Enz great in 1993 reunion concert
woburnmusicfan | Woburn, MA United States | 05/07/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This album is from the last show of Split Enz' 20th anniversary reunion tour of New Zealand in 1993. The band was fronted by brothers Tim and Neil Finn (who at the time was leading Crowded House) and led musically by the amazing keyboard playing of Eddie Rayner. Playing their last show before a crowd that knew every song, the band shows more energy than I could have imagined. Songs that I never thought that much of, like "Hermit McDermitt" and "Strait Old Line", are very strong. There are three songs from the great "True Colours" album, which was neglected on 1985's "The Living Enz." In fact, the band even throws in a snippet of the never-recorded song "True Colours". The band is having great fun, with an abortive attempt at "Wail" thrown in and a spoons solo by Noel Crombie on "Strait Old Line". The songs cover the band's entire career, from the first single, "Split Ends", to the late-model "Years Go By". The pacing sags a bit at the end with early songs "Time for a Change" and "Charley"--I've never shared the band's fondness for these two.The performance and production are better than on "The Living Enz". And you can see that for yourself--for no obvious reason, three tracks from that album are stuck into this one ("Six Months in a Leaky Boat", "Dirty Creature", and hidden track "Hard Act to Follow"). No one even bothered to match the volume levels or equalize the tracks with the new material, so the old cuts are VERY QUIET and treble-deficient. When one of these songs comes on, it sounds like someone turned down your stereo."
Wish I had been there!
Francis Voignier | ORLEANS, CA United States | 07/18/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I saw Split Enz live twice, once in London in 1977 and once in New york in 1982 and I wish I had been at this concert too. What energy, and what a great sound! I do not care much for the couple of bonus tracks from the previous live album as they seem to break the continuity... Nonetheless, this album is fantastic and the Enz couldn't be in a better form!"
Nice to hear the Enz in the 90s
Thomas Burmester | Horsens, Denmark | 10/16/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The 1993 Anniversary tour of New Zealand was recorded and this live album is the result. It is quite satisfying to hear that Split Enz still "had it" almost 10 years after the split-up. Some of these live versions show new aspects of some of the earlier stuff like "Charlie" and "Time for a Change". And, by the way, hasn't Tim's voice become raunchier since the 80s? The only bad thing about this release is the very evident later added applause. It must have been possible to do this better in the mix..."
Track Listings (16) - Disc #1