Split Enz - Mental Notes (10 tracks) +Album Reviews

Powerful and Strange ((Large Improvement On Sound))

allismile0 | Washington, DC | 02/27/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"(updated review I wrote for the original CD version in 2003)

"I find Mental Notes to be the most intriguing song cycle that Split Enz came up with. Before they were a relatively popular new wave band in the early 80's they were art rockers making wonderfully strange music reminiscent of early Genesis and Roxy Music.

There is a great sense of poetry, style and wildness to every song both in the obvious lyrical form as well as the melody and the way it is approached by the musicians. These were odd young men that were angry, happy, and musically fearless.

The popular thing to review about this album is the comparison to its follow up Second Thoughts, which is an all important comparison. Second Thoughts is one year later- different producer (Phil Manzanera- roxy music) "cleaning up" the sound, four re-recorded songs, and a strong desire to make the music more commercial.

Two months ago I bought both albums after reading various reviews on both albums- many reviewers split between which was a better one. I think that it is a truly tough call in that both albums have something unique about them. Mental Notes is a raw artsy sounding record recalling Roxy Music's first two albums; with amazing songs that were left off Second Thoughts like Under the Wheel, Amy (darling) and Maybe (although there are some pretty good replacements like Late Last Night and Matinee Idyll). Second Thoughts has much more sheen to it making the band sound like Supertramp during Crime of the Century.

For the re-made/re-modeled songs I prefer the edgier sound from the debut. I think something was lost somewhere in the translations on the follow up that seemed so key in Mental Notes. I think that Songs like Stranger than Fiction (which has an odd structure to it) needed to have a chaotic production value in order to have the theme fully come across.

Overall this is an album that your not going to come across at most record stores, nor will you hear it ever being played on the radio (it's a little to radical), and I feel lucky to have stumbled over some of the reviews in amazon because this stuff is really great. It is a profound artistic statement with complete ideas that seem totally original and fresh today as it did in 1975."

a little more about the sound...

They really did an amazing job of cleaning up the sound of this album. The muddiness of the original is nicely cleared without losing the "murky atmosphere" that was intended. The bass sounds round and strong and the synthesizers hum in beautiful new way for my ears. For some reason, this album more than any other Split Enz cd that I've heard was in need of remastering and they did a superb job!!"

One of the best

skankersore | Texas | 12/11/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a prequal to the shortly after released "Second thoughts" which took 5 songs from this original and recomposed them. With the exception of "stranger than fiction" the album still stands on it's own from the second release.

I lament the fate of the Enz in the 1970's. They were never appreciated as they should have been. Phil Judd never found a place in the pop/rock genre for his perfect ragtime voice and leanings. Commercially, prog seemed to have already found a "box" for itself, limiting the style from the once accepted diversity that gave birth to it. Inevitably, this same lack of diversity is was killed progressive. Hence, as the Enz persisted, they continued to experiment until they found a limited version of the exposure they deserved.

But this first "rock effort", when listented to today shows a clear transitional phase from where progressive rock would eventually flow into a musical style we now refer to as "new wave" in the US. Split Enz had too many chord variations and introspection in the lyrics to be punk, but they were a little to "goofy" for the fanboys of YES, RUSH, Boston and the like.

Reading into the history of Enz, it's intriging to find that, much like Pete Gabriel in the Genesis era, they helped to promote themselves by their visual presentations, outlandish, colourful and very attention-getting. This is the visual stain that was emulated by the early days of MTV, where commercial new wave and punk ruled the scene- the whole pop art culture can be traced back to Bowie, Split Enz, Devo, the Talking Heads and only a few others.

The music is solid, but definitely not for fans of the later Finn brothers material. It's true progressive rock in the line of Supertramp, but there are distinctive change-ups in the beat and tone that you'll hear later in bands such as XTC. In retrospect, you could call this early new wave just as much as you can call it prog."

A warning to those who remember the vinyl version

Michael Hood | Birmingham, England | 03/11/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Due to confusing politics in the 1970's Split Enz released two LPs with the same name, both called "Mental Notes". The 1976 release contained just the group; the 1977 release is a collaberation with Phil Manzanera and contains new versions of several of the songs, along with a few extra tracks. The 1977 vinyl album has been renamed "Second Thoughts" for the CD. Which version is better? It's a matter of opinion. All I can say to Split Enz fans is that the albums are sufficiently different for me to recommend buying both."

GREAT could be better.

D. Garcia | Los Angeles | 03/18/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I have the two original versions of this, one on Bunyip/Chrysalis and one on Mushroom. Of the two the Bunyip is more adventurous and downright weird.

Obviously there was a push/pull tug of war between the more avant-garde Phil Judd and the more pop oriented Tim Finn.

For me the charm of this record is that push pull. Weird but beautiful so I prefer the Bunyip version. Better songs including "The Woman Who Loves You" which is an Addams family like tongue in cheek hymn to necrophilia. Who else would do such a song? Essential. Too bad they left it out. Plus the Bunyip cover is way funnier with the Addams family like band inside with weirder funnier getups.

I think when Judd left it was like the Beatles without Lennon.

So it's a disappointment that the more tame pop version is the one they released on CD. But I have to say I do like this version, just not as much.

Fabulous band back then. Must have been amazing to see such good music coupled to such an amazingly visual band. Like they say "god made it click." Nobody else like them. Unique vision."

My Second Introduction to the Enz

J. Cox | The Hills of North Carolina | 03/27/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The first time I heard the Split Enz was when True Colors came out and played on my local college station. I thought "wow, what a quirky band" with an interesting groove. I went out and purchased the A&M lazer etched record and had quite fun watching the colors jump off the record as in went round and round on my turn table.

Here it is 29 years later and I find myself purchasing cd's from bands that I listened to in the 80's because there are not many new bands that I like - there is more to making music than playing power chords and a drum machine/synthesizer :) It also seems new engineer wants to compress the audio so much that new music becomes dynamically flat and boring.

Anyway, I bought the Split Enz - Enz to Enz remastered box sent all the way from Australia to the states. I picked it up new for $41 plus $3 Air shipping on ebay from The Music Shop AU.

This is the second album in the set. This album really started defining their sound and it apparently grew from there. I would suggest the set as it is neat to listen to the band's progression over time.

I agree with other reviewers that this has shades of Pink Floyd and Yes, but it has much happier pop overtones and not as heavy handed in terms of lyrics (except for "Under the Wheel"). The song "Under the Wheel" has some eerie singing that reminds me of Jim Carey singing like Grace Slick in the "Cable Guy" movie. It's weird.

This album is more like a transition from the 70's era Yes meets the New Wave of the 80's. A Fellini-esque feeling complete with clowns and red balloons in the back ground. A wonderful rich theatrical sound scape. This is an ALBUM. It is meant to be listened to all the way through. Each song is well thought out flows nicely into the next to where it will make you wanting more and feel like the album is short. That's a god thing. That means I will only listen to it a lot more. Oh, and this is a good headphone album.

This is nicely remastered dynamic sounding album. It has not been squeezed to death like many older remastered albums have. It has been squeezed a bit, but it's tasteful. I have not been able to compare it to the original so I do not have a full picture of the before and after.

I'm glad I have rediscovered the Split Enz 29 years later as this sounds very new and fresh to me. I hear people say they were ahead of their time. I'm not sure about that, I think they were just a misunderstood eclectic band that appeared to have a cult following like many other bands during their time. I'm almost glad that US record companies did not pick up on them because I think the music would have been ruined by "the industry". This band has made some great music and I think it will endure the test of time as it gets discoverd by folks that did not have earlier access to this band when the albums first came out.

Thank goodness for underground college radio stations, and record stores that sold import vinyl records or I would have never discovered this band. Thank goodness for the web so I can rediscover old bands like this and the music that I missed as well as new bands that put out their own music in which the big record companies would gloss right over."

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