Neil Finn's Amazing Body of Work: A Buyer's Guide, Part 1

I've always felt that Neil Finn isn't afforded the fame/success that his talent warrants. He's been writing, consistently, some of the best songs of the last 25 years, ever since his days with New Zealand's Split Enz.

It's been years since I heard any Split Enz albums, so I'm satisfied with this budget hits comp, including "I Got You", "Six Months in a Leaky Boat" (gotta love those massed mandolins!), and the revved-up "I See Red". Older brother Tim wrote most of the 'hits', but when Neil joined after the second album, he quickly came into his own. The band eventually broke up, and after some woodshedding, Neil's next band was the mighty mighty Crowded House.

Crowded House's first album featured some of Neil's best songs, and the fact that they were idiosyncraticly cute meant they enjoyed some quality MTV video time. This album has The Song That Neil Will Perform Forever ("Don't Dream It's Over") and it's front-loaded with the hits, but the formerly-known-as-Side 2 keeps up the quality, with "Hole in the River" sounding even better in live versions. Very 80's production (shiny shiny), but some darker themes amidst the sunny sides.

Next album "Temple of Low Men" didn't hit the heights of the previous album, but it still contains many of their "classics". "Into Temptation" is one of the best songs depicting the slippery slope that leads one to stray into an affair, "Sister Madly" features label-buddy Richard Thompson, and "Better Be Home Soon" sounds like "Don't Dream (Part 2)" -- in a good way.

Older brother Tim comes aboard for the 3rd album "Woodface" after the disappointing sales of "Temple". Opening with a clunker, the album's next 7 songs are gold. 4th album "Together Alone" from 1993 is another retrenching, with the addition of keyboardist par excellence Mark Hart as Tim leaves for his own projects and producer Youth experiments with murkier textures and the boys return to record in New Zealnd. This one for me is the most consistently great: "Pineapple Head", "Private Universe", "Walking On the Spot" (!), "Catherine Wheels" (!!) -- as good as the other albums are, this is probably the one I play the most. And of course, it was their last album! (There's more to that story, but that's for another post...)

"Recurring Dream: The Very Best Of" followed (try to get the one with the bonus live disc), and eventually "Afterglow" with B-sides and more (including "Recurring Dream" the Crowded House U2/Big County mash-up which isn't on the album "Recurring Dream" -- go figure!) but still the quality is right up there -- "Anyone Can Tell", "Help Is Coming" -- Neil's leftovers are still better than most other writers' A-list.

Sadly, drummer Paul Hester committed suicide, which brings this chapter of the Crowded House story to a dismal end. The DVD "Farewell to the World" is their last performance from November 1996 outside the Sydney Opera House", and that's how I'd like to remember Paul, the bittersweet moments of being onstage with his mates for the last time. Don't dream it's over, indeed.

Next: Neil, The Solo Years!

NRBQ, America's Best Band That You Never Heard Of

Driving home Sunday afternoon, listening to NRBQ, I turned to my wife, almost to the point of tears, and said "When NRBQ is good, nobody can touch them." 

One of the problems with getting older is that so many members of my favorite bands are dying, NRBQ included. I have so many favorite bands, but there's only a handful that I can say I love, and NRBQ is one of them. I've never met any other fans (other than my wife), but I'd guess I'm not alone -- these guys just inspire that kind of devotion.

How does that happen? I mean, I love the music of the Beatles, Radiohead...but I can't say I love the bands. But I know I love NRBQ (and Firesign Theatre). Maybe it's that there seems less of a distance between band and fan?

So, Mr Smarty Pants, if NRBQ is so great, why aren't they famous? Well, Bonnie Raitt's done her best to make them better known, and the writers and producers of "The Simpsons" are big fans, but NRBQ's recorded for smaller labels, their stuff is in and out of print, and when they do get a major-label opportunity, the stars don't align and it's back to indie-ville for them.

So try to find a copy of "Peek-A-Boo", an excellent introduction and best-of. Yes, there are hidden gems that this 2-CD set misses, but they managed to get most of the best, and it focuses on the classic line-up that lasted 20 years: Big Al Anderson's masterful arsenal of rockabilly and country guitar licks, Terry Adams on keyboards, (honky-tonk via Thelonious Monk), Joey Spampinato, the token Paul McCartney on bass, and boss of the backbeat, Tom Ardolino. Tired of the road, Al left to become a much-sought-after Nashville songwriter, Tom died, Terry had a throat cancer scare and retired the band for a long spell...

So, what makes them so special? Joey usually is singled out as the one writing the sweet, romantic Paulie songs, but Al and Terry provide their share too. They have a great sense of humor: immature, ironic, dry and extremely silly. (Okay, maybe too silly. That's a problem for non-fans.)

But c'mon,take this lyric from "Magnet", one of their early love songs. You know where this one is going, right? Magnet/Love/Attraction, yeah, I get it. Wrong. "I'm like a magnet/You're like a piece of wood".
Songs like "Rain at the Drive-In": "When it rains at the drive-in/My girl and I start to grin/We can't see out/They can't see in". Or "Little Floater", a love song to a car and one of the Top 5 Best Car Songs Ever. I realize that's a ridiculous claim, but I'm standing by it.

Al's guitar work provides the rockin' element, but he's so unconventionally sensitive and complimentary on the ballads.Terry worships Monk and Sun Ra but again, his sympathetic support is stunning but never draws the spotlight from the song.

So like I said earlier, their stuff is constantly going in and out of print, so I've been trying to grab as many CDs as I can, because, as great as "Peek-A-Boo" is, there are still more great songs tucked away on the other albums. "NRBQ at Yankee Stadium" (that's them in one of the bleachers) includes one of my very favorites "Yes, Yes, Yes", a sweet song that still manages to allow Terry to indulge his Monk fetish. He breaks the melody into teasing little pieces, puts it back together, then follows with a shattered piano solo, then puts the song back together again in a swoony finale. (The band must think it's a great song too, because it regularly shows up on their live albums.)

"Grooves in Orbit" has hidden gems like "My Girlfriend's Pretty" and "Smackaroo" (with what initially sounds like a chainsaw solo). "Tapdancin' Bats" (an odds 'n sodds collection that's probably only for the faithful) has my new favorite "I Don't Think of..." ("I don't think of/The things I could be missin'/ 'Cause all I think I'll ever want's been given").

That's a lesson it took me a long time to learn, and this is where I began, riding in my car with the woman I love with NRBQ as the perfect soundtrack. Maybe that's one of the reasons why I love those guys.