Big Canoe [Import]

Tim Finn | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 17, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Virgin/Gold
• ASIN: B000008FM2
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #241,158 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Finn's 2nd solo album from 1985 includes the tracks 'Don't Bury My Heart', 'No Thunder/No Fire No Rain' & 'Carve You In Marble'. Also includes the bonus tracks 'Searching The Streets' & 'Hole In My Heart'.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great review from Shirley, December 31, 2008

By 

Pastor of Disaster (Wexford, Ireland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Big Canoe (Audio CD)

I agree with her, bit too lush in the production, for the intimacy of the songs, this is less a big canoe, than a feckin great aircraft carrier blundering around the place knocking sailboats over and the like. Still, the song where the wife is making her husbands dinner and he is killed in a factory explosion fair brings tears to me eyes. Yes, really.

5.0 out of 5 stars Tim Finn At His Best with Big Canoe, June 10, 2009

By 

Robert L. Summers (Wash DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Big Canoe (Audio CD)

My first exposure to Tim Finn as a solo artist was in the "cult" movie The Coca Cola Kid. Premise of the film was a marketing whiz kid based in Coca Cola's headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia was sent to Australia to improve sales of Coca Cola. One of the tactics to increase sales was to create a new jingle for Coca Cola. Lo and behold, Tim Finn is in the movie as the song writer who comes up with an incredible blended sound of traditional NZ/Aus sounds and instruments but with a very upbeat modern rythm.

After this movie I search and found the album Big Canoe.

This album is a similar blend of traditional and modern sounds and lyrics all woven together to provide listeners sharp and almost touchable images of NZ/Aus life styles from "Timmy on the Lino dance floor where the lager tastes flat" with "his pointed shoes on" to the title song describing the landing of a "Big Canoe" on an island followed by lyrics of traditional Maori daily activities and beliefs.

The music, the lyrics and the images his songs create make one feel as if they have visited the S. Pacific and come away with an appreciation of the native people, their culture and lifestyles. The music is truly a journey not only for Tim Finn but also for the listener.

A great great album (mine is actually an album).

4.0 out of 5 stars Criminally overlooked album you should be playing loudly and often, July 13, 2007

By 

Julie (DERIDDER, LA, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Big Canoe (Audio CD)

When asked to pick a favorite Tim Finn album recently, I voted for Big Canoe. It came to mind first as such an under-rated album even with Tim fans. There are some who will cry how 80s it sounds and imply that to be so is bad. Look beyond that, though to some songs that are wonderful. I don't like all the songs, but the songs I do like, I like a lot. (I have a similar attitude to Time and Tide from Split Enz.)

***"Spiritual Hunger"--evolved from the Split Enz tune "Mr. Catalyst". I love the pure energy of this one. I think the female voices add to this, and the bass is groovy. It makes me just want to shake my bones and move. HEAR ME NOW!

***"Don't Bury My Heart"--the words are something that sounds like pure Tim, though I haven't looked at the credits to see if he wrote them. Some of the ideas in this song hurt with such bittersweet longing. I like the string arrangement that goes with it. Plus, vocally he uses much of his impressive range and demonstrates how flexible he is with it.

***"So Deep"--it's infectious. Maybe this is one of those 80s ones, but it's just so charming. There isn't much to the lyrics, but maybe it's filling in the blanks that makes it "deep". This was the first song from the album that I played over and over ad nauseum.

***"Carve You In Marble"--if anyone ever doubted Tim's piano ability, just listen to this and be amazed. Just as it is "naked," it's breath-taking. I love the play of rhythms once the introduction is over and the electric instruments come in. The lyrical sentiment here is strong, but the instrumental fierceness wins out for me on this one. I love the fun of the ending, too, how there is a keyboard fill right into the bass as it goes out. Lovely trading of lines.

***"Hyacinth"--you know, I don't know if the words really mean anything, but the song feels madly romantic and Tim sings it like a caress. It shows one of the features of his voice, a contrast to how he's using it in "Don't Bury My Heart" and the more aggressive/poppy songs. I also enjoy the guitar sounds on this one.

***"Big Canoe"--oh my I love this song! For me, this is Tim showing himself as the master songwriter he is. Other songs highlight the way he sings, the way he plays or how he's a general entertainer. This song to me emphasizes that Tim is a songwriter. In the execution of the song, I love the woman's voice, the native percussion, the strings that sweep you along in a buoyant way as if you're in a... well, "big canoe", and the use of Maori legend for the song's story.

In its own way, you could think of this as a predecessor to Crowded House's song "Together Alone". For me, this is a breath-taking musical journey all wrapped up in 4:39. Thank you, Tim. Oh, and try to tell me that the melody to the "Big Canoe/Aotearoa" lyric isn't infectious and singable.

So there you go. Big Canoe is awesome and should have much more attention for being the magnificent thing it is instead of being thought of as some casualty of 80s production.