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

Eyes of the World

Before I posted I should have checked the second disk. I see that it's the Union Chapel where I saw them live in 1996. It's always great to hear a recording of a concert (or at least a few songs) from when I was there in the audience.

I won't stream of consciousness my impressions of all the songs but give a short overview.

It takes three songs before we get to something new. Not surprising since it's the same tour (or is it?), but they had other songs down the list that are new. Though, if this was a fan club CD then maybe not a lot of effort has been put into the playing order. Or, perhaps whoever did it had very different ideas from me how it should be done.

The performances here do sound a bit more slick. Just a bit. It's still loose, but less so than the previous album. Tim is singing well, and I don't think I was really noting at this time that his voice was going downhill. But, in hindsight there are strong hints as to what is happening. By the time we get to 'How Will You Go', the performance sounds slick - just missing a few instruments. Weather With You even more so. The brothers' voices are blending well.

'Sweet Dreams' is a great early Enz song to cover it, and it's covered in a very nice way with just the acoustic guitars. 'Persuasion' starts a bit rough vocally and I was there, so I should have noticed it. I guess I thought it a one off instead of a trend. By the time of 'Charlie' (also Union Chapel) Tim's voice is sounding a bit breathy but still good and hitting notes.

Nice to hear (again) the piano version of 'History Never Repeats' - it works well in this form. I should go back and check, but 'Eyes of the World' sounds different from Belvoir unless my memory has failed me yet again.

'It's Only Natural' is also a nice way to end the album.

I guess I should listen to and enjoy it for what it is. Not go looking for historical evidence on the changes to Tim's voice.

It is a nice document, boosted nicely for me by having songs on it recorded at a concert where I was. It has a more loose informal feel (but not as much as Belvoir), live banter, and interesting takes on the songs.

4/5

 

Belvoir

I have always felt that Neil and Tim bring out the best in each other when they are working together as the Finn Brothers, and this show supports that in my mind.

The brothers sound great together, weaknesses in Tim’s voice here do not matter one iota to me, and the stripped down arrangements of some of these songs allow the Finns’ voices to shine. The banter is great, and they sound so relaxed and comfortable with each other. The “filling in the gap” banter before Six Months in a Leaky Boat is so funny.

Highlights:
In Love With It All, Angels Heap, Suffer Never, Time For a Change….oh heck, almost all the songs.

I could listen to this forever. This is one of my very favorite fan club CDs. But I am predisposed to love this, because if I had to choose one incarnation of Finn music to last the rest of my life, it would be the Finn Brothers. Sadly I was not aware of them when the first Finn Brothers tour happened, but I think I saw 9 (?) shows on the Everyone Is Here tour.

5+/5

I was at that show too. What a spectacular venue! I remember seeing Noel Gallagher at the bar up at the back and was very surprised to see him at this show.

 

This is wonderful. Thanks so much for posting it. I hope Harper goes on to great success - he certainly has the talent!

 

Belvoir
Fabulous concert. I love the loose vibe and the detours that they take. It just has everything I could really want in a live show, intimate sounding, a little loose but still sounding great, genuine humor and just a great atmosphere.
In listening through it the songs sound a little groovier than normal - real dance grooves. Kind of surprising because Finn isn't really an album that I would have thought in that genre.

I think Poor Boy is just about my favorite song on this album. It is still mysterious but wow, what a groove...love hearing this version.

5/5

Thanks Lance for posting the Harper Finn video. It is great to hear about what influences his music making and just how new this all is to him. I was super pleased to hear his comments on Runway - that's exactly how I feel on planes! Hoping for a bright future for Harper. His songs are just so great.
Agree that his dance moves are pretty slick!

 

Eyes of the World

This is great, but missing some of the very laid-back groove of Belvoir. Also, because of the varied sources, it becomes a compilation of excellent live tracks, rather than the unified experience of one concert. Although, it’s nice that there are a few songs from the same show included sequentially here and there.

Highlights are the more acoustic songs, such as In Love With It All, Angels Heap, etc. I.e, the same ones I thought stood out on Belvoir. This is notable for the inclusion of Persuasion (in the running for my favorite Tim song) and the gorgeous Charlie.

I can’t find any fault with this at all, other than it doesn’t quite carry me away to that rapturous place as much as Belvoir does, but that is hardly a fault! Or maybe it’s because I listened to Belvoir first, yesterday, and it has been ages since I listened to either one of these CDs, so the first one I listened to is the one that totally carried me away.

5/5

 

I'll post a new entry tomorrow, I am utterly exhausted today!

 

I hope you're tired because of something good you did yesterday. Enjoy the rest of the day and relax.

 

No worries Lance. Hope you take some well earned rest!

 

I haven't been home this week so I haven't been able to spend as much time as I'd have liked on Belvoir or Eyes Of The World. I like both of these CDs, preferring Belvoir over Eyes Of The World. Listening on a device with crummy headphones doesn’t do the music justice, on a stereo with good speakers these CDs sound so good. Tim and Neil’s voices together really is something special.

I never got to see a Finn Brothers show, one of my many missed concert regrets.

Belvoir - 4.5/5
Eyes Of The World - 4.2/5

 

This thread inspired me to dig out my fan club CDs. This isn’t everything, as some faves like Newcastle Jam, Homebrew and Spooky Vibrations are in a different place. I wasn’t making much money at the time, but I happily sent payment to Peter Green in Prahran, Vic. anytime new CDs were announced. The on stage spontaneity of the Paul Hester years made it totally worth it to own all these shows.

 

Take some time out to smell the Czech roses.

 

Finn Porn.

 

I listened to Eyes Of The World while driving Thursday...I'm afraid I wasn't able to give it the attention it deserves, but I sure did enjoy it when I could give it attention. I'll give it a 4.5/5

 

Our votes for "Belvoir"
1-0
2-0
3-0
4-1
5-4
Average: 4.6

Our votes for Eyes Of The World
1-0
2-0
3-0
4-2
5-3
Average: 4.54

 

This week, Largest Living Things II by Largest Living Things.

Another EP released on Paul's on label A Lodge Production.

The line up of the EP was:
Largest Living Things
Paul Hester: vocals, guitars, drums
Kevin Garant: guitars
Barry Stockley: bass guitar
George Servanis: drums

The EP was produced by Paul Hester and Fats, and engineered and mixed by Fats. Two songs were recorded live.

The tracklistwas:

1. Hellbent (Paul Hester)
2. Already Been Done (Hester)
3. You Did It All (Hester)
4. Turn Off The Light (Barry Stockley, Hester)
5. Fragile Missile [live] (Hester)
6. Free [live] (Hester)

 

Largest Living Things II is a decidedly better EP than the first. Paul seems to have honed his writing skills while fronting his own band in just a year it seems, because the song quality here is much better than the debut. The thing that strikes me most about this collection is the improved variety. It's no longer a collection of songs that sound like they're trying to be "very 90's, bro-dude". It's just a good collection of pop-rock/alt-rock songs. Not a diss on the first EP necessarily, but the contrast of musical color is pretty striking.

Hellbent
Already this sounds more natural than probably anything on the first EP. Wonderful guitar and melodic twists. The chorus is a bit of letdown perhaps, but the atmosphere of the song is really great. Great solo, too.

4.2/5

Already Been Done
Ugh, what a bummer some of these lyrics are, considering what we all know. This is a very nice, slower song that, once again, sounds much more natural and organic than LLT 1. Great guitar (especially the bass), and I love the somber vibe of the verses. I can't help but be a bit underwhelmed by the chorus once again, but this is still a pretty quality track.

4.2/5

You Did it All
Great. This probably is most Crowded House-esque Paul song here. Highly melodic with a chorus that I'm not underwhelmed by this time. I like Paul's vocal, and especially his guitar work here as well. It's got a loose, lax vibe to it.

4.5/5

Turn Off the Night
Paul's pretty good at writing these somber tracks. That being said, I think I respect this song more than I really like it. It's not bad, but it's a little plodding & aimless, even though the mood is great and Paul's vocal is equally good. Also, anyone got any idea on why he sings "turn out the night", but the song is titled "Turn Off the Night"? Always wondered if it was merely an oversight or something...

3.7/5

Fragile Missile
This is awesome. Dirty, dark, ominous; I love it. That guitar is phenomenal, and I'm talking about all of it. Drumming here is of note as well. There's a really great, heavy atmosphere as the thing just trudges along. Really good stuff.

4.6/5

Free
Another one with a great, 'larger-than-life' (pun intended? ...Nah, it really wasn't) atmosphere. The effect on Paul's vocal really puts a stamp on that being the case. This is probably most like the first EP in terms of sound, but a much improved form of it. The big crescendo that forms the chorus truly feels mighty.

4.4/5


So yeah, definitely a big improvement from the first release, with more color and variety to go along with the improved songwriting and performances. I want to give a quick shout out to a 'lost' LLT song, "Headless Chook", which Peter Green posted a few years back on his YouTube Channel. That's another really good track from the guys, and it deserved a spot on this EP.

Anyway, it's a bit of a shame LLT sort of ended after this release, because it seems like they were just getting going. Nonetheless, it's a nice showcase of what Paul can do with his own outfit.

4.4/5

 

Hell Bent

This is quite CH'y, and a good, catchy song. It has a straight-foward guitar pop/rock arrangement, but it's good. Paul sings well. An enjoyable song with a Finn style unexpected chord in the chorus. On second listen through, it has a natural easy feel. Great singer/songwriter pop/rock. I agree that the chorus is a bit simple, but that's OK with me. Not every song has to push the boat out, musically.

Already Been Done

More guitar pop at a slower pace. A good solid pop song. As mentioned, the lyrics are sad and poignant in hindsight. The chorus is or at least the B section is a bit more bluesy than I expected. On second listening I find the chorus quite good and Neil Fin-ny. Good song.

You Did It All

It's agree that this is CH'y, but I think quite a few of the songs are. Simple straightforward, and with interesting (though simple) guitar. On second listenting, it sounds like the first. I think it's a straightforward song without hidden depths. But, that's not a criticism.

Turn Off the Night

This starts sounding like it might be a bit like 'Fingers of Love', but a heavier and bluesier groove emerges. Interesting heavy-ish, as said sombre, track.

Like many of these songs, I wonder how they would sound with a much more professional production. I could imagine this as a Hunters and Collector's track; Mark Seymour could sing this very well. Not that Paul doesn't sing it well, getting nicely emotional at times, but this could easily be a H&C song. Or a song from a heavier band. I can also imagine Glenn Hughes (the one from Deep Purple, not the one from The Village People) singing this. This song impressed me at first, AND it appears to be a grower.

Fragile Missile

Another song that could easily be H&C. I'm not sure Paul's voice quite works here as well as on the other tracks. Great guitar work. It's recorded quite plainly and has a 70s loose feel. Does the beginning remind me of a CH b-side like one of the versions of 'Left Hand'?

Free

I'm going from the track list above, but track 6 as I have them has lyrics that mention Turning Off the Night. Or 'Turn Out the Night'. It's a nice laid back and melodic song that I think could fit well on a post-Hester CH album. I do like the loose feel here. Oh, lyrics mentioning 'Free'. I guess I have the songs in the right order. On second listen through I'm not going to fix my lyrics confusion. Still lovely on the second pass through. Nice organ and subtle guitar parts.

Overall

I have heard Hessie's Shed material before, but not for a long time. Somehow this sounds very different from what I remember. And, better. Paulo was really developing as a songwriter here, and it's a pity that it didn't continue.

Given the history, I just don't feel right in numerically rating this. (I'm not saying that others shouldn't.) But, I think this is a very good and promising EP.

 

I listened to the Largest Living Things II Ep for the first time in ages this week, and was struck by how similar in sound it was to Wilco's Being There or A.M. Paul's phrasing and tone, as well as the lo-fi-esque sound has me wondering if I'd mistakenly cued up a different playlist in iTunes. (That alone can make the greatest sounding record sound awful,) I'm not saying that LLT II is a Wilco knock-off, they were just in the same territory at the same time.

The studio recordings hold up really well, the live material not quite as good, but still all very good. I wonder how much better these songs would have become had they been worked on with more skilled producers/collaborators, but that could possibly have removed the edges to the music that is uniquely Paul Hester. I miss Paul and what could have been.

3.8/5

 

I love(d) Hessie as much as the next CH fan but, truthfully, I find his "solo" material to be mostly very uninspiring and generic. (Although, still pretty good for a drummer! ). The only stand out is This Is Who You Are. But we'll get to that.

 

Largest Living Things II

Hellbent – This is one of Paul’s best songs in my opinion. I find it catchy and immediate, with a superb band performance and great guitar parts in particular. Very nice guitar solo, it really enhances the song. Paul sounds like he enjoyed singing this song too.

Already Been Done – another very strong track which shows the potential that Largest Living Things had. The melancholy feel of this song is quite poignant, hearing it now. It’s interesting that the narrator says in the lyrics that he left his family in 1975 – in the Letters to my Frenz fan club book (with most Split Enz members interviewed), Paul said that in 1975 (when he was 16 years old) he was living in a “hippie commune” where they loved the Mental Notes album, so that was when he first became aware of Split Enz. While I like this song very much, I think it is a bit too long though and would have benefitted from some editing by a non-band member producer.

You Did It All – I remember this song from the one time that I saw Largest Living Things live, at the St Kilda Festival in Melbourne on February 14, 1999. A really good track, very catchy. I like the blend of the acoustic and electric guitars, the intense drumming and the vocal harmonies. The lyrics are interesting, I get the feeling that the narrator and the “you” person had a complex relationship and the way Paul sings the line “you did it all by yourself” makes me think the narrator is thinking to himself, “that’s what you have made others believe, but hey, I was important too and you know that as well as me”.

Turn Off The Night – This track is a bit of a grower. It sounds very much like a song that evolved out of jamming. The band sounds very committed to the song and it has a slow building intensity to it. I think that intensity would be even stronger if it was a minute or two shorter though.

Fragile Missile – I am guessing this song too evolved out of a jamming session. To my ears it is a bit directionless and it probably needed a lot more work to reach its full potential. I can imagine it worked very well at gigs though.

Free – I really like this one. It’s another song with a slow building intensity, and the instrumentation with the subtle organ and the sophisticated drumming make it special.


Hearing both this Largest Living Things EP and the first one, plus various other tracks that float around on YouTube etc, it is interesting to ponder how an album by the band might have turned out. I think they would have benefitted from having a “real” producer, but it is also possible that a producer might have taken away some of the unique character and personality of their music. Still, it would be nice if someone put together a LLT anthology, with all their recorded songs compiled together on a CD. Their music deserves to be preserved and heard by more persons.

3,9/5

 

In February 1999, I visited Australia (well, Melbourne and Sydney) and by lucky co-incidence Largest Living Things did a gig at the St Kilda Festival. It was free admission and they played in the early afternoon, in glorious sunshine and with the shoreline as a spectacular backdrop. Largest Living Things was a great live band, as a unit they were just oozing charisma. Paul, dressed in white and wearing a white hat, was up front, singing lead vocals and playing electric guitar, guitarist Kevin Garant was wearing t-shirt and shorts and looked like he had just arrived from the beach, bassist Barry Stockley sported long blonde dreadlocks and drummer George Servanis was certainly very committed in his playing. They opened their set with "Kare Kare" which was a nice surprise and later in the set they did "Italian Plastic". They also played "Thumbs" from the debut EP and "You Did It All" from the second EP plus four tracks that weren't on either EP (I got a set list after the gig and have put the set list on setlist.fm: Largest Living Things Concert Setlist at St Kilda Festival 1999 on February 14, 1999 | setlist.fm).
Midway through the gig, Paul spotted none other than Peter Jones (his Crowded House replacement) in the audience. Peter was in fact standing next to me, but I hadn't noticed that until Paul started chatting to him from the stage, jokingly thanking Peter for "returning my drum sticks". I got the impression that the two of them were good friends.
A few songs later there was a strange moment when Paul went up to George Servanis on stage and seemed to show him how the drums should be played. It looked rather awkward and it was hard to tell if Paul was annoyed about something or if was intended to be humourous.

After the gig, I did get to meet Kevin Garant, Paul and also fan club president Peter Green, all very nice guys. Kevin told me he had a solo gig coming up a couple of days later and encouraged me to go to that gig too. When I met Paul I mentioned that I had been in the audience when Crowded House played at Hard Rock Café in Stockholm in September 1986 and that we had met back then (obviously, this was about a thousands gig ago from his point of view). He thought it was cool that someone who had seen Crowded House in Sweden in 1986 was now at this St Kilda Festival in 1999, so he introduced me to a few of his friends, saying "he was at our first tour in Europe in 1986!".
Paul seemed very relaxed and happy about Largest Living Things. He did say that a record company in London had expressed interest in signing them and that they would head over to London soon to discuss this further. Having read about his departure from Crowded House and in particular how the pressures of touring and doing promotion had taken its toll, I remember thinking that any deal with a London record company would presumably bring a lot of that back and wondered to myself how Paul would deal with that second time around. But obviously I didn't say that to Paul and probably I also thought that if they signed an international record deal there might be tours in Europe later on.
This was the third (and final) time I met Paul. I have read a lot about how he could have very dark moods and be grumpy and difficult to deal with, but every time I met him he was always very kind, friendly and inclusive. Backstage at the St Kilda Festival, he was accompanied by his then partner Mardi and their daughter Sunday who was about 4 and a half years old at the time. He seemed to be very proud of his daughter and seemed a very doting and loving father.
Before I left, I asked Paul if he could recommend a restaurant in the nearby area as it was getting close to dinner time. He recommended a place called The Galleon Café so I went there and couldn't resist saying to the waitress, "Mr Paul Hester recommended this restaurant to me".

I did go to Kevin Garant's solo gig a few days later, unfortunately I got a bit lost on the way and only arrived at the venue when the gig was already over. But I did talk to Kevin again - and LLT drummer George Servanis who turned up to tell Kevin that he (George) had been informed by Paul a few hours earlier that he was no longer a member of the group. So perhaps that incident at the gig, when Paul went up to the drums to seemingly show George how the song should be played, was rather serious. George seemed shellshocked about being out of the group and Kevin seemed very surprised at the news too. I was concerned that I was intruding on a private discussion between them, but they were both friendly to me and said it was OK. I believe George soon found new work, playing with the very talented Kutcha Edwards among others.

I regret that I missed Kevin's solo gig, but I am very happy that I got to see Largest Living Things live when I was in Melbourne.

 

@StefanWq - that is such a lovely story about Hessie (and friends). Thanks for sharing it with us and what a great memory of your trip to Australia!

 

Ditto from me on that one too. Such a loss.

I thought that there was a Paulo fan club CD that brought much of his music together. I think I have it ... somewhere ... but can't remember what is on it.

 

It is solo songs on that EP, not LLT songs. Well get there on this thread eventually.

 

Great story @StefanWq I really felt like I was there. Made me miss Paul.