Track Listing

1. The Climber
2. Rest Of The Day Off
3. Hole In The Ice
4. Wherever You Are
5. Last To Know
6. Don't Ask Why
7. Secret God
8. Turn And Run
9. Elastic Heart
10. Anytime
11. Driving Me Mad
12. Into The Sunset

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #31756 in Music
• Released on: 2001-04-09
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
The 12 tracks on One Nil proffer a more organic, rougher-hewn take on Neil Finn's solid classicism. While Crowded House's populist folk-pop tugged as many purse-strings as it did hearts, Finn's solo career has been characterised by nothing more strident than the soft shuffle of gentle understatement--as if the Antipodean troubadour feared his former muse would be insulted by any attempts to out-pop the relentlessly tuneful House. Not that this follow-up to 1998's patchy solo debut Try Whistling This is in any way under-whelming. The swirling effects and treated guitars of "Rest of the Day" hint more at latter-day Split Enz and even, occasionally, Oasis than Crowded House. Unfortunately, there is also a sense that the addition of such sonic accoutrements may be little more than a ham-fisted attempt to add techno-savvy flesh to basic, traditional bones--with "Hole in the Ice" and "Secret God" imbued with dubious guitar solos and irritatingly superfluous backing vocals (courtesy, bizarrely enough, of former Prince demoiselles Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman) that merely serve to detract from the music's warm-hearted core. Nevertheless, Finn's long-runnning lyrical concerns--love, loyalty and, predominantly, self-doubt--have never been expressed more adroitly. "Into the Sunset", for example, is a sweet love letter to his wife, while "Last to Know" manages to deliver a jaunty treatise on mortality ("I'll end up under a bus/With my fingers crossed"). Although Finn still appears reluctant to rock out with strong tunes, One Nil is neverthless bursting with charm and gentle melody, suggesting the "real" Neil Finn is finally finding his feet. --Sarah Dempster

Customer Reviews

An organic substitute for Ritalin
What is all the fuss about Neil Finn? This is easily one of the most average, dreary, mediocre records ever made, although it would be a very healthy, non-addictive alternative to sleeping pills. The music wafts round the room with all the substance of cigarette smoke and evaporates into nothingness. You could play this record a hundred times before anything sinks in, and long before then you will have given up the will to live. Neil Finn should get back with Crowded House as he does not seem much good without others putting input into his tunes. (The warning signs were there with Crowded House; only 'Don't Dream It's Over' and 'Weather With You' seem to be remembered these days). What a waste of time this record is! Someone should tell him to up a gear or two. One star seems a bit generous for this stuff.

Neill Finn in superb form
This album didn't at first appeal to me quite as much as the brilliant "Try Whistling this" but after a few plays the songs get under your skin and you find yourself listening to them more and more.

The first three songs which are joined together are just magical, especially the synthesizer bit that joins "The Climber" and "Rest of the day off", which gets my vote for best album track.

If you like Crowded House and/or Neil Finn you won't go wrong with this album - recommended without reserve

One Big Step Forward
Although I seem to be in a minority, I felt that Finn's previous work before this release was a major letdown. That album, Try Whistling This, lacked worthwhile melodies and the production was surprisingly stale considering a Neil Finn project.

From that standpoint, I was not expecting too much from One Nil. Such fears were unwarranted because this is where he should have continued from Crowded House's Together Alone, their finest release IMHO. It was evident straight from the opening track, The Climber, that his originality and knack of writing melodic and yet warm tunes (even those organically produced) was back. Rest of the Day Off follows, giving the opening stages a splendid flow that remains mostly throughout the record.

The production is less dense than TWT and one senses that Neil has regained his confidence which probably took some beating during the final stages of Crowded House.

Highlights include Wherever You Are, Turn & Run (a duet with Sheryl Crow) and Into the Sunset. The only tracks not up to par are Don't Ask Why and Elastic Heart but those are in no way songs one reaches out for the remote for.

This album is definitely among Neil Finn's best work and hopefully a signal that TWT was only a minor sidestep of his consistency in producing among the best work in pop music in recent years and the future.

One last note, the US version, dubbed One All, is even better.