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While I choose to believe that \u2013 on some exceedingly modest level \u2013 I have reasonably good critical sense of measure where music is concerned, I have no illusions about my skills on the commercial side of things: my commercial instincts are close to nil. Were it up to me, we’d all live in a world in which Marshall Crenshaw<\/strong> would sell a million records each time out. Alas, such a world does not exist. So while I am pretty good at pegging the inverse \u2013 a sort of, \u201cThat’s so terrible it’ll probably be a hit,\u201d \u2013 few would ever look to me to predict the success of an up-and-coming recording artist.<\/p>\n A case in point is kiwi pop. As exemplified by the output of New Zealand-based Flying Nun Records, that subgenre was, I was all but certain, destined to be the Next Big Thing in the 1980s. With excellent acts on their roster \u2013 a list that included The Clean<\/strong>, The Jean-Paul Sartre Experience<\/strong>, and Tall Dwarfs<\/strong>, the tiny label from the tiny country was responsible for some of the era’s most engaging examples of what we then called New Wave.<\/p>\n You know how things turned out. True, Split Enz<\/strong> (and later Crowded House<\/strong>) would enjoy major and well-deserved success across the globe (though decidedly less success in the USA), but as far as New Zealand-based pop culture, well, let’s just say that a bunch of hairy little Hobbits pretty well cornered the market.<\/p>\n Still, that music was pretty fine. And many artists from that classic era remain active to this day. Chris Knox<\/strong> (formerly of Tall Dwarfs) has remained quite busy, even after suffering a stroke in 2009. But perhaps the finest of all the bands of the era \u2013 right up there with my beloved Enz \u2013 were and are The Chills<\/strong>. Their ironically-yet-aptly-titled 1990 single \u201cHeavenly Pop Hit\u201d (#2 NZ, #92 UK, non-charting in the USA) captures the spirit of the era, all chiming and shimmering guitars and catchy choruses. A timeless tune, it’s the one song that people in the northern hemisphere know by the band, if they know one at all.<\/p>\n The Chills remain very much active. Since 1980 and with precious few breaks, Martin Phillipps<\/strong> and his rotating lineup of band mates have turned out pop of the finest order. And on their latest, the live Somewhere Beautiful<\/em>, The Chills serve up a sort of greatest hits live set for the ages.<\/p>\n Released on CD and in a 3LP vinyl configuration, Somewhere Beautiful<\/em> charts the band’s history in a non-chronological fashion. The band surveys music from their four albums, delivering the tunes in muscular yet tuneful fashion.<\/p>\n The editing on the album \u2013 at least on the promotional CD which I had for review \u2013 is a bit odd. While the songs were all cut live at a recent gig, the applause is mostly cut out, and each track fades at its end, like on a traditional studio album. But the performances remain first-rate. There’s a certain life breathed into the live readings of tunes like \u201cI Love My Leather Jacket\u201d that makes them essential companions to their studio counterparts.<\/p>\n The career overview nature of Somewhere Beautiful<\/em> makes the album a good entry point for newcomers to The Chills catalog, and the immediacy and newness of it all makes it an essential purchase for the long since converted. In short, a winner.<\/p>\n
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