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Out across the open spaces where the music sets you free. Help me spread the message that's inside of you and me. We come from a long line, part of a songline . . . These words are from "Songline," the opening track of Tim Finn's new record, feeding the gods. It's a bit of self-description that hints at his illustrious past as the founder of Split Enz, a part-time member of Crowded House and a respected solo artist. But it goes much deeper. Finn is part of a songline that stretches from Lennon & McCartney to Rodgers & Hart, all the way back to the wandering minstrel with lute in hand, singing odes to love and life. Finn understands the tradition, and like the best before him, he writes songs that transcend fads and fashion. He cares about melody and lyrics. He cares about emotional connection. He cares about leaving room for the listener to find their own meaning in the songs. In short, he cares about making music that's timeless. "I'm realizing how much of a classicist, in a sense, I am," Finn says. "For a long time, because of being so influenced by The Beatles, experimentation with sound and colors and textures was just a given - every record had to be different from the one before it. Certainly when you listen to Split Enz or even my solo records, they're all quite startlingly different. I've realized more and more, because I'm a live performer and I love performing live, that really when you play live, you always try to get down to the essence, always trying to keep things simple." The essence is pure songwriting brilliance on feeding the gods. From the rich, deep-pile texture of "Songline" to the elegant, understated "Sawdust And Splinters," from the big beat majesty of "I'll Never Know" to the soothing, hypnotic swathe of "Commonplace," these are some of the most sublimely melodic and affecting songs of Finn's career. He says, "The songs came in a rush, like in three to four months. I was carrying them around, just waiting, because I knew I had a good record in me. Jay responded and we just went for it. It was great to bring him out here to New Zealand." Jay is ace producer/guitarist Jay Joyce (Patti Griffin, John Hiatt), who helmed Finn's last solo disc, Say It Is So. Recruiting a band of young New Zealand musicians, average age 21, ("They had loads of confidence and energy," Finn says), Joyce and Finn set to work. They wrapped Tim's unmistakable tenor in simple, but arresting arrangements where the clatter of drums and guitars mesh with the sparse whisper of synths and an undertow of background noises like buzzing insects and people talking. It's a warm, human sound that puts the songs in the context of not only this CD, but the world around it. "I love the classic combination of bass, drums and guitar," Finn says, "and I don't need to cast around for too many sounds. I can find a lot of richness within that. A lot of my records are betwixt and between styles, and I kind of like that. There's an eclecticism there, but I just wanted to rein it in and be more simple with it this time." It has been an eclectic 30 years since Finn's first band Split Enz took his native country of New Zealand and Australia by storm, scoring hits such as "I See Red," "Poor Boy," "I Hope I Never," "Six Months In A Leaky Boat" and "Dirty Creature," while thrilling audiences with their transcendent live shows. A brief Tim Finn timeline: In 1983, he recorded Escapade, the first of what have been his too infrequent solo albums, each one raising the bar for his leaps into the world of Beatle-esque pop. 1986's Big Canoe tapped into the synth-pop sound of the era with "shoulda been" hits like, "Don't Bury My Heart" and "No Thunder, No Fire, No Rain." 1987 found Tim penning the soundtrack to the Dame Edna Everidge film "Les Patterson Save the World." In 1989, he delivered his third solo disc, the self-titled Tim Finn, recorded with Mitchell Froom, who produced Crowded House. The connection to Froom was a preview of wonderful music to come, when in 1991, Finn moved in as a fourth member of Crowded House for the Woodface album and tour. Collaborating with his brother, Neil, for the first time (they'd shared the stage in Split Enz), he wrote some of the most memorable songs of his career, including "Weather With You," "It's Only Natural," "Four Seasons In One Day" and "All I Ask." Tim released Before & After in 1993, a record Q Magazine gave four stars and described as "tuneful, pert, intelligent pop." In 1994, Neil and Tim continued their brotherly musicmaking with the homemade, critically acclaimed Finn. 1995 saw a commission by the New Zealand Cricket Council to write a song to mark the 100th anniversary of the sport. Tim rounded out 1996 by contributing to Enzso, Eddie Rayner's album of orchestrally arranged Split Enz songs. It was a massive success in New Zealand and Australia. And in 2000, Finn released Say It Is So. All this music-making ties into the title of his new album. Finn says, "Music itself became a strong theme of this album, and Tim Finn refers to the idea of leaving out offerings. Music is my offering to the gods, if you like, and I leave it out there and it's just comforting in a way to offer something back up. When you feel you've been blessed - and music is a blessing - you offer back." Inspired by indie pioneers such as Ani DiFranco and the infinite DIY possibilities of the internet, Finn has embraced the idea of putting out his music his own way, free of major label interference. Consider him one more member of the burgeoning 'pop goes underground' movement around the globe. "I play by different rules now," Finn says. "You wouldn't be able to tell, looking at it from the outside whether I was up or down on any given day. In music, there's an obvious above ground measure of how everybody's doing - the charts, the radio play, whatever - but then there's an underground barometer that's much more powerful in a way for the songwriter. That's what I care about. I'm just somebody who feels lucky and feels blessed about being in music. My music room at home is my most exciting, cherished place, and I love the feeling when I step into that space." TimFinn.com Check out the artist's website: http://war.com Track List: 1. songline 2. i'll never know 3. subway dreaming 4. say it is so 5. what you've done 6. sawdust and splinters 7. dead man 8. commonplace 9. waiting for the moment 10. party was you 11. incognito in california Other Genres:
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