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

OK Alright A Huh Oh Yeah (*checks to make sure I typed it right*)... okay, good. Great album, which means Schnell Fenster goes 2 for 2 in winning LP's. Quick aside, I often wondered why there are no (and I mean zero) demos/outtakes/b-sides from the band. It strikes me as quite peculiar. Anyway, this album continues the bands' catchy brand of pop rock, though definitely with more 'rock' this time around.

OK Alright A Huh Oh Yeah
What a brilliant tune this is. A top 5 Schnell song for me. Packed with hooks, excellent guitar work, top notch lyrics, and a great vocal delivery. It's one of the most durable enz-related songs for me, in that I can almost always put this on and enjoy it.

5/5

Happy Feet
Some of the lyrics here always struck me as a bit autobiographical, just knowing Phil's personality and how he refers to himself on Novelty Act in songs like "No One's Best Man". As much as I like the song, I have mixed feelings on the weird middle 8/breakdown section. The weird voices are quirky and pretty annoying, though I have always liked Phil's little vocal thing at 2:45 right before the short guitar solo; sounds like he's saying "Oh brother!", which is how I feel about the vocal sample things, too . Anyway, this is a catchy little pop rocker that I've always enjoyed. Maybe light on substance, but very high on fun.

4.5/5

Fun City
Speaking of fun, amiright guys!?!?!? ...Yeah, this is another great high energy track with a better verse/chorus combo than even the last track. For a long time, this and the title track were my two favorite tracks on the album. I still love it, but it's not really in that top two any more.

4.6/5

Hot Body
Here we have the funk of the first album running the show. Really great bass from Nigel on this one, as well as Den Elzen's guitar track. Can't leave Noel out, either, as he puts down a great drum track. Love the double vocal from Phil, too.

4.6/5

Fireball
This took a bit of time for me to warm up to. It shouldn't have, really, but I suppose it isn't quite as accessible as all of the other tracks thus far. Like "Hot Body", there are shades of The Sound of Trees here, with the somewhat darker sound going on. Obviously it's still pretty high energy, but I think the chord changes give it that aura I'm talking about. Very good track.

4.3/5

Heroes Let You Down
I swear, in some alternate universe, this song and the title track are top 10 hits, at least in Australia. I can't believe this didn't even chart there. What a real shame. I can only guess what factors might have played in that being the case (changing musical trends, lack of promotion & name recognition). This is truly great track with wonderful components all around. Phil puts down a great vocal take to go with those equally great lyrics. A top 10 Schnell song for me.

5/5

Rebecca
Another highly enjoyable little rocker. If I had one complaint about the album to this point, it may be that there are a lot of songs that have this sort of energy, and while they all sound distinct from each other, it can start to sound a little samey, especially since the next track is yet another high energy rocker. Still, I like this track a lot; tons of style, and great vocals & guitar once again.

4.5/5

Same Boat
I've always liked this one probably more than I should. Of all the really high energy stuff here, this is probably my favorite one. It's a ton of fun and just a joy to listen to all around.

4.8/5

Buried Alive
And now we finally get to something slower and different. I really think this should have been sequenced somewhere towards the middle of the album to break up all the craziness. Anyway, this is a solid track, though I can't say I've ever loved it. It lacks a truly defining chorus, and it ultimately ends up sounding like a b-side. A pretty good b-side, I will say, however.

3.7/5

Vivid Imagination
The most distinct song on the album for sure. I believe Phil has said of all the Schnell stuff, he's most fond of this track, and that's likely because it sounds like what he wanted the band to sound like: a jam band. Considering how good their two albums are, though, I'm glad that didn't end up being the case. Anyway, I happen to like Phil's vocal on this song quite a lot; very stylistic and unique. As a song, it's a little dull, but I can't deny it's uniqueness and strong vocal. Also, this song ought have been the closing track.

3.8/5

Black Flower
Back to the main style of the album for one last romp. A good, funky track with a Sound of Trees vibe and great instrumentation, specifically those atmospheric keyboards in the verses. Like I said above, maybe not the best closing track, but certainly a strong track to end the album on at least.

4.1/5


Overall a great listen I think, with a more energetic and accessible sound. Maybe it doesn't go as deep with textures/atmosphere as the first album does, but as far as enjoyability goes, it's right about on par with that album. It's sequenced a little weird, but that's a minor complaint. It's too bad this would be their final album, but sometimes that can be a good thing, as it gives the catalog a little more weight (plus you don't have to wait for the usually inevitable downward turn of quality). Phil is a very creative guy, and it shows here very much. Schnell Fenster remains one of my favorite Enz related spin offs.

4.3/5


I also want to give a quick mention to Mimori Yusa's album Hope, released around this time, containing all those songs with heavy Enz involvement, including the one written by Phil, "Echo of Hope", which sort of serves as a bit of a lost Schnell Fenster track (though it doesn't sound too much like the band, maybe more a Noel's Cowards song). Besides the Enz-involved stuff on this album, there are some incredible songs like "Dreamed", "Track of Summer Grass" (which I simply love), and "Wild Flowers". Recommended album for sure; a strong 4/5 kind of affair for me.

 

So, just as a heads up, Spotify lists the correct tracklist but plays it in exactly the reverse order (i.e. leads off with Black Flower and then works backwards). Totally threw me for a loop today while I attempted to listen to it (first time listen!) while baking cookies. At first I thought I had it on a random shuffle, but no, it plays in the reverse order...very confusing. Apparently the same on YouTube - somebody got the metatagging wrong!

 

I believe Nigel Griggs worked as the management for a number of young Australian groups, though I don't know which bands that would have been.

It seems a bit harsh to say that Michael den Elzen is a "journeyman" musician. Apart from being a producer and musician for several artists and groups, mainly in Australia, he has also composed the scores for numerous movies and TV series and has been involved in musical projects for Nganampa Health Council in Alice Springs.
Michael den Elzen - Wikipedia

 

Well, is “journeyman” a perjorative? I thought it just meant someone who is employed in lots of different musical projects?

 

OK Alright A Huh Oh Yeah (Album)
I’ve never listened to this album before this week. As recounted earlier, first time I heard it in the reverse order which was confusing. Fortunately, I’ve now listened to it in the correct sequence.

Ok Alright A Huh Oh Yeah
Terrific riff and much more rock oriented for Schnell Fenster. Infectiously fun with a healthy dose of weird, yeah, maybe you can’t sing to the chorus effectively, but boy is it a fully laden hook. Fully justified that this song was a single. A good lead off for the album – a good song to turn up very loud.

Happy Feet
This doesn’t quite land as well for me – it feels a little like I’m listening to a couple of different songs here and the quirky quotient with that middle section doesn’t really work for me (even though it’s fairly similar to OK Alright) because it’s way less organic. Again, feels like a lot of ideas thrown at one song…

Fun City
High energy. Feels a bit similar to OK Alright, but for me it seems to hark back to the previous album. It’s more rocky, but there is a similar feeling of density and polish here as “The Sound of Trees” album. I like this song a lot with the frenetic drumming and angular guitars. Don’t care much for the keyboard thing in the middle, but hey, it’s the token quirk in the song. A very Phil vocal – he does do a good line on power pop, he really should do it more often. I feel it might be a trifle long in the outro although it is very enjoyable mainly because I think the bass groove really shines there.

Hot Body
It’s a busy little tune. It’s kind of a funk style for the guitar and bass work in the intro and then becomes something else. It’s an interesting set of lyrics, but I find the vocal a bit too mannered for what this song could be. A good song, but not as easy to get along with as others on the album.

Fire Ball
Now this song I like a lot, great groove, and here the vocal style works for the song. I like the bridge which drives the song along. Very nice melody. I don’t know that it beats the opening track, but it’s a welcome song at this point on the album. Still plenty of energy but a good melody and a little less quirk.

Heroes Let You Down
Big highlight of the album here. Funky, great groove, and a very earwormy chorus. Love this song. I like the guitar work here which I assume is Den Elzen especially in the middle of the song and what a great bass line by Nigel! Actually would have made a pretty great single.

Rebecca
I like the angularity of the guitar line here with the wash of synths behind it. It’s a nice textural difference – it’s quite a bit different from the rest of the songs on the album so far. It probably doesn’t really sound of its time, it’s almost early 80s in sound.

Same Boat
OK, another departure in style. Sounding slightly (in a Phil type of way), rockabilly. What a great bass boogie….really drives the song along. It reminds me a little bit of The Swingers, which might be the bass line in combination with Phil’s vocal delivery. It’s a good run of songs here on the album. I like the harmonica and the outro is really fantastic. This might come close on being my favorite song on the album.

Buried Alive
This is a nice bit of atmosphere. Really nicely textured from the intro – almost like a painting (maybe not too surprising there). Vivid lyrical content and actually almost a throwback to early Enz. I mean that entry into the chorus is pretty Mental Notes/Stranger than Fiction to me. Also the swirling guitars and build of instrumentation really does remind me of all the stuff I love from Mental Notes.

It's probably not everyone’s cup of tea but I really like this. Well positioned on the album.

Vivid Imagination
I like the melody here and the jazzy style groove to it. This sounds more improvised and freeform. If indeed the idea was to have a more jam feel to the album session, this is the only song where I get that feel at all. It is very good and I could have used a bit more of this song – it’s awfully short at about 3 minutes. I would have liked another minute or so.

Black Flower
Love the bass on this song – really nice as a counterpoint with the synthy background. The guitar is really good as a counterpunch. I think the group vocal is ok, it’s probably right in the context of the song as it seems to ground the song, but I would maybe have preferred to see the band really take flight on this song near the end. It feels a bit restrained just as Noel is picking up the urgency on the drums and the bass is really grooving.


So, I was really confused when I originally played this on Spotify and it lead off with Black Flower, Vivid imagination and Buried Alive. I mean, that’s a pretty strange way to start an album! If I was ever in any doubt about whether track sequencing matters on an album I was soundly disabused of that notion. The album sounds way better in the correct sequence! It’s hard to explain that though – I actually like the album a lot more from about Fireball onwards, but you definitely need to have the correct flow for those songs – it does not work doing them in the reverse order.

Given that I’ve only listened to this album 2.5 times, I’m really surprised by how much I like this album. Maybe because it seems to be pretty squarely an 80s sounding album (rather than a 90s album). I think it’s a bit of a pop powerhouse to be honest. I know Phil was going for a more rock sound but to me it still sounds strongly of new wave 80s – and I love it. Count me surprised that I enjoy this much Phil. His vocal really has the ability to make me want to stop listening but on this album it's actually surprisingly good, great even. The music, of course, is fantastic - great contributions all round and it really does make me wish that Noel and Nigel had done more music.

Album highlights: OK Alright A Huh Oh Yeah, Heroes Let You Down, Rebecca, Same Boat

4.5/5 (same as The Sound of Trees which I have more mileage on!).

I have to agree with @drewrclv9 – Schnell Fenster may have a short discography but I’ve gotta say it’s super high quality! Of course, I’m now going to have to track down copies of both albums…I’m not going to listen to this album again on Spotify on streaming (ads, arrrgh…).

 

Well, I am very sorry to say that once again, despite the plethora of hooks, and great guitars -- seriously, this is some great guitar work -- and the really punchy Noel Crombie drums (when there are real drums, that is) ...the obvious songcraft and loads of creativity...I just can't deal with Phil Judd's voice over a whole album.

Heard in isolation the songs are great, like all 3.5-4.5 songs, but 11 of them in a row just is too much for me. Not something I'm going to erase from my iPod becuase I can play it on shuffle and then whatever song cane out would be a rare quirky slice of 80s weirdness -- even if it came out in 1993, it definitely sounds more 1985 than than 1993. Which isn't necessarily a liability.

So...I don't know...as an album...I'll give it a 2.7/5. Title track is hilarious though.

 

Yes, the Phil vocal is a polarizing issue. This album stays just on the correct side for me (which is surprising). The odd thing is that there are definitely songs here where the vocal doesn't fully work for me. What rescues the album for me is that whatever it is that I don't like in the vocal does not come up in consecutive songs. I'm not even sure what it is I don't care for, it depends a lot on the context of the song - maybe it's that Phil's vocal can come as being overly mannered, I don't know.

Of course, it could be just that Nigel's bass work (in particular) and the music (generally) allows me to overlook quite a bit of this...

 

Indeed the musicianship is stellar, and the lyrics are all pretty good too.

 

I am kind of curious to know which songs you think are the highlights on the album...(not that I'm looking for validation, just interested to see which songs DID land for you).

 

I didn't know about this album. Does it stream anywhere? It looks very interesting...

 

I have this CD. In fact i have two copies of it by accident. I dont think it streams, but there are several songs with These guys on it and one of them has lines sumg by Tim. We discussed the Tim song at one point.

 

It seems to stream on Apple Music & Spotify. It's definitely worth a listen; really nice sounding Japanese pop music. This is the translated track list:

1. Forest Notes
2. Ferris Wheel After the Rain
3. At Any Time of Day
4. Before the Snow Melts
5. Holiday of Planet Earth
6. Dreamed
7. 10am, 3pm
8. From Your Palm
9. Track of Summer Grass
10. Echo of Hope
11. Wild Flowers

 

“Holiday on Planet Earth” is the one with Tim on it, I believe.

 

Yep, that song has Tim on guest vocal, Phil & Michael Den Elzen on electric & acoustic guitar, Nigel on bass, Eddie on Keyboards, and Noel on drums. Literally the makings of a lost Split Enz song, minus Neil of course!

Phil also plays guitar on about half of the albums' tracks, and "Echo of Hope" contains the entire Schnell Fenster lineup plus Eddie on keys. So the original 1986 "Wanx" version of Schnell Fenster. The album is a really interesting piece of Enz history!

 

I think there’s one song where Phil plays pretty much all the instruments too….and at leastnone he co-wrote. He is a goodn somgwriter…just wish I liked his voice more.

 

OK Alright A Huh Oh Yeah is not a record I would have gone up to the counter to ask who this is had I heard it in a record store while browsing. I would have found it interesting, and I would have been tapping my foot, and would have been interested, but it wouldn’t have been an immediate purchase. The production does sound 10 years too late. I hear things that bring to mind INXS, and I mean that as a compliment, but the influence (if there is one) surely runs the other way, from Phil to INXS.

What does appeal to me about the album obviously is listening to it in the context of Phil Judd’s career and the band, and in that context I am hoping to find it one day. (YouTube and/or Spotify just don’t cut it for me.) I think the songs here are best taken in small doses.

The tracks I like most are “Hot Body” (I really like the guitar riffs), “Heroes Let You Down”, “Rebecca“ and “Vivid Imagination”. After listening several times, I did find plenty of moments to like, and if I were in the right mood I know I’d like OK Alright A Huh Oh Yeah more.

3.5/5

 

Many thanks @drewrclv9 and @Lance LaSalle for getting me the information on this.

 

OK, I'm intrigued. I'm no expert on INXS but for the life of me I can't hear any points of correspondence...care to elaborate?

 

OK Alright A Huh Oh Yeah

I have many happy memories associated with this album. I had joined both fan clubs – one for Crowded House/Tim Finn and one for Schnell Fenster (and The Makers), both run by Peter Green – in mid-1990. During the first months as a member, there was a lot of releases – the Enz albums were being issued on CD for the first time (in most cases), the “Long Hard Road” single and the The Big Steal album was released, The Makers album was released, Schnell Fenster’s debut album was released outside Australia (a mere two years after its release there) and the “OK Alright A Huh Oh Yeah” single was released. In addition, it was announced that Tim had joined Crowded House and that the third Crowded House album would be released in 1991.

Woodface was released here on June 26, 1991 and I bought it on the day of release. The OK Alright A Huh Oh Yeah album and Phil’s Death In Brunswick soundtrack album were released at the same time and I bought them via the fan club, the package arriving on July 5, nine days after I had bought Woodface. I dubbed all three albums onto cassettes so I could play them on my boombox. I remember bringing out the boombox to our porch on a very warm summer’s day and playing the albums after one another all day long (no neighbours or family members complained either). Three very different albums but fitting surprisingly well together. I have probably listened to OK Alright A Huh Oh Yeah at least as many times as Woodface and in recent years probably even more to the Schnell Fenster album (though part of that is that there are only two Schnell Fenster albums while there are many more Crowded House albums plus zillions of fan club CDs etc). At the time, I bought it on CD and I have since also bought the LP edition. Love the cover artwork and its weird clay figures of the band!

OK Alright A Huh Oh Yeah
I have always loved this song, it is so fun, energetic and catchy. It was released as the first single from the album in late 1990, more than six months before the second single and the album itself. A very immediate song. The video clip is fun too. It baffles me that this wasn’t a major hit everywhere and with a major label like WEA so heavily involved in the record I think the promotion could have been better. It probably didn’t help that the band didn’t tour when the single was released or after the album was released.

Happy Feet
A very strong album track. Very different in feel to the previous track, a bit more reflective and less immediate. Nice percussion and synthesizer sounds and I like how the song shifts in energy and mood. The outro is a bit long and sounds out of place though.

Fun City
At the time the album was released, this track was already familiar as it had been released on the The Big Steal soundtrack album eight months earlier. I think it is good but still probably my least favourite track on the album. The backing track is just too busy for my ears and the lyrics don’t make me feel anything at all, they are just there and probably it made perfect sense for its scene in the movie but not here.

Hot Body
Possibly my favourite track on the album. I like how it builds in intensity, both musically and in terms of the narrator’s vulnerability and yearning for love and companionship. There are lots of details to discover in the backing track, each detail adding to the flavour of the song. The combination of Phil’s lead vocals and Venetta Fields’ backing vocals are the icing on the cake for me.

Fireball
Almost irresistibly catchy and energetic, this song has another strong band performance plus (again) top notch backing vocals by Venetta Fields. This would have been a good choice for a third single off the album, I can imagine this song working well both on the radio and in dance clubs.

Heroes Let You Down
This was the second single from the album, released around the same time as the album itself, and the start of side B on the vinyl (and cassette) edition of the album. The single was edited down by over a minute, mainly shortening the intro. I like the funky guitars and the whole band did strong performances on this track. Quite a catchy song and the mix of fairly upbeat, energetic music and the dark, disillusioned lyrics works really well. Very good singing by Phil, he adds so much unique character to everything he sings. It’s a shame that the single wasn’t also released as a 12” single with an extended mix on it, I think that could have turned out really well. The video clip is quite good, but not as good as the clip for “OK Alright A Huh Oh Yeah”.

Rebecca
A strong album track with a bit of funky rock feel. I like the blend of the punchy electric guitars and minimalistic synthesizers and that the song never feels predictable. You can really hear that Phil had recently been involved in writing movie scores, the lyrics are cinematic and without having seen The Big Steal I feel this track could have fitted in well on the soundtrack album for that movie. Great chorus as well and nice backing vocals by none other than Venetta Fields.

Same Boat
A song that at first seemed to be a bit of a filler, but it has really grown. With harmonica, sitar and acoustic guitar added among the other instruments the backing track is certainly very crammed and the song shifts in tempo and mood throughout. I think the music gives the song a sense of a stormy sea journey, matching the metaphor of the title and building up perfectly to the next track.

Buried Alive
This is a really haunting track that draws me into its world almost whether I want it or not. Epic, dense and nightmare-ish, full of anguish and torment, both musically and lyrically. Its false ending adds to the claustrophobic feeling too, just when a nightmare seems to be ending it continues on, giving the impression that it is impossible to get out of and when the real ending comes I almost expect it to be another false ending. Like a well-conceived horror movie, this track stays in the mind. In a way, it is the Schnell Fenster equivalent of “Under The Wheel”. Brilliant. Excellent singing by Phil too.

Vivid Imagination
The album is very well sequenced. This track is perfectly placed after the intensity of the previous track, a bit of well-needed light relief with its light, playfull jazz-ish quirky pop feel. At first it reminded me a bit of The Swingers’ “The Flak”, but that changed when the drums and Phil’s vocals join in after the instrumental intro. The song then seems quite short, and the fadeout adds to that feeling. To me, it is like the narrator of the previous song falls into a brief slumber after his unpleasant nightmare and this song is a short, abstract dream during that slumber.

Black Flower
An excellent closing track, similar in feel to “Never Stop”, the closing track on The Sound of Trees. It is fitting that the lyrics here include the lines “There is always tomorrow / There’s always some other time”. I like the backing vocals too and the cinematic short story feel of the lyrics. Perhaps the song would not make as strong an impression if it was placed somewhere else on the album, but it works superbly as the final track (sadly, not just on the album but as it turned out it was the last track on the last Schnell Fenster album as well).

I find the OK Alright A Huh Oh Yeah album to be much darker, and less immediate, than The Sound of Trees, but it is also an album that keeps fascinating and growing. It’s a shame the band dissolved soon after and that there would be a long 15 years before Phil did non-soundtrack albums again. Schnell Fenster deserved much more acclaim and success and the OK Alright A Huh Oh Yeah album deserved much better than to be just a collector’s item.

4,6/5

 

I'm no INXS fan, I only know the hits, but I hear similarities with the guitar sound.

 

Our votes for OK Alright A Huh Oh Yeah:
1-0
2-0
3-1
4-2
5-2
Average: 3.86

 

This week two fan club albums.

The first album is One Night Stand.

One Night Stand was recorded on June 24th, 1992 at Wembley Arena in London, with Woodface now selling like hotcakes. The show is especially notable in that Tim, who was in London recording Before And After, joins the band for two numbers: "Weather With You" and "How Will You Go."

The tracklist:

1. Tall Trees (Neil Finn, Tim Finn)
2. Four Seasons In One Day (N. Finn, T. Finn)
3. Love You 'Til the Day I Die (Neil Finn)
4. Hole in the River/The Weeping Song (N. Finn, Eddie Rayner/traditional)
5. Don't Dream It's Over/(All I Have to Do Is) Dream (N. Finn/Bordleaux Bryant)
6. Italian Plastic/Sunny Afternoon (Paul Hester/Ray Davies)
7. Sister Madley (N. Finn)
8. The Burglar's Song (Liam Finn, Neil Finn)
9. Mean To Me (N. Finn)
10. World Where You Live (N. Finn)
11. Fall at Your Feet (N. Finn)
12. Weather With You/Sweet Dreams (N. Finn, T. Finn/Phil Judd)
13. How Will You Go/The Parting Glass (N. Finn, T. Finn)
14. Out The Front/Throw Your Arms Around Me (band improv: Mark Hart, Nick Seymour, Paul Hester/Mark Seymour, Hunters and Collectors)

One Night Stand was released in July 1997.

 

The second fan club album this week is Foreplay.

Foreplay was recorded in Dublin on July 17th, 1992. As on the other fan club album for this week, Tim joins the band for a few numbers (the final three) as he, once again, was in Dublin recording part of Before And After with Hothouse Flowers and ALT. This includes a rare, early glimpse of "I Am in Love", the Together Alone era B-side, as well as the Woodface B-side Dr. Livingstone and the Together Alone outtake "Convent Girls", here with different lyrics than the studio version released in 2016, I believe.

1. It's Only Natural (Neil Finn, Tim Finn)
2. Tall Trees (N. Finn, T. Finn)
3. When You Come/I Am In Love (Neil Finn)
4. Dr. Livingstone (N. Finn)
5. Four Seasons in One Day (N. Finn, T. Finn)
6. World Where You Live (N. Finn)
7. Love This Life (N. Finn)
8. In the Lowlands (N. Finn)
9. Sister Madly (N. Finn)
10. Convent Girls (N. Finn)
11. There Goes God (N. Finn, T. Finn)
12. Chocolate Cake (N. Finn, T. Finn)
13. Weather With You (N. Finn, T. Finn)
14. She Goes On (N. Finn)

Thanks to @Paul H for the notes.

 

Oh I hear that, but I had just put that down to being a fairly typical guitar sound...maybe it's because I think a lot of Australian bands have a similar guitar profile?

 

Was there a video for this song? I didn't realize that it was the second single!
Also, I don't think I've ever seen the video for OK Alright...I'm going to have to find that sometime over the weekend and take a look!