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

Clumsy: nope. Another throwaway. 2/5

 

I actually think this is a good song, it is less mainstream than their more recent work, at this time, but it has an unavoidable Enz sound, and to me works pretty well. It isn't a classic Enz song, but it is a good one.
3.5/5

 

Clumsy: the verse is ok but the chorus is terrible. A generous 2/5

 

Clumsy is a cool new wave song. Love Eddie’s keyboards throughout.

3/5.

 

Our votes for Clumsy:

1-0
2-3
3-2
4-2
5-0
Average Score: 2.7

 

Today's song is "History Never Repeats, written by Neil Finn.

"History Never Repeats" was released as a single and hit the top 10 in Australia and New Zealand. It's featured on most Split Enz compilations, and on several live albums, including Anniversary/Extravagenza and Neil Finn & Friends' 7 Worlds Collide live album. There's also a live version with Tim, Neil and Eddie Vedder sing the song together.

Jaffaman has said that the inspiration of this song came from Neil trying to write songs that would follow up the smash True Colours album.

 

"History Never Repeats" is a brilliant and thrilling power pop song -- the sort of bright but heavy pop/rock route is not something Neil Finn has really gone down too often, but it's something he dips into occasionally and it usually pays off. This song is just perfect and I think it should have been a massive hit world-wide; it just sounds like one from pretty much the first listen. The keyboards take a supporting role here, with the starring role of the instrumental track definitely taken by Neil's guitars.

Every bit of this song, from the opening crashing jangle to the bit in the middle with the pounding drums and the almost Who-like guitars is just brilliant. There are some amazing Finn brother harmonies going on in this song too.

5/5

 

5 for me as well- by this point Neil was really getting the hang of putting together something catchy that really sticks in your head.

 

History is Split Enz and Neil in top of the pile pop mode, and even though the song is a pop song, it has a fantastic structure and arrangement. Neil's writing was at a point were he was an undeniable talent. Any chance of his earlier hits being written off as good luck or flukes was gone. 5/5

 

4/5

Some of the lyrics feel half-baked (and Neil has said that he likes half-baked songs), but the energy makes up for it. A much needed shot in the arm for this album.

 

History Never Repeats is a classic from Neil. His guitar on the song is fantastic.
I was always excited to see the video on MTV (they used to show it a lot).

5/5.

 

Correction: While Neil regards the lyrics of “Iris” as ridiculous and cant believe they let the record go out, he does like the music.

 

Classic Neil from this period, and almost as good as I Got You and One Step Ahead but not quite, so 4.5/5
Ha - Neil is a victim of his own success, had he not written I Got You and One Step Ahead then this would have been 5/5

 

Neil wrote some of “History Never Repeats” in early 1978 when Split Enz were rehearsing in Bergen aan Zee in The Netherlands. Phil Judd was back in the band briefly. Check out the guitar riff at the end of the song, “Bergen aan Zee”. Should sound familiar. Neil says Phil thinks he wrote it, but it’s Neil’s riff.

 

“History Never Repeats” is a classic that I still hear on the local radio station — just a few weeks ago, in fact. Brilliant power pop with almost a Cheap Trick feel to it, particularly with the percolating synths behind Neil’s guitar. The 2006 remix is very similar to the original, with the most notable difference to my ears being that the backing vocals on the breakdown are much more in the background on the remix than on the original.

One of my favorite songs we will be discussing and worthy of my second 5.0. This is one where the lyrics, although not remotely among Neil’s finest, pair perfectly with the band’s performance to create an almost anthemic feel. Spine-tingling.

 

I can't really say more than has been said here already about History. Pop perfection. 5/5

 

Our votes for "History Never Repeats"

1-0
2-0
3-0
4-1
5-7
Average score: 4.81

 

Today's song is "Walking Through the Ruins", written by Tim Finn.

A live version of this song was also released on 1985's The Living Enz.

 

This song has two mixes: the original and the 2006 Eddie Rayner remix. In general the remix is a little better to my ears, but the best version in my opinion is the aforementioned live version on The Living Enz. It's a dynamic, sprawling art-rock song that really works well live.

On record, I see it one of Tim Finn's most ambitious efforts to date: there's definitely a lot going on musically and the song is rich, varied and complex. A good wedding of early Enz arty splendour with Tickle's New Wave production. But as usual, I don't feel Tickle (or Finn, or whoever) really had the knack of mixing anything that wasn't minimalistic and this most certainly isn't it. Tim's marriage to Liz Malam was ending about this time and it seems clear to me that some of the songs on this album reflect that and the general doldrums he was in....but there is a lot of energy and creativity in this song....it points to a post-Judd art-rock path that they never really went down.

Still, it impresses me mainly intellectually: it doesn't move me and seems almost pre-New Wave in many ways. I have a feeling I'll be rating it higher than the rest of you at 3.7. I like it; particularly the live verion; but I don't LOVE it.

 

I like it as well - it has a forlorn but self aware quality that I really like -- but I only do with whole numbers, so 4/5.

 

"Walking Through The Ruins" is one of the better songs on the album. Lyrically it points the way to Tim's very personal songwriting on Time and Tide. Eddie's moody keyboards sound terrific as usual. But I still feel like this one is a little undercooked. The chorus melody is excellent but I don't like the cluttered arrangement of the verses. It undercuts the excellence of the rest of the song. 3.5/5.

 

This is where I check out of this album. Nothing from this point on impresses me at all. 2/5.

 

WTTR is one of my top 5 favorite Split Enz songs. One of my favorite Tim vocals. I love the instrumentation. Great lyric. I do not like how Eddie monkeyed around with the song on the remix. It was near perfect as it was.

P.S. I know the song isn’t a favorite of Peter Green!

5/5.

 

I think “Walking Through The Ruins” is a good song, but I’ve always found its clattering sound somewhat unpleasant. It seems almost a precursor to some of the electronic productions on Tim’s second solo album, albeit without that level of technological gloss.

I prefer the original mix, which segues directly into the following track. The 2006 remix is more in your face and elevates the electric guitar unnecessarily on the outro. The remix also fades out fully and eliminates the segue.

3.6/5

 

Tim's powerful vocals and Eddie's keyboards are all that redeem this song, I don't like the melody (if there is one) at all. 2/5