Crowded House and Split Enz

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cobl04

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I'm just beginning to appreciate the wonderful music of these two bands, and was wondering if either have best-ofs or greatest hits, combined or seperately. I've downloaded Don't Dream It's Over and Six Months in a Leaky Boat is on its way as I type, are them any other recommendations?
 
Skip compilations. Get the good stuff.

Crowded House's Together Alone is one of the most excellent melodic rock albums I have ever heard. Neil Finn is a genius, and this album is far more richly atmospheric than any that went before it. Considering my love of The Unforgettable Fire, I doubt many who are familiar with Together Alone are shocked that someone with my tastes would enjoy it.

I would also highly recommend Crowded House's eponymous debut. Avoid Woodface, though. Wildly over-rated - the album's almost completely filler past Fame Is. In fact, Fame Is isn't exactly that good either, but I still enjoy it.

And as far as Split Enz goes, great albums are Frenzy, Time And Tide, True Colours, and Waiata. Now, if I'm honest, I'm familiar with Crowded House's Best Of and think it's a decent introduction, but I'm not familiar with any Enz compilations.

I can't wait to see Split Enz live in a week!
 
Don't discount the Crowded House compilation Recurring Dream. Try to find an edition with the bonus live disc, it's more than worth the effort to find it (Sister Madly is especially brilliant, where the band breaks down, but somehow succeed in making it a magical rendition).

And despite what Axver says (and he's right about the quality of Together Alone), Woodface is a masterpiece too. Excellent songs. :up:

I'm not familiar with Split Enz, but I heard their catalogue has just been rereleased in Australia. Hopefully these CDs also come our way.

:wave:
 
Is Crowded House still making new music? I seem to recall them being very big - at least in Europe - in the early 90s.
 
namkcuR said:
Is Crowded House still making new music? I seem to recall them being very big - at least in Europe - in the early 90s.

No, they split up in 1996. :sad:

Later this year their Farewell To The World concert will be released on DVD! :hyper:
*has never seen that one*
 
Ditto the Together Alone recommendation, one of my top 10 albums of all time by any artist. Start to finish this one is a cracker. I thought Anxer was too harsh on Woodface - it has my fav CH song, Fall At Your Feet, on it and a couple other good immediate numbers (She Goes On, Whispers & Moans). But nowadays I find myself listening to their 2nd record, Temple of Low Men, more and more and Woodface a bit less. So while Woodface's highs might be very high, there is also some filler there. Temple and Together are solid albums with very little clutter.

The CH compilation Recurring Dream is worth checking out for newbies - good song selection for the most part and a couple new tracks that are good (particularly Instinct). But after getting that you will be compelled to get the full albums as there is a lot more good stuff. Avoid Afterglow, the bands B-sides album (for completists only). But as to their studio efforts, for a 4 album career, these guys were just remarkable.
 
I simply don't understand Woodface's popularity. The first half is generally excellent - I love songs such as Chocolate Cake, Four Seasons In One Day, Tall Trees, and There Goes God - but I find most of the second half boring and unlistenable. All I Ask and As Sure As I Am are the two worst culprits there.

And I personally disagree with avoiding Afterglow. That's actually my second favourite Crowdies disc, after Together Alone. I think Recurring Dream is the best song the band ever made, and Anyone Can Tell is pretty close to such a high mark too. There are other great songs there too.
 
There Goes God was on one of my desert island discs at one point, and I would've included How Will You Go had it not had that annoying hidden track at the end. I enjoy Woodface, but I agree that it's a bit inconsistent. I recently loaded it onto my iPod, and I only included about half of it.

I appreciate Crowded House most for their harmonies. Their songs are pretty to listen to. I only have Woodface and Recurring Dream, but they're a band I'm going to get around to knowing better one of these days.
 
Axver said:
I can't wait to see Split Enz live in a week!

:drool: :drool: :drool: :drool: :drool:

I am so jealous. They're performing with Evermore as well, which are another of my favourite bands...I so want to be there but Dad said you got tickets to U2, so be happy.

Awrgh.

I'm also not happy because SMIALB did not work.
 
Arrghh, I know there's a Split Enz thread but I can't find it, this'll do :mad:

Last night, reptile and I went to see the Enz at our local hell hole (or Entertainment Centre) and it was FUCKING BRILLIANT!!!!!!! :drool:

All the hits, and then some, great suits, Tim's dancing, and best of all, Noel's spoons!!!!:happy:

I luuuuurrrvvveee Noel Crombie :love:

Axver, what did you think?
 
blueeyedgirl said:
Axver, what did you think?

BLOODY AWESOME!! Wow, the Enz certainly rocked Brisbane. I ended up with a spare ticket which I gave to my flatmate; before the show, he wasn't sure if he wanted to go because he only liked a few of the hits and wasn't so keen on the other material I played, but as testament to the greatness of Split Enz, he walked out singing their praises - and hasn't stopped randomly bursting into Enz songs since!

And after they didn't play them at the Finn Brothers concert in Brisbane last year, I'm so glad they played Dirty Creature and History Never Repeats! :drool:

Now all I want is for another Enz/Finn concert to come near me and for them to play Hermit McDermitt. :combust:
 
^ :lol:

I thought the crowd here was a bit subdued, or maybe they all forgot their zimmer frames at home, I've never seen so many people sit during "I see red"! :eyebrow: You can be sure reptile and I made nuisances of ourselves in the aisles :D
 
More people stood at the Enz show here than at the Finn Brothers one. In fact, to be precise, I was the only person I could see who stood during the Finn Brothers show.

Most of the floor stood for Split Enz at the start, though by the middle, I noticed only the front third or so were on their feet (then again, this was during I Hope I Never, not exactly jump-and-dance material). I was too busy enjoying I See Red to notice how many were on their feet. The crowd very noisily demanded encores, though! I was pleasantly surprised.

I must say, the combo to end the main set was just perfect, and so energetic. Pioneer/Six Months/I Got You/What's The Matter With You/I See Red. :drool:

:up: to you and reptile. Concerts are not movies - get on your feet, people!
 
I was a bit surprised really cos last year in the same venue, the whole crowd stood for REM for the whole gig, and they're not exactly rocking out all the time either.

And yeah, the ending to the main set was :drool: worthy, I kept wondering how they were going to top each last song they performed!
 
blueeyedgirl said:
^ :lol:

I thought the crowd here was a bit subdued, or maybe they all forgot their zimmer frames at home, I've never seen so many people sit during "I see red"! :eyebrow: You can be sure reptile and I made nuisances of ourselves in the aisles :D


How can you sit during "I See Red"? :ohmy: :mad:

Originally posted by Axver
I must say, the combo to end the main set was just perfect, and so energetic. Pioneer/Six Months/I Got You/What's The Matter With You/I See Red.

to you and reptile. Concerts are not movies - get on your feet, people!

:yes: :yes: :yes:
 
all right, let's see if this works.

video from split enz's first tv appearance from 1973 (back when they were still split ends) has made its way onto youtube. they were on nz's tv one...back when it was still just nzbc tv. anyway, it was new faces, a talent contest where they performed 129 (later called matinee idyll off the album second thoughts). they were invited back the next night and performed...sweet talking spoon song. :love:

just watch, and appreciate tim's hair:
Split Ends - New Faces, 1973 - YouTube
 
oh, and this tidbit is from wikipedia:
In late 1973, Split Ends entered New Zealand's New Faces TV talent contest. In preparation for their performance, they recorded "129" and "Home Sweet Home" (the songs would be released in November as their second single). Soon after, they also recorded the retro-1930s sounding "Sweet Talking Spoon Song", which would become the second single. They finished second to last in the finals of the contest, but their performance secured them a 30-minute concert special for Television New Zealand, which was recorded soon after.
 
both songs are awesome for different reasons (i also happen to have both singles). i mean i did name my ipod after sweet talking spoon song (i should note all my computer stuff is named after enz songs).

i just hate that parts of the video are missing. given how everyone feels the need to archive everything, it's unbelievable that there was a time when tv stations wiped their tapes because they didn't think stuff needed to be kept forever. i'm glad most of both of the songs are there, though.
 
both songs are awesome for different reasons (i also happen to have both singles). i mean i did name my ipod after sweet talking spoon song (i should note all my computer stuff is named after enz songs).

That's awesome :D. I love both those songs, too, you've made me want to go listen to some '70s era Enz now.

And the video. Oh. My. God. Thank you for sharing that, that was hilarious (the picture of them at the very beginning of the clip-had that been my first exposure to the group I would've expected them to be a band that was doing cheesy '70s hard rock or something :p). Kinda cool, though, it's really interesting to see footage from old TV shows as it is, but seeing what New Zealand had for entertainment shows back then is particularly fun.

i just hate that parts of the video are missing. given how everyone feels the need to archive everything, it's unbelievable that there was a time when tv stations wiped their tapes because they didn't think stuff needed to be kept forever. i'm glad most of both of the songs are there, though.

I know, I've never understood that whole "erasing things" deal, either! But still, yeah, at least most of it is there, so that's something.
 
Is there any sign of a new Crowded House album? I wasn't really taken with Intriguer from a couple of years back. Amsterdam excluded, I love that song.

Worries me a little if they keep making albums like this they will turn into REM which in the end was a case of nobody was listening.

Neil is such a genius, maybe he'd fire up more if he focused on solo efforts.
 
That's awesome :D. I love both those songs, too, you've made me want to go listen to some '70s era Enz now.

And the video. Oh. My. God. Thank you for sharing that, that was hilarious (the picture of them at the very beginning of the clip-had that been my first exposure to the group I would've expected them to be a band that was doing cheesy '70s hard rock or something :p). Kinda cool, though, it's really interesting to see footage from old TV shows as it is, but seeing what New Zealand had for entertainment shows back then is particularly fun.
i love both of them too. i like some of their early stuff (like pre-mental notes) but some of it is a little too folksy for me. but mental notes is easily one of my favourite albums of theirs.

it's funny, i had seen that first photo before and always thought it was such a strange photo, since it doesn't at all match the kind of music they ever made. i guess they were just wearing whatever was fashionable at the time and hadn't gotten to that point yet where they were wearing the weird suits and such.

I know, I've never understood that whole "erasing things" deal, either! But still, yeah, at least most of it is there, so that's something.
whoops, i forgot to add the word "today" in my previous post, but you got what i meant. :up: i guess the attitude back then isn't too surprising since reruns didn't really exist so stuff was just aired once, so i guess they figured what was the need of keeping things around?

Is there any sign of a new Crowded House album? I wasn't really taken with Intriguer from a couple of years back. Amsterdam excluded, I love that song.

Worries me a little if they keep making albums like this they will turn into REM which in the end was a case of nobody was listening.

Neil is such a genius, maybe he'd fire up more if he focused on solo efforts.
i believe neil is working on a solo album right now. i agree with you about the direction crowded house has been headed. last time i saw them, their concert could've easily been played to a retirement home - everything was a ballad/slow song. so depressing. and intriguer wasn't that good of an album either.
 
Together Alone is far and away the best thing Crowded House ever did. For once they broke out of that tight (admittedly great) pop framework and became something expansive. Private Universe, Catherine Wheels, Nails in My Feet... all great stuff.
 
I'd rather Neil kept working with Crowded House than doing solo material. I think he's always produced his best stuff when working with the band. Intriguer was at least a step up from Time on Earth, especially Saturday Sun, which is in my top 15 Crowdies songs. Don't see a solo album being anything but sedate and slow (Neil, don't head down the same dull path as Tim has!).

It's a shame that whenever the Crowdies perform in Australia/New Zealand nowadays, they pretty much end up playing to huge audiences who just want the hits. The club shows in North America and Europe sound so much more vital and incredible. Just compare the setlists! Still, a couple of the shows I saw in 2010 were pretty impressive and Neil inserted some awesome rarities and requests into the set. The 2011 New Zealand shows looked quite limp by comparison - I'm glad I didn't travel for them after contemplating it.
 
Neil's solo activities got off to quite a good start in the late nineties with 'Try Whistling This' (although it is very of its time probably; 'redo some of the demos, put some samples and shit under it'). But I kind of lost interest after that.

Oh and 'Finn', the album he did with his brother in 1995 which sold about 2 copies, has some really good stuff on it. 'Bullets In My Hairdo', 'Angels Heap', 'Paradise (Wherever You Are), 'Kiss the Road of Rarotonga'.
 
How can you reel off a list of highlights from the first Finn Brothers album without Suffer Never! That was fucking awesome when I saw Neil do it with Pajama Club too.

As for Neil's solo albums, I adore Try Whistling This, even if it utterly keels over and dies at the end with Dream Date onwards ... One Nil is a more consistent and even album that I've come to appreciate more and more lately, but for me it doesn't have any songs quite on the level of Last One Standing, She Will Have Her Way, Sinner, or Twisty Bass.

Don't really see him doing solo material like either of those albums at this stage though. I guess my fear is that he'd basically do more Either Side of the World sort of stuff, which the older hardcore Neil fans seemed to love but I found a bit boring.
 
How can you reel off a list of highlights from the first Finn Brothers album without Suffer Never!

Because, to be quite honest, I can't even remember that song or what it sounds like.

As for Neil's solo albums, I adore Try Whistling This, even if it utterly keels over and dies at the end with Dream Date onwards ... One Nil is a more consistent and even album that I've come to appreciate more and more lately, but for me it doesn't have any songs quite on the level of Last One Standing, She Will Have Her Way, Sinner, or Twisty Bass.

Don't really see him doing solo material like either of those albums at this stage though. I guess my fear is that he'd basically do more Either Side of the World sort of stuff, which the older hardcore Neil fans seemed to love but I found a bit boring.

One Nil (geddit) probably came along at the wrong time in my life. I don't think I've ever listened to it more than three or four times.
 
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