Neil & Tim Finn

[CRAZY-HORSE]

7 WORLDS COLLIDE "7 worlds collide-neil finn and friends live" 2001.

normally i would feature "live" albums at the end of a 'beginners guide' but seeing as this is not strictly a Finn project im doing it now so if you dont like it done now....sue me!
2001 was a big year for the Finn's, both released solo albums and Neil took to the road to raise money for various causes like Amnesty International, Ox-Fam,Red Cross etc....
he recruited six of his musician friends to play in his band including son Liam,Eddie Vedder(pearl jam), Johnny Marr(the smiths), brother Tim, Lisa Germano and Sebastian Steinberg.
basically the band played songs from both Finn's back catalogue including Split Enz and Crowded House along with a cover of The Smiths "there is a light that never goes out", vocal duties are predominantly by Neil Finn but Vedder,Germano and Tim Finn all get their turn, only three tracks i do not like here,but only because they dont offer anything new or come close to the originals. however it is good to hear Eddie Vedder give us his version of the Enz classic "i see red" and also a version of Pearl Jam's "parting ways"...and it is always good to hear the Finn's live as their records somehow dont capture the feel of their songs 100%.
this album was also released as a dvd,personally i prefer the dvd to the cd as its always better IMO to see live performances rather than just hear them.
this is a good album for anyone interested in the Finn's and Eddie Vedder live performances!

all vocalists are listed by the link, except where Neil Finn does vocal duties!!

I LOVE THIS ALBUM

tracks:

1. anytime***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWEplVLNTTQ live
2. take a walk***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GnCOxhKo6I live Eddie Vedder vocals
3. the climber***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Krc1Y8OXDos live
4. loose tongue***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7AKT3I6iJs live
5. down on the corner**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ustyrU2OI00 live johnny Marr vocals
6. there is a light...**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sije12JaKdA live
7. paper doll*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VTKtaqLxzI live Lisa Germano vocals
8. turn and run*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bceT_mXlTjM live
9. angels heap***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgltUiAEykI live Finn Brothers vocals
10.edible flowers**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8blXj2JmKk live Tim Finn vocals
11.stuff and nonsense*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hC48fcPlAfc live Tim Finn & eddie Vedder vocals
12.i see red**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYc0_FHleX8 live Eddie Vedder vocals
13.she will have her way***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rcKosVvpLY live
14.parting ways**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1QtiGFZGF8 live Eddie Vedder vocals
15.weather with you**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK5nUA1t-3A live Finn Brothers vocals
16.paradise***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHFU8UQTYt8 live Finn Brothers vocals
17.dont dream its over***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zrgagzB8pY live

3s=8
2s=6
1s=3

rating: 2.3

[CRAZY-HORSE]

BETCHADUPA "alphabetchadupa" 2002.

band bio from "allmusic" as i know nothing about these guys only that i got the cd because i was curious as to what a Finn offspring could do!:

Despite their young ages, the members of New Zealand's alt-pop group Betchadupa were well-versed in the ways of the music business. Singer/guitarist Liam Finn and drummer Matt Eccles were simultaneously blessed and cursed by being the prodigy of famous musicians. Liam's father is Neil Finn of Split Enz and Crowded House fame, while Brent Eccles was drummer and manager of legendary Australian hard rock band the Angels. The sons' careers started after a chance meeting in summer of 1997 between the then 12-year-old Eccles and Finn when their families were holidaying at the same spot. They say they instantly disliked each other, but also discovered each other's love of music and spent the summer writing and recording songs. Later Liam's neighbor, Chris Garland, was recruited on guitar, and schoolmate Joe Bramley was added on bass to complete the lineup. They played their first show when they were 16. Originally they called themselves Lazy Boy. Their name was changed to Betchadupa after objections from a company with a similar name making reclining chairs. Betchadupa "apparently" comes from the top line from an eye chart that Liam Finn had to read.

In early 2000 the band released its self-titled first EP on Flying Nun, comprised of songs Liam and Eccles had put together after that first meeting. Immediately they found themselves in demand and hit the road. In 2001 Joe joined the others in quitting school, the band released their second EP -- 3DEP (the New Zealand release accompanied by a pair of 3-D specs on purchase) -- and they shared the stage with some of the music world's most respected names. In April 2001 Neil Finn decided he would celebrate the release of his solo latest album with five-night, sold-out series of shows at the Auckland St. James Theatre with friends including Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, Radiohead guitarist Ed O'Brien and drummer Phil Selway, the Smiths' Johnny Marr, Neil's brother Tim Finn, and Betchadupa, who performed Split Enz's "I See Red" with Vedder and Tim Finn. Eccles was also working as part of the crew on the five shows, alternating with his drumming duties. Australian Betchadupa performances around the release of 3DEP followed. In June 2001 Betchadupa went into hibernation to start a couple of months' work on their first album, Alphabetchadupa. No longer teenagers and having found what they wanted to do together musically, their music reflects the famous pop sense of the Finn family, but with the energy, hard edge, and irreverence of youth.

end of biography!

Liam Finn was only eighteen when Betchadupa(stupid name for a band!) released this one...coincidently his father Neil was the same age when he joined Split Enz.
its always difficlt not to compare the children of famous musicians to their parents...we all do it!
anyway this is a respectable debut album from these guys IMO....infact allmusic rate it 4/5 which is 2.4 on the MHRS, im not so generous as allmusic and havent been with most of my reviews thus so far!
young Finn has a reasonable enough voice and he can play most instruments just like his dad, he is also a reasonable songwriter IMO,
the tracks on this debut set range from a slightly grungy sound,through psychadelia,alt rock and a touch of folky rootsy type songs, at times he does sound a bit like his father in vocal style and in song construction on this one but he is still good enough in his own right.
nothing further to add here, but i implore you to at least listen/watch whatever links i find with Liam as he may just be good enough to prick up your ears and take out your wallets/credit cards!!!

I LIKE THIS ALBUM

tracks:

1. at night**
2. supa day*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cK9LoIXF6Ds video
3. easy as it seems***
4. rain**
5. filthy mcnasty*
6. life will be the same**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJbimOpYxzA live
7. feed the dogs**
8. unused potatoes**
9. lucy's song**
10.sleepy news**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qk2h7yb2p...re=related audio
11.drop d*
12.other way**

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

rating: 1.9 (allmusic rate this 2.4?!)

[CRAZY-HORSE]

FINN BROTHERS "everyone is here" 2004.

quite possibly the best album of their career and certainly the best either has released since Crowded House's "woodface"!
its been nine years since their first collaboration album,'Finn' and six albums inbetween times but this one still shows the pure genius of the Finn Brothers as composers and singers after thirty years of making music.
again, not all the album blows you away straight away..it matures like fine wine in a vat waiting to be bottled and drunk...best when sipped slowly so the delicate textures reveal themselves fully.
this one is a very uplifting and positive album, simply dealing with the subject of 'brotherly love', the pair trade lines, harmonise and basically remember their lives together growing up, then instilling in the listener that their bonds and love for eachother are eternal..every track has a heartfelt personal message not only to eachother but to the listener also, for me the best song here is the lovely "disembidied voices" which is about the conversations they used to have whilst laying in bed in their shared room as youngsters at night....thus in the dark their conversations are like disembodied voices...tha song brings back so many memories for me staying with my grandfather (RIP) and talking all night about his life in the RAF in WWII(not gory war stories but the places he visited all over the world)...and im pretty sure there are a great deal a many tune on here that you can all relate to also....sorry, got off track there for a while.....back to the album!...
the music is mainly acoustic with an autumnal,earthy,warm feel to it and the harmonies are simply perfect....although these two guys have always written good songs they are,IMO, best when they work together. the Finn Brothers mum died not long before this album was made and on it is a very moving tribute to her memory in the song "all the colours"...
another thing that springs to mind when listening to this album is that it has the same feel to it as the Beatles song "two of us"!!!
do yourself a favour and get this album ASAP you wont regret it!!!
yet again, allmusic's rating of this is higher than mine they give it 4.5/5 which is the equivelant of 2.7 here, i only give it 2.6!

I LOVE THIS ALBUM

tracks:

1. wont give in***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uSSHpQS8N8 live
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVtBV5UwI...re=related video
2. nothing wrong with you***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5lPW4jRlJ0 live
3. anything can happen***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZjo6hcaTlM audio
4. luckiest man alive***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stnC6LCf6...EB8E268A34 audio
5. homesick**
6. disembodied voices***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qrENYDLByc live
7. a life between us**
8. all god's children***
9. edible flowers**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGhlI_gAvn8 live
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUKf-RNoA...ure=fvwrel video
10.all the colours**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPWwR3edjsk audio
11.part of me,part of you***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2tIRUI_c3k live
12.gentle hum**

3s=7
2s=5
1s=0

rating: 2.6

nearly finished...only six more albums to go!!!!

[CRAZY-HORSE]

BETCHADUPA "aiming for your head" 2004.

Liam Finn's second album, carries much the same as the debut set as in some nice indi.rock......very little to say about this one that hasnt been said about the debut album,except this guy sure has got some talent, but he is no better nor worse than some of the good indi bands,just a good band....
again, allmusic rates this one higher than me, their 4/5 translates to 2.4 on our system

I LIKE THIS ALBUM

tracks:

1. my army of birds and gulls**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSEYIyOS0II video
2. who's coming through the window**
3. move over**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9UwBBbnnzc video
4. my song**
5. diversions**
6. aiming for your head***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uBesKUfaXA video
7. the ocean...**
8. weekend**
9. RT 10-90**
10.design**
11.the bats of darkwell lane***
12.running out of time**

3s=2
2s=10
1s=0

rating: 2.0

[CRAZY-HORSE]

TIM FINN "imaginary knigdom" 2006.

this one is Tim's best solo album to date and there are no 'fillers' on this one....unlike most of his solo output in which there always seem to be a couple on each album.
the album opens with the instantly catchy "could'nt be done"...the likes of which he hasnt achieved since his first solo record, and a very Split Enz type video to promote it...
other than this track there are no real catchy tunes in sight but instead, a solid group of piano based tracks that are atmospheric and have a warmth to them that he has so often lacked as a solo performer, the songs are sung with an honesty and conviction that also sadly are so often missing when he is without Neil to help out. luckily though this album does manage(like all his albums) to grow on the listener over time.
"still the song" is farily upbeat for this album also and along with the opening track/lead single and the"chronicles of narnia" theme song "winter light" are the standouts here. "outstanding moon" appears to be a song for his youngest son Richard from his second marraige.
although major chart success has always aluded him, Tim is still a great songwriter and a serious musician.

why is it that there are always very few links to Tim Finn's music???...its really quite frustrating!!!!

I LIKE THIS ALBUM

tracks:

1. couldnt be done***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLPYSlgiDlE video
2. still the song***
3. outstanding moon**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2ctc971Urg video
4. midnight coma**
5. salt to the sea**
6. horizon**
7. dead flowers**
8. resting**
9. so precious**
10.winter light***
11.unsinkable**

3s=3
2s=8
1s=0

rating: 2.2

[CRAZY-HORSE]

TIM FINN "the conversation" 2008.

for one reason or another this is the only album of the Finn's career that i do not own, so without the intense listening that would be required to do this properly i would not do this one either the justice it deserves and would obviously be making crap up about the album that may not be correct and factual so i will use the "allmusic" review and score for this one....sorry for the lack of effort but im not pretending to know this album!!!

Review

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
The Conversation is an appropriate name for Tim Finn's eighth solo album: the music has a hushed, intimate quality that evokes the feeling of a conversation with a close friend. Old friends surface throughout The Conversation, either in their presence -- Eddie Rayner, Finn's old Split Enz cohort plays piano throughout -- or their absence, as in the case of Phil Judd, whose absence haunts "More Fool Me," a song that contains a direct quote from an early Enz song, "Matinee Idyll (129)." All of The Conversation feels as if it were built on this kind of reflective introspection or, failing that, a bit of subdued relaxation, as on the lighter "Snowbound," but it's all tied together by its quietness. Nothing about The Conversation is loud: there are no crashing drums -- there's barely any percussion -- and the arrangements are so spare they sometimes seem like nothing more than an acoustic guitar and piano graced by another vocal harmony, although closer inspection reveals some subtle, crucial texture and shading, usually derived from woodwinds or violins. Finn has never quite had an album this gentle or delicate before -- there are echoes of his melancholy 2004 collaboration with brother Neil, Everyone Is Here -- and the effect is striking: this is as naked and emotional as Tim has been on record, and its coziness feels like a secret shared between two close friends.

tracks:

1. straw to gold
2. out of this world
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEvVvJx9i94 video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piGbF5zB9Hc live with interview
3. the saw and the tree
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Z1vqL_dV8k live
4. slow mystery
5. rear view mirror
6. only a dream
7. fall from grace
8. invisible
9. snowbound
10.great return
11.imaginary kingdom
12.forever tuesday
13.more fool me

Rating

which equates to "2.2"

[CRAZY-HORSE]

LIAM FINN "i'll be lightning" 2008.

ah, the first solo album by Betchadupa's vocalist and Neil Finn's son,Liam.
Liam grew up listening to the same music that influenced his father...1960s British Invasion bands,grunge, and also what Neil was doing in his studio.
by 2004ish Liam was doing support slots for his father and uncle,even became a band member on Neil's tours and on the odd Crowded House reunion gig so it was obvious that there would be some sort of similarity between his music and theirs.
for the most part this is an acoustic album and occasionly the odd guitar solo/riff to liven things up,he also has a warmth and injects feeling into his songs of a vocalist much more mature than his age of20ish.
Liam plays most of the instruments himself and the backing vocals and he does have a knack for writing lovely melodies and catchy hooks like his father, but he also possesses the skill of the odd subtle quirky nuance within his songs, much like Uncle Tim.
Rolling Stone magazine listed Liam Finn as one of the top 10 new artists of 2008 to look out for...an honour i am sure, but he seems to take it in his stride and just do what he does best...play and write music.

I LIKE THIS ALBUM

tracks:

1. better to be**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpBAeb_vze8 live
2. second chance***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UV01Iyj2j...re=related live
3. gather in the chapel**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6oDQqHVD8g live
4. lead balloon**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWffacJYxOk live
5. fire in your belly**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCANOaY-YJ0 live
6. lullaby**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0VLhZTjEXk live
7. energy spent**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dI0BwWJnYZk live
8. music moves my feet**
9. remember when**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zDCflTZ8dQ audio
10.wise man*
11.this place is killing me**
12.i'll be lightning***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdOaPkMjKcU audio
13.wide awake on the voyage home**
14.shadow of your man**

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

rating: 2.0.....allmusic rates this album 4/5 or 2.2 on our system!

[CRAZY-HORSE]

7 WORLDS COLLIDE "the sun came out" 2009.

this time round Neil Finn gets a few more of his friends together,including KT Tunstall,Jeff Tweedy,Bic Runga and Johnny Marr, to once again do another charity record.
unlike the first 7 Worlds Collide incarnation this one records all new song on this double studio album....which is also available as a single cd edition...i only have the single cd version so that is what i will post links to and rate, a far superior album to the "live" one released several years prior to this one....after revisiting this one for the first time in about a year and loving it, i am going to seek out the double cd edition.
it is, for the most part, a very folky album and very pleasing from the first listen, Jeff Teedy(wilco), and KT's tracks are simply brilliant IMO.
also featured on the album playing guitar on some songs is Neil Finn's youngest son Elroy...i guess this means he has chosen his career path and i am looking foreward to hearing any material that he releases.
this album is well worth checking out for anyone who likes pleasant easy listening chill-out music

I LOVE THIS ALBUM

tracks:

1. too blue**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSDig28w56k video Johnny Marr vocals
2. you never know***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKE1RvuJ9...639229C6A0 audio Jeff Tweedy vocals
3. little by little**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0a0dmnc8...639229C6A0 audio Neil Finn vocals
4. learn to crawl**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzolzz4f4UM live Neil & Liam Finn vocals
5. girl make your own mind up**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fDgJrNA9t4 live Don McGlashan vocals
6. hazel black***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UQLc7Z2gso audio KT Tunstall vocals
7. red wine bottle**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpopwPo0Bfo audio Liam Finn vocals
8. black silk ribbon***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3LijHsL8ro audio KT Tunstall & Bic Runga vocals
9. run in the dust**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNMP-xcxn6w audio Johnny Marr vocals
10.ties that bind us***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQeSnaiygDE live Phil Selway vocals
11.what could have been***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwlvs4IcMTo audio Jeff Tweedy vocals
12.duxton blues***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVkMWYh3J48 audio Glenn Richards vocals
13.reptile***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTNT3dT_YCA audio Lisa Germano vocals

3s=7
2s=6
1s=0

rating: 2.5

[CRAZY-HORSE]

LIAM FINN "fomo" 2011.

in 2010 Liam guested on an album by a New Zealand group called "Barb"...but im not doing that one here because i havent heard any of it as yet....and i rarely buy cd's now prior to listening to a lot of the album,being recommended it or knowing the artist well enough to simply trust in them...i am getting to trust the quality of Liam's work, but four albums is not enough IMO to judge an artists work properly!

on with this one then....released several months ago,this received fantastic reviews here, in the UK and also in the US, so much so that allmusic gave it score of 4/5, which is 2.4 on the MHRS,surpisingly enough, i actually am in sync with them on the rating...they generally score a touch higher than i do over the entire Enz,CH,Finn's projects.

again....great hooks,melodies,well produced...all make this a bloody good album IMO, it is instantly likeable and grows with each listen.
and there are the obvious comparisons to his father's music in places,especially on the mellower first half of the album which i can only describe as being a cross between Fleet Foxes,Bon Iver and Neil's "ty whistling this" album....the second half of the album is a bit more rockier in sound much like the albums of Betchadupa.
Liam is proving not to be a chip off the old block but a 'boulder off the shoulder' and appears to be casting his own shadow over those around him instead of being in Neil's shadow!!!

Doh!....i appologise,stuff-all links for this one

I LOVE THIS ALBUM

tracks:

1. neurotic world**
2. dont even know your name**
3. roll of the eye***
4. cold feet***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ElZzSwdDXA live acoustic
5. real late**
6. the struggle***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCi8sADx6cg audio
7. little words***
8. reckless**
9. chase the seasons**
10.jump your bones**

3s=4
2s=6
1s=0

rating: 2.4

[CRAZY-HORSE]

other essential albums:

both Neil and Tim Finn have yet to release proper "live" albums to accompany your collection, Tim Finn has however recently released a "best of" double cd collection called "anthology-north,south,east,west" which covers most of his solo singles,his material with Crowded House and numerous Split Enz singles on which he supplied vocals...i dont have it,why should i as there is nothing new on it and i own all the studio albums bar one! but it would make a nice set alongside both Crowded House/Split Enz "best of" sets.

the Tim finn "anthology" album cover: