{"id":22525,"date":"2022-03-24T05:30:04","date_gmt":"2022-03-24T09:30:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=22525"},"modified":"2022-03-30T13:27:22","modified_gmt":"2022-03-30T17:27:22","slug":"march-through-time-split-enz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2022\/03\/24\/march-through-time-split-enz\/","title":{"rendered":"March Through Time: Split Enz"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"western\" align=\"left\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-22527\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/mtt_splitenz-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/mtt_splitenz-1.jpg 800w, https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/mtt_splitenz-1-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/mtt_splitenz-1-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/mtt_splitenz-1-768x768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/>Back in the very early 1980s, I had a fake ID card. It wasn\u2019t something I acquired to facilitate alcohol purchases; no, I just wanted to gain entry to the Agora Ballroom in Atlanta. I got to see many great shows, including The Bus Boys, The Blasters, and \u2013 on two separate tours \u2013 Split Enz. The band was fantastic both times, and I had my 35mm camera along, capturing some great images. The group was at its commercial zenith, touring in support of <i>Waiata<\/i> and then <i>Time and Tide<\/i>, but I dug into their back catalog as well, discovering some superb music. Here\u2019s a quick look at their catalog.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"left\"><i><b>Mental Notes<\/b><\/i><b> (1975)<\/b> \u2013 In their earliest days, the Enz were led by Phil Judd. His deeply idiosyncratic songs fit well with the band\u2019s outr\u00e9 visuals. Here they sound a bit like Roxy Music crossed with Skyhooks; their original songs are great, arty stuff, a kind of missing link connecting prog, glam, art rock and what we\u2019d come to know as new wave. Released only in Australia and New Zealand, I think.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"left\"><i><b>Second Thoughts<\/b><\/i><b> (1976)<\/b> \u2013 A sort of remake of that debut, with new recordings and some new songs. It\u2019s quite good, if a bit redundant.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"left\"><i><b>Dizrythmia<\/b><\/i><b> (1977)<\/b> \u2013 The band\u2019s lineup changed a bit around this time, with Judd fading away and Tim Finn coming more to the fore. Finn brings a more accessible sensibility without sacrificing the arty angle.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"left\"><i><b>Frenzy<\/b><\/i><b> (1979)<\/b> \u2013 Not released in the U.S. until the later albums broke the band here, this finds the band streamlining its sound with excellent results. Quirky, less overly arty, and with a more pronounced punk influence (see \u201cI See Red\u201d). UPDATE: I had forgotten that<a href=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2019\/05\/27\/give-it-a-whirl-split-enzs-frenzy-at-40\/\"> I wrote a retrospective review of this LP in 2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"left\"><i><b>True Colours<\/b><\/i><b> (1980<\/b>) \u2013 The first breakthrough, with the hit \u201cI Got You.\u201d The whole album is superb, and Tim\u2019s little brother Neil has come to the fore with great songwriting and a marked Beatles influence.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"left\"><i><b>Waiata\/Corroboree<\/b><\/i><b> (1981)<\/b> \u2013 This one is pretty much <i>True Colours, Slight Return<\/i>. It\u2019s nearly as good, <i>better<\/i> in spots in fact, but signs of stress are beginning to show.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"left\"><i><b>Time and Tide<\/b><\/i><b> (1982)<\/b> \u2013 A second breakthrough, with Tim Finn\u2019s songs edging to the front of the pack.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"left\"><i><b>Conflicting Emotions <\/b><\/i><b>(1983)<\/b> \u2013 The title suggests internal turmoil. But there\u2019s some absolutely amazing music here, along with some uncharacteristically weak stuff. \u201cMessage to My Girl\u201d is the highlight, but there are several others. Still recommended.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"left\"><i><b>See Ya &#8216;Round<\/b><\/i><b> (1984)<\/b> \u2013 Tim was gone by this point. <em>See Ya Round<\/em> is sort of Split Enz\u2019s answer to Creedence Clearwater Revival\u2019s <i>Mardi Gras<\/i>, with everyone contributing songs whether they were up to the task or not. Neil Finn\u2019s songs are great. This LP was never issued in the U.S. But \u2013 thanks to the Neil Finn-heavy side, it\u2019s essential listening for Enz fans as well as those who appreciate Crowded House (you\u2019ll recognized some of the songs). <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2010\/07\/27\/reconsider-baby-split-enz-see-ya-round-1984\/\">I wrote a detailed look at this LP years ago<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"left\"><i><b>The Living Enz<\/b><\/i><b> (1985)<\/b> \u2013 Split Enz was an underrated live act. This double LP \u2013 never released in the USA \u2013 captures them very late in the game. Visuals were a big part of the group\u2019s live appeal (along with Noel Crombie\u2019s spoons solos) and those are obviously missing here. But it\u2019s worth seeking out.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"left\">Note: If you can find a copy of <i>Stranger Than Fiction<\/i>, the Split Enz history by early member Mike Chunn, get it. It\u2019s a great read.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Back in the very early 1980s, I had a fake ID card. It wasn\u2019t something I acquired to facilitate alcohol purchases; no, I just wanted to gain entry to the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22527,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,65],"tags":[2017],"class_list":["post-22525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-essay","category-review","tag-split-enz","cat-27-id","cat-65-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22525"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22525\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22674,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22525\/revisions\/22674"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}