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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Turning Tide, January 25, 2002
This review is from: Time & Tide (Audio CD)
One of my earliest memories of Split Enz was when I lived in New Zealand 20 years ago and saw the video clip to "Dirty Creature". I didn't know the band was Split Enz at the time but I remember being scared of the clip and wondering what was wrong with the sky. At that age I was too young to appreciate pop music. (I was only five.) Little did I realize I would become a big fan of Split Enz a little over 10 years later. I believe "Dirty Creature", the opening track to "Time and Tide", is a song about the effects of depression. Tim Finn was recovering from a recent nervous breakdown and the end of his marriage before recording this album. "Time and Tide" was recorded a decade after Split Enz first formed. The band tend to regard this album as their best. Many people would agree. It reached No. 1 in Australia, where the band would be awarded Most Popular Group the following year, No. 3 in New Zealand and No. 4 in Canada. After Tim read "Tyranny of Distance" he was inspired to write "Six Months in a Leaky Boat", a single that went gold in Australia. This comes before the autobiographical track "Haul Away". It really is disappointing that Split Enz never conquered America. Their struggle in 1977 was pretty gruelling by all accounts. When the band played to an audience of two, Tim still had the humour to yell out "Are you having a good time?" 1981 was an improvement but still plagued with setbacks. Tim and the rest of the band were pretty frustrated by that time. 1982 would make up for the hardships of a band that never had it easy. It would be no exaggeration to call "Time and Tide" the definitive Split Enz album.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the best Split Enz albums, April 17, 2007
They never truly hit it big in America but Split Enz should have. Perhaps it was the make-up and stage shows or just a matter of timing. Regardless, they left us a series of fun, perplexing, great sounding albums. "Time and Tide" the best of the Finn-Finn era of the Enz sounds even better than before. I've always loved "Six Months in a Leaky Boat" but there are many more gems here from both Tim and Neil beyond that marvelous single.
This remaster (done by former Enz Eddie Rayner)sounds terrific. Unlike a lot of remasters the sound quality isn't sacrificed just to make it sound LOUD. We get the entire album (a pity that there aren't any outtakes, demos or alternate tracks included)in a digipak (for the first edition. Later editions will, reportedly, be in jewel boxes although THIS review is for the digipak version). Lyrics are included but we don't get any notes on the creation of the fine album which is a minor drawback. Nevertheless Enz fans will probably know the circumstances all around its creation.
The CD has been cleverly designed to resemble a vinyl version of the original Aussie-NZ release of the album. The Enz truly never got any better than this and although they would put out two more studio albums (Tim left before their last album "See Ya Around". The next album "Conflicting Emotions" titled after Tim's feelings about leaving the band behind for a solo career would feature Neil's superb "Message for My Girl" and Tim's wistful "Bon Voyage")they could have quit right here and their legacy would be insured.
I'd highly recommend this terrific album and the remaster IS worth picking up for the richer, warmer sound that Rayner has managed to capture on CD.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What Pop Music Could and Should Be, September 27, 1999
This review is from: Time & Tide (Audio CD)
I have been trying to find a CD of Time and Tide for years (purchased the vinyl, which I still have, in 1984), thank goodness for Amazon.com. While I have never followed the Split Enz, this has got to be one of my all time favorite pop/rock albums. I believe this album will appeal to many different listeners and can be enjoyed on all different levels. While you can be immediately hooked by the catchy tunes, this is an album that will only get better after listening many times. The instrumental arrangements and musicianship are exquisite, yet the album rocks too. The song writing is first rate. The messages in the songs are stimulating without being pompous. I believe one of the major themes of the album has to do with growing up in New Zealand and being a New Zealander, but don't take my word for it, listen the CD! If you like well written songs played well (if you like the Beatles, Squeeze, etc.) I would highly recommend this album.
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