Bold as brass!

Split Enz - Dizrythmia (1977) *****

Nominated by: KS

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition: Without A Doubt 

Just getting this out there now - this is my favourite Split Enz album. Always has been. 

I was on board with Split Ends (sic) from the moment they appeared on our T.V. screens doing One Two Nine and Sweet Talking Spoon Song. But then they went weirdly art rockish, almost goth, with Mental Notes and I was suspicious of it for quite a while (my previously blogged thoughts on Mental Notes are here).

Ironically, after Phil Judd and Mike Chunn left the band (both had commercial hits later with The Swingers and Citizen Band respectively) they returned to the commercial mothership with their next single - My Mistake. Cor! What a song! They followed that up with another brilliant single - Bold As Brass. These were big hits in NZ and I was hooked, again.

Those late seventies days were heady ones for me: going to Auckland University, meeting new people, living a self-indulgent lifestyle, so carefree in so many ways. Split Enz as they now called themselves were a real part of that. Both in concert and on record.

I saw a few of their late seventies Auckland shows - most notably at the Auckland Town Hall and His Majesty's Theatre, that one in the company of the brothers Knowles. I remember the Town Hall one because The Swingers were the support and they were deafeningly loud. It was a really unpleasant experience for me and my date (Phyllis Omand). The Enz sound was much better but it's the His Majesty's one that I remember best of those Dizrythmia centred gigs. The venue was great and we had superb views. It is a very cherished memory of a band at their peak (in my opinion) and a great, iconic, venue (His Majesty's was demolished in the late eighties).

But, here we are in 2025. Older, more knowledgeable, and definitely wiser. Unlike my buddies, I much prefer a live album to a live in person experience; especially these days. And a vinyl record remains the best of all. I listened to this album four times during the week and the vinyl version sounded much better than the Spotify experience.

Back in '77 I knew very little about the inner dynamics of the band - i.e. why Phil Judd, Mike Chunn and Emlyn Crowther left and were replaced by Neil Finn, Nigel Griggs and Malcolm Green. Without the internet, a celebrity culture, and with Rip It Up just starting out - I was in the dark about how much of the album reflected the tensions between Phil and Tim.

Now, of course, we have the benefit of hindsight, the internet, and completist collectors (it seems Kevy is by no means alone in his collecting approach to Split Enz). So, we now know much more.

Which brings me to Dizrythmia. I haven't heard it for years, so - here we go - a fresh listen in 2025!

The album title is interesting - Kevy says the 'z' is a nod to Nu Zild and I'm happy to believe him. The absence of an 'h' is more problematic though. Presumably they named the record after the medical condition (an abnormal heartbeat) because the beats are irregular - i.e. not the usual. So, the name signals something bizarre, off-kilter and unusual is coming (in sympathy with their hair, clothes, and style of music).

The cover is also fractured, disjointed and unusual. Each of the seven members is seen separately and each comes with their upside down near reflection. Things ain't what they used to be (the Mental Notes cover has a group portrait).

The schism between Phil and Tim becomes the focus for many of the album's best songs, mostly from Tim's p.o.v. as he's the main lyricist (and lead singer throughout). It's a chance for Tim to start over again but he clearly misses his creative foil:

First song, Bold As Brass, presents Tim's mission statement -Standing fast as bold as brass/ Holding on until the last/ Call the tune and play it all day long/ There's a song that's just begun/ Strikes a chord in everyone/ It's the decent thing to do your best.

In My Mistake Tim wishes Phil well, even though he misses him - When all I needed was a friend/ To make me stop and think again/ To pull me up and pull me through/ Tally ho, your health my dear.

Maybe the duality is best summed up in Without A Doubt (my favourite song on Dizrythmia) - When you have yourself a friend/ Then you have yourself a foe/ My right to defend, yours to scatter with one blow, and in Crosswords - We're still friends but we're still fighting.

Musically this may be the bravest Split Enz album. It often seems the band dares to be different at every opportunity and those songs where they chance their arm are terrific. The most straightforward pop song is Nice To Know and it's probably the weakest one (still great, but the rest is outstanding in a next level way).

Apart from Tim's superb vocals (he really does a terrific job as leader as well - tally ho!), special mentions to Eddie who emerges as a star turn, Rob Gillies who adds some spectacularly skonky sax, and Neil who doesn't have a huge role, but he never wastes a chance, or a note. His stabbing guitar riffs on Nice To Know are brilliant touches.

They are all ably supported in their endeavours by Geoff Emerick. He of course worked as an engineer on Beatles records and George Martin credited him with bringing "a new kind of mind to the recordings, always suggesting sonic ideas, different kinds of reverb, what we could do with the voices".

The final song, Jamboree, is the closest song to the art-rock of Mental Notes (Mike Chunn and Phil Judd are a

listed among the composers, so it was probably a song that was left off MN). It was one of my favourites back in the seventies, mainly for their spirited performance on stage - Neil and Tim weird dancing to it and larking about on stage. It ranks for me with Noel's spoons solo and Tim's bravura live version of Charley. I was spellbound!

So, there we have it (and I haven't really mentioned fan favourite - Charley) - Dizrythmia is a great snapshot in time. A time of inner changes to the Split Enz fabric, but they emerge triumphant, ready to set off on Tim's endless quest: it's the decent thing to do your best. I love that rallying cry.

I can't fault this album. A five-star classic, a national treasure, and part of our national DNA.

Nobody to blame

Chris Stapelton - Traveller (2015) ** 

Nominated by: GK

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition: When The Stars Come Out

GK mentioned in his preamble how much our children have embraced American country singers like Luke Combs - two of my children attended his recent tour gigs in Australia and Nu Zild. I'm not sure if they have also embraced Chris Stapelton, but I somehow doubt it.

The first song on Traveller (the title song) made me sit up and pay attention. Yes, it follows a long tradition of rambling man songs, but it is an upbeat variant and country songs have retreaded archetypal narratives forever.

So, I thought - yes, I like this. But then for his debut album it seems he retreats to the bottle and getting stoned for what seems like the rest of the album. Once or twice? Sure. But more than that - no thanks.  

I refuse now to read rock star autobiographies that just trot out the drug and booze fueled escapades for chapter after chapter. Eric Clapton's book is a prime example. It was a dizzying litany of bad behaviour, and I ended up skipping whole chapters. A yawn fest.

But I digress (sort of). The recurring hard drinking motifs are what ultimately turned me off from fully embracing Traveller, but I did enjoy his singing and the mixture of styles that he embraces throughout the album. I like bluegrass, southern rock bands, and blues, so the hints at those styles kept me focused and listening.

Best songs for me were the title track and the lovely When The Stars Come Out. It's an excellent singalong and who doesn't love the sound of a pedal steel? Hmm. Maybe my kids would like Chris Stapelton after all...

Incantations

Mike Oldfield - Incantations (1978) ***

Nominated by: Tom  

Music club: MNAC

MNAC playlist addition:  How To Love

I did a double take when this album was suggested by Tom. Prog rock? A double album? Mike Oldfield? Really? But, okay. You do you, Tom.

For what it's worth, I've been a fan of Mike Oldfield's work since the very start and Tubular Bells (a football mate of mine gave me a copy back in 1973). I know I never bought his fourth album - Incantations, but I do have Ommadawn (my absolute favourite) and Hergest Ridge (both of them on vinyl and CD). I also have Five Miles Out, Crises, Tubular Bells II, and Return To Ommadawn. 

What I do have clues you into the stuff of his I tend to go for (the more Celtic influenced the better). Incantations always seemed like too big a chunk to digest and fully appreciate.

And sure enough - that's still a thing - even more so in the Spotify single song age. To listen to the album uninterrupted is no mean feat. My commute is 55 minutes so I'm about 20 minutes short (side 4). Devoting an hour and 20 minutes concentrated listening at home is a big ask too. It rarely happens.

Which is not good because it deserves to be listened to in one go - as each side of the double vinyl album forms a part of the whole Incantations piece of music.

So, I tend to get to the end of part 2 before an interruption. This is probably why Part 2 is my clear favourite (followed by Part 1, then Part 4 - Part 3 I find a tad too noisy and repetitive). 

He obviously needed to get Incantations out of his system, because he headed towards shorter songs after it. 

I'll be very interested in Lew and Alex' reaction - if they go gaga for it I may be tempted to foist Yes' Tales Of Topographic Oceans on them at some point. You have been warned!  

Neon bright

Holly Arrowsmith - Blue Dreams (2024) ****

Nominated by: KS

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition: Swan Dive

Usually one song stands out well above the others but my Playlist addition was tough to decide this week (new year, new Playlist btw). I might have gone for the (seemingly) bright and breezy opener Neon Bright, Desert Dove or Something Small - a beautifully understated song, or the title track (the single off the album). Swan Dive was ultimately my choice because it closes the album superbly and reminded me a little of Jenny Lewis.

Holly has a beautiful voice, the musical arrangements are sympathetic, and she writes from the heart. I put 'seemingly' in brackets above because most (all?) of the songs on this album appear bright and shiny but sadness and death are often her subject matter.

While I don't think I'll be charging out to buy a physical copy, I enjoyed this album more and more with successive listens. Her version of Americana, Kiwi style, is certainly very easy on the ear. A great start to our 2025 Playlist Kevy!