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

I have a soft spot for "Iris" because it's my daughter's name.

5/5

 

It’s a lovely name!

 

I agree with the consensus regarding Iris: fab tune, great energy and feel but that lyric... Still, I'm a McCartney fan. I've learnt to see past awful lyrics Iris gets a steady 4/5 from me.

 

Wow, I'm really alone on an island on this one...

But yeah, the lyrics are dumb. I still love it. I can't help it.

I know I've mentioned it before, but I really wonder how I'd feel about a LOT of the stuff I love if I'd discovered it as an adult...

 

Iris has always been a favorite. Great melody, Tim’s backing vocals are a highlight, and love the guitar solo.

4/5.

 

I love "Iris" based on the guitar intro alone...

 

I wasn't aware of the remix or the track rearrangement. I have the redo, from the box set, and the album works well for me that way.

I'm not sure this album is quite as good as True Colours, but the high points are at least as high.

Hard Act to Follow is a fantastic song, and among my favourite Enz tracks, even though it is not a typical Enz track. I think the lyric and the song itself are excellent. 5/5
One Step Ahead was always a favourite. I suppose to some degree it is a rewrite of I Got You, but I think they carry it off well, and their similarities aren't enough to bother me. 4.5/5
I Don't Wanna Dance I enjoy this song, and/but it has a very new wave kind of sound to it and that wasn't how I hear Split Enz at the time.... A good track, but not a great track. 3.5/5
Iris I personally don't have any trouble with the lyrics on this, and I think it is a strong song. 4.5/5

 

"Iris" stood out on New Zealand AM radio back in 1981 during the brief time it was playlisted. Neil dismisses it but it's another lovely spooky record.

 

I like Iris a lot. Waiata's interesting - probably the only time where a Split Enz album sounded similar to the one that preceded it. Otherwise they were constantly moving with different members etc.

 

Neil shouldn't dismiss it. It's a better, more interesting song than over half of the Crowded House catalog.

 

Our votes for "Iris":

1-0
2-1
3-0
4-4
5-3

Average: 4.07

 

Today's song is "Wail" by Eddie Rayner. Vocals by Tim Finn.

I can't find the studio version on YouTube. Here's a live version from 1981, after Mal Green had left and featuring Noel Crombie on drums.

 

I think "Wail" is an exciting instrumental -- the studio version has much better sound than the live clip, of cours!e But it's got a lot of power live, too.

I give it a 4.3/5.

 

While I think True Colours is likely a better album overall, I think the instrumentals on this one are probably better. 4/5

 

“Wail”, like nearly all Enz instrumentals, does little for me. I suppose it’s better than the two on the previous album.

The 2006 remix is about 20 seconds longer than the original mix, but other than some additional noises at the beginning before the drums kick in, I can’t spot where the additional time is located. Could be just a later fade out.

I prefer the original mix anyway.

2.7/5

 

Yup. This is the point where the album takes a serious dive. 2/5.

 

Put me down as a big fan of "Wail". This is Eddie's best song yet and maybe his best Split Enz number behind "Pioneer". It has a great main hook and energy to burn from start to finish. I especially love the key change near the end along with Neil's guitar riff on the fadeout.

 

At the very least, this is fighting talk. It may even be heretical and blasphemous

 

Eddie’s keyboards on Wail are so very cool. Love this song.

4/5.

 

Our votes for "Wail":
1-0
2-1
3-0
3-1
4-3
5-0
Average score: 3.4

 

Today's song is "Clumsy", which was written by Tim Finn.

"Clumsy" was released as a B-side to "Hard Act to Follow" and was remixed for the 2006 reissue.

 

Like "I Don't Want to Dance", "Clumsy" feels a bit cluttered, but for some reason that works for me with this song. IN general, Waiata is a much richer "Spectorish" album instrumentally than True Colours was and sometimes that works more than others. Here it works.

The arrangement is clever -- it all sounds so clumsy! Those odd keyboard stabs, the sort of deliberately sloppy guitar lick, the bashing cymbals. Lyrically it's yet another Tim Finn 'comic loser' song, but it feels a bit more inspired to me than "I Don't Want To Dance".

An enjoyable, arty New Wave song, full of quirk and energy. 3.7/5

On youtube, there is a demo of the song called "Cheated" which has VERY different lyrics.

I'll post it below.

 

“Clumsy” is an entertaining little song, but ultimately doesn’t stick with me or make me want to hear it again for awhile afterward.

The 2006 remix is better and appears to use a different vocal track than the original mix, as vocals are present in places that are purely instrumental on the original album version.

(The video link above is the original mix)

3.0/5

 

I would have given Wail a slightly generous 3.

Clumsy...I think it's a fairly unremarkable song and even though I've listened to this album many times, it's not a song that has really stuck in my head. Another harsh 2/5.