Finnaticism

Rock music is rife with siblings, ranging from the Everly Brothers to Heart’s Wilson sisters to the Kemp brothers of Spandau Ballet. And then there’s the enduring, if somewhat more obscure, legacy of New Zealand’s Finn brothers, veterans of such acts as Split Enz, Crowded House and – finally – just themselves.

Neil and Tim Finn have carved out their own little niche in the pantheon of singer/songwriters, each turning out music with a very distinct character, and each gathering a loyal fan base. Tim’s music often bounces along with a wistful, whimsical flavor, but he’s also turned out some quite interesting, refreshingly un-clichèd ballads since launching his solo career. Neil’s music shows its Lennon & McCartney-inspired roots vividly, with unexpected chord changes, harmonies and experimental instrumentation aplenty; yet the younger Finn seldom turns out anything that sounds like Beatles pastiche, with literate lyrics that manage to be both heartfelt and stream-of-consciousness at the same time, and a way with angst-heavy ballads that no one else has been able to match.

Both brothers’ solo careers are almost proceeding along parallel tracks – they have nearly instant name recognition in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the U.K. and Europe, and yet they’ve all but stalled in gaining U.S. recognition, their latest solo releases appearing on tiny indie labels. This is surprising, given that Neil Finn was the man responsible for Crowded House’s “Don’t Dream It’s Over,” a 1986 hit that climbed to #2 on the Billboard charts. The uninitiated might be tempted to write that off as a one-hit wonder, but the real story behind the Finn brothers stretches back 30 years – and at least as many hits. They’re just hits that American radio hasn’t taken on board.

Brian Timothy Finn and Neil Mullane Finn, born six years apart (in 1952 and 1958, respectively) in the small town of Te Awamutu, New Zealand, had a shared upbringing that shaped both of their futures: the diverse music collection and strict upbringing of their Irish Catholic parents, experiences at an equally Catholic boarding school, and a love of playing and singing for a crowd. Though this latter element was likely imposed on the boys by proud parents asking them to show off for visitors, it set both of them on a path as musicians – a path that would become more and more intertwined with time.

In 1972, Brian Finn – now attending college – and several fellow students formed an artsy acoustic ensemble they called Split Ends. Originally conceived as the antithesis of such post-Beatles hard rock acts as Led Zeppelin and The Move, Split Ends barely survived the college circuit, eventually coming in second in a local talent contest, mystifying countless listeners and making ardent fans of others. Some members left, and others joined, tightening the band’s sound and finally going electric. Split Ends renamed itself Split Enz – to leave no doubt about its New Zealand origins – and headed to Australia to tour. Somewhere along the way, most of the band members began going by their middle names. Watching it all at home from the vantage point of both a fan and a proud brother, Neil Finn started having his own dreams of musical stardom.

What followed in the succeeding years was a swift evolution into one of the most eclectic rock music groups in the world. With the quirky percussion of Noel Crombie, Robert Gillies’ surefire sax and brass playing, Eddie Rayner’s intricate piano and keyboard work, and the bizarre songwriting core of Tim Finn and fellow founding member Phil Judd, Split Enz combined hooky, Beatlesque songwriting with the longform progressive “art-rock” leanings of the early 70s. The result was a distinct sound quite unlike anything that had come before – something uniquely Split Enz.

Success outside of the South Pacific eluded the group, however, and internal strife was mounting. Both Tim Finn and Phil Judd suffered from varying degrees of stage fright, even when hidden behind the increasingly elaborate makeup and hairstyling that became the band’s trademark. Their initial albums – Mental Notes (1975) and Second Thoughts (1976) – had started to gain them recognition in the U.K. and Europe, and A&M in America signed a very tentative deal to distribute their music in the U.S., paving the way for their first tour. But during a date in Atlanta where the band outnumbered the audience, Judd quit, leaving Finn to forge ahead as the group’s sole songwriter – and find Judd’s replacement as lead guitarist. Tim Finn called on his younger brother Neil to join the group, and with their parents’ approval, Neil flew to England the join the Enz. What Tim hadn’t counted on was Neil’s own songwriting aspirations. Though numerous leftover songs written by the elder Finn and the departed Judd formed the backbone of the next album, 1977’s Dizrythmia, Neil also wrote some songs, and the vocals – which had previously been stuck in the near-novelty mode of half-spoken, half-sung lyrics – became rich with tight harmonies. There was no doubt that Neil Finn was the right choice to take over Judd’s slot.

Tim and Neil Finn shared the front of the stage in Split Enz for several more years, touring worldwide and releasing the albums Frenzy (1979), the international hit True Colours (1980), Corroborree (1981), and the unusually autobiographical Time + Tide (1982). The touring and recording schedule entailed by that lineup, however, took its toll, and the group sat out much of 1983. In that time, Tim recorded and released his first solo album, Escapade, and it was during the recording of Split Enz’s 1984 album Conflicting Emotions that Tim made clear his intention to leave. Even though a new drummer named Paul Hester had just been recruited, Neil elected to record only one more album with Split Enz – the surprisingly cheerful See Ya ‘Round – before disbanding the group that his brother had founded. Neil and Paul Hester then auditioned other musicians – in some cases, squeezing the auditions into soundchecks on the final Split Enz tour – for the band that would come to be known as Crowded House.

Born of Neil’s desire to more accurately reproduce band’s recorded sound when playing live (and, perhaps, vice versa), Crowded House was intended to have a much less ornate sound both on record and on stage. But thanks to the musical instincts of producer Mitchell Froom, Crowded House wound up with a style every bit as intricate as that of Split Enz. Nowhere was this more evident on the group’s 1986 self-titled debut album than with the #2 hit “Don’t Dream It’s Over,” a melancholy-yet-hopeful ballad with an ornate organ solo helping the song stand out instantly from other songs on the charts at the time. As it became all-important to faithfully convey the same sound on tour, Neil Finn wound up recruiting Split Enz keyboardist Eddie Rayner to go on the road. By the time the second album, 1988’s subdued Temple Of Low Men rolled around, the band had a solid following – and a touring keyboardist who wanted to stay in New Zealand with his new baby. Unsure of how to proceed, Neil Finn backed out on the tour, completely stalling the momentum for Crowded House’s album sales (and effectively chilling the considerable goodwill that existed between the band and its label, Capitol Records). Rayner vacated the keyboard seat and made way for Mark Hart, an American keyboardist/guitarist/vocalist late of Supertramp, who later became a full-time member of the band – but not right away.

Neil and Tim had been working on a Finn Brothers album since 1989, and had built up a number of unique songs capitalizing on their harmonies. Tim, having watched his own 1986 solo effort Big Canoe tank miserably on the charts (despite featuring a solid collection of songs), was eager to enjoy some of his younger brother’s major label support. Neil had introduced Tim to Mitchell Froom, who helped craft Tim’s self-titled third solo album into a thing of beauty, and even though that 1989 release went nowhere on the charts, everyone behind the scenes was impressed with the songs that were shaping up for the first Finn Brothers album.

There was just one little problem – having watched Capitol’s support erode quickly from the abandoned Temple Of Low Men tour, Neil Finn’s enthusiasm for Crowded House was running low; according to Chris Bourke’s excellent book Something So Strong, Neil even fired bassist Nick Seymour for several weeks out of frustration. As it turns out, the frustration wasn’t with Seymour, but with a feeling that the third Crowded House album wasn’t coming together. The idea arose to “borrow” a song or two intended for the Finn Brothers album, but that idea eventually led to Tim joining Crowded House. Numerous songs were jettisoned from the album (later turning up on a rarities/B-sides collection called Afterglow), and the Finn Brothers material took center stage. Woodface, released in 1991, wowed fans with the smooth harmonies of the Finn Brothers, an element that hadn’t even been as pronounced during the Split Enz days. Songs like “It’s Only Natural,” “How Will You Go” and “Weather With You,” which wound up being a hit in England and much of Europe, featured the Finn brothers’ harmonies prominently, while they each had plenty of chances to shine on their own – Neil’s “Fall At Your Feet” and Tim’s lush ballad “All I Ask” being particular standouts on that album.

The brothers’ forceful personalities, however, meant that the two-Finn incarnation of Crowded House didn’t survive the grueling touring schedule in support of Woodface. After leaving the band, Tim immediately began working on his fourth solo album, Before And After, which featured two duets with Neil on a pair of unused Finn Brothers tunes, “In Love With It All” and “Strangeness & Charm.” The real standouts on Before And After, however, are the ballads, increasingly becoming Tim’s strong suit; “Persuasion” (based on a sketch for guitar by folk music hero Richard Thompson), “In Your Sway,” “Many’s The Time (In Dublin)” and “Walk You Home” demonstrate catchy melodies and lyrics that avoid many of the obvious parameters of that genre.

1993 also saw the release of the final original Crowded House album, Together, Alone. With Mark Hart now on board full-time, a surprising new producer in the form of Youth, and an increased emphasis on capturing the “jamming” sound of the band’s rehearsals and live acts, Together Alone is easily the best Crowded House album committed to tape. Demonstrating that there were no hard feelings – or begrudging sibling rivalries – Tim Finn turns in some guest vocals for “Catherine Wheels.”

Tim and Neil did chase those two projects down with another – a Finn Brothers album that actually saw the light of day rather than being co-opted into a Crowded House album. The 1995 album, simply titled Finn, sees Tim and Neil playing every instrument on nearly every song (only one guest artist is featured at the beginning of one song), and while their harmonies are again to the fore, the production style is bass-heavy, murky at times, and very much lo-fi, almost as if the Finns were seeking a dated sound.

Touring for Crowded House’s Together Alone proved to be torturous, with drummer Paul Hester ending his association with the group during the American leg of the tour. Capitol had once again stiffed the latest Crowded House release, delaying it from its street date in the rest of the world by a year, and even after rehearsals had begun with new drummer Peter Jones for a fifth album, Neil Finn decided that Crowded House had had its day. Three new songs graced a final “greatest hits” compilation, 1996’s Recurring Dream (named after an early song which, perversely enough, doesn’t even appear on that album, but does later turn up on Afterglow), and the band reunited for an epic final concert on the steps of the Sydney Opera House in November – a concert which was the best-attended live music event in the world that year.

Not bad for a one-hit wonder.

With Neil Finn’s first solo album, 1998’s well-regarded (but criminally under-promoted, despite being on Sony’s Work label) Try Whistling This, one can hear a conscious shift away from some of Crowded House’s trademark elements, but his sound decidedly swings back toward a Crowded House sound with his second solo release, One Nil, which was released virtually everywhere except North America. With an able assist from former Crowded House producer Mitchell Froom, and featuring such high-profile guests as Sheryl Crowl, Liam Finn (Neil’s eldest teenage son and lead guitarist for up-and-coming New Zealand-based rock outfit Betchadupa) and Wendy & Lisa, One Nil brings Neil Finn full-circle stylistically, with everything from the laid-back acoustic aesthetic of Crowded House to the hooky pop of Split Enz rearing its head. One Nil will be released under the title One All next month by Nettwerx Records in the U.S. and Canada, with two songs removed from the original One Nil lineup, two new songs added in their place, and several other songs remixed.

Tim has also been active, releasing two excellent albums (1999’s Say It Is So and 2001’s superb Feeding The Gods) with a group of backing musicians which originates, for the most part, from Nashville (where Say It Is So was recorded). Tim’s music has been growing more assured and richly textured with each release, and the tiny Sonny’s Pop label has been supporting him with a decent web site and better-than-average mail order services for those fans who don’t live somewhere where there’s a decent independent music store. Feeding The Gods is especially worth seeking, with some of Tim’s best songs in years (“Subway Dreaming,” “Commonplace,” “Party Was You,” “Waiting For Your Moment”) filling out the disc. Some truly bizarre videos from Say It Is So’s singles are also included.

Best of all, both of the Finns are laying the groundwork for the second Finn Brothers album. Both will be touring in 2002 as well, with Neil getting ready for a U.S. tour. They’ve given what could be a preview of the sound of their next album in the form of a very loose cover of Paul McCartney’s “Too Many People” on the recent multi-artist McCartney tribute Listen To What The Man Said.

No matter who they’re working with, there is usually a pleasantly steady stream of music coming from the home base of the brothers Finn. The sad lack of exposure they seem to suffer on an equally consistent basis on U.S. radio comes as no surprise to their fan base by now, but don’t let that stop you – this guide is here to help you seek their stuff out. I know I haven’t really provided concrete examples of why their music is worth at least a cursory listen, but from my conversations with fellow Finn fans – all of whom have different favorite songs and albums than those at the top of my list – that’s almost an impossible task, at least much more difficult than chronicling their history. The somewhat lengthy history is there to prove a point – if you find something you like, there’s plenty more out there from the Finn brothers, in one form or another, to like.

Everyone will have their own favorites, but rest assured – you will happen upon something that will wind up in your list of personal favorites.