Customer Reviews

History Never Repeats: The Best of Split Enz

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New Zealanders, Split Enz scored big in the U.S. in 1980 with it's hit "I Got You". The core of Split Enz were the talented brothers Neil and Tim Finn. Neil's guitar playing and Tim's vocals made up the Split Enz melodic pop rock that made them popular in the new wave circuit. This cd includes some brilliant songs such as "History Never Repeats", "Six Months In A Leaky Boat", "I Got You", "One Step Ahead" and the funky "Dirty Creature" to name a few. Split Enz were also known for their outragious hairstyles as well as clownish uniforms that definately fit the "new wave" mold. Although Split Enz no longer exist, this cd represents the best of their hits. Younger brother Neil Finn formed Crowded House in the late 80's and had a string of successful hits.

Is it just me, or has Neil Finn written more catchy, moving songs than anyone else? True, Paul had John, but they often wrote some of their greatest moments separately. When I first got this compilation in the late 80's, I was only familiar with "I Got You," but many songs on this CD soon surpassed that. "Message to My Girl" has to be one of the most moving songs ever, with "I Hope I Never" and "One Step Ahead" being right behind. Combine those with the buoyant (no pun intended) "Six Months.." and "Hard Act to Follow" and you've got pop nirvana!! A wise investment!!!

For those bereft fans of Crowded House who start checking out Neil Finn's back catalogue, and who seek only the later, more accessible songs from the clever art-rock team that was Split Enz. Neil has at times appeared reluctant to perform 'I got you' live; but here it has pride of place, in all its rhyming glory! This is a hits compilation (well, they were hits down here) rather than a true cross-section of the act's material like the double CD 'Spellbound'. The melodic electronic sounds betray the fact that almost all the songs come from three albums produced in the early eighties. From an act known for their inventiveness, and much recorded live (look out for the excellent double CD 'The Living Enz' and the not-so-good 'Anniversary') these were the songs that got airplay. Notable for its absence is 'My Mistake', a 1978 collaboration of front-man Tim Finn (Neil's older brother) and maestro Eddie Rayner (who toured with Crowded House in '87). My favorite is the title track, with what what we now know as a typical Neil moment: 'Deep in the night it's all so clear/I lie awake with great ideas/Lurking about in no-man's land/I think at last I understand'

Okay, so it doesn't have anything from their first three albums. Okay, so it almost completely ignores their late-70s crazy music-hall period. Yeah, this is pop music. Not only that, it's 80s pop music. Not only that, "I Got You" is so 80s that it rivals the movie _Flight of the Navigator_ and little gold remote-controlled robot toys labeled "rad" for the title of Epitome of 80s-Ness. But damn, there hasn't been pop music this good since the Beatles!

Take "One Step Ahead", for example. Just a simple verse-chorus-verse pop song, but the tune is convoluted and constantly surprises you with unexpected twists and unusual chord progressions. Split Enz also had a tendency to use different arrangements when the choruses come back, and the sudden appearance of staccato synths in the background of the second chorus is wonderfully effective.

Or how about "What's The Matter With You?", whose opening sounds so much like the Beatles that you'd swear it was Paul McCartney singing? The song also contains one of the most fun synth/keyboard solos I've ever heard, a lightning-quick spiky stuttering on a bluesy chord that soon falls apart into out-of-tune bass notes.

Then there's "History Never Repeats", another fantastically catchy song which contains another excellent example of Split Enz' sense of texture: For a few seconds in the middle, everything but one held note drops out to reveal some delicious falsetto harmonizing, and when the verse comes back in, there are sparkling synths zipping all over the place behind it. Oh, and there's also the wonderfully funky "Dirty Creature" (with even better falsetto in the chorus). And "Six Months in a Leaky Boat"... I could go on, but I won't.

I will, however, mention three exceptions to my praise. "Message to my Girl" and "I Hope I Never" are the two songs on the album that don't live up to the standards of the rest. Again like the Beatles, Split Enz could be rather cloying when they got too ballad-y. "Message to my Girl" has nice verses (with Neil Finn again sounding almost exactly like Paul McCartney), but the chorus is rather overproduced and sappy. "I Hope I Never" is worse... maybe not the "She's Leaving Home" of this compilation, but comparable.

The other exception is "I See Red" from their 1979 album _Frenzy_, which is not a bad song at all -- in fact, it may be my favorite song on the CD. However, it's emphatically not typical 80s pop music. No, this is the Split Enz of the late 70s, still infected with the freaky-cabaret spirit of Phil Judd, who had just left when _Frenzy_ was recorded. The music is hyperactive and punk-inspired, even to the point of the lower-class accent in the B section (recalling the Sex Pistols?). There's a piano solo in the middle harmonized almost entirely in minor seconds. It ends in mid-syllable. The Cardiacs were definitely listening to this. If this is your first Enz CD, as it is mine, this will tell you whether or not you want to explore their more experimental early work. I know I do. But even if "I See Red" grates, you'll still have a wonderful collection of songs that prove that the Golden Age of Rock and Roll is a myth, and post-60s pop music -- even /80s/ pop music -- can be truly excellent.

I became a big Split Enz fan in 1992, 20 years after the band first formed. I already had the Crowded House album "Temple of Low Men", which I bought in 1989.

The amazing thing is I didn't realize there was a connection between the two bands. Neil Finn's voice on "Better Be Home Soon" sounds different to that on "I Got You." Among my favourite Split Enz songs are "I Hope I never", "Six Months in a Leaky Boat" and "I Got You." Split Enz also revived my interest in Crowded House, which led me to buy "Woodface".

These songs are a collection of great music from a unique New Zealand band. If you know about the band's history these songs are highly evolved in relation to their early, uncommercial material. If you listen to their compilation "The Beginning of the Enz", you wouldn't think it was the same band.

When "I Got You" was released in 1980, Australia tried to call Split Enz an Australian band. Five years earlier Australian teenagers were telling Split Enz to go back to where they came from! There will never be another band like this again.

This is a fantastic collection and you probably already know that if you're looking to buy this CD. Contrary to what certain spotlight writers might suggest, "I Hope I Never" is an incredibly haunting, beautiful song. Tim Finn writes and sounds very little like Paul McCartney. In fact, I challenge anyone in the F.B.I. with a voice I.D. software program to find sufficient sonic connections between them! Furthermore, melodic songwriting is not the personal domain of The Beatles, who themselves were incredibly "derrivitive" (ie, Dylan, Motown artists, Elvis, Ray Charles, The Beach Boys, Ravi Shankar, British dancehall, etc). As influenced as the Finns might have been by The Beatles (who wasn't?!), Split Enz had their own distinctive sound. "True Colours" is a fine example of some of New Wave's best creative songwriting, innovative sounds and approach. What many often forget is that there was no definable New Wave formula. This left bands free to experiment as they wished under the "something new" category. Yes, this was way before college rock or indie music branded artists with marketable, definable sounds and image. Ah, those were the days my friend... Bands were doing their own thing in a spontaneous way that you just don't hear much of anymore. I got "True Colours" for Christmas that year and none of the other bands of that era sounded quite like them, apart from maybe Sparks or The Undertones. And if you still think Spit Enz were McCartney rip offs, try a comparison test between them and some of McCartney's New Wave efforts, such as "Getting Closer" off Wings Back to the Egg. I think it will be obivous that they aren't really on the same page. Listen for yourself and write your own review!

Yes, the music is great, but with only 11 tracks this skimpy American release (issued in 1987 to cash in on Neil Finn's success with Crowded House) is the least comprehensive Split Enz compilation on the market. You'd be better off checking out the Australian or UK editions of "The Best of Split Enz", or the remastered double-album, "Spellbound".

i've been a fan of split enz, crowded house, finn brothers and neil finn solo, for many, many years. this is great for anyone who likes any of this music. it's younger sounding, obviously, than the later projects by the finn brothers. i love it!

People remember Split Enz for "I Got You" and "One Step Ahead," but "Message to My Girl" should have been the band's biggest success. The track comes from Conflicting Emotions, the last Split Enz album released in America. "Message to My Girl," like the Who's "Bargain" and a handful of other songs, is a rock rarity--a powerfully poignant love song. During the eighties, Enz founder Tim Finn enjoyed a successful solo album and wrote music for the film The Coca-Cola Kid, while little brother Neil kept the Enz spirit alive with his band Crowded House. The nineties found Tim and Neil playing together in Crowded House and then, in 2004, collaborating on the excellent Finn Brothers album Everyone Is Here (take a listen to "Won't Give In"). Sadly, one-time Enz and Crowded House drummer Paul Hester took his own life in 2005.

I have been a Neil Finn fan since I was a youngster imitating everything my sisters liked/did/listened to. Glad they had excellent taste, because Neil Finn became my touchstone from 1979. He really is the master lyric poet of the latter 20th Century and beyond. "Message to My Girl" was the first dance at our wedding, and when he sang it on his recent Crowded House reunion tour, it was pretty much Nirvana for us! Anyhow, History Never Repeats is a reasonable summary of their mid career music, although if you like what you hear, I suggest you go beyond and dabble in the early releases to understand the band (and Neil's) growth as musicians and songwriters. I envy those who are just getting to know this band as you have many many pleasurable hours of discovery ahead... Enjoy!