Neil Finn was the last one standing when he got around to recording his solo debut. After years of success with Split Enz and then Crowded House, Neil recorded an album with his brother Tim, who had played with him off and on in both of those bands. He then decided to take some time off from music. Finn reveals: "I love bands. They're a great invention and always more than the sum of their parts. Remember I joined Split Enz when I was a teenager. I've spent half my life in bands and though life as a solo artist can be solitary, there's also something quite liberating about being an individual and being responsible only to myself and my family...A friend of mine, Robert Moore, said we should just go and stand in the middle of a paddock for a few weeks and just paint. It was good advice at the time, stop thinking about music and what to do next, let it slip in the back door. At night, after a day's splashing paint around, Robert and me would have a jam. The first night a song popped out which seemed to be telling me something - '...there's a hunger inside, it won't go away....the longer you hide, the more you deny.' (Low World) I got to a point, not long after, where I realised that I'm driven to get out and play music, and it's ingrained. It would be madness to deny it ... I had a bit of time to myself. Bit of time to recoup and re-energise but um I really don't have any other abilities really, the only thing I can do is play music. I actually tried my hand at painting and, that was a disaster so, you know, music suddenly looks pretty good again."
'Try Whistling This' was recorded with Tony Allen and Pete Thomas on drums; Michael Barker on drums and percussion; Lyn Buchannan on additional drums; Marius De Vries on programming and keyboards; Liam Finn on drums and guitar; Paddy Free on programming; Mitchell Froom on Hammond; Jim Moginie on guitars, bass, omnichord, and percussion; Robert Moore and Sebastian Steinberg on bass; and Neil Finn on all other instruments. Producers on the album include: Neil Finn, Tchad Blake, Marius De Vries, and Jim Moginie. Finn admits: "It's like when you've been rehearsing and playing in your bedroom for months and you have to go out and actually play to an audience at some point. It felt a bit like that with the record. I was having a great time in my basement, have a few friends drop by and just getting down to it. But I was in danger of dithering for about another six months because I was in NZ and everything was a little too easy. So, I wanted to go to NYC where there would be studio time ticking over and a bit of an urban enviroment and you get to listen to your music in the context of a bigger picture...All the songs were written before I went to NY, they were all worked on before I went to NY, but they all come up in energy level, because I get there and put them up and they sound introspective to me. They would sound like they were done in a basement, which they were. Every time Sebastian Steinberg put some bass on the tracks it just sounded more lively and deeper and fatter. I'd put a few drum things on and worked up a few loops which made them a bit more exciting ... I really enjoyed the whole process actually ...um It's not to say that I, you know, am not fond of the lads, but ... um I enjoyed being left to my own devices and also when with other people coming in, you know, there was a cast of characters throughout the record. It was, it was like being promiscuous musically which was quite exciting and delicious after all this time."
'Try Whistling This' went to number eighty-eight in the Netherlands, nineteen on the US top heatseekers chart,eighteen in Norway, five in the UK, and number one in Australia and New Zealand. Finn says: "I always get tagged with this 'pop craftsman' thing and there's still a feeling that rocking out is somehow cooler or more subversive. Well, as I always say, there's nothing tougher than a good tune."
http://neilfinn.com/
"Last One Standing"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qdgeuTUW58
"King Tide"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbTxGSXbxJw
"Try Whistling This"
"She Will Have Her Way"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFNm3yoVOS4
"Sinner"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2clJuq9agCc
"Loose Tongue"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDystpm8L08
"Faster Than Light"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhZozOf8i3c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niPeGafYCMI
'Try Whistling This'
full album:
http://www.myspace.com/neilfinn/music/albums/try-whistling-this-8119555
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL67D97DBE6424F84E
http://www.last.fm/music/Neil+Finn/Try+Whistling+This
All songs were written by Neil Finn, except where noted.
"Last One Standing" – 3:04
"Souvenir" – 3:42
"King Tide" (Finn, Robert Moore) – 4:33
"Try Whistling This" (Finn, Jim Moginie) – 4:13
"She Will Have Her Way" – 3:56
"Sinner" (Finn, Marius De Vries) – 4:25
"Twisty Bass" – 5:09
"Loose Tongue" (Finn, Moginie) – 4:12
"Truth" (Finn, Moginie) – 4:03
"Astro" – 3:46
"Dream Date" – 4:51
"Faster Than Light" – 4:23
"Addicted" – 4:22
bonus
"Identical twin" - 3.32
"808 song" - 3.31
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