The Fabulous Thunderbirds The Fabulous Thunderbirds
Got this for my new year. Wow, this rocks! Great stuff, from opener and swinging single Tuff Enuff over a very funny Amnesia to closer Down at Antones about their favourite live club. And then I forget to mention Wrap It Up, another single making me all bouncy and happy, and Jan's favourite Why Get Up (hrmph).
I once witnessed the Fabulous Thunderbirds and Omar and the Howlers at the Vooruit in Gent, a steaming concert. This compilation measures up to that experience... when you watch closely enough, you see smoke spiralling up from this little disc. A lot of stuff from Tuff Enuff, but also Stand Back and You Can't Judge a Book By Its Cover. Rock on!
Fad Gadget Collapsing New People was and is a hypnotizing and powerful song. Other strong songs are One Man's Meat and the slow Sleep, another song for Tovey's son. But on the whole this album isn't strong enough by far.
The Fall I don't remember very much of this album, apart from the fact that I didn't really like it. Very eccentric, Mark E. Smith's disturbing vocals, noisy guitars, strange songs. This combination usually does it for me, but not this time.
Fatal Flowers Bought this for that steamy instrumental Rip Off that was all over the Dutch radio at the time. The song sounds like the perfect soundtrack for a western movie. Crying Over Sin and Billy are also very good.
More songs like the ones that can be found on Fatal Flowers, but with a more polished production, background choirs and most of all it all sounds more mature. The title track and Round and Round are highly recommended.
Fatboy Slim 4-track single with 3 versions of Sunset (Bird of Prey) and another song that's not really my cup of tea. Like that Bird of Prey song though. Is it thievery? Not sure. Beautiful picture though.
Should have gotten the previous album. Seems like quite an effort to get into this one. Yo Mama seems like an okay song, as well as the aforementioned Sunset (Bird of Prey). I should listen to this more, but I can't be bothered right now because I'm not in the mood.
The Finn Bros. This CD-single has the perfect B-sides to my favourite song of the Finn Brothers album Suffer Never, namely three of the demos of the Woodface album, more than that, my 2 all time favourites, the demos of Strangeness and Charm and In Love With It All. Strangeness and Charm works better as a demo than on Tim Finn's Before & After, and for In Love With It All it's the other way round. But this one has this cute extra verse. And good lord, those heavenly brothers' harmonies...
This album sounds nothing like any other collaboration of the Finn brothers: it's more basic and spontaneous. The brothers played everything themselves, including "exotic" instruments like a T-chest bass and a chamberlin. Tchad Blake was responsible for the production, and provided an open and "back to the basics" sound. It's hard to name the highlights of this album, as there are so many. The moody and dark Suffer Never is my favourite, closely followed by Mood Swinging Man (about Dad Finn), Angels Heap (now *what* is this song about?!?!) and Eyes of the World. And I do some songs wrong by not mentioning them.
Neil Finn I had been out of Crowded House for a long time, but positive reviews reminded me about this New Zealander who used to write perfect popsongs... so I bought the album. And got completely back into all things Finn. Caught up on the backlog of unheard music, joined mailing lists... listened to this album over and over, because it was amazing. Very different from the Crowded House music, a bit darker and moodier. And a touch of new technology here and there, as in Sinner. An album filled with timeless Neil Finn songs, also doing good live, both with a full band or stripped to the bone with only vocals and acoustic guitar.
Recorded live at the Abbey Road Studios. With a very good version of Not the Girl You Think You Are of the end of the Crowded House-era.
The second part of the Sinner single comes with 2 bonus songs that could as well have made it to the album. Sounds a bit more B-side-ish though. Well, that's what they are...
The proceeds of this CD-single go towards the sight-restoring work of The Fred Hollows Foundation. This Johnny Nash cover also made it to the soundtrack of the movie Antz. I'm not that fond of this version, it's a bit too uninspired. Additional tracks come from the Abbey Road live session in 1998 (see the Sinner Live CD-single).
"This song is a simple gesture of support to the All Blacks for their 1999 World Cup campaign from me, a fan who was always too skinny to make the team", dixit Neil Finn. This single comes with a video for Can You Hear Us, and the traditional The Haka performed by the All Blacks.
Single of the summery, lazy song Rest of the Day Off, that has a fun game to it on the enhanced section of the CD. Also added are two rather atypical songs for Neil Finn: Now I Get It has a very striking, albeit slow electronic dance-beat and a screeching guitar. At first the song sounds rather fragmented, but after a few listens it all blends together well and you start hearing a compelling chorus and a well-hidden ukelele. Underestimated has less to do with electronics, but its lively rhythm is equally dancable. Add a beautiful piano and backing vocals, and you've got another great song.
Part one of this single holds three live tracks. Hole in the Ice was recorded during the series of Neil Finn & Friends concerts at the St. James Theatre in Auckland, and the guitars of Ed O'Brien and Johnny Marr transform it into a loud rocker. Try Whistling This and Distant Sun are both centrepieces of their respective albums Try Whistling This (Neil Finn solo) and Together Alone (Crowded House), and are featured on this single in impressive acoustic versions recorded during a one-off promotion concert at the Palace Theatre in London.
Part two of the Hole in the Ice single is not as strong as part one, with the radio mix of Hole in the Ice, and two live tracks recorded at the Palace Theatre in London. Loose Tongue hasn't got the testosterone of the later live versions with at least three guitars, and Not the Girl You Think You Are lacks the intensity of the tracks featured on part one of this single.
I consider this DVD as a terrific gift to the fans. The line-up of the 5 gigs in Auckland in April 2001 left most of us drooling... Eddie Vedder! Johnny Marr! Ed O'Brien! Phil Selway! Lisa Germano! Sebastian Steinberg! Tim Finn! Betchadupa! I got to see a few of them (Johnny Marr, Lisa Germano, Sebastian Steinberg) during the Neil Finn shows I attended in London and Brussels, but I'm glad I can still witness Neill Finn & Friends on DVD, as it's a joy from start to finish. A grand total of 26 songs (a selection of the best moments of the 5 nights), interrupted by short interviews and rehearsal and backstage footage. The only minus point of the DVD is that this footage interrupts the continuity of the concert, but that's only a minor complaint, as there's so many great moments, the images of the hug between Neil and Eddie Vedder are just priceless. There's plenty of highlights on this DVD... the hopping Take a Walk with Eddie Vedder, the audience singalong in Fall at Your Feet, Johnny Marr's Down on the Corner, the cover of Smiths tune There Is a Light That Never Goes Out, rocking versions of Loose Tongue and She Will Have Her Way, a very concentrated Ed Vedder in Stuff and Nonsense, and the young Betchadupa boys with Eddie Vedder in History Never Repeats and I See Red... only to name a few of them. The music breathes warmth and the joy of a bunch of people playing together, not hindered by egos and starlike airs. The proceeds of this DVD go to Doctors Without Frontiers in Afghanistan, so that's another reason to go get it kids!
The 7 Worlds CD doesn't add much to the DVD of the registration of the 5 concerts in Auckland, but it's good to have anyway. Maybe I'll add a few things that I haven't mentioned in the DVD review: Lisa Germano does a great job on the backing vocals of Turn and Run, she sings Sheryl Crow into oblivion. And it's good to hear Neil and Tim sing together on the endearingly beautiful Angels Heap, and on the new Finn Brothers song Edible Flowers. When oh when is that new album going to be released??
Tim Finn An album with fine pop songs, sometimes a bit too easily digestible. Fraction Too Much Friction still gets some airplay now and then, and is a sunny song that stood the test of time. In a Minor Key is another gem. But this isn't an album that I can play from the beginning til the end.
Tim Finn desparately in pursuit of a hit. Sometimes this yields wonderful songs like Hyacinth or No Thunder - No Fire - No Rain, but also bombastic songs like Spiritual Hunger or the title track. Not exactly my favourite Finn album.
The eponymous, nowadays very hard to find album is an absolute highlight of Tim Finn's career. For this album he hired Mitchell Froom (who worked with brother Neil's band Crowded House before), and as a result the production is more restrained and effective. Most of the songs are very direct, and Finn's lyrics are very personal. A few of the many highlights: opener Young Mountain, and the duo Not Even Close and Show a Little Mercy.
My favourite Timmy album for some reason. Even though every song is produced by someone different, and thus the album isn't consisent or coherent, there are some all time favourite songs on this album, namely In Love with it All (harmonies provided by Neil Finn), Strangeness and Charm (but the demo version is better), Persuasion (produced by Mark Hart and Tim Finn, one of the simplest songs on the album) and In Your Sway (swoon). Sadly enough he always manages to put some fillers on his album (I Found It, Funny Way). Stains on an otherwise great album.
After the 7-year gap between Before & After and this Say It Is So, Tim seemed to have changed a lot. Both his voice and his approach towards music are very different. But different doesn't necessarily mean worse. My favourites are Underwater Mountain and Twinkle, the more catchy tunes on the album.
fIREHOSE Still my favourite fIREHOSE album, even though If'n actually is better. For sentimental reasons, I guess. I remember buying this album, getting addicted to it and then a few days later leaving for a holiday in Germany, without the album. I drove my friend nuts with humming Brave Captain all the time. You've got to love Under the Influence of Meat Puppets for the title alone. The Candle and the Flame and Choose Any Memory are folky Ed fROMOHIO songs, Relating Dudes to Jazz and Another Theory Shot to Shit the typical Mike Watt rants. A very powerful record that stood the test of time.
Found this one in Chicago, and considered it worth it to replace the vinyl by CD. What a great album. And a nostalgia trip.
This album is a bit less punky than Ragin', Full-on, but still full of power, energy and emotion. My favourite song is the poppy and catchy Windmilling. Other songs that stand out are In Memory of Elizabeth Cotton (folky and sad), Hear Me (heartrending vocals and lyrics), Honey, Please (groovy!) and the funny Mike Watt song Me and You, Remembering.
Oh wow, drum solos. Yah, George Hurley is a good drummer... he already proved that on the previous albums. 'Nuf that shit, Georges. Liberty for our Friend goes back to the folk roots, Mas Cojones rocks. In My Mind is another Ed fROMOHIO classic, Whisperin' While Hollerin' is as good as the title. But I like the other albums more.
Fischer-Z The moment when I finally gained my senses and quit buying crappy music. Bought this from a schoolfriend. An album with memories. Classic songs Marliese, Berlin and The Writer. And of course Cruise Missiles, a song with a mission that even got played in the English lessons by a progressive teacher.
Flash and the Pan Won this at a music quiz. Even though I like the classics Hey St. Peter and Waiting for a Train, this doesn't seem to be one of the best Flash & the Pan albums.
Foo Fighters Brilliant debut album, all instruments played by Dave Grohl but this just sounds like tight band playing. Pop melodies driven by loud guitars and frantic drumming. Gotta love a nonsense song about fingernails (This is a Call) and other Foo Fighters essentials like I'll Stick Around, Good Grief and For All the Cows.
Roddy Frame Another one found in a London second hand shop. Bigger Brighter Better stands out, and I also remember this one from In the Round together with Neil Finn and Graham Gouldman.
Fred A. This is what the Belgian Pop & Rock Archive calls the mini-album Ik en Mezelf. Introspective songs, sparse instrumentation... beautiful. Om niet alleen te zijn can stand next to Ik en mezelf.
Front 242 Used to like this at the time of Lovely Day and No Shuffle (together with the Neon Judgement's T.V. Treated), but the later stuff was a bit too hard for me. I've never been really fond of industrial music.
Fun Lovin' Criminals Impressive debut album with the single Scooby Snacks (the funny tale of a bank robbery on drugs), and the slow song We Have All the Time in the World. A combination of a relaxed mood and sometimes dark and cynical lyrics.
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