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.