High Above The Kitchen: A Bit About Neil Finn (part 3)
Here we are at part three of this deep, deep dive into the wonderful world of Neil Finn. We have looked at those early days with New Zealand art-pop royalty, Split Enz, the end of that and the first phase of his own band, Crowded House. So, here we are, as he leaves the band world behind for a solo adventure….
Going Solo:
As the Crowded House adventure was drawing to a close and a new solo chapter was about to dawn, he even found time to get in the studio with his brother Tim, and knock out an album together. Simply called Finn, it came out in 1995, and while it might have been recorded fairly swiftly, it managed an air of experimentation, and as Ed O’Brien would say in the liner notes for its later re-issue, “It’s a heavy record - like a New Zealand sky or in the way some people can be when they walk into a room…”
Try Whistling This:
Having taken the momentous decision to break up the Crowdies, at the suggestion of a friend, he decided to take up painting for a bit. While he might not have produced a masterpiece fit for the Louvre (or whatever its Auckland comparison might be), it did seem to allow new musician ideas “to creep in the back door.”
The resulting solo record included three songs co-written with Jim Moginie of fellow Antipodean legends, Midnight Oil, whose paths had crossed with Crowded House many times over the years, with Finn explaining, “We had similar taste in music, and although the bands were totally different, we had a feeling something good would come.” The album also saw him work with another person from a slightly different musical world, Sebastian Steinberg, bassist with alt-rock band Soul Coughing.
Neil Finn: Last One Standing (live on ABC Australia, 1998 - apologies for the slightly annoying presenter at the start - it was apparently a yoof tv show)
One Nil:
While Try Whistling This was very much a solo effort, One Nil felt more like a solo album with plenty of collaboration. Finn felt that this resulted in a more consistent album, and one that was “a little more at ease with itself.” The collaboration included a few perhaps surprising guest musicians, in the form of Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman from Prince's backing group, The Revolution, not to mention a bit of accordion courtesy of Sheryl Crow.
With Crowded House very much in the rear view mirror at this point, he pondered on the ‘natural lifespan’ of bands. “I think they do. There are bands that have a long life… But I believe every band has a lifespan, we didn’t have maybe as long as I would have liked with Crowded House. But I also believe in the sanctity of a line-up… I think when Paul Hester left the chemistry was different. We could have found another drummer and kept the brand name but it didn’t feel like Crowded House anymore.”
Neil Finn: Driving Me Mad (live on KEXP, 2014)
7 Worlds Come Together:
In 2001, Finn got to do a special 5-night stand at the St. James theatre in Auckland, celebrating work from across his career, the title of which, 7 World Collides, is taken from a line in Crowded House’s Distant Sun. To give an indication of how highly regarded he is ‘in the business’, his band for those nights was something special; Phil Selway (Radiohead) on drums, Sebastian Steinberg (Soul Coughing, but has also played with k.d. Lang and Dixie Chicks) on bass, Lisa Germano (solo and played with John Mellencamp, Simple Minds and Indigo Girls) on keyboards, guitar and violin, Ed O’Brien (Radiohead) on guitar and Johnny Marr (The Smiths) on another guitar - oh and brother Tim showed up, as did Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam).
Neil Finn & Friends: Weather With You (need cheering up - then look no further - an allstar band version of the Crowded House classic)
It seems that the millennium was starting well and 2001 was a good year, he was feeling good and that he had “embraced my freedom and am thinking, I can do anything - so I might as well do it all… At this point it’s not as career-based as it was, it’s experience-based… I’m leaving spaces.”
Everyone Is Here:
Where the first Finn Brothers album had been a bit of a rush job in 1995, Everyone Is Here was much more considered. The pair took their time with the writing, the illness and death of their beloved mother Mary, lingers in the background. Both back in New Zealand, they were able to utilise the relative isolation that gave them and dig into their brotherly relationship. Pitchfork noticed the lack of their “usual surging melodies”, with “barely disguised melancholy broods like an evil Finn twin.” They picked out Disembodied Voices as the standout track, “reminiscing about brotherhood, childhood and harmony.”
Finn Brothers: Won't Give In (official music video)
The brothers’ 2005 tour in support of the album was brought to a sudden, temporary and devastating pause, when news reached them of the death of friend and Crowded House bandmate, Paul Hester. Shortly after playing three shows at the Royal Albert Hall in London, they raced back to Melbourne for Hester's funeral. He would write;
“I am writing today to express my undying love for Paul Newell Hester. He brought joy, inspiration and laughter to our Finn Family. He was a musical force, the energy that poured forth from our stage that which held us enthralled, our sound formed around the swing and swagger of his rhythm. For all of this, I’m grateful. The loss and the distance still hurts. I miss you, my dear friend.”
Neil Finn: Better Be Home Soon (Neil pays an emotional tribute to Hester at the 2005 ARIA's)
Time on Earth & Intriguer:
When Finn decided it was time to breath some life back into Crowded House again, Nick Seymour and Mark Hart came back from the old days, but there was the question of how to replace the recently departed enigma that was Paul Hester. Finn explained, “We didn’t want to look for another Paul Hester, it was impossible. But we wanted somebody who’s a positive presence, with a strong sense of himself, and Matt [Sherrod] definitely has that.” New drummer Matt Sherrod came with the provenance of four years working with Beck.
Time On Earth had actually started life out on the path to being Finn’s third solo album, but he asked Seymour to come in and add some bass, and a Crowded House record was born. With Sherrod recruited, Hart also re-joined, and they did some extra sessions with Steve Lillywhite, which added songs including first single Don’t Stop Now.
Crowded House: English Trees (audio only)
Intriguer was recorded at Finn’s own studio, Roundhead in Auckland, in April 2009. It would come out the following June, and took some new directions, with Finn saying there were “unexpected twists and turns” with some songs that “sound like nothing we’ve done before.” Many critics were quick to applaud, with The Times even suggesting it was a match for the best of Crowded House’s work, while the BBC dragged out the Paul McCartney comparison that people love to fall back on - “Crowded House have always sounded in parts like the later solo career Paul McCartney should have had. Despite the anthems being on a tight leash, repeated listens reveal this to be one of their best albums.” Despite all that, it didn’t quite crack the UK Top 10 or the U.S. Top 40.
Pajama time:
Neil and Sharon Finn knocked about, coming up with homemade tunes, and found them very danceable. Writing like this was not something he’d ever done in any previous parts of his career, but the spontaneous jams showed some promise.
He told Donald Gibson in 2011, “It was very fresh as an approach, as a way to start a song from drums and bass. Work from there up.” He would take these jam session tracks and edit and add a few bits as he travelled round on the Crowded House tour, working on them from hotel rooms after shows. The couple called themselves the Pajama Club and would eventually add some keyboards courtesy of Sean Donnelly and more drums from Alana Skyring, to deliver an album with a degree of experimentation, although still plenty of Neil Finn melody.
Pajama Club: From A Friend To A Friend (live in the studio)
Despite not ever being a bass player before, he was very complimentary about Sharon’s playing for the record; “I think Sharon’s always had a very good sense of rhythm because she’s a great dancer. And her approach to bass is not to play that many notes at all, but just find a groove that feels good and stick to it.”
Back to the House:
When Crowded House decided to play the Opera House again 20 years on from that memorable first finale, several things were different. The concerts were to tie in with the induction into the ARIA Hall of Fame, and this time they were playing four nights there, but this time just to a combined 24,000 or so (rather than the estimated 125,000 there to see them in 1996), with newer health and safety guidelines a touch stricter than previously. They were also without Hester for the reprise, following his death in 2005. Finn said ahead of the gigs, “We will miss him. We will pay him some respect. Everything he did had such a huge amount of character, including the way he played drums.”
Return of the Mac:
In 2018, Finn’s career took another unexpected twist, when at the age of 60, he (and The Heartbreakers Mike Campbell) were invited to join Fleetwood Mac for a tour, to replace the fired Lyndsey Buckingham. It was, he said, the only audition he has ever had to do, although it involved him heading to Mick Fleetwood’s Hawaiian pad (if you must interview, then that's not so bad), but luckily the feeling was good and he was in. Then, he had to compete with the range of emotions from many Mac fans, coming to terms with a Buckingham-less band - “No Lindsey Buckingham, no Fleetwood Mac.” But as Finn himself said, “I brought personality and the ability to sing with Stevie and Christine… I put a similar intensity into his [Buckingham’s] songs.”
More House:
Crowded House 3.0 followed the Mac tour. “Coming back off the Fleetwood Mac tour, I think I had a new appreciation for the way that classic bands can reinvent and re-imagine themselves and put on a really dazzling show for young and old fans alike.” This time, he pulled in Seymour (obviously) and this time also recruited from within, bringing in sons Liam (guitar) and Elroy (drums) - along with their old producer Mitchell Froom rounding things out on keyboards.
Crowded House: Into Temptation (live at the Opera House again, Nov 2016)
Of course, COVID got in the way as they were working on the first album of the new look band. They had managed a month or so together before things went south, and had enough rhythm tracks in the can to allow them to work on things individually during lockdown. It meant some songs got taken apart and rebuilt, but it did result in the lovely Dreamers Are Waiting at the end of it all.
The Gravity Stairs sessions took place in three different countries, Australia, New Zealand and the USA. Magic Piano was one of the first songs done for it, and despite being fairly complex, Finn said it had clicked by day two of recording. Life’s Imitation was one Finn dreamt up during the isolation of lockdown, but far from being melancholic, it is hopeful and looking for connection. Some Greater Plan (For Claire) borrows some elements from his father's old diary, written on active service in Italy in WWII, with memories of a whirlwind romance. Oh Hi is inspired by his work with So They Can, a non-profit building schools in remote Kenya and Tanzania - “it’s very much inspired by these incredible kids and their magnificence”.
Crowded House: To The Island (official music video)
On Songwriting:
Neil Finn talked about the evolution of his songwriting over time. “I’m aware that my music has changed over the years. Certain new things have been added. It’s always mysterious.”
Do you enjoy it? “That’s a tough question because like anything that’s worthwhile there’s always going to be a struggle. But I’m compelled by it. I love it, and I find it totally fascinating… Songwriting can be the most desperate feeling on earth if you’re not getting anything done. But the moment of breakthrough, you have a little revelation…”
On playing live and having to always play certain songs every time, Finn noted to Gibson, “I have long believed that every time you play music you have to put in the same level of commitment and intensity into it or it won’t be good music.. And I would say to the band when we’re in rehearsal. I just don’t accept that you can go through the motions of something, just to learn it and that’s okay. Every time you perform you should perform like you really mean it.”
“The moments where I’ve written songs are always the moments where I feel something strong from the melody I’m singing and the chords I’m singing. That seems obvious to say, but if you want people to feel something from your song, you first have to feel something yourself. It can’t be purely academic…. I had a deep, deep connection with music from an early age. I had a really powerful relationship with it. I was able to hear between notes and chords.” (Finn to Double J)
“I deliberately leave [lyrical] accidents alone. That’s a bit of a contradiction but it’s true. In the hope that they will make connections in different ways for different people, but also for myself. I’ll have little discoveries about what they mean. It’s just the way that I’ve found that I’m most happy with my lyrics. I’m not a literary person. There are writers out there whose lyrics I greatly admire but I can’t be Bob Dylan, I can’t be Leonard Cohen. It’s just not in my sphere. So the way that I’ve found that I’m the most happy is, I have lyrics that are impressionistic and suggestive and allow people to spark their own ideas. And I do that myself.” (to Steve Baltin, Forbes, 2021)
The Legacy (Part Three):
There are so many fellow musicians who think Neil Finn is the real deal as a top songwriter, that I spread it out over the last few parts and this one.
One thing we should definitely put to bed, is that Paul McCartney did not refer to Finn as the “best songwriter alive” despite many rumours. It seems that one particular interview he gave was somewhat embellished, but he did say that he does very much “love his songs”.
Mick Fleetwood has a lot of time for Finn clearly, or else he wouldn’t have invited him to join Fleetwood Mac after Buckingham’s departure. He is, he said, “a really talented musician” and his own “secret weapon”, and that he is a “super-fan” of Neil’s from the days of Don’t Dream It’s Over, which “drove me over the wall.”.
Brian Fallon (Gaslight Anthem) said that Neil Finn “might be the most underrated and absolutely amazing songwriter. I love him and this song! [Fall At Your Feet]. Wish I wrote this one!”
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