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

Summer Intro - Summer of Love

I spent some time earlier this year listening to available music from Edmund Cake (in this and other guises) and my suspicion is that he had a fairly large hand in writing this track. Having said that, I'm reminded of what Elvis Costello said about collaborations - the bit that you're sure was done by one of the collaborators was most likely done by the other. So, I could easily be wrong here.

Summer Intro fits very well with Summer of Love, and considering them as a single track, it's a very good track.

The melody here is sublime, and I like the way that the guitar bit in the verse sounds sort of incomplete and builds tension before the chorus bit (? haven't analysed the structure). The production is simplistic, but again this fits well with the music of Edmund Cake. I compare it with this bit of silliness: Gunga. Or, more stylistically similar, You're Watching Me.

Summer of Love is one of those tracks I can play over and over. That listenability, for me, easily outweighs any limitations in the arrangement and production.

4.2/5

 

The fact that he seems to do the lion's share of the singing is very unusual for a Neil Finn song; my guess is that this was something that he had and Neil just embellished it a little. Good song though.

 

I think you need to re-calibrate your spell checker if it keeps mistaking McWilliams for Cake

 

It appears that I have spent too long listening to his releases under the name/persona Edmund Cake

 

If you look him up on Wikipedia it redirects you to Edmund Cake.

 

Belated vote for "You Don't Know" 5/5.

Summer of Love 4.5.

The Rain soundtrack is one of my absolute favourite pieces of work by Neil. I adore it, never tire of this. I create a playlist of the album by removing 2 non Neil tracks and 1 instrumental only (Batman) and it's becomes one of my favourite bodies of work Neil has done, sits up there in my top 3 with Together Alone.

 

Summer of Love has that do-it-yourself sound that can work so well. It sounds like a very well produced demo. I like demos and I like this, it's lovely, and fits in nicely with the rest of the Rain soundtrack.

3.7/5

 

That would explain it. I take back my smart Alec quip.

 

I guess I will do the instrumentals on Thursdayafter all, all together as planned. I was feeling really burnt out last night but listening to them now, I think there is enough to sink my teeth into with those songs.

 

Summer Intro/Summer of Love -

I adore this. The melody is beautiful, and Edmund Cake’s voice is quirky but he pulls it off in a Stephen Malkmus kind of way. Neil’s parts are sung in such a lovely way. The keyboard parts in both songs evoke gently falling raindrops of a summer shower. The only thing missing for me is a satisfying ending. It just kind of fades away without resolution. I can listen to these (as a unit) over and over.

I thought this song was going to make me a big Edmund Cake fan, but I never found any other music by him that I like. Although I don’t think I’ve heard @HitAndRun ’s suggestions, so I will have to check them out.

4.5/5

 

Neil Finn meets Tiny Tim. 1.5/5

 

"Summer Intro/Summer Of Love" is a nice song that isn't done any favors by McWilliams' weak vocal. Had Neil sung it, I'd rate it much higher. It has a lilting, languid feel that captures the vibe of a summer day. The sound of the music and melody here brings to mind an odd combination of Big Star and Lynyrd Skynyrd ("Every Mother's Son"), certainly not your usual Neil Finn touchstones.

3.7/5

(2.5 for the intro if we're rating it separately)

 

It sounds to me a bit like:

You swing low so lazy
Chariot made for Zion

perhaps as in Swing Low Sweet Chariot ?

Anyway, 2/5 as I don't really like Edmund's vocals.

 

Makes more sense. Accents...

 

This is fine, it just doesn't really connect with me. As with yesterday's tune I wonder if it wouldn't do better with me in the context of whatever role it plays in the film had I ever seen it. Reminds me a lot of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros in spots with hits high pitches airiness.

2.5/5

 

"Summer of Love" has a nice melody, but Edmund McWilliams maintains only a tenuous grasp of it. As a singer, I tend to have fairly limited patience for those that can't stay in tune (including myself when it comes to my own inevitable failings), and McWilliams is very loose with the notes. I don't think it's a matter of stylistic choice. The problem isn't as bad here as it was on some of the ALT stuff, but it's enough to put me off. It's too bad, because it's otherwise a pretty good song.
2.5/5

 

Our votes for "Summer Intro"

3-2: Average 2.55

Our votes for "Summer of Love"

1-0
2-1
3-2
4-5
5-2
Average:3.48

 

Today's songs are "Mum in Bed" and "Orange and Blue", both written and produced by Neil Finn and recorded by Sam Gibson, mixed by Neil Baldock.

The songs can be streamed with the player at the bottom.

Rain (Music From The Motion Picture) — Neil Finn

 

Orange and blue:

Sunlight couldn't melt her
This is how I found her,
Orange and blue
When your heart is broken
All will be forgiven
And youll know what to do
(Hang my?) on the water
Got my arm on you
Don't know what to do
Don't slip, don't go by your (dial?)

Dawn light, grace come..........I can't understand this bit at all

 

"Mum In Bed" is all right back ground music but I don't really enjoy it. 2/5

"Orange and Blue" is quite beautiful, even if, as a general rule, I don't like "falsetto Neil" too much. The melody is very sad and this is another song that I don't really enjoy but I really like it, if that makes any sense. It's one of those songs that is so drenched in sadness that it's not necessarily fun to listen to; but it's very well done. This is the song I most remember when I think of this soundtrack, it's very catchy in its gloomy way.

4.3/5, docked for vocals that don't quite work for me and the fact that it's too depressing for me to fully enjoy.

 

I see from iTunes that I gave Orange and Blue 3/5. That's good because I've no idea how it goes. Even the lyrics don't give me a nudge. Perhaps I need to give it another listen (if for no other reason than offering Lance some assistance with the lyrics).

 

Yes, the lyrics of this album seem to be harder for me to catch, perhaps because of the weak way that McWilliams, and here, Neil, sing them.

 

"Mum in Bed" sounds as if it was made up on the spot. Not having seen the film, I'm sure it fit the scene perfectly. 3.6/5

"Orange and Blue" is a revelation to me. I thought it was a woman singing at first. This is the sort of thing I like - very atmospheric, and that forlorn distorted guitar solo is perfect. This could be a Neil Young song. 4/5

 

Not having the film with me to watch, I'm having to evaluate these tracks as they are. This is very hard for the instrumentals. So, yet again I'm going to wimp out and not give a numerical rating to Mum in Bed as I think it would be unfair. It's vey minimal, but doesn't have the subtle variation to main interest that other minimal tracks often have - though it has some. It - it what it is - and of course the role of soundtrack music is often to fill out a scene rather than be the primary focus. Note that I will rate a lot of the instrumentals here as other tracks function better standalone.

For Orange and Blue, this is a much different proposition. It could be a great lost Neil Finn track - I'm not sue how 'lost' it is to most fans. It starts out as a nice piano ballad style song, and then transforms into something more rocky half-way through. I like this transition. The melody is nice, and Neil's singing is unusual, but appropriate for the song. It took me a while to get used to how the melody and the chords interact in the B section of the song, but after I got used to the song, that sounds interesting.

Overall, I enjoy this song. It's not one of Neil's best songs or best productions, but it's a good, interesting, song.

3.6/5

 

I too have no real opinion on "Mum in Bed" (2/5) - However, "Orange & Blue" is a different proposition - this is an astounding slice of dark sadness from Neil - another I gravitate to and adore. As Hit & Run said, this is not lost to a lot of fans, I've seen & heard it requested a few times - though struggling to recall if ever performed live. 4.8/5