Hi,

Trust you to bring up 'The Living Enz'!! :-)

I have a hard time picked mine. It depends what mood I'm in. I usually go for certain songs rather than the album as a whole. I know that this will upset some people when I say I just grab five CDs, throw them in the CD changer and hit Full Shuffle. I'm not that interested in the flow of the album from one song to the next just the songs themselves. Although in saying that I don't think I could listen to Pioneer without Six Months playing straight after it. :-)

The Living Enz was easily my favourite for many years...then anniversary was remastered....still holding a wee bit of hope that "Living" may get the Eddie treatment...

These days favourites change regularly but for now:
Time and Tide
Dizrythmia
True Colours
Mental Notes

I don't think there is a worst album for me but currently least played is probably Second Thoughts
(Oh and I too am guilty of the "shuffle" mode )

My parents have the Split Enz box set, and I've listened to all the albums from beginning to end and put them all onto my iPod. In my (very humble) opinion, Time and Tide, True Colours and Dizrythmia are their three best albums. I'm not such a big fan of their early stuff, sorry Phil Judd fans.

My three favorites:

Time and Tide
Dizrythmia
True Colours

I don't think the Enz ever released a bad album but from a sound quality standpoint the un-remastered Frenzy is a mess and I enjoy it far less because of that. The re-master is terrific though.

I still think The Beginning Of Enz and Mental Notes are my favourites. Conflicting Emotions and See Ya Round are probably the worst. Not saying their bad

quote:

Originally posted by italianplastic2:
I still think The Beginning Of Enz and Mental Notes are my favourites. Conflicting Emotions and See Ya Round are probably the worst. Not saying their bad

I agree with you as far as Conflicting Emotions and See Ya Round are concerned. I reckon the heart wasn't really in it then because Tim left. Not saying Neil did a bad job or anything.

What does everyone think of the Rootin' Tootin' Luton Tapes? I don't really have an opinion as of yet. I haven't really listened to it enough.

I think the Luton CD is definitely a lot of fun to listen to. The previously unreleased material is very loose and the performances feel like jamming more than finished products. Therefore, songs like the first three (Miss Haps, Home Comforts and Animal Lover) may not be the best Enz songs but the listening experience is exhilarating.

The previously released stuff (Semi-Detached, Holy Smoke, Carried Away) are the best of the bunch and some of the finest songs the Enz ever recorded.

The pleasant surprises were:

"Late in Rome" which sounds much more natural in this setting
than the later over-produced version.

"Straight Talk" because it sounds nothing like any other Enz song. Love the harmonica.

"Creature Comforts" has a nice groove and is a good blending of the Dizrythmia and Frenzy eras.

Overall I would rate it as better than Conflicting Emotions, Corroboree, and See Ya Round. I would say it's about as good as Time & Tide which also had it's amazing moments and it's share of real clunkers.

Luton is the one Enz album I keep coming back to these days. I'd have to disagree with Painaporo (no surprise there ) as I think Home Comforts and Mishaps are great songs, and very tight performances, but agree with everything else he said

quote:

Originally posted by italianplastic2:
I still think The Beginning Of Enz and Mental Notes are my favourites.

Mine too, in addition to the lovely Dizrythmia. (And I agree with what has been said about Luton, it's quite a trip!)

It's taken me a lot of listening to figure this out, but I like True Colours and Time and Tide best.
Like infinnity, I am not into the early Juddly stuff.
I agree with what's been said about Conflicting Emotions - BUT - it DID give us Message to My Girl and I totally LOVE that. And I have a fondness for Strait Ol' Line, too.

OMG I've been listening to Luton and it is awesome! Seriously, how could the band have been struggling financially then when they were playing music like that? It sounds more casual and a bit looser than a lot of their other albums. It doesn't really have many serious songs compared with their other albums and just seems more generally laid back.

My Favourite Enz album is Mental Notes.
My least Favourite Enz album is See ya round.

Mental Notes was released at a time when music desperately needed a shot in the arm. Mental Notes is it: an injection of pure energy, charm and quirkiness.
See ya round was released in the middle of the '80s, and sounds like it. truly awful.

quote:

Originally posted by R_curring Dream: (2009)
The Living Enz was easily my favourite for many years...then anniversary was remastered....still holding a wee bit of hope that "Living" may get the Eddie treatment...

These days favourites change regularly but for now:
Time and Tide
Dizrythmia
True Colours
Mental Notes

I don't think there is a worst album for me but currently least played is probably Second Thoughts
(Oh and I too am guilty of the "shuffle" mode )

Times have changed....I can't listen to Mental Notes these days... Hopefully some time in the future I can revisit it.

The Live albums are usually my preferences but Waita is up there too now..One Step Ahead, History, and Ghost Girl

Favourite Enz albums is hard and it does vary with time. I am much more partial to True Colours than I was - perhaps we were saturated with it for a while.

I think their best 4 albums are:

True Colours
Time and Tide
Dizrythmia
Second Thoughts

I have never really like Mental Notes - the mix is really muddy and horrible and I think the tracks sound rushed and chaotic. Too many ideas perhaps. Alternately I love Second Thoughts becuase it sounds so good and there is a sense that professionals are at work. Better collection of songs too than MN. Sweet Dreams, 129, Women Who Loves YOU (spoons) Late Last Night plus probably the strongest four tracks from MN.

I love Luton and nearly put it in the top 4. I think Semi Detached is close to the best song the Enz did and I also love Home Comforts, Holy Smoke, Carried Away, Straight Talk (magnificently off kilter rap with harmonica), Serge, Animal Lover, Creature Comforts, Next Exit and the poorly recorded (they were only demos) Remember When. It is so full of life and great ideas - some are problematic (e.g the synth solo in Miss Haps. In fact if you want SE at their primal best this is possibly the best album.

Dizrythmia is great. Led by Tim they cast off all of the stop/start time signatures etc of the Judd era and move to beautifully wacky, discordant pop - their natural home. Charlie, Mistake, Bold, Parrot Fashion, Without A Doubt are all great and there are no real clunkers.

Frenzy is recorded poorly which is such a shame because there are some great songs there. Stuff survives the production as does I See Red but some songs with great promise seem to sink in the abyss - Hermit, Roughest Toughest, Give It A Whirl etc

True Colours is simply beautifully produced and has two great instrumentals, 3 excellent pop songs from Neil but it is fitingly Tim who really takes this album to the stellar zone with Poor Boy, Shark Attack and I Hope I Never leading the way. I Would't Dream converts the early Enz track 'The Instrumental" into a great song also.

Waita also has some hidden treasures but this time it is Neil who really provides the great songs History, One Step, Iris, two more excellent instrumentals (although I wished Eddie had used a real acoustic piano for Albert) and a couple of good numbers from Tim in Hard Act, Ghost Girl and even Clumsy.

Time & Tide - Great songs largely Tim with Dirty Creature, 6 Months, Small World and Haul Away and a some excellent music from Neil but some very average lyrics let down Giant Heartbeat, Log Cabin, Sandy Allen. Take A Walk is fantastic however. I think Make Sense of IT and Lost for Words are quite good but have never really known what to make of Never Ceases To Amaze Me. Pioneer is great.

I think Neil presents 6 really strong songs for Confliction Emotions (Yes I will even defend No Mischief!!) Bullet Brain is great and witty, two of his best five ballads ever (including CH) Message and Devil, the jazzy One Step etc. The album is let down by some fairly ordinary songs by Tim - CF is terrible, dont know what to make of Bon Voyage, I Wake could be great with more work (fantastic bridge) and the same could be said of appetite.

I liked See Ya Round. Once again some really good songs from Neil - Breaking My Back, I Walk Away and another of his 5 great ballads Voices.
The others contribute well except for Noel - Ninnie is a shocker both as a song and an indulgence.

Beginning of the Enz is a good collection. Some interesting songs - Sweet Talking Spoon, No Bother To Me especially. Not essential but really interesting.

So there we have it. One very long winded reply!!

Really felt in sync with your thoughts there Titus. Good reviews of the albums.

My favourite is Time and Tide, apart from the music I really , really love the artwork, it's so beautiful and peaceful, Love the phrase Time and Tide, it's reassuring to me... I think Noel did the artwork???