Customer Reviews

She Will Have Her Way: The Songs of Tim & Neil Finn

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I was disappointed by "She Will Have Her Way: The Songs of Tim & Neil Finn." It's cool to have Tim & Neil stuff covered in principle, but the remake artists don't seem to "get" the original songs. For example, Renee Geyer turned Neil's "Into Temptation"-a deeply personal confession full of fear and overwhelming desire-into an overproduced R&B club number that feels like temptation is a simple matter of justifying a guilty pleasure. This is fine and valid as a concept and all, except when applied to Neil's lyrics. How can you scratch and croon the lyrics "straight into the arms of Hell"? And having the backup chorus kind of undoes the sense that it's a deeply personal issue. Anyway, it misses the point of the song and robs it of all of its power. (Oh, and it would have been COOL if she had gone for the gusto and actually remade it as a full on Southern Baptist gospel number, but missed the boat on that one.)

Several of the tracks, like Little Birdy's guitary "Six Months in a Leaky Boat" Missy Higgins' earnest "Stuff and Nonsense", and Sara Storer's accented "Won't Give In" are competent and charming, but do nothing to make the music their own. Even when well handled, I think I'd rather just hear the originals. And since Finn fans are presumably the target audience here, I think they might as well.

Perhaps the most grievous misuse of the music comes when Brooke Fraser, admirably carrying a mostly-acoustic version of "Distant Sun" to its climax, simply OMITS the lines "Like a Christian/Fearing vengeance from above," letting the band continue along without her for the two measures. The absence of lyrics (and the rhyme) is distracting and glaring. It becomes the entire focus of the song. The absence of those particular lyrics reads like some stupid protest by omission. This is the place to celebrate the brother's music, to reconsider it, not to protest it. What makes it worse is that it's otherwise one of the best tracks on the album, but you can't get past that giant hole she cut in the center.

Between these misunderstandings, protests, and simple rerecordings, I find myself returning to the originals instead.

The idea that one can completely transform a song by changing the gender of the performer is not novel. That so many that love the Finn Brothers can add their musical notions and come out the other side is not surprising considering the source material. The only thing missing from this compilation would have been renditions by Lisa Germano, Bic Runga and Sheryl Crow, and other woman artists who have performed with Neil, or Tim or the the bands.

Dave

I'm a big Finn brothers fan, and love their work! As it seems do these well known Aussie and Kiwi female artists. Highlights for mine are New Buffalo's interpretation of Four Seasons In One Day, as well as Little Birdy's, Amiel's, Lisa Miller's and Clair Bowditch's tracks. Not a big fan of Natalie Imbruglia's contribution, but it is an otherwise outstanding C.D- especially the limited edition one- my c.d shop ran out of copies quick smart! Get One!!!!!

Are you people kidding?? This cd is ONLY for the diehard Finn fan. The singers manage to grunt and sputter their way through Neil and Tim Finn classics so badly that I'm still suffering after having listened to it months ago. Do yourself a favor, and keep the 2nd cd with the songs sung by the Finns, and then take the first one and stomp on it, cut it up into little bits, burn it, bury it, and then pray that it is never heard in this universe again!

This CD was given to my wife for the Christmas of 2005... we played a few tracks- thought it was good, but then it fell to the bootom of the play list and was relagated to the 'non- high rotation' bundle of CD's across the room from the sound system- where it stayed gathering dust until last week (7th Oct 2007). I heard the second track on the radio- Missy Higgins version of 'Stuff and Nonsense'(which is just an outstanding rendition of this beautiful song. It's fair to say I really heard it for the first time- rushed home fished it out and have had it in the car constantly. This is an outstanding album, with some simply killer re-imaginings of classic Split Enz, Crowded House and Tim and Neil Finn gems. Love just about every track. It's a show case of outstandingly diverse talent and some truely inspirational and gutsy interpretations.
Just fantastic work!!!

Brothers Tim and Neil Finn individually, collectively and as leaders of their own bands (Tim - Split Enz, Neil - Crowded House) have arguably accumulated one of the top catalogs of songs in Australian music. This CD takes the cream of this catalog and puts it in the mouths of some of the top female singer/songwriters and female fronted bands of Australia and New Zealand. Few of the names will ring any bells to statesiders besides Natalie Imbruglia and, for some, Kasey Chambers and Sara Storer. But don't don't let lack of familiarity with the artists deter you.

The concept almost works. While no indivdual song is bad there is an ongoing sense of being overly respectful as if these songs were museum pieces. Very few of the artists seem to be willing to put their own stamp on the songs. The winner in this derby is Sarah Blasko who takes the wistfull "Don't Dream It's Over" and makes it almost funereal, complete with choir. Kasey Chambers turns "Better Be Home Soon" into a country lullabye and New Buffalo scores strongly with an updated "Four Seasons In One Day." You will remember this CD fondly because it saves the best for last, finally fulfilling its potential with the last three covers, Natalie Imbruglia's "Pineapple Head," "Stellar's "Persuasion" and Sophie Koh's rousing "Wake Up Charlie" which would have made more sense kickstarting the CD as the first song rather than finishing it.

And then, when you're done listening to these ladies, you can slip CD2 into your player and listen to the originals and make your own judgments.

Not since The Sundays "Reading, Writing and Arithmetic"! An absolutely wonderful collection of truly fine songs. Please, please give it more than a casual listen to, once through. If you are not captivated by the third play, you can always go back to American radio.

It was just a pleasure to hear the interpretations of these songs.

I would give it 5 stars because I am such a huge fan, but I just didn't think a few tracks were in the spirit of the originals.

In my humble opinion, the best tracks are Fall At Your Feet, Distant Sun, Six Months In A Leaky Boat, and a great rendition of Won't Give In.

In all these are great arrangements by wonderful talent and I dare to say that those tracks above equal the originals.....

Potentially, this is a great idea - a group of women interpreting Split Enz and Crowded House songs. It should have worked and been a magnificent and thoughtful album. And yet.... it isn't.
The women who sing on this album are merely "going through the motions" and in some cases, they seem to be passing motions! (see Kasey Chamber and Little Birdie) The songs are performed in ways which reduce them to fashion store jingles and "filler". Kasey Chambers' rendition of "You Better Be Home Soon" is, as always, execrable and her abrasive, coarse and amateurish voice, complete with a faux American accent, is the kiss of death to this song. Little Birdie is just as bad and one feels like reaching for the air-rifle when hearing her on this disc. Her "Six Months In a Leaky Boat" makes one wish that the holes had only been a little bigger and the boat had been scuttled at sea.

The other interpreters have all done better work elsewhere and, if anything, all this disc proves is that many of these songs haven't travelled as well as one would have otherwise thought.

Am I the only person in the world who thought that Crowded House was dull? Split Enz were gods, but only before Neil Finn turned them into AOR fluff!

I hadn't heard most of The Neil Brother's songs, only the popular ones such as True Colours, and now I have gone through all my parents CD's to find them! A truly wonderful CD my current Fav. I love Stuff and Nonsense and especially Fall at Your Feet.