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

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Lance LaSalle, Jan 21, 2019.

  1. Lance LaSalle

    Lance LaSalle Prince of Swollen Sinus Thread Starter

    I guess I disagree with both Stefan and Stevenn a bit: for some reason I think this band draws me in more to the songs than the Try Whistling This stuff...I guess that overall, they sound better doing songs from the back catalogue than that one did: that band was tailor made to sound great on Try Whistling This, but there is a looser, softer elasticity (or whatever) to this band that works better with songs by Crowded House, One Nil or the gentler Split Enz songs.

    I also disagree with Stefan, in that I don't think this album is all that much worse than Live in the UK -- although I will say that I'm not as engaged listening to this as I am that one, overall: that one had a certain flow and a build and a climax that this one lacks. But some of the songs are great...I just adore "World Where You Live", Lisa Germano really enhancing that mightily with her vocals and violin -- that's not something Neil does terribly often life, is it? I also do like the rendition of "Don't Dream It's Over" and I enjoy the Beatles songs (both the originals and Neil's covers here. "Wherever You Are" deserves to be just as famous as anything Neil has ever done. Its such a brilliant slice of melancholy. And it's fun to hear "Now We're Getting Somewhere!" This is a good band for that, the guitar solo is tops; and I don't think even Crowded House did that song much after they had "In The Lowlands" to take the "shuffle spot" in the setlist, much less solo Neil.

    In the end, I'll give this one a 4.3/5.
     
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  2. Lance LaSalle

    Lance LaSalle Prince of Swollen Sinus Thread Starter

    Our votes for Live in the U.K.
    4-1
    5-2

    Average: 4.59

    Our votes for One One One
    4-2
    5-1
    Average: 3.8
     
  3. Lance LaSalle

    Lance LaSalle Prince of Swollen Sinus Thread Starter

    This week's album is Play It Straight, by The Eddie Rayner Project.

    Play It Straight was a collection of covers of famous New Zealand pop/rock songs, recorded with a number of other New Zealand musicians. I think.

    Joining Eddie was Michael Barker on drums and a number of singers, including a few familiar names, like Annie Crummer. It is notable for being the first release to feature the Finn Brothers should-be classic "Edible Flowers."
    The tracklist was:

    1. Nambassa (Ted Chamber)
    2. Edible Flowers (Split Enz)
    3. From Now On (Eddie Rayner, Brian Baker)
    4. Fool (Baker)
    5. Let's Think of Something (Michael George)
    6. Play It Strange (Phil Judd)
    7. Letting Go (Baker)
    8. Dance All Around the World (Corben Simpson)
    9. Big Picture (Rayner, Baker)
    10. My Only Friend (Chris Knox)
    11. Breakup Breakdown (Judd)
    12. Bursting Through (Bic Runga)
    13. Heya (Rayner)
    The album streams on Spotify and YouTube, and is available on bandcamp and iTunees, and probably elsewhere as well.

    Spotify Link:
    Play It Straight

    Nambassa (first track)


    Coming up:
    1. 9.30 Club Washington July 18th 2002 Neil Finn
    2. I LIke It Rare 2 (VA) 2003
    3. I LIke It Rare 3 Paul Hester 2005
    4. She Will Have Her Way 2005
    5. Novelty Act - Phil Judd 2006
    6. I like It Rare 4
    7. Love Is A ***** -- Phil Judd 2009
    8. Unthinkables -- kind of an art dance studio duo featuring Phil Judd
    9. Chaos And Triviality 2010 -- "Supergroup"of Eddie Rayner, Michael Barker and Brian Ritchie(of Violent Femmes) sort of jazz/rock spontaneous jams
    10. Still Hot! The Conrays (Eddie Rayner cover band)
    11. He Will Have His Way (tribute album)
    12. Play It STrange - Phil Judd 2014
    13. Sediment - Eddie Rayner 2014
    14. Enzso Stranger Than Fiction -- live 2014
    15. The Backroom - Mark Hart
    16. UniQue -- Phil Judd 2016
    17. Alluvium -- Eddie Rayner 2016
    18. Flightless Bird - Phil Judd
    19. Planet Sublime Phil Judd
    20. True Colours tribute album
    21. Another Life -- Another Life (Eddie Rayner band)
    [/QUOTE]
     
  4. StefanWq

    StefanWq Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vallentuna, Sweden
    They're New Zealand songs, but most of them are obscure rather than famous.

    • The first song, "Nambassa", was written by Ted Chapman as a theme song for the Nambassa Festival in New Zealand in 1972. I am not sure if it had ever been released before Eddie's album.
    • "Edible Flowers" had of course been on Neil Finn & Friends' album 7 Worlds Collide in 2001, but I believe this was the first studio version to be released, around two years before the Finn Brothers version on Everyone Is Here.
    • "From Now On" and "Big Picture" are songs first released by The Makers and while both songs were released as singles, I don't think they were hits even in New Zealand.
    • "Fool" is a song by Brian Baker from 1999, previously unreleased.
    • "Let's Think Of Something" - neither the CD booklet or the CD itself has any writing credits for this song and while the other singers on the CD are introduced in the CD booklet with black and white photos and brief biographies, Michael George is not mentioned or pictured.
    • "Play It Strange" and "Breakup Breakdown" were written by Phil Judd in 1977 and neither had been released before this CD. Phil himself recorded a new version of "Play It Strange" on his 2014 album of the same name. (However, Neil Finn played this very song at his gig in Stockholm in October 1998)
    • "Letting Go" is a Brian Baker song, first issued on his self-released 1994 solo album The Field which as far as I know was only printed in very limited numbers.
    • "Dance All Around The World" was originally released by the NZ group Blerta in 1972 and I believe this song actually was a hit there. (For further information about Blerta: Blerta - Wikipedia)
    • "My Only Friend" was written by Chris Knox and originally appeared on his album Beat released in 2000, but I don't think it was a single.
    • "Bursting Through" was written by Bic Runga and included on her debut album Drive. It was her debut single, reaching #33 in the NZ singles chart. The album, on the other hand, reached #1 in New Zealand and was 7 x platinum there.
    The singers on the CD are:
    • Alastair Riddell (Nambassa, From Now On) - was in Space Waltz with Eddie and the guy Split Enz asked when they needed a replacement for Phil Judd in 1977, however Riddell turned them down and they went with some Neil guy instead...
    • Annie Crummer (Edible Flowers, Fool, Play It Strange) - was on the ENZSO album, has been in the group When The Cat's Away and has released at least two solo albums.
    • Michael George (Let's Think of Something) - don't know anything about him
    • Caitlin Smith (Letting Go) - Auckland jazz singer (not to be confused with US singer/songwriter Caitlyn Smith)
    • Maurice Greer (Dance All Around The World, Breakup Breakdown) - leader, singer and drummer of NZ group The Human Instinct who released five albums between 1969 and 1974 and reformed in 2002. The Human Instinct - Wikipedia
    • Chris Melville (Big Picture, Bursting Through) - frontman for the group Grand Central Band, Eddie produced their debut album Cook Street Sessions released in 2000. For further information: Chris Melville - Wedding Jazz Singer
    • Jessie Coutts (My Only Friend) - a Queenstown singer/songwriter, member of a group called Beach who had released their debut CD "recently" according to the liner notes in the Play It Straight CD booklet.
     
    Last edited: Nov 27, 2022
  5. iarla

    iarla Forum Resident

    Location:
    Berlin, Germany
    Completely off (current) topic - but I finally managed to get a copy of the 1987 Japanese A&M/Pony Canyon CD pressing of "Time & Tide" by Split Enz for a not insane price ($20-ish plus shipping), and it sounds lovely. A little grainy, like you'd expect an 1980s CD to sound, but a vast improvement over any of the Mushroom CD pressings.

    Vinyl is still king for "Time & Tide", but this CD is the version that's going to be going on my portable music player.

    I remember liking the 2004 remaster of "True Colours" - but do any of our more particular members here like any of the 2006 remasters?
     
    Last edited: Nov 28, 2022
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  6. Lance LaSalle

    Lance LaSalle Prince of Swollen Sinus Thread Starter

    I dont think Robcar minded them too much.
     
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  7. drewrclv9

    drewrclv9 Forum Resident

    I'll do a song-by-song for this album of Eddie's, though it may be the last time I do that for his stuff. Some of his later albums are tough for me, but I'll still comment on them.

    Nambassa
    Not really my thing. Nice and lush at least, but that's about all I have to say positive about it. Not a fan of the vocal at all.

    2.5/5

    Edible Flowers

    I don't remember what I said about the FB version of this song, but I know that I don't really like this song. It's hideously mundane, and it just never grabs me to any extent. Nice vocal I guess, and good on those who do find it enjoyable.

    2.5/5

    From Now On

    An inferior version of The Makers' original. Why take all the excitement out of the track? That's mostly what it had going for it. And yeah, there's the spaz out part at the end, but it feels tacked on and manufactured.

    2.3/5

    Fool

    The first song I actually like on this album. This one is really good. Great vocal, great chorus and verse alike, just a winner all around. Almost sounds like a remake of an proverbial Enz song from the Dizrythmia era with all those pianos in the verse. Really solid stuff from Eddie, Brian, and Annie.

    4.3/5

    Let's Think of Something

    Another good one. It sounds a bit like a cover to me, but who knows. Strong on a melodic level, and I like the Michael George guys' vocal. Good keyboards and drumming, too.

    4.1/5

    Play it Strange

    A serviceable cover, but I have to admit, I prefer Phil's original demo over this. I also prefer that over Phil's own 2014 remake, too, though. There's just a certain style Phil has that makes this song what it is. It's a little too slick and produced here.

    3/5

    Letting Go

    @KangaMom You get points if you correctly guessed I don't like this. Because I don't like this. It's just that stereotypical noir sound I can never quite get on board with. Strikes me as colorless.

    2/5

    Dance All Around the World

    This, on the other hand, I do like. Weird and off-kilter, it's right up my alley. I never have gotten around to listening to the original version of this. Definitely an early Enz vibe, which is always a good thing. Maurice Greer has a bit of a Phil Judd thing going on here, which makes it feel even more like an early era Enz track. The spoken word part is then reminiscent of Alastair Riddell in the Space Waltz days. I've always enjoyed this track quite a lot.

    4.5/5

    Big Picture

    Here's what "From Now On" should have been. Maintain the vibe of the original, but have it be an alternate version with some notable changes. Meanders a little towards the end, but still a nice version.

    3.5/5

    My Only Friend

    I don't remember listening to this track, but it's really good actually. Spectacular vocal from Jessie Coutts, with a bit of an alt-country/Neko Case thing going on. Really good vocal performance along with a great arrangement. Kind of sparse, but that sparseness is utilized perfectly. A bit of a hidden gem here.

    4.5/5

    Breakup Breakdown

    Phil was right to leave this on the chopping block, because it ain't great. I do like the part at 2:02 (and again at 3:20), as 70's as it may sound. Other than that, though, this is one of the rare mis-steps from early Judd.

    2.3/5

    Bursting Through

    Nope. What an utter bore of a song.

    1.3/5

    Heya

    This is the kind of stuff that's very hit-and-miss for me. I tend to not be partial to Eddie's instrumental material, with the exception of a few from Horse, and probably a few on his later albums. This is definitely in the "miss" camp; nothing here excites me at all.

    2/5


    Overall, this album starts bad, ends bad, but has a surprisingly good middle section, with the exception of "Letting Go". It's certainly a unique entry in Eddie's catalog, with flavors for everyone, really. Covers of old band mates songs, covers of other peoples songs, re-treads of Maker's material, Eddie instrumentals, unreleased Enz creations; it's got it all. But only some of that "all" is any good, in my opinion. Still, there's enough here to make it a "choice cut" kind of album. You know, that thing with the scissors that Robert Christgau uses. That.

    3/5

    Track Picks: "Fool", "Let's Think of Something", "Dance All Around the World", "My Only Friend".
     
    Last edited: Nov 29, 2022
  8. Lance LaSalle

    Lance LaSalle Prince of Swollen Sinus Thread Starter

    I'll do the song-by-song thing for once:
    1. Nambassa Bit Peter Gabriel but in a very good way. 4/5
    2. Edible Flowers: Annie Crummer. She is great and I love the song. 5/5
    3. From Now On. I really dislike the makers, so I'm surprised how much I really like this. I totally remember the original but this is much better. 4/5
    4. Fool Brian Baker continues to impress as a songwriter, again I'm puzzled why I like Eddie's solo Baker related songs but dislike The Makers so much. 4.5/5
    5. Let's think of something -- not that memorable, but ok.3/5
    6. Play It Strange: awesome. I really really wish all Phil's songs were sung by either a woman or Tim Finn, or perhasp some blended version of Tim Finn and a woman; they sound so much better with a singer who can sing a melody. 5/5
    7. Letting Go: I always enjoy this old style blues song, well not always, but when it doesn't suck, I enjoy it.. 4/5
    8. Dance All Around the World -- delightful. Nice harmonica work, too. 5/5
    9. Big Picture -- I don't like this guys'v voice as much as the "From Now On" guy, but I still like this better than The Makers. However, it is a little I don't know...pat or something.
    10. My Only friend -- pretty cool 4/5
    11. Breakup Break down -- it's okay. 3.5/5
    12. Bursting Through: I think I'd like this better if Bic Runga were singing. It does sound like Bic Runga, though. Very Bic Runga-esque song. 3.5/5
    13. Heya: I always or almost always enjoy Eddie's instrumentals. This is full of atmosphere.
    enj
    Somewhere, sometime I read a bad review of this album. Maybe it was just a 1.5 star review on Rateyourmusic or something. i really don't know. I remember thinking, huh, Eddie Rayner does a bunch of covers and it got a bad review from...somebody. I guess I'll pass on this one.

    I've been missing out. This is a highly, highly enjoyable sophisti-pop record. Good winter time music. I'd probably cut a few songs out, but I think it's really worth hearing. As soon as I have money I'm going to order this on iTunes.

    4.5/5
     
  9. Paul H

    Paul H The fool on the hill

    Location:
    Nottingham, UK
    Time and Tide intrigues me. I keep reading that the CD is awful compared to the vinyl but, to my cloth ears, I can't really tell much difference (beyond the usually warmth vs digital harshness issues). Is the Japanese A&M that much better than the Mushroom? I'm tempted to hunt one down.

    As for the 2006 remasters: no, they're all FAR too loud for me. I like the remix of Frenzy: it's the definitive version for me even if it is far too loud. I'd lovelovelove a pre-mastered version of that but I suspect Eddie squashed all the dynamics at the mixing stage.
     
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  10. Lance LaSalle

    Lance LaSalle Prince of Swollen Sinus Thread Starter

    The CD is not awful but the needle drop i have, which I got from…someone you know well… is definitely different. Narrower. Some songs work better that way, some dont.

    That Japanese CD goes for so much money it is not worth it…unless you are planning to resell it!
     
  11. StefanWq

    StefanWq Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vallentuna, Sweden
    The Eddie Rayner Project – Play It Strange

    I think it is interesting to look at the records Eddie did after his debut solo album Horse. First there were ENZSO and ENZSO 2, re-interpretations of Split Enz songs with guest singers and a symphony orchestra. The next record he was heavily involved with was Margaret Urlich’s Second Nature, released in 1999, for which he was the producer and arranger as well as one of the main musicians. On that album, Margaret Urlich did her renditions of NZ classics (including three Finn songs). And after this came Play It Straight, featuring guest vocalists singing mostly rather obscure NZ songs including some that were previously unreleased by anyone. All four albums showcase Eddie’s unique talents as arranger and producer plus of course as a great musician. In many ways I see these four albums belonging together and in particular I view Second Nature and Play It Straight as companion albums.

    Nambassa
    Split Enz’s appearance at the Nambassa festival in 1979 has been described here and there as being an outstanding performance by them, one that helped very much in the build up to the success of True Colours, but that’s all I knew about it before this song. Interestingly, the CD booklet says it was written as a theme for the festival in 1972, but according to Wikipedia the festival didn’t start until 1976 (Nambassa - Wikipedia ). In any case, this track is a very strong album opener. I like the dreamy mood of the music built up by the meditative guitar parts and the gentle percussion as well as Alastair Riddell’s vocals. Based on the Wikipedia article, this song seem to capture the spirit of that festival.

    Edible Flowers
    I was very familiar with this song when the CD was released, having heard and loved it on the 7 Worlds Collide album. It’s such a magnificent song. Very interesting to hear it sung by Annie Crummer. One thing that makes the Finn Brothers version special is that both Tim and Neil sing on it and that their voices are quite different. I like how Annie Crummer also uses different ways with her voice, changing it for the “Tim” parts and the “Neil” parts respectively . Annie Crummer certainly has a great voice and I think she really does the song and its complex emotions full justice. Very nice instrumentation and arrangement too.

    From Now On
    I quite like The Makers, but this particular song has never been a big favourite for me. A big part of that is the production it got when The Makers did the original version. Here the song is, 10 years later, and with a more natural and organic production. Great piano playing by Eddie. Alastair Riddell does a fine job singing it. I have his debut solo album (which also features Eddie) which is very good and what I’ve heard of Space Waltz has been very good too, but if Discogs is to be believed he has only released two solo albums since Space Waltz. I’d like to hear more of his music, I think he has a unique musical persona and is obviously very talented.

    Fool
    I think there’s a real playfulness to this track, with excellent piano playing by Eddie. In a positive sense, this is like a quirky cocktail bar song that takes some unexpected twists and turns. Each musician play with great empathy and Annie Crummer does another stellar job with the vocals.

    Let’s Think of Something
    I think the song, at its core, is good and Michael George has an interesting voice, but to my ears the production is a bit overloaded which weakens the track.

    Play It Strange
    In Mike Chunn’s book Stranger Than Fiction. The Life and Times of Split Enz he wrote a fair bit about Phil Judd’s songwriting in the immediate aftermath of his leaving Split Enz, even including quotes from several unreleased songs. “Play It Strange” was mentioned as one of them. I like the story of Phil recording demos of new songs at the place he and his family lived in the UK countryside in 1977 and then sending that demo to Tim, which ultimately led to Phil briefly rejoining Split Enz. On the fan club edition of The Rootin’ Tootin’ Luton Tapes there are two tracks from that brief time when both Phil and Neil were in the band together, “I’m So Up” and “So This Is Love”. The latter song was also recorded by a NZ group called Bon Marche in 1979 and as we know Tim recorded the song “Incognito in California” on the Feeding The Gods album. It was very nice to see “Play It Strange” and “Breakup Breakdown” included on this CD by Eddie. I had actually heard “Play It Strange” one time before this CD was released – strangely enough, Neil played “Play It Strange” when he (and Liam) did a gig in Stockholm in October 1998 (the only public gig Neil has done in Sweden as a solo artist). Clearly, that Phil demo cassette from 1977 must have made quite an impression on Tim, Eddie and Neil since they have all recorded or performed songs from it. Plus, as mentioned, Mike Chunn wrote about in some detail in his book and quoted lyrics from several of the songs.

    Letting Go
    I have Brian Baker’s solo album The Field (released in 1994) which included the original version of this song. To my ears they sound quite different, with this version having an almost jazz-ish feel to it. I really like Caitlin Smith’s voice, she sings with great commitment and confidence. Very nice piano and organ parts on this song. It’s a tad long perhaps, but other than that I find this song fascinating and appealing.

    Dance All Around The World
    I have heard of the group The Human Instinct, but have never heard their music. Their frontman/singer Maurice Greer is the lead vocalist here. This is a cover of another early ‘70s NZ group, Blerta. I’ve read about them in John Dix’s book Stranded In Paradise (about NZ music 1955-1988) but, again, I’ve never heard any of their songs. This one makes me curious to check out both The Human Instinct and Blerta. It’s definitely one of the album highlights. The lyrics are like a cinematic fairytale fantasy world. Musically the song really takes its listener on a journey through its own enigmatic and unique world, with some parts reminding me of The Beatles’ “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” and the spoken part reminding me of Split Enz’s “Home Sweet Home” and the rest of the song sounding like a mix between art rock and classic ‘70s pop. The string quartet is just marvellous on this track and both Maurice Greer’s lead vocals and the backing vocals add so much character to the song.

    Big Picture
    I quite like The Makers’ original version. This re-make sound fairly similar to my ears, apart from Brian Baker and Chris Melville having rather different voices. While he does a fine job singing it, musically I don’t think this version makes that much of an impression here. It has some jazz-ish elements and I think it would have worked better if Eddie had gone further in that direction for this track.

    My Only Friend
    This is a fabulous track. The intro has a hymn-like quality and from there the song grows into a sophisticated piano ballad with some off-kilter turns thrown in for good measure in the second half of the song. Excellent playing by Eddie and equally excellent singing by Jessie Coutts. She has a voice which has both vulnerability and strength and that suits this song superbly. I like that the version on Eddie’s CD sounds quite different to Chris Knox’s original version which is more guitar based and minimalistic, but also more than well worth hearing. (In the CD booklet it says that Jessie Coutts is from Queenstown, a lovely little town surrounded by Remarkable Mountains and best known for offering tourists all sorts of adrenaline-filled action activities such as bungy jumping, rafting, hang gliding and so on. I did try hanggliding and horseback riding in the mountains when I visited the place in February 1999. One of the evenings there we went to a restaurant where a guy called Noel Coutts performed, including a cover of “Better Be Home Soon”. Perhaps he is a relative of Jessie Coutts?)

    Breakup Breakdown
    It’s great that this CD gave us two songs from Phil Judd’s 1977 songwriting/demo sessions. As far as I know, this album is the only commercial release of this song in any shape or form. It’s an intriguing song which takes several twists and turns along the way and keep revealing new details and nuances each time I listen to it. A bit theatrical, in a good way. In his Split Enz book, Mike Chunn suggests that several of the songs Tim wrote for Dizrythmia was influenced by Phil leaving the band and his and Tim’s friendship falling apart – perhaps this was Phil writing about the same theme from his point of view? Such a shame not much happened with the batch of songs that Phil wrote in 1977, the ones I’ve heard in various shapes and forms have been excellent, including this one. I am glad Eddie included this song on his album and Maurice Greer has a Judd-ish voice as well, offering a tantalizing glimpse of how this song might have sounded if Split Enz (with both and Phil and Neil) had recorded a version back when it was new, with Phil on lead vocals.

    Bursting Through
    I love Bic Runga’s original version of this song. It has a haunting, epic melancholia at its core, but also a sense of hope. My interpretation is that the narrator is a person coming out of a depression and feeling that the tide is finally turning, as symbolized by the sun bursting through and possibly a new person making the narrator feeling loved again. Chris Melville’s singing is top notch and the instrumentation around his voice is so precise and heartfelt, especially the string quartet and Eddie’s tasteful piano and keyboard parts. All musicians play with so much empathy, making this version just as magnificent as the original one.

    Heya
    A very good album closer, neatly bookending the album with opener “Nambassa”. It has a bit of a lullaby feeling. The trumpet-sounding instrument (since no trumpet player is credited, I presume it is Eddie on his synth) gives the song a sense of nonchalant playfulness and the singers who keep repeating the title add a meditative mood. Who would have thought that singers could add so much character to a track which on the back cover of the CD is described as being an instrumental?

    I think Play It Straight is a fabulous album, with excellent singers blending well with each other, sophisticated instrumentation and arrangements and a song selection that could have been a hodge-podge of NZ obscurities, but instead the album has a very natural flow with the songs enhancing each other.

    4,5/5
     
  12. iarla

    iarla Forum Resident

    Location:
    Berlin, Germany
    To my ears, the Japanese A&M is much better than the Mushroom CD. It's lower in level, but when played loud it sounds great. Good bass, good separation of instruments. Relatively close to a good vinyl copy in sound. I had been on the hunt for one for a few years, and @Lance LaSalle is right, they do go for silly money. I don't know what my luck was - but someone was selling a promo copy on Discogs that was missing an OBI strip and had some discolouration of the plastic case - and I paid $22 (I think) for it. Maybe there's less value on it if it's not in prime collector condition. It was the right CD, right mastering, inlay and CD in immaculate condition, no OBI strip (but I didn't care).

    The Japanese CD also has the best inlay artwork of all of the releases of the CD. It's true to the original record. (We all hyped the 2006 releases a bit when they came out, but even then I thought that the artwork for those releases was awfully shoddy.)

    @Jaffaman had a theory that there was some sort of stereo widening effect put on the master for the Mushroom CD. I don't know whether it's that, or a misaligned tape during the transfer but the Mushroom CD sounds wooly, missing bass and missing a bit of definition in the middle. I got to know the album first listening to the Mushroom CD, and it was a revelation when I finally got a copy on vinyl. I love the album, and so through the years I've picked up several cheap copies of it on vinyl as backups. They're all UK/US/Canadian A&M pressings, but they sound decent. I did have an original Mushroom pressing at some point, but traded that away to Camus from the FF for some Split Enz audience recordings from 1977.

    (@Jaffaman - Did you ever find out what did happen to the Time & Tide CD mastering?)

    Some things that mystify me about it's streaming releases:
    • It's not available on streaming services in Ireland or the UK for some reason. (Only "True Colours" and the Chrysalis era is on streaming).
    • It is available on streaming services in the US, but it sounds like Universal Music still use the Mushroom CD mastering - they could use their own (superior) CD master.
    Is this exceptionally nerdy? Yes. It's the Steve Hoffman forum though. Let's be thankful I didn't start on about matrix numbers.
     
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  13. KangaMom

    KangaMom Queen of the Quokkas

    I've been crazy busy this week and recovering from a cold but I felt obliged to listen to at least this track given the call-out here...:D

    100% correct that I would have pegged this as something not for you @drewrclv9 - and of course, predictably I really like it. I think it's a 4/5!

    As you all were...I'm not sure I'm going to get to the rest of the album, although I will say that I'm loving reading the commentary. It actually makes me want to find time to listen to it. Maybe during my flight as I go out of town for work.
     
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  14. Jaffaman

    Jaffaman Senior Member

    No, I never got around to asking.

    I do know that there is some effort being made by someone (not me) on behalf of Split Enz to make the albums more available globally. The trouble is they're owned by different labels in different territories, and it's evidently not easy to ensure they all use band-approved masters, art work, etc. The labels don't even have to inform the band that an album's being reissued on vinyl.
     
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  15. rkt88

    rkt88 The unknown soldier

    Location:
    malibu ca
    I don't know much if anything about their collective works but I have always loved their line:

    "my possessions are causing me suspicion but there's no proof".
     
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  16. Lance LaSalle

    Lance LaSalle Prince of Swollen Sinus Thread Starter

    Our votes for Play It Straight
    1-0
    2-0
    3-1
    4-0
    5-2
    Average: 4
     
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  17. Lance LaSalle

    Lance LaSalle Prince of Swollen Sinus Thread Starter

    This week, we're up to the very last ( live release by The Frenz of the Enz fan club. It was not the last live release the club did, but it is the latest, according to time recorded, that the show did. Shows from later on the Finn Brothers career were not released by the fan club. I think they might have release some later "radio shows", in order to provide a semi-official outlet for them since those are generally legal in Europe; but I'm not including those because I don't have a comprehensive list of them and besides, I'm kind of showed-out. I do have a decent concert from about every tour, though, I think. Except the one from 2022.

    Anyway, this week's release is 9.30 Club Washington. by Neil Finn.

    9.30 Club Washington was recorded at the 9.30 Washington Club in Washington, DC on July 18th, 2002 on to promote the release of the One All, (the updated and recently released version of One Nil) in North America at the time. I think his band may also have changed slightly for this one compared to the UK (plus Dublin) concerts we went over a couple of weeks back. This album was released on July 31st, 2003.

    The tracklist was:
    1. When You Come (Neil Finn)
    2. Private Universe (N. Finn)
    3. Anytime (N. Finn)
    4. One Step Ahead (N. Finn)
    5. Wherever You Are (N. Finn)
    6. Sinner (N. Finn, Marius De Vries)
    7. Pineapple Head (N. Finn)
    8. Last to Know (N. Finn)
    9. I Can't Get Started
    10. Human Kindness (N. Finn)
    11. She Will Have Her Way (N. Finn)
    12. Take A Walk (N. Finn)
    13. The Kids Are Alright
    14. Weather With You (N. Finn, Tim Finn)
    15. Turn And Run (N. Finn)
    16. Lullabye Requiem (N. Finn)
     
  18. StefanWq

    StefanWq Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vallentuna, Sweden
    9.30 Club Washington

    So we've reached the final live CD that the fan club released. First off, it's amazing that Neil and the band and the fan club were generous enough to release all these fan club CDs. They truly show what an incredible performer Neil is in all the various contexts (Crowded House, Finn Brothers, solo) he has been a part of.
    From a historical point of view, the 9.30 Club Washington is interesting in the sense that after 2002 Neil's solo career took kind of a break for a long while as what followed next were the second Finn Brothers album and its tour, a reformed Crowded House (although it can be argued that Time On Earth is more of a solo album than a band album), Pajama Club and The Sun Came Out album. I am glad that this gig in Washington in 2002 was documented and that the CD is from one show only.

    From the sound of it, the 2002 touring band was a very good one, with especially Lisa Germano enhancing the performance with her sublime violin and beautiful vocal harmonies. Overall, this is a great show, especially the second half of it starting with "Last To Know". Of course, at this point, after having heard so many fan club live CDs. it helps that the second half of the CD has several unexpected and more seldom performed tracks included. I think Neil and the band's version of the old jazz standard "I Can't Get Started" is brilliant and it makes me think that if Neil decided to do an album of jazz standards it could be astoundingly good. The later cover of The Who's "The Kids Are Alright" is also very good. I am not that familar with The Who's music but this is an excellent song. It also reminds me of when I was around 13 and out of the blue had an in-depth discussion about music with one of my teachers during lunch, a discussion that ended up with him asking to borrow my Split Enz records (I had three or four studio Enz albums at that point in time). When he returned them, he said he really liked Split Enz and thought they sounded a lot like The Who. I've read many times in interviews Tim and Neil saying they were big fans of The Beatles and The Kinks but I don't think I've seen them mention The Who.
    It's a real treat to have a live version of "Human Kindness", I think I like this live version better than the studio version. The versions of "She Will Have Her Way" and "Take A Walk" are both superb, it makes me happy to know that during the 2001 and 2002 tours "Take A Walk" seems to have been played a lot. That song should have been the third single from Time And Tide back in the day.
    On paper, the zillionth-plus-one live version of "Weather With You" don't seem that interesting, but I was happily surprised at how much I enjoyed this version. Nice to hear Neil and Ed Harcourt together too. I did interview Neil in Copenhagen in October 2007 for the newspaper Upsala Nya Tidning (the biggest newspaper in the Swedish university town Uppsala, where I lived for about seven years) and in 2010 or 2011 I did a phone interview with Ed Harcourt also for that newspaper.
    "Turn And Run" is a song that I sometimes really like, other times it leaves me cold. This live version is definitely in the former category, thanks to great singing by Neil, a very committed performance by the band and again a top notch contribution by Lisa Germano.
    "Lullaby Requiem" is a song that always goes straight to my heart. Thankfully, my mother is still very much alive, but I lost my father five years ago and as it happened I had been thinking about him a lot today (especially with Christmas approaching, I love Christmas with all my heart and look forward to being with all my family members, but there is also a level of sadness that he will not be there with us) and I can totally relate to this song. Such a wonderful, heartfelt song, I am glad that this fabulous live version is on this CD.

    All in all, an excellent fan club CD!

    4,7/5
     
  19. Paul H

    Paul H The fool on the hill

    Location:
    Nottingham, UK
    JCo, Left Hand, KangaMom and 2 others like this.
  20. brownie61

    brownie61 Forum Resident

    Fully booked until March 2024! :D

    Thanks for posting. It’s always gorgeous to look at.
     
    StefanWq, Left Hand, KangaMom and 2 others like this.
  21. Paul H

    Paul H The fool on the hill

    Location:
    Nottingham, UK
    I can't think of many recording studios one can holiday in :)
     
    StefanWq, KangaMom and Lance LaSalle like this.
  22. Lance LaSalle

    Lance LaSalle Prince of Swollen Sinus Thread Starter

    Or many holiday homes you can record a classic album in. It looks really inspiring.
     
  23. Lance LaSalle

    Lance LaSalle Prince of Swollen Sinus Thread Starter

    By the way, I'm getting a bit of deja vu here....has this come up before????
     
    StefanWq and KangaMom like this.
  24. brownie61

    brownie61 Forum Resident

    Yes, I think it has.
     
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  25. KangaMom

    KangaMom Queen of the Quokkas

    I see that Neil is doing a Split Enz 50th Anniversary Show on Fangradio!
    www.neilfinn.com for the link or go to Fangradio (of course). Will be trying to tune in this evening.
     
    Left Hand, drewrclv9, ToneM and 5 others like this.

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