Split Enz

[CRAZY-HORSE]

SPLIT ENZ "conflicting emotions" 1983.

although Tim Finn had officially,privately departed the group at this stage he did return inbetween recording his debut solo set to finish of several tracks for this album, and his image still appears on the album cover(second from right), and for the first time Neil Finn took over as the primary writer/vocalist.
and although the album is full of good to very good tracks, it is not in hindsight a real Split Enz album, it has more in common with Crowded House. take the title and construction of the second track for example: Bullet Brain And Cactus Head, Neil had never written a song like that before,it was psychadelic,pop and in places sparse,something CH excelled at so well. and the title had no clear interpretation of what the song may be about,also his vocals were quite agressive in places.
on the flipiside he was also capable of composing on of the best love songs of his career in Message To My Girl along with the very 1940s sounding Strait Old Line...another Finn classic. again 'Our Day' is a beautiful ode to his unborn son Liam(who is now quite a successful artist in his own right in folky circles)...thus Neil was growing up, had different priorities and his music was beginning to outgrow the youthful chaotic sounds of the Enz. just listen to the vocal/musical diversity of the first three tracks and you will see just how good Neil Finn is as an artist.
Tims best contribution to this one was the last track on the album entitled "bon voyage" which clearly let it be known that he was saying goodbye to the Enz forever,even now i get the feeling that John Denver could have done a really good version of this one.
theres also some good funky basslines on some of these tracks.
quite possibly the best album these guys ever made,,apart from the electronic drum machines which i am not a fan of!!

I LOVE THIS ALBUM!

tracks:

1. strait old line***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5wcVpj14l0 video
2. bullet brain and cactus head***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhEtxqCltG8 audio
3. message to my girl***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUC_jE78FNE video
4. working up an appetite**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4h45RjOrBg audio
5. our day**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0D8WfeT9f0o audio
6. no mischief**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWhdTBlwG...re=related audio
7. the devil you know**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WGCQqYlgZQ audio
8. i wake up every night**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0CF9TuI0LA audio
9. conflicting emotions***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_9O9nCBxow audio
10.bon voyage**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7FqT3T1_q4 audio

3s=5
2s=5
1s=0

rating: 2.5

[CRAZY-HORSE]

SPLIT ENZ "see ya 'round" 1984.

ok, this was the last official album by The Enz before the group disbanded and Neil took drummer Paul Hester with him to form The Mullanes who later got renamed Crowded House.
the album starts of reasonably enough with four or five good Neil Finn compositions but slips off to include several tracks written by whoever wanted to compose a song...sure, these guys were and still are competant musicians but songwriting is another skill all together and the rest of the band just dont cut the mustard!
yet again though, we see Tim returning to the fold to complete another previously half baked song into something special, thus "next exit" is the only great song on here.
Split Enz lost an important ingredient when Tim decided to go solo....no more oomph! and subtleties in the lyrics anymore and little surprise in the make up of the tracks. in fact this album now sounds slightly sterile compared to the other Enz albums.
this is not a putdown of younger brother Neil by any means, it just means that the "enz had gone out of the enz!" and Neil's style was not conducive to stand alone in that band, the same could well be said of McCartney...he struggled for a while without Lennon to bounce things off and add subtleties to his music.
regardless of the criticisms i have of this album it is a good album but not as good as their previous eight albums.
this is not a real good place to start building your Split Enz collection.

I LIKE THIS ALBUM

1. breaking my back**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8f39tcbD37Y audio
2. i walk away**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cvZOGzfqWU video
3. doctor love**
4. one mouth is fed**
5. years go by**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9TC2JVpf9U audio
6. voices**
7. the lost cat*
8. adz*
9. this is massive**
10.kia kaha**
11.ninnie knees up*
12.next exit***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vJdXkzjFw0 video

3s=1
2s=8
1s=3

rating: 1.9

[CRAZY-HORSE]

SPLIT ENZ "rootin' tootin' luton tapes/sessions" 2007

this is a release of the tracks the band layed down in Luton,UK in 1878 whilst trying to discover a sound that the general public would find accessable after their previous albums of eclectic songs.
most of the songs here are acoustically based and in the style of folk and/or country with a hint of their own style added for the mix.
the majority of the tracks deal with issues of being alone,far from home and homesickness.
a couple of these tracks were re-recorded and found their way onto their followup album "frenzy", with several others being re-recorded as b-sides of singles,and all remained unissued until this 2007 release in their original form. the overall quality of these tracks is quite good...not sure why they didnt issue these tracks as an album instead of going home and recording another album of fresh tracks as all are worthy contenders in the Enz back catalogue.
a worthy addition to the Enz collection....and sorry about the lack of links for this one.

I LIKE THIS ALBUM

tracks:

1. mis haps**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk-qjA5nic8 audio
2. home comforts**
3. animal lover**
4. carried away**
5. semi-detached*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69zMOoCg1ns audio
6. holy smoke***
7. message boy***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-_iSekzG...re=related audio
8. hypnotised**
9. love in rome**
10.straight talk**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrUgs0I6TDE audio
11.hollow victim**
12.evelyn**
13.best friend**
14.creature comforts**
15.remember when***

3s=3
2s=11
1s=1

rating: 2.1

[CRAZY-HORSE]

SPLIT ENZ "out of the bag" dvd/cd set.
a live recording of their 2008 reunion tour of Australia and New Zealand.
the Finn brothers have reassembled their band from their "true colours" days
and this dvd shows all the things that they are great for, not a bad song in sight,
just the Enz playing their most well known songs...a must for any music collector
of great live performances!








SPLIT ENZ "enz to enz"
an 11cd boxset of all the albums featured here, fully remastered by the band
and well worth the money!



there are several different "best of" sets on the market and they all worthy
of being called "best of" sets!

[evilB]

Excellent read all the way through Crazy-Horse. Absolutely one of the most under-rated bands of their time. Thank-you!

I agree the "Enx to Enz" box set is well worth your money.

[Tiggi]

this is a release of the tracks the band layed down in Luton,UK in 1878 whilst trying to discover a sound that the general public would find accessable after their previous albums of eclectic songs.

Is this one of those wax cylinder jobs ??

On a serious note, I can't speak highly enough of your Beginner's Guides, Lloyd. All power to your typing finger(s)...

[CRAZY-HORSE]

Ooops!, real bad typo that one! LOL

thanks for the positive comments guys

for a complete overview of the Finn's career see the "Complete Finn Overview" guide!