Product Description

This is the first solo release from the lead singer of the seminal New Zealand pop band Crowded House has more of the thoughtful pop songs that made his former band so great. (He was, after all, its chief songwriter.) Many of the songs aresmall snippets about love, how it changes, what it provides, and what it means, such as the piano-based ballad "Try Whistling This" and the Celtic-sounding "She Will Have Her Way".
It's a varied album--some songs are quiet and reflective, others chug ahead with electric guitars and interesting feedback. Finn's signature strong melodies pervade, as does his penchant for writing in 6/8 time. The production is clean; each instrument has its place, and there's an overall otherworldly sensibility. Finn also manages to integrate more contemporary sounds without sacrificing his talent to the point where it sounds cheesy and forced. TRY WHISTLING THIS also proves what Crowded House fans knew all along: that Finn is both strong enough to stand on his own, and probably incapable of writing a bad song.

Track Listing

1. Last One Standing
2. Souvenir
3. King Tide
4. Try Whistling This
5. She Will Have Her Way
6. Sinner
7. Twisty Bass
8. Loose Tongue
9. Truth
10. Astro
11. Dream Date
12. Faster Than Light
13. Addicted

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #32686 in Music
• Released on: 1998-06-15
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
After a wildly successful career--first with NZ art-pop act Split Enz, then with pop classicists Crowded House--singer-songwriter Finn was understandably eager to shed many of his audience's expectations for this, his long-awaited solo debut. The album's first single, "Sinner", was presumably intended to alert fans that this was a different kind of Neil Finn album--looser, slightly funkier--and elsewhere, too, a spirit of playful experimentalism prevails. Tracks like "808 Song" and "Astro" find him incorporating discreet layers of technology and unexpected influences (house music, trance) into what remains, at heart, an essentially handmade, linear song-writing technique. Yet much like the Paul McCartney he reveres, Finn can never entirely resist the lure of a good tune, and tracks like "She Will Have Her Way" also see him at his most shamelessly Beatlesque. The album's intimate feel will satisfy established fans, but ultimately, it can't help but seem a little half-hearted, achieving neither the glorious heights of transcendence, nor the depths of heartache, of which he has previously proved himself capable. --Andrew McGuire

Customer Reviews

Some good tracks and some ok ones, but missing that sparkle
Neil Finn's first solo album since Crowded House split has plenty of good qualities, but there are elements to suggest he's still finding his feet as a solo artist. Here are my thoughts on each of the tracks.

1. Last One Standing - A catchy melody, great guitars, sounds very warm. The contrast between the verse and chorus provides a good climax, and I like how the chorus starts out short, but gets longer as the song progresses. The bridge is unexpectedly bland, though, and the track ends before it builds into anything new. Otherwise, this is a sold song.

2. Souvenir - Very dull verse, slightly better chorus, and a reasonably interesting middle bit with nice vocals and average strings. I usually skip this one. It's pretty boring.

3. King Tide - Nice intro, very chilled. Love the panning between the speakers. Finn's vocals complement the meandering melody beautifully. When the track kicks in after the first minute or so, it becomes a fairly typical Finn track, not dissimilar to Neil's efforts with Crowded House. A slower version of Locked Out, perhaps? The melody doesn't hold up so well after the second verse, though, and the end is pretty underwhelming. Not bad, but clearly shows Neil was still finding his feet as a solo artist at this stage.

4. Try Whistling This - Great acoustic guitar and piano, excellently accompanied by Finn's gentle voice. And just when it starts to get a bit samey, the drums come in and the track builds up. Top tune.

5. She Will Have Her Way - One of Neil Finn's greatest tracks and by far the best on this album. It all fits together so well, and it's such a feelgood track. Great chord progression, and plenty of variation. Excellent!

6. Sinner - A very cool track - quite an unusual sound for Neil when it comes to the verse. While the chorus is pretty predictable, it's definitely one of his stronger melodies. Guitar work is particularly memorable throughout. The end is a bit drawn out though.

7. Twisty Bass - Eerie sound, with echoey voices and spooky chords. Very moody chorus, which contrasts well with the verses. Finn's voice works very well, and there's plenty of depth. Great track.

8. Loose Tongue - A very strong lead guitar melody right from the beginning, but a fairly repetitive verse. Still, the melody in the middle is much more interesting than the verse, and the guitars sound great from start to finish. The various sections fit together really well up until a minute from the end, when it scales back to an average track that feels out of place somehow.

9. Truth - Very strong vocals at the start, although the rather high-pitched "Truth" sounds a little out of reach for Neil's voice. Not so sure about the next part though - the extra instruments feel a little crowded, and the elec piano / organ doesn't work. A bit of a mess.

10. Astro - The first verse is absolutely brilliant: great vocals, great guitars, very catchy indeed. And unlike on "Truth", the elec piano / organ works well in the verse. However, that same instrument spoils the chorus as it's so overdone. Shame really. After the chorus, the subsequent verses and extra instruments don't achieve the right effect for me - much like the previous track. Which is a shame, because this started so well! The whole thing gets a bit silly at the end, with over the top vocals and everything drowning out everything else. NOT the way to do a song climax. Oh well, at least he didn't fade it out.

11. Dream Date - Far too high-pitched, boring guitar melodies, and a dull and totally cheesey chorus. Very poor indeed.

12. Faster Than Light - The background beat sounds like it was lifted from an old organ. Not good, especially as it is played alone at the start. Verse is average, chorus is quite nice with some good harmonies. Overall though, this is pretty bland.

13. Addicted - Nice closing track with some great piano and beautiful vocals. Bittersweet in sound, with some very nice chords that appear briefly before going back to the main melody. But one and a half minutes before the end, it all descends into the finale... which is, frankly, pretty dull.

In summary, Try Whistling This has a few great track and some average ones, but there is plenty missing that you'd normally expect from Neil Finn. Give it a listen and see what you think.

Finn's least interesting project for decades
I've been a Neil Finn fan practically my whole adult life. First I become exposed to his brilliance via I Got You, the break through song of Split Enz a quarter of a century ago. That album, True Colours, is jam packed of great melodies and fun arrangements. Although their later albums did not match that peak, they were still enjoyable. When Crowded House became huge, I liked their albums ever more. Their first one, despite including the classic Don't Dream It's Over, is their least interesting one but during the final album, Together Alone, Neil Finn and Crowded House were making among the best music of that era.

I was obviously very excited when Neil Finn released (Try Whistling) this album; what would he deliver this time being alone and apparently with all the freedom to experiment. Before hearing the album in its entirety, I heard She Will Have Her Way and Sinner, both great tracks and worthy classics. She Will is a straight forward song in a Beatles-esque fashion whilst Sinner is a dark moody track with a haunting rhythm. Sadly, these were the only tracks worth any attention. The production of the album is very flat, everything very professional like but lacking an edge. The songs never come to life, there simply is from my standpoint hardly any life in these songs. I tried several times listening to the album, hoping I would get it, but no, this is for me an album that lacked a creative spark, something I can't say about anything else I had heard by Neil Finn (his next studio album, live album and recent one with his brother are for example much better).

It is interesting but this album gets high marks from many reviewers, actually most reviewers bothering to review it. My sister and one of my best friends are also big Neil Finn fans. Their reaction to this album was, however, almost identical to mine, close to being boring and not living up to expectations. It was also a commercial failure so it will remain a mystery to me how many people enjoy it. My advice is to leave this one alone and listen to practically everything else by Neil Finn.

A true music ARTIST
Crowded House were about rule the world. Voted the best live band ahead of U2, REM, Pearl Jam etc, a best of album that reaches number one in the UK and Australaisia; so why break up Crowded House? Well this is one of the reasons.

Neil Finn is an artist, a music artist. That term gets thrown around a lot so it's hard to forget what it actually means sometimes. Crowded House represented a relatively mainstream era in Finn's songwriting career; sure he did it with Split Enz with 'True Colours' and 'Corroboree' but he also had 'Time and Tide' and 'Conflicting Emotions' to spread his creative wings. 'Try Whistling This' is very different from most Crowded House stuff though it's clear to see where he was heading with 'Together Alone'. There's no way he could have done these songs with the band and they are of such quality that one can understand why he would call it a day in order to release them. As a whole it's a notoriously dark album, highlighted by 'King Tide', 'Twisty bass' and 'Astro' although it does have its moments of relief in the form of 'Last one Standing' and especially 'She will have her way', of which along with 'Loose tongue' gave him the chance to rock whist touring to promote it.

'Try Whistling This' is the result of years of brewed up emotion and creativity and is thick with it's own style, a creative release if you will in which Neil Finn just had to get put out without care for mass sales but for his own fulfilment and subsequently the growing of his audience's musical tastes. The term 'grower' seems created for this album; the first dozen listens may go by with only marginal interest but in it's full appreciation this breathes quality and instills in its listeners the impression of pure genious.