I know this subject always seems to come up in this forum but the sun is out in Adelaide and I've nothing better to do!

The rating system is out of ten...

Mental Notes : 9 (I like it a lot more now than I did when I first heard it)
Second Thoughts : 6 (it should have been an EP!)
Dizrythmia : 8 (The Frenz album of choice?)
Frenzy : 5 for original, 6 for remix (Patchy. The Luton tapes would have been a better idea to issue at this time)
The Beginning Of The Enz : 4 (One for serious Frenz only. Too cute for me)
True Colours : 8 (Ditch the instrumentals, put "Things" on it and you'd get an extra point)
Corroboree / Waiata : 9 for both original and remix (My personal fave. Don't know why this sometimes gets a bum rap)
Time And Tide : 7.5 (Not their masterpiece due to unwanted filler on the first side)
Conflicting Emotions : 5 (It's okay but dated severely by it's 1983 production. Maybe Eddie should have remixed and reworked this too)
See Ya Round : 6 (The first side sounds like Neil is building his Crowded House. The second side, asides from "This Is Massive", sounds like a bunch of B sides)
The Living Enz : I no longer have this due to vinyl copy growing legs and walking out of my collection so I won't rate it here
History Never Repeats: Best Of : 10 (I know, I forgot Enz Of An Era! But this single CD is the ideal purchase for the casual Enz fan. All thriller, no filler and a great live "Charlie" to boot)
Anniversary : 7 (The Enz live needs that visual component but as a souvenir, this will do just fine)
Spellbound : 10 (For the Enz fan who wants more than just the hits. The track listing is impeccable although it would have been nice in a more chronological sequence)
The Rootin Tuton Luton Tapes : 7.5 (A nice present for Enz fans. Pretty much the lost album that is better than lots of Frenzy was!)

The DVDs:
Split Enz: 9 - All the music videos, a good documentary, select live tracks. All of it is here. It would have been absolutely perfect if the music video audio tracks were remixed for 5.1 sound and maybe an audio commentary track but for an Enz fan without this is just very wrong (Having written that, I should confess it took me ages to buy my copy... )

One Out Of The Bag : 9 - Simply a most enjoyable souvenir of the 2006 tour. Good sound and visuals. Just a shame it didn't have more 'behind the scene' documentary stuff on it!

Well they you go. Interested to hear other Frenz ratings and feedback.

Yes I agree. There is not much else to do so here is my list. I am only rating all the studio albums & the Spellbound best of.

Mental Notes : 7/10 (Can only listen to this when I'm in the mood)
Second Thoughts : 5/10 (Clearly needed more new material rather than re-recordings of "old" songs)
Dizrythmia : 7/10 (Starting to get better, I like this one the best out of the first 3 albums)
Frenzy : 8/10 (Considering what the Enz went through in 1978, this is clearly one of their most creative albums up until that time in 1979 - One of my favourites, just can't stop playing the re-mastered version, I hear sounds on these songs that I have never heard before. 2nd pick)
The Beginning Of The Enz : 6/10 (One for the fans but I do like this album. Those very rare & obscure songs that could only be found on the early singles)
True Colours : 9.5/10 (Love this album. Very catchy. Would easily have to be one of my top 5 all time favourite studio albums from all bands. Top pick)
Corroboree : 7.5/10 (Another catchy album from their peak period from 1979 - 1982 but not the best, 4th on favourite list)
Time & Tide : 8/10 (The last of their best albums before the decline of their peak period. 3rd pick)
Conflicting Emotions : 6/10 (Need to be in the mood for this one)
See Ya Round : 5/10 (Obviously just threw in what they could on side-b)
The Rootin Tootin Luton Tapes : 9/10 (Gets a high rating due to the "new material" even though it is 30 years old. If it had of been released around 1979 it would have got a 6 or 7.5 but no higher. The songs on this album are no match for the catchy songs from their peak period)
Spellbound : 8/10 (Clearly the best greatest hits package but why is Next exit left off this album as well as all other greatest hits albums by the Enz ??? I find that there are too many tracks & some are just used as fillers which dampens the whole package)

That's it for me

Mental Notes : 5 (it has some good material but I'm not really a fan of their early stuff)
Second Thoughts : 5 (I took a point off MN because it was a rehash but added a point because the new material was better!)Dizrythmia : 5 (Better than the first two but still not great)
Frenzy : 6 for original, 9 for remix (Just shows how important the mix is. This is quirky and utterly triumphant. A masterpiece. I love every track on it.)
The Beginning Of The Enz : 5 (a wonderful way to gather up the obscurities but still, most of the songs just aren't very good)
True Colours : 7 (Excellent early 80's pop but still a bit patchy.)
Corroboree / Waiata : 6 (A step back. Some great material but not much beyond the singles)
Time And Tide : 8 (Much better. Far more consistent and some classics)
Conflicting Emotions : 6 (Again, not great but has some excellent material)
See Ya Round : 6 (First side is excellent, apart from TIM, the non-NF stuff is throw-away)
The Living Enz : Like most live albums, it needs some visuals. Nice to have but I never play it)
Anniversary : 1 (Fine when issued, but now utterly superceded by Extravagenza)
The Rootin Tuton Luton Tapes (2CD) : 9 (This is how all archival collections should be. The material is also good enough to justify it)

The DVDs:
Split Enz: 8 - (I deducted a point because it doesn't feature Next Exit.)

One Out Of The Bag : 9 - Excellent

quote:

Originally posted by Enzboy:
Spellbound: Clearly the best greatest hits package but why is Next Exit left off this album as well as all other greatest hits albums by the Enz ???

Actually, Next Exit was included on a vinyl-only version of History Never Repeats: The Best Of Split Enz (1989 version). This version was, however, withdrawn from sale. Click here to see the full track listing.


Anyway, I'll be rating the studio albums and most of the compilations.

NOTE: I'm judging "Frenzy" and "Corroboree" by the original mixes.

Mental Notes: 5/10. I never really listen to this album, unless i'm in the mood to step away from the more pop-oriented albums. Nevertheless, it contains some beautiful songs ("Under The Wheel", "Maybe", "Spellbound", etc.)

Second Thoughts: 7.5/10. An improvement on the debut album. This, as well as Dizrythmia, are the only Enz albums where i like all the tracks. Love the spoon solo in "The Woman Who Loves You". Though, I do think that the re-recording of songs off "Mental Notes" was a waste of time. Should have moved on.

Dizrythmia: 8.5/10. Just about one of the, if not the best Split Enz album. Love all the songs. Though, the vocals on "Charlie" do put me off.

Frenzy*: 6/10. Contains great material ("Stuff and Nonsense", "I See Red", "Frenzy"), but the Mallory Earl touch basically changed it from a potentially great record to a dreadful one.

True Colours: 9/10. Marks a change in the band's sound. Fabulous album (and I'd almost call it a masterpiece, but I'll save that word for later...)

Corroboree/Waiata^: 7/10. Almost a replica of "True Colours", but there aren't many good songs or enjoyable ones to listen to. Saying that, "History Never Repeats", "One Step Ahead", "Wail" and "Ghost Girl" ain't bad songs.

Time and Tide: 9.5/10. Now I can finally use that word: masterpiece. Can't say that much more, other than "Never Ceases To Amaze Me". Sounds like a bunch of clowns trying out for NZ Idol... hehe... Other than that, just brilliant.

Conflicting Emotions: 7.5/10. In between "Time and Tide" and this album, things have certainly changed. The robots have moved in. er... the review: "Conflicting Emotions" is a good album, but the laziness of using drum machine on all the tracks (with the notable exception of "Message To My Girl", which is my favourite Enz song, btw) and the over-use of keyboards made the album sound ordinary. Might of have more success if it was released now than back when it was towards the end of 1983... haha... . There are good songs ("Strait Old Line", "The Devil You Know", "Bon Voyage"), but it is weighed down by "sub-standard" songs.

See Ya 'Round: 7.5/10. Hmm... I like listening to this album, and I'd prefer to listen to this over "Mental Notes" any day. There are good songs on this LP from Neil. Bogged down a bit by the non-Neil Finn pieces.

*1979 mix

^1981 mix


Live Albums

The Living Enz: 8/10. Did someone forget to turn up the volume knob? And who was stupid enough to master the CD version of this album straight from the vinyl version????? Other than those mishaps, great live material from their final concerts. Love "Charlie", "Years Go By", and "I Hope I Never". (Eddie, do you mind remastering this, if you can find the original tapes???)

Anniversary: 0.5/10. This album is dreadful. There is great live material, but the canned audience loops destroys this album. Superseded by "Extravagenza". (Sorry Paul H, I can't think of anything else to say!)

Extravagenza: 8/10. Lovely. I'd listen to this any day. Lovely material, and I can't believe that Eddie remixed the whole bloody album! Good on ya! Though, the major downside to this album is that, whenever I listen to this album I always get this thought stuck in my mind: "Where is the audience?". I get the feeling that the band is playing in a small room somewhere with no audience. (i.e. jamming). I wanted an album like "Farewell To The World" by Crowded House.


Compilations

The Beginning of the Enz: 5/10. Hmmm... a nice album to listen to. Though I don't really like some of the tracks on this album ("Home Sweet Home", "Sweet Talking Spoon Song", etc.)

History Never Repeats - The Best of Split Enz (1989 Aus/NZ version): 9/10. Perfect for the casual Enz fan. Also a good starting place (this was the first Split Enz album i bought!). Interesting choice to have the single version of "Late Last Night" used. Love the version of "Charlie" used as well.

Oddz and Enz: 9/10. Love the album. Could have they used the original demo for "Nightmare Stampede" or "True Colours (Let's Rock)" (if there ever was one?)

Rear Enz: 9.5/10. I love all the material on this album. Could they have squeezed another track though? (i.e. the original demo for "Clumsy", or "Something To Do"?)

Spellbound: 9.5/10. The best compilation released by the Enz. No doubt about that. Perfect for the new Enz who is ready to take on board what the Enz was really about. It needed more material from "Corroboree" though.

History Never Repeats - The Best of Split Enz [30th Anniversary Edition]: 8.5/10. As with the other version of the album with the same name, a brilliant album for any new Enz fan starting out. I would have used the 1984 live version of "Charlie", not the 1992 live version.

The Rootin Tootin Luton Tapes: 9/10. For the serious Enz fan only! Did most of the tracks have to be remixed? I don't know... Anyway, the material on this album is excellent (i'm starting to run out of words... ) , and some of the material from this session (esp. "Hermit McDermitt") is a lot better than the material that ended up on "Frenzy".

quote:

Originally posted by Charlie, The Poor Boy:
Dizrythmia: 8.5/10. Just about one of the, if not the best Split Enz album.
True Colours: 9/10.
Time and Tide: 9.5/10.
The Rootin Tootin Luton Tapes: 9/10.

I'm impressed that you can consider Dizrhythmia "one of the, if not THE best" album and then go on to rate THREE albums higher I like your style...

quote:

Originally posted by Paul H:

quote:

Originally posted by Charlie, The Poor Boy:
Dizrythmia: 8.5/10. Just about one of the, if not the best Split Enz album.
True Colours: 9/10.
Time and Tide: 9.5/10.
The Rootin Tootin Luton Tapes: 9/10.

I'm impressed that you can consider Dizrhythmia "one of the, if not THE best" album and then go on to rate THREE albums higher I like your style...

whoops! i never spotted that when i was proof-reading the whole post. that was my mistake...

i should have put 9.5/10, not 8.5/10... silly me!

i'll make sure i'll be a bit more careful next time!

and i don't know if you realise, but i actually rated seven albums higher than "Dizrythmia", not three...

I chose to ignore the comps a) cause you'd expect them to be better than individual albums and, b) to avoid sounding overly picky

Mental Notes: 4/10 - It's got some fine moments but most of the best songs will be greatly improved upon for Second Thoughts. "Maybe" is the only track here that I regularly listen to. In general, it's too prog-rock for my tastes.

Second Thoughts: 8/10 - For me this album was a huge improvement over Mental Notes. The only major misstep was the re-recording of "129". "Titus", "Sweet Dreams", and "Time for a Change" are masterpieces. "The Woman Who Loves You" is great too and I love that spoon solo! My only complaint is that on the remastered version I think the vocals are too quite on "Late Last Night"

Dizrythmia: 9/10 - The best Enz album as far as I'm concerned. The oly track I can't stand is "Crosswords". Replace that with "Another Great Divide" and this would have been a 10. I especially love "Nice to Know" and "Without a Doubt".

Frenzy (remixed): 7/10 - The remastered version is amazing but there are still a number of throwaway songs. I was never very into "Hermit McDermitt" or "Famous People". "Marooned", "Betty", and "Frenzy" are all songs I could do without. that being said this album still has a number of obvious classics.

The Beginning of the Enz: 3/10 - It starts strong but by the time I hit "Home Sweet Home" I'm ready to listen to something else. "129" is just brilliant!

True Colours: 7/10 - If you knocked out the instrumentals and replaced them with "Two of a Kind" and "Things" it would be a better album.

Corroboree (remixed): 6/10 - This one is tough. It's got 5 great songs and the rest is unlistenable. The remixing added nothing of consequence.

Time & Tide: 7/10 - It's got some beautiful moments but it's totally over-hyped. Too much filler and the Neil Finn songs are surprisingly lacking after his great tracks on the previous three albums.

Conflicting Emotions: 3/10 - ugh! Thank goodness for "Message to my girl" and "The Devil You Know". They are timeless classics but the rest is just utter crap.

See Ya 'Round: 4/10 - I would rather listen to this than Conflicting Emotions but only barely. Don't let the door hit you on the way out!

The Rootin Tootin Luton Tapes: 6/10 If they would have cut it down to 10-12 songs it would have been a stronger album. As it is, it's an excellent late addition to the discography. I love the Neil songs and Tim offers up a few classics of his own, "Semi Detached" and "Creature Comforts" especially.