Crowded House

MINE

Everyone I knew had this album.  Including me.  In fact, we've broken a rule by buying it recently, as I do have it on vinyl.  But it's so great to go back to this first album, that wavers between the familiar sounds of Split Enz and the broader, poppier strokes that would, in the end, make this band large on the world stage.

It's often puzzled me - what weas it that made Crowded house so much more successful than SplitEnz?  Apart from ditching the costumes, the songs to some degree are still flavoured with a similar sound.  But from this moment on, it seemed the younger Finn could do no wrong.  In fact, they became so successful they were offered the ultimate accolade by Australian audiences - we claimed them as our own, despite the fact they were only two-thirds Aussie.  (Or occasionally half Aussie when brother Tim joined in). 

This album is still as beautiful to me today as it was the first time I dropped the needle on to the vinyl, and I defy anyone to hate it.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

YOURZ

Where do you start with such a band as Crowded House?  Maybe I should start by saying while I appreciate the song writing and the musicianship, I've never been a big fan of the band.  Simply, they were too pop for my liking and probably a bit too nice as well.  At the time this, their debut, was released, I was more interested in dirty, sweaty rock.  But listening now, it is hard not to be caught up in the infectiousness of these ten great songs.

While the singles Don't Dream It's Over, Something So Strong, World Where You Live and Now We're Getting Somewhere have become classics in their own right, it is the less popular album tracks like Love You 'Til The Day I Die and Can't Carry On, which appeal to me.  These are a bit darker and closer in sound to Neil Finn and Paul Hester's previous band, the mighty Split Enz.  And while it still isn't enough for me to call myself a fan, I do have a better appreciation of the band now and certainly won't turn up my nose like I used to do.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information go to http://www.crowdedhouse.com/

Turin Brakes - Ether Song

MINE

When the pointy stick landed on Ether Song rather than The Optimist LP, the Brakes' debut, YourZ and I both experienced a twinge of regret.  Not that Ether Song is a bad CD - it's gorgeous - but just that The Optimist LP is one of those albums that's entered into our consciousness and won't ever be expelled.  It's as beautiful today as the day I first heard it.  And I last listened to it last weekend.

Given all that, I guess the thing I most want to say is - why haven't Turin Brakes achieved massive world domination?  Their deceptively simple melodies, note-perfect close harmonies, their swing from acoustic to electric and back - these guys are just as good as Crowded House ever were with possibly a touch more sophistication.

Pain Killer is the standout track on the CD but it's all just good.  If you haven't heard of this band, take a look here.  How good is that?

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

YOURZ

I can't believe it's been nearly 10 years since the release of Turin Brakes first album, The Optimist LP.  That particular album has spent more time on our CD player than a lot of other albums combined.  It's such a wonderful early morning after a rowdy late night record and there hasn't really been anything else that has come along to replace it.

Unfortunately, I'm not nearly as familiar with Ether Song as I am with the above.  The songwriting is every bit as good, as are those wonderful Bowie-esque harmonies.  This album is a little more electric than its predecessor but still sounds like Olly and Gale are sitting in the corner of my loungeroom, singing these songs live.  It also has their biggest single to date in Pain Killer, a great modern folk-rock song and very reminiscent of their sound.

What this doesn't have, unfortunately, is the same connection to a time and place as The Optimist LP does.  I'm sure this could be remedied, if it weren't for the fact I have so much music already.  But I'll give it my best shot.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://www.turinbrakes.com/

In our collection we also have The Optimist LP and Jackinabox

Split Enz - Extravagenza

YOURZ

Split Enz were one of the first bands I saw as an impressionable 15 year old boy (so this is the late-ish 70s).  The location was a free festival in Victoria Park at the top end of Sydney city, a trip I took with my brother and some older friends and not a parent in sight.  It was one of those formative occasions, where the older boys, who could buy beer, fed the younger boys both beer and cigarettes and showed us how to have a good time.  I think I drank two cans of some cheap crap ale but remember it was like drinking the nectar of the Gods (in some ways, this feeling hasn't changed, particularly after a long, hot day in the sun).

What I remember of the Enz is a lot of the audience laughing at their ridiculous costumes and makeup but then being suitably impressed by their quirky yet brilliant set of songs.  And fuck, didn't Tim Finn work the crowd into a frenzy.  It was like nothing I'd ever seen.  About the only track I remember distinctly was their hit single of the time, I See Red, which is also included on Extravagenza.  In fact, this double CD collection is a fantastic collection of some of their greatest songs, both the hits and album favourites.

While Crowded House became the more famous of the Finn boy's bands (and deservedly so) I always thought Split Enz were generally a better, more interesting band.  Their output was prodigious and the music quite possibly some of the best skewed pop music ever written (listen to I Got You, One Step Ahead or Hermitt McDermitt - you'll see what I mean).  The playing is absolutely faultless and the lyrics intelligent but hook-laden at the same time.  In fact, listening to all these wonderful tracks together reminded me that we don't have a single Split Enz album on CD, something we're going to definitely have to remedy.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

It's a live album!  Our first, I think.  (YourZ sez: I do believe you're right, but don't wallow in this praise, okay?)  Recorded in New Zealand with a notable parochial crowd for this precursor to the slightly-better known Crowded House (who are touring again, regardless of their much-vaunted farewell concert on the Opera House steps).  But you can look up other details about the band yourself. 

I first came across Split Enz (also known as Splut Unz in Australia to mimic the NZ accent) by way of the iconic TV chart show of my youth, Countdown.  With their art-school costumes and makeup, they immediately stood out.  But teenage me couldn't really decide if she could forgive what she thought was posing for the stellar sounds. (Take a look).  Awww, doesn't Neil Finn look young??

Then in my later years of high school, I was lucky enough to have a Kiwi for an English teacher (oh, the irony) and she firmly imprinted the Enz on my psyche.  This double album is full of their hits, and some of my favourites include I Got You and the wildly sweeping  Six Months In A Leaky Boat.

We in Australia are often accused of grabbing NZ actors, bands and other celebs and branding them as our own.  But I think these guys remained Kiwi to the end.  Aotearoa, indeed.

 

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://www.frenz.com/splitenz