Search - Tim Finn :: Big Canoe

Poor production values, but wonderful vocals and some shinin

Shirley Pena | Central California, USA | 03/11/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This album, though arguably Tim's weakest offering so far, is nonetheless worthy of praise for the sheer QUALITY of Finn's vocals. His voice is in FINE form:the best in his entire career. Until recent years, Tim was reknowned in Australia and New Zealand as one of the best singers to hail from that part of the globe, and this album serves testament to that.



The primary problem here is over-production, giving the songs too much polish and thereby detracting attention away from the delicate beauty of the melodies. Tim's songs have always been served better with sensitive,carefully crafted, innovative arrangements(such as found on his EXCELLENT self-titled album on the Capitol label). Sadly, his songs here received the standard slick production values typically found in Aussie Pop from that time period.



Another problem here is that the sheer quality of the material itself is nowhere near on the same par with Tim's previous efforts. Finn had produced-prior to this album-not only a highly respected body of work with New Zealand's legendary Split Enz, but most notably what remains in most critics'(and fans) eyes as his finest album:"Escapade". "Escapade" produced a truly STAGGERING number of top ten hits for Finn in Australia and New Zealand, as well as winning him NEW fans in the European and American music markets too. It culminated in winning him Australia's version of the Grammy, not only for album of the year but top male vocalist too! After such an accomplishment, this overall lackluster follow-up was seen by many as quite a disappointment.



However, certain songs here do manage to penetrate at times through the glossly production values. When they do, there are some significant joys to be found. I loved the playfullness of "Timmy", "Water Into Wine" and especially "Are We One Or Are We Two". On the latter, if you listen closely, you can actually hear the sound of drum sticks falling to the studio floor at the end of the song, followed by the sound of GENUINE laughter from Finn.



Overall, I gave it three stars for Tim Finn's impressive vocal technique/prowess, and for those small but shining moments to be heard throughout."