Customer Reviews

Time & Tide

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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.

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.

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.

Split Enz are probably the most underrated band, basically because they never quite "hit it big" in America. Also, they have the unfortunate label of being a New Wave band. If you ever look them up on the All Music Guide website, you'll either run from your computer frightened or dismiss them as a band that plays Weird Al Yankovic-like tunes (AMG - change that picture!). Split Enz don't sound like Weird Al and their music transcends the "New Wave" moniker.

Both principal songwriters, Neil and Tim Finn, have found more sucess in later projects, whether it be solo or with Crowded House. But this album showcases some of their finest songwriting. You'll be immediately captured by the funky bass line of "Dirty Creature" and will want more after finishing up with the manic "Make Sense of It." Overall, the album has a dark tone, courtesy of Neil Finn. Even the upbeat songs like "Six Months in a Leaky Boat" end in a somewhat depressing manner. It sounds good all the same. Though I think the production is great, the keyboard sound kind of "dates" the album. I think this may be why a lot of people are hesitant to give it a listen. Don't make that mistake!

The album is truly a collaborative effort, with a few songs having more than one writer. Despite what the Editorial review says, this was not the last Split Enz album. Tim Finn left the band shortly after this and Neil Finn said his final goodbye with "See Ya 'Round." To hear Split Enz and other similar bands, check out my online radio station at Live365.com. Search for station name "Stung by a Bee."

Stepping away from the more radio friendly sound of their previous two albums, "Time and Tide" takes a number of stunning risks. The opening track "Dirty Creature" heads more into funk territory with a galloping dance beat. "Giant Heartbeat" with its intriguing and mysterious melody immediately catches your attention as does the unusual production touches provided Hugh Padgham and the band. The real stand out tracks are the truly odd "Haul Away", brilliant "Six Months in a Leaky Boat" which I'll never be able to separate from Eddie Rayner's beautiful but brief introduction "Pioneer". Tim and Neil were in top form here and, although there would be two more albums, "Conflicting Emotions"(despite the brilliant "Message to My Girl" and "The Devil You Know") and "See Ya' Around" just don't quite measure up.

I know lots of folks that don't care for "Time and Tide" and that's fine; the album is daunting and less immediately catchy than its predecessors but no less brilliant and shows the band taking giant strides forward as always. Highly recommended although this album, along with the rest of their catalog, needs to be upgraded with better sound quality.

O.K. I may be offend some people here by saying that the music on this album blows away even some of the Beatles best stuff. Really, I'm not joking. I've listened to this album steadily for over 20 years now and it just gets better with age. The lyrics on this album show a fantastically elegant pop band maturing on from the insanely brilliant pop-classic `True Colors' & the slightly sub-par `Corroboree' to produce this wonder of pop mastery. Each track takes its own journey and develops it's own distinct feel. The songs playing out like mini-biographies that are interesting, funny and poignant whilst being insanely catchy with brain infiltrating hooks and chorus-lines. This turned out to be the bands last great album unfortunately, but wow all I can say is that if you are a fan of pop in it's rock form or ever had a `Beatles', `Kinks' or `Squeeze' album in your collection then you really NEED to have this. I dare say that some bands (including the Beatles) only wish they could have written something as wonderful as `Dirty Creature' or as catchy (oh so catchy) as `Small World'. Water and the Ocean is a constant companion on this album and you really get a sense of wonder and a certain other-worldliness which comes with a welcoming Kiwi accent and makes for a thoroughly satisfying listening experience. `Pioneer' is a beautifully composed piece and I think I can say that without sounding too glib. The piano-work on display as the song builds to a crescendo which then leads into the happily jaunty `Six Months in a Leaky Boat' is nothing short of brilliant. I could gush for a long time about this album as you can see but for soul, depth, pop-brilliance, lyrically fascinating content and pure musical enjoyment this album has been a source of inspiration for me for over 20 years and I hope other people out there will take note of some of the other positive reviews here and welcome it into their hearts.

This is NOT the Enz end as Amazon.com's copy-writer would have you believe.

They released two more studio lps after this one- Conflicting Emotions (still available in some U.S. cut-out bins) and finally See Ya "Round (still available in Australia...again, in the cut-outs...at least that is where I got mine in 1999 when in Sydney). Both of these lps (cds) are great additions to any Enz collection. It seems as if Neil and Tim are not capable of creating anything less than stellar art, whether its Split Enz, Crowded House, Finn (Brothers), or solo.

Long live the Finn brothers!

I first saw this album at a music store when it came out in spring of 1982. I was hesitant to buy it. I liked their earliest known hit to me 'I got you' from early MTV days but I wasn't yet sold on them as a music investment, as I was a starving college student. So I didn't buy it. What a putz I was. I remember hearing their 'Conflicting Emotions' album a year later in the same store and wondered,'did I make the right decision'. I still didn't buy either album. Their 'See Ya Round' wasn't even released in the US, so I guessed I had made the right decision that they were 'going nowhere',duh. About a year and a half later in a Musicland, there was this strange and intringing music playing, kinda wavish, but eerily polished, more depth. I didn't know at the time but realised later they were playing the Time and Tide album, those were the closing bars of dirty creature. I then remember hearing the hauntingly beautiful guitar intro and exotic keyboard sounds and drum beat of 'Giant Heartbeat' and I thought 'who the F**k is this playing this awesome Sh#t'. My whole body just felt good all over listening to it. Then 'Sandy Allen' kicked in and I thought 'I gotta find who this is, there's music like this and I didn't even know about it'. I mean, I felt major stupid, as if my tastes weren't in the right place, and I like a lot of good music. Don't ask me why, but I got distracted and didn't bother asking a clerk who the artist was. Another year passed by and Crowded House's debut was just hitting stride and when reading reviews, they commented the band rose out of the ashes of Split Enz with two of its members. Neil Finn was the lead singer, the guy who sang 'I got you' that cool video on MTV years earlier. I bought that album and not very later I purchased 'History Never Repeats' package because I loved the Crowded House. It was a little different, but I enjoyed most of it. It contained only one T&T song, 'Dirty Creature' which I vaguely recognized but didn't make the connection. It was not until the early nineties and years of becoming a bona fide CH fanatic, by this time Tim had come and left the band, a near Split Enz reunion. I found the Rear Enz box set at a good price and decided to delve into the Split Enz legacy. The first album I listened to was Time and Tide. On a long stretch of interstate 5 in California, I finally learned what I had missed all these years. It all rushed back to me. The time in Musicland, my college years, my first girl after graduating(she was from Australia), my first real job. This was a great band and this was great music. Engineered and produced by Hugh Padgham, he also did the same for Genesis' 'ABACAB', and the Police's 'Ghost in the Machine' the same year, albums which today are memorable but more nostalgic. What I couldn't believe was that T&T still sounded relevant in 1994 as it did in 1982. 'Take a walk', 'Six Months...', 'Log Cabin Fever', 'Never Ceases...', all great. I'd say this is as good starting point to Split Enz as any. This will wet your thirst for more and more until you eventually will want to own all of their albums. I recommend a hard-to-find VHS video of their live Canadian 1982 show. It has most of the songs off this album live, a great show with all the other hits of the era. This a legendary, overlooked, influential, great album, unfairly overlooked by America, who is now coming to grips with it's stupidity like I did ten years ago. Regardless, purchase this one and enjoy.

I used to manage record stores in the 1970s-1990s. When this album came out, we used it for an audio demo (the second side) and it helped sell sound systems. If you like early Genesis, you should try this one.

Oh yes, this is Split Enz at thier creative peak. These songs just burst with energy and melody, every last one of them. I remember going to see them live at this time and what a great show. This is one of the truly great lost treasures of modern pop music. Brilliant music.