Former Split Enz frontman and Crowded House band member Tim Finn has delivered his most intimate album to date with his latest release, The Conversation. Recorded at Roundhead studios in Auckland and featuring just vocals, guitar, piano and violin, the record was co-produced by former Split Enz member Eddie Rayner.
The Kinks / Waterloo Sunset
A perfectly formed melody with lyrics that contain just the right amount of yearning and apprehension. I read an interview with Ray Davies where he talked of how he was ill as a boy in hospital near Waterloo bridge. The nurse used to wheel him out on to the balcony to watch the sunset. The musical arrangement and production details provide a sublime context for the half-recommended, half imagined narrative. Probably my favourite song.
The Beatles / In My Life
Beautiful mix of regret and affirmation. Ringo’s drumming is so musical, using tension and release as only he could. Lennon’s voice has just the right qualities of world weariness and deep emotion, reconciling the married man with the hedonistic demi-god.
Curtis Mayfield / People Get Ready
If ever a popular song crossed into the realm of the sacred, this is it. Curtis sings with such elegant restraint, but the feeling pours out of him. Beautifully arranged, soulful and understated. Like a vessel of pure water.
Bee Gees / To Love Somebody
I learnt to sing this song when I was about fourteen at a Catholic boarding school where the radio played weakly in the background of our dormitory. When a good song came on, I found I was able to shut out all the other sound. Years later I found out that Barry Gibb had written the song for Otis Redding, who ended up recording it. It’s so simple but has the phrasing and uplift to break your heart. This is a cover of the song by Ray LaMontagne.
Wilco / The Lonely One
When I first heard this song, I cried. It takes a lot for that to happen. There’s a beauty and sadness in it that lies close under the surface. Wilco’s slightly ramshackle, left-alone arrangement keeps it from falling into sentimentality.
Loretta Lyn / High On A Mountain Top
I love this record. Produced by Jack White, it has so much emotion and humanity. We all sing this in the car, our five year old daughter matching Loretta phrase for phrase, note for note. It’s a compelling song about place and identity.
Smudge / Eighteen In A Week
Tom Morgan is a great pop songwriter. This song was our Summer song 2000/2001. It combines slightly veiled references, hints of illicit behaviour, melodic sweetness and unexpected chord shifts. A song that sounds like a come on.
The Band / Whispering Pines
This is an exquisite song. Sung by Richard Manuel, it aches and caresses, is mysterious and melancholic. It’s a perfect representation of a troubled soul searching for a moment of beauty, and played by arguably the best group of musicians ever to assemble under the one roof. This is a cover of the song by Elliot Smith.
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Tim Finn has the uncanny ability to get to the heart of what is going on and then tell you about it in a way that is honest and utterly moving. To hear him talk about his favorite songs makes me feel like I’ve never heard these songs before.
Thanks to all involved!