Boxed Set Review: Split Enz – ENZcyclopedia Volumes One & Two

Around the world, Split Enz is best known for its catchy 1980 pop/new wave hit, “I Got You.” A Top 40 hit in six countries, it would be the group’s biggest worldwide hit. But at home in New Zealand, Split Enz is revered as the first act from that country to achieve international success. In fact, by the time of the band’s breakthrough single and its album True Colors, Split Enz had been together for eight years. And while “I Got You” featured lead guitarist and singer Neil Finn, he was a relative newcomer to the band; elder brother Tim co-founded Split Enz in 1972 with guitarist Phil Judd.

By 1980, Split Enz had hit upon a winning combination of new wave cool and pop accessibility that brought it a wider audience. But in the band’s earliest days, the group was an outré and progressive art rock ensemble, making music that drew from dance hall, cabaret and other non-rock styles. To early listeners, Split Enz sounded like a Kiwi rethink of the kind of music that Roxy Music was making in England, and provocative rockers Skyhooks were turning out in Australia.

The band’s 1975 debut album Mental Notes charted respectably in New Zealand (No. 7, and No 35 in Australia) but went unheard elsewhere. Unhappy with what they saw as that record’s subpar production, the group re-cut many of the album’s tracks with Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera as producer, adding several new songs. They released the results in 1976 as Second Thoughts. That album charted in New Zealand and Australia, but larger mainstream success was still a few years away.

Even when Split Enz broke worldwide – and maintained that momentum with four albums in a row landing on the charts in the U.S. – the band’s earlier music rarely found its way to the ears of ‘80s listeners. Best-of collections tended to focus on the hit era as well. But the music on Mental Notes and Second Thoughts is fascinating on its own, and well worthy of rediscovery by current-day audiences.

To help facilitate that rediscovery, Chrysalis Records has put together a lavish boxed set, ENZcyclopedia Volumes One & Two. The most expansive configuration of the set – 5 CDs plus a Blu-Ray – features the entirety of Mental Notes and Second Thoughts plus a 2025 remix of Second Thoughts by Split Enz keyboardist Eddie Rayner, a disc full of additional early material, and yet another disc capturing 1975 live performances of the group. The Blu-Ray features higher resolution versions of much of the previously-mentioned material plus three groundbreaking music videos that capture the arty and out-there character of vintage Split Enz. (A 3LP version is also available.)

The vocal spotlight on the two mid ‘70s albums would be split between Tim Finn and Phil Judd. Neither has what could be considered a conventional “rock singer” voice, but both are superb vocalists, and the songs they wrote – mostly together, sometimes Judd writing alone – leverage their assets in service of some delightful (if resolutely bizarre) tunes.

Highlights are many. Finn’s lascivious croon introduces “Late Last Night,” a chirpy tune with some intricate yet off-kilter vocal harmonies. Folky acoustic guitar is joined by Rayner’s creamy Mellotron, and when the full band comes in, listeners are treated to clavinet, thumping bass, strings, brass and more. The song proceeds through several disparate sections, creating a house-of-mirrors take on prog rock. The lyrics are – no other way to put it – strange.

Weirder still is “The Woman Who Loves You” a love song about an individual who’s… dead. Eddie Rayner’s piano work is breathtaking, and Robert Gillies’ saxophone playing is a delight. Finn sinks his teeth into the bizarre lyrics; the song deftly balances a cheery, irresistibly upbeat melody (shades of Supertramp) with a dark lyrical bent. Noel Crombie’s spoons solo is as wonderful as it is unexpected.

The dramatic “Under the Wheel” is a prog epic sporting a grandiose arrangement worthy of Peter Gabriel-era Genesis. Judd’s inimitable warble adds a skewed character as the song explores a variety of sonic textures. “Time for a Change” subtly points the way toward some of Tim Finn’s later work with the group, in the form of a heart-rending, weepy ballad. Rayner is the instrumental star here, with his piano and Mellotron providing primary support.

“Walking Down a Road” is another bright spot on this brilliant set. Shifting cleverly between major and minor chords, the song has a feel that the group would build upon for their transitional 1977 album Dizrhytmia. Constantly changing tempos and textures characterize the tune, yet the whole thing holds together nicely.

The best among the newer songs written for Second Thoughts is Judd’s “Sweet Dreams.” It rocks harder than most of the Mental Notes material, yet an inventive arrangement propels it into the realm of progressive rock. The pioneering music video for the tune – included on the Blu-Ray – showcases the band’s over-the-top visual approach, a collection of nightmarish clown personae that presaged David Bowie’s “Ashes to Ashes” video by four years.

Second Thoughts also features “Matinee Idyll” (aka “129”) a song that had been in Split Enz’s repertoire for some time. Phil Judd’s sprightly mandolin and Rayner’s tack piano are the centerpieces of the orchestrated tune featuring a winning Tim Finn vocal.

Listeners who discovered Split Enz in the ‘80s – or even later, when investigating what Neil Finn had been up to before launching the mega-successful Crowded House – might find themselves scratching their heads upon hearing Mental Notes and Second Thoughts. But experiencing the weird, wild and wonderful early work of Split Enz is a key to a full appreciation of what the groundbreaking New Zealand band had on offer.

YOU MAY ALSO ENJOY…

• • My capsule review of all ten Split Enz albums
  • My retrospective review of Split Enz’s Frenzy
  • My review of Split Enz’s See Ya ‘Round
  • My roundup of five must-hear songs from Split Enz