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A skewed art-pop band greatly influenced by Roxy Music and Skyhooks, today Split Enz is remembered chiefly as the group that featured Neil Finn, later of Crowded House (and currently of Fleetwood Mac, of all things). That\u2019s a criminal oversight; coming from New Zealand and Australia, Split Enz made some of the most intriguing music of its era, and helped build a bridge of sorts between the sophisticated art rock of the 1970s and the so-called new wave that would follow.<\/p>\n
The earliest lineups of Split Enz featured primary songwriters Phil Judd and Tim Finn; the band\u2019s ambitious, angular music (not to mention its visual presentation) drew from cabaret, dance hall and other non-rock forms, but a strong singer-songwriter sensibility and a droll sense of humor made macabre \u201clove\u201d songs like \u201cThe Woman Who Loves You\u201d (from 1976\u2019s Second Thoughts<\/i>) off-kilter classics.<\/p>\n
Lack of large-scale commercial success coupled with intra-band tensions led to the departure of Judd; replacing him would be Finn\u2019s younger brother Neil. When Neil Finn joined Split Enz in 1977, he was all of 19 years old, and an inexperienced songwriter. But he quickly developed skills on all fronts; by 1980 he was fronting\u2014and arguably leading\u2014the band through its most successful era, with a string of popular albums that began with True Colours<\/i> (including the hit single \u201cI Got You\u201d). The band\u2019s popularity waned toward the end of its run (everywhere except at home, that is) and the band ended in 1984. Neil Finn and drummer Paul Hester went on to launch the vastly more popular Crowded House.<\/p>\n
But backing up to the period just after Judd departed and young Neil Finn came on board, Split Enz cut and released an album\u2019s worth of music entitled Frenzy<\/i>. Originally released only in Australia and New Zealand, Frenzy<\/i> would be the band\u2019s biggest success to date, and stands as a transitional album between the arty approach of the group’s first few records (Mental Notes<\/i>, Second Thoughts<\/i> and Dizrhythmia<\/i>) and its subsequent worldwide-scale releases.<\/p>\n
Outside of Oz and NZ, the rest of the world wouldn\u2019t get the opportunity to hear Frenzy<\/i> until a repackaged, remixed and modified version of the album was released in 1982 by A&M Records, following the success of True Colours,<\/i> Waiata<\/i> and Time and Tide<\/i>. That more widely available second version of the Frenzy<\/i> LP is the one discussed in detail here. (A 2006 CD reissue of Frenzy<\/i> changed, remixed and expanded the album yet again; in the confusion, some copies don\u2019t even get the track listing right.)<\/p>\n
The second edition of Frenzy<\/i> opens with \u201cI See Red,\u201d previously a single released in December 1978. The debut recording of Neil Finn, it\u2019s nonetheless older brother Tim who handles the manic vocal on this speedy tune cut at Startling Studios, a facility inside the Tittenhust Mansion home of Ringo Starr (and the former home of John and Yoko). Split Enz would rarely\u2014before or after\u2014embrace the punk ethos as fully as on \u201cI See Red,\u201d a hit in Australia and New Zealand but largely unheard elsewhere. Eddie Rayner\u2019s demented, deliberately dissonant and lightning keyboard runs and Ramones-worthy rhythm guitar from Neil Finn give the tune a feel not unlike early XTC.<\/p>\n
\u201cGive it a Whirl\u201d would have sounded far more familiar to relatively new Split Enz fans weaned on \u201cI Got You.\u201d A cavernous production aesthetic, layers of Rayner\u2019s keyboards and a Neil Finn lead vocal (with Tim wonderfully chiming in on high harmonies) combine to make a winner. The band\u2019s melancholy undercurrent shines through the dense production.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaster Plan\u201d is a far more stripped-down affair. Again with Neil Finn taking the lead vocal, the song is a kind of precursor to songs like \u201cOne Step Ahead\u201d on Waiata<\/i>. Some decidedly quirky sound effects from Rayner (and whistling from percussionist Noel Crombie) apply a carnivalesque feel to the song.<\/p>\n
\u201cBetty\u201d feels more like early Split Enz; with strummed acoustic guitar and a Tim Finn lead vocal, it has a country and western feel crossed with bits of music hall; a sort of new wave\/New Zealand rethink of the Kinks, with bits of Roxy Music thrown in for good measure.<\/p>\n
The title track from Frenzy<\/i> looks forward, not back. A hypnotic bass line from Nigel Griggs, some steady hi-hat work from Malcolm Green and more whistling provide a bed upon which Tim Finn recites spoken-word lyrics. After 45 seconds of that tension-building introduction, the song shifts gears into an infectious dance-themed chorus. But soon enough it\u2019s back to the first arrangement, this time with groaning, nonsense vocals. The second chorus is even more spirited than the first, with some tasty analog synthesizer (and piano) from Rayner. The entire thing collapses wonderfully into mayhem, and it\u2019s over in two and a half minutes.<\/p>\n
\u2018Stuff and Nonsense\u201d is a piano ballad, a style at which both Tim and Neil Finn would prove adept. This time it\u2019s Tim, singing near operatic fashion while Rayner lays out some majestic piano and strings. This swoonworthy love song with heart-rending, dramatic intensity ranks among Split Enz\u2019s best works.<\/p>\n
Nautical sound effects open \u201cMarooned,\u201d a tune that rivals \u201cI See Red\u201d in its dizzying pace. Unfortunately, the song itself isn\u2019t terribly distinctive, though the instrumental interlude\u2014featuring dialogue between guitar and keyboards\u2014is interesting.<\/p>\n
All tracks up to this point on Frenzy<\/i> (second release) save \u201cI See Red\u201d date from sessions produced by Mallory Earl in England in late 1978. The remaining tracks\u2014side two of the LP\u2014come from band-produced June 1978 sessions known as \u201cThe Rootin\u2019 Tootin\u2019 Luton Tapes.\u201d Those tapes would be released in full on a 2007 CD.<\/p>\n
The zany and slightly angry \u201cHermit McDermitt\u201d sounds like a cross between The Tubes and early Split Enz; its arrangement foreshadows the character of more successful (and better) songs like \u201cHard Act to Follow\u201d and \u201cI Don\u2019t Wanna Dance,\u201d both from 1981\u2019s Waiata<\/i> (released in Australia and New Zealand as Corroborree<\/i>).<\/p>\n
The little-heard \u201cHoly Smoke\u201d is a delightful, country-flavored Neil Finn bouncy romp that presciently unveils the Crowded House sound eight years before that band would be conceived. It sounds wholly unlike anything else Split Enz would ever record.<\/p>\n
The haunting Tim Finn vehicle \u201cSemi-Detached\u201d is built primarily around piano, synthesizers and vocals. The second half of the song features soaring lead guitar with strong shades of Phil Manzanera (who had produced the band previously). The stark contrast between songs such as this and Neil Finn\u2019s more pop-oriented approach helps explain the departure of Tim Finn in the band\u2019s final years. Split Enz would perform \u201cSemi-Detached\u201d on John Peel\u2019s radio program in September 1978 during the band\u2019s extended time in England.<\/p>\n
Split Enz exercises its art rock tendnecies on \u201cCarried Away,\u201d one of the more menacingly rocking tunes in the group\u2019s catalog. Clattering piano and a seething Neil Finn vocal are out front, but a cacophonous backing gives the track a dizzying, disorienting feel. Keyboardist Rayner turns in a tour-de-force performance. A lovely midsection hints at the dramatic \u201cPioneer\u201d from 1982\u2019s Time and Tide<\/i>.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe Got Body\u201d is one of the most conventional pop songs ever recorded by Split Enz. It sounds like a slightly new wave take on British pop of the 1960s. Lead vocalist Tim Finn takes a Tom Jones-styled star turn mid-song, but otherwise it\u2019s standard stuff. In their standard wacky and colorful garb, the band would mime to the track for a spirited performance on Australian Broadcasting company\u2019s (ABC\u2019s) Countdown<\/i>.<\/p>\n
A heavier than usual arrangement characterizes the slightly sinister \u201cMind Over Matter.\u201d Tim Finn shows off his vocal versatility while the band chugs along; Neil Finn\u2019s guitar\u2014growling one minute, soaring the next\u2014is a highlight. The song\u2019s vocal harmonies are a treat, too. Percussionist Crombie plays spoons throughout. Crowded House occasionally covered \u201cMind Over Matter\u201d in its live shows.<\/p>\n
The second vinyl version of Split Enz\u2019s Frenzy<\/i> concludes with \u201cLivin\u2019 It Up,\u201d a noisy, stuttering punk pastiche that has few if any of the qualities that made Split Enz special. As an interesting departure, it\u2019s worth a listen, but ultimately represents an ill-conceived ending to an album; it feels like a tossed-off afterthought.<\/p>\n
The 1982 version of Frenzy<\/i> reached the lower rungs of the Canadian album chart but failed to gain traction elsewhere. And though the next album to follow, 1983\u2019s Conflicting Emotions<\/i>, contained several superb tracks\u2014highlighted by Neil Finn\u2019s classic ballad \u201cMessage to My Girl\u201d\u2014it represented a further (unwarranted) decline in the fortunes of the group. In 1984, a final lineup of the group, now completely led by Neil Finn, released Split Enz\u2019s studio swan song, See Ya \u2018Round<\/i>. Crowded House launched less than a year later.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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