough in the past.
     
  2. Lance LaSalle

    Lance LaSalle Prince of Swollen Sinus Thread Starter

    No I idea what it was, I thought it was vocals, like maybe the vocals from the Pakistani marketplace but played tape that keeps speeding up and slowing down to give it a really unpredictable rhythm, but I really don't know.
     
  3. therunner

    therunner Forum Resident

    Location:
    England
    I'm repeating myself a bit with this album, but again I like the verse of "Driving Me Mad" very much but I find the chorus an anticlimax (like "Secret God", "Turn And Run").

    And I can't believe this is only track 11 - it feels like the album has dragged on and on and on with very few highlights to get excited about.

    4/5 in a generous mood
     
  4. robcar

    robcar Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver, CO
    "Driving Me Mad" is, next to "Last To Know", my favorite track on One Nil. It has that classic Neil Finn somber melancholy feel that is a hallmark of most of my favorite music. Who else comes up with melodies as good as this one so regularly? I knew that the song was about songwriting, but I never think about that when I hear it. I find that I can apply it to any sort of anguished mental state. I love the jangling guitars and the harmonium (or accordion?) and we also get some vaguely Middle-Eastern sounding wordless vocals. It's all magical. What a melody! This is one where I slightly prefer the original mix to the Clearmountain remix that was done for One All. The song also does not work at all as the second cut; placing it at the 11th spot on a 12-track album is perfect.

    There's a nice acoustic version (with someone else, possibly Liam, playing electric?) that was issued as a b-side on the UK "Wherever You Are" single. I think it was recorded during an early Neil webcast from his home studio. The song works very well without any drums or other instruments, which tells you what a strong song it is. A true acoustic solo version (with harmony vocals by Lisa Germano) was recorded for KCRW radio in Santa Monica, CA and was issued on the US promo EP The One All Interview. A full band version was recorded for WXPN radio and released on Live At The World Cafe Vol. 15: Handcrafted. The excellent version that was taped at one of the 7 Worlds Collide shows in Auckland in April 2001 was unfortunately omitted from the 7 Worlds Collide album but is present on the DVD.

    4.6/5 for both mixes.
     
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  5. jcr64

    jcr64 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Indiana
    "Driving Me Mad": the "dread of the blank page" is something I suspect most of us understand from personal experience, though I doubt any of us could express it with such abstract beauty. This is a terrific song that is held back a bit by its bland chorus (a chorus that matched the verse for quality would easily make the song a 5/5). The contrast between Sheryl Crow's singing here an on "Turn and Run" is interesting. Here, she's clearly singing a backing harmony: she keeps her voice relatively clean and bland, the better to complement (but not distract from) Neil's vocal. "Turn and Run" is more of a duet, as she puts more of her own character into her part. If I didn't know, I doubt I could have identified her as the harmony vocalist on "Driving Me Mad." while on "Turn and Run" I think I could have identified her within a few phrases.

    4/5 for "Driving Me Mad."
     
  6. Jamieb7373

    Jamieb7373 Forum Resident

    Location:
    uk
    Really like the song and largely agree with others for this one - Never skip it, but then, never seek it out and it probably wouldn't make a CD of solo Neil songs I would make to bring in a new fan to the fold. - but a 3.8/5 for me
     
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  7. jimbutsu

    jimbutsu WATCH YÖUR STEPPE

    Sums it up perfectly, can't say it any better myself. I'll go with the same 3.8 then.
     
  8. Michael Rofkar

    Michael Rofkar Forum Resident

    Location:
    Santa Rosa, CA
    Another good but not great song. I like the One All mix a bit better - the bass is up a bit and so are Sheryl Crow's backing vocals. 4/5
     
  9. NorthNY Mark

    NorthNY Mark Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canton, NY, USA
    "Driving Me Mad": Usually when my take differs from the consensus, I'm not especially surprised. In this case, though, I really am, because to me this is the clear and obvious "potential hit single" of the album. It's catchy, unforgettable, and combines a sense of yearning with an infectious forward momentum. (But given the way most of the rest of you have reacted, there is apparently a good reason that I never had a career as a record label exec).:laugh: While it definitely shares what I perceive as the "rural twang" of the album as a whole, in this case I think it works in a way that makes me ready to dance, or perhaps listen in a moving car on a moonlit night, rather than just wallow in depression. I never paid close attention to the lyrics, so always assumed it was about an unrequited or impossible romantic attraction.

    I had One All many weeks before One Nil and listened to it a lot, so I'm more used to it as the second song (which possibly adds to my sense that it is the obvious single--in fact, I'm kind of shocked that it never was released as one, even in the US). The only problem for me with having it in the second spot is that after "Hole in the Ice," the rest of the album feels like an endless slog to me, except for "Human Kindness." With One Nil, at least I have this track to look forward to (but since "Human Kindness" is not on that, it ends up being six of one, half dozen of the other).

    A welcome breath of fresh air for me: 5/5
     
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  10. robcar

    robcar Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver, CO
    In the U.S., by the time One All came out in 2002, singles were pretty much a dead format. iTunes hadn't started up yet (or only just had), so the "digital download single" hadn't yet made any real commercial impact. Two promo singles were issued in the U.S. from One All: "Human Kindness" and "Driving Me Mad". These were clearly seen as the tracks with the most potential commercial appeal in the American market. It's interesting that none of the songs that had already been issued as singles from One Nil in other countries were considered to have commercial potential in the U.S. Maybe this was because none had been big hits in those other countries, or possibly they just felt that American tastes were different.

    I agree that, to me, "Driving Me Mad" is one of the hookiest/catchiest songs on the album and I'm actually somewhat surprised that they went with "Wherever You Are" as the lead UK/European single and "Rest Of The Day Off" as the lead AUS/NZ single instead of "Driving Me Mad".
     
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  11. appleboy

    appleboy Forum Resident

    Driving me Mad 4/5.
     
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  12. NorthNY Mark

    NorthNY Mark Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canton, NY, USA
    Thanks--for some reason, I didn't realize that the two songs I find the most appealing (along with "Hole in the Ice") were in fact chosen as "promo singles" in the US.
     
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  13. Lance LaSalle

    Lance LaSalle Prince of Swollen Sinus Thread Starter

    I do remember hearing them a lot, along with "Sinner", playing in the bar I worked in back then. We had some kind of "satellite radio" thing there with lots of stations and they played heavily on the "Coffee Shop station". Which I thought was pretty stupid name for a market. But back then I did love a good coffee shop.
     
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  14. Lance LaSalle

    Lance LaSalle Prince of Swollen Sinus Thread Starter

    Our votes for "Driving Me Mad"

    1-0
    2-0
    3-1
    4-10
    5-4
    Average: 3.8467
     
    Last edited: Jul 2, 2020
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  15. NorthNY Mark

    NorthNY Mark Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canton, NY, USA
    That is very cool. I honestly don't recall ever hearing anything Finn related on radio or any other publicly broadcast medium since I saw the video for "Locked Out" once (or twice at most) on MTV back when it was new. The only way I knew about the existence of the later albums once I rediscovered them in 2005 was by looking in the bins at CD stores. By the time of Time on Earth, of course, I probably learned it was forthcoming on this forum.
     
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  16. NorthNY Mark

    NorthNY Mark Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canton, NY, USA
    I think there might be a mistake in this math--should the score be less than 4 if there are more votes above 4 than below? (It looks like you may have listed the 5s as 4s as well)
     
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  17. Lance LaSalle

    Lance LaSalle Prince of Swollen Sinus Thread Starter

    Today's song is "Into the Sunset", written by Neil Finn; produced by Neil Finn and Tchad Blake; engineered and mixd by Tchad Blake.

    Into The Sunset
    LYRIC.


    A live version was also released on Live at the UK (recorded 11th April, 2001).

    Neil Finn: Vocals, guitar, piano
    Wendy Melvoin: bass, drums, percussion
    Sheryl Crow: accordion
    Mitchell Froom: Celeste
    Sam Gibson: drum programming

    Note: I forgot tomention above that "Elastic Heart", alone of these tracks, was mixed by Malcolm Welsford.
     
  18. Lance LaSalle

    Lance LaSalle Prince of Swollen Sinus Thread Starter

    I corrected the typo but the math was correct. There were decimals: quite a lot of 3.8s and 4.6's...and so on. It's still a "cream of the crop" song, i.e., 3.75 or above.

    I have to say the only average that has suprised me on this current discussion has been "Anytime". I'm stunned that that's a 4.5 rated song, I feel like my ears must have wool in them!
     
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  19. NorthNY Mark

    NorthNY Mark Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canton, NY, USA
    Ahh, gotcha. All this time I never realized that you still calculated based on the decimal scores, since you listed the rounded scores with the calculations. I kept thinking my decimals were symbolic only.

    And I, too, am surprised about the score for "Anytime," as I shared your view on that one.
     
  20. Lance LaSalle

    Lance LaSalle Prince of Swollen Sinus Thread Starter

    They played their songs relatively regularly in Denver back in the day on a Boulder-based station called "KBCO", which sort of seemed to cater to twenty and thirty something graduates. I guess it was "adult alternative" though they were not so crass as to call themselves that. They called themselves "modern rock."

    I think that the Finn's are quite popular to this day there; when I went there in 2016, Neil and Liam were just a week away from playing a duo show in Boulder (where I was staying); and Tim's record label in the early 00s was based in Boulder, too. There were always lot of promo material in record stores for Finn Brothers, Neil and Tim. Tim had a huge display for Say It Is So.
    Which surprised me, but when I found out that his label was in Boulder, it made sense.

    Despite them being popular, I never knew anybody who liked them but me, I just ran with a more indie, punkish circle.
     
  21. Paul H

    Paul H The fool on the hill

    Location:
    Nottingham, UK
    Into the Sunset only has one flaw: the coda fades out far too soon. Other than that, this is one of the most beautiful songs Neil has ever written. I was surprised and disappointed that he didn't play it at either of the gigs I went to on the One Nil tour.

    5/5
     
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  22. Rest of the Day Off is one of my favorite Neil Finn singles. That along with The Climber and Anytime really carry this album along. Another favorites is the wild b-side "Now I Get It." Super fun song.
     
  23. Lance LaSalle

    Lance LaSalle Prince of Swollen Sinus Thread Starter

    "Into the Sunset" is one of those songs I thought was limp when I first heard it but over the years my estimation has grown so much that I now think it's a towering classic.

    Lyrically, it's another travel song, juxtaposed with the usual feelings of travel ennui and homesickness; and it's made all the more poignant if the woman who's "fading into the sunset" is Neil's mother.

    From Neil's audible intake of breath and the sweeping sound of the acoustic guitars; I quite like the instruments: Neil's stuff and also the drums and drum programming create nice sounds and the "backwards" guitar and percussion really add something -- it all adds up to a really emotional song for me. Maybe Paul H is right, it does seem to fade suddenly....all too soon.... but it's such a beautiful song and one that I think would sound good in any musical context.

    5/5
     
    Last edited: Jul 2, 2020
  24. HitAndRun

    HitAndRun Forum Resident

    Into the Sunset is another song that, for me, could easily fit on a CH album such as Woodface or (with slightly different production) Together Alone.

    I think the song itself is just a 'good' NF song among many. But, that's not a bad thing. It finishes the album very well. Though, perhaps not quite as well as 'Addicted' adds a full stop to Try Whistling this in terms of the music, but I think it does a better job lyrically.

    This is one of the songs that I'd really like to hear Neil sing with just him and an acoustic guitar. Perhaps there is such a version out there (and perhaps I've heard it and forgotten)

    This version live in Auckland starts with just Neil and guitar, but later on the full band comes in and I don't think the increase in tempo suits the song.



    As for my score. It's a classic Neil song. Arranged and performed well.

    4.0/5
     
  25. Lance LaSalle

    Lance LaSalle Prince of Swollen Sinus Thread Starter

    The Live in the UK version is beautiful, and starts with only acoustic guitar; but the arrangement is quite stripped down; guitar, violin, percussion, basically. I have a couple of good sounding boots too.

    I have some boots with just voice and guitar (and one with voice and piano.) HOwever all of the solo performances are audience recorded and the latter is pretty dull.
     
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