Forenzics – Shades And Echoes
(Warner Music)
Reviewed by Tim Gruar.
Tim Finn and Eddie Raynor are stepping back into the limelight with a project that steals from the past and brings it into the present. It’s their new colab – Forenzics (not to be confused with the Australian experimental collective of the same name). Stealing a line from the 1975 song ‘Stranger Than Fiction’, ‘Shades and Echoes’ it’s more than just a re-recording of old material. It’s a re-invention and a complete mash up. Fans will be train spotting all over the shop, looking for lines, phrases, instrumentals and potential outtakes in these samples. Sometimes the music sounds like something familiar. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it isn’t.
“History Never Repeats,” Tim Finn tells himself before he goes to sleep. But when he wakes up, it’s deja voodoo all over! I’ve lost count of the number of reunion tours and ENZSO concerts that have occurred over the years. It seems fans here and overseas still have an unsatiable appetite for Split Enz. They really are our ‘Beatles’. We love them and perk up every time a new remix, collection or podcast arrives. Most Recently, they dropped a new production of ‘True Colours’. The back catalogue is coming out in new formats on vinyl. More re-remixes are planned. However, no news on any eight-hour docos by Peter Jackson. Not just yet. But you never know.
And there’s no stopping Tim Finn, either. Oh, no chance of fading into retirement, despite approaching his 7th decade. He’s just released an album with Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera. And he has another just completed with Aussie/Irish singer Andy White (due out soon).
Eddie’s been busy, too. Apart from NZSO arranging, he’s also been jamming with an instrumental orchestra call ‘Double Life’ – Mark Dennison (sax, flute, clarinet), Adrian Stuckey (guitars) and percussionist Patrick Kuhtze. Then there’s an endless list of production projects, Crowded House cameos and various other collaborations.
This pair have worked together in the past, but not like this. It began quietly in 2018, when Tim and Eddie started cutting up old ENZ tracks, swapping samples and using them to inspire for material for this new album. Then when Covid kicked in, distractions like live gigs went on hold. There were greater opportunities, especially for Eddie who loves to spend time behind a computer, to really get stuck in. Files were traded over the net, distance was kept, and somehow, despite, or maybe because of, this new normal working environment the resulting 14 track output came together. This could well be the best stuff they’ve put out for ages.
The story is that the idea for this album has been lurking deep in Tim’s brain since 1976, when Brian Eno dropped in on a recording session for the ENZ’s ‘Second Thoughts’ album at Basing Street Studios, London. This was a highly creative time for the ENZ, who’d not long stepped off a plane from Aussie. Wide eyed and brimming with inspiration, they packed into the same building as Bob Marley, who was recording downstairs at the time. Brian was also there, working on material Roxy Music and starting to explore minimalism. Phil Manzanera was producing the ENZ, so it was inevitable that their paths should cross.
Listening to a section of ‘Walking Down A Road’ (the ‘floating section’ found at approx. 3min 45 sec) Brian suggested that it should be reworked into something bigger and better. 45 plus years later that germ of an idea finally came to fruition. Receiving Eddie’s re-interpretation by email, Tim rearranged some of the original lyrics. The result was ‘Walking’. It’s the appropriately fitting opener to this album that mixes nostalgia and new creative energies. It begins with familiar swelling chords, pealing bells and a dramatic entrance that drops away for the first few lines. As is Tim’s penchant, he’s maintained a level of melancholy and haunting alongside some ‘ENZ-flavoured’ orchestrations and guitars.
Tim’s original delivery on this section of ‘Walking Down A Road” had a playful, magical and slightly maniacal air to it. When he re-approaches these same lyrics his voice sounds more fragile and slightly uptight, as if he’s on the defensive. It’s a more world weary, haunting take. “Childish patter is heard no more/Papers left strewn upon the lawn”. The next line “And there’s nobody home next door, no-one” is omitted, changing the narrative slightly. He reworks the following, too “well, is that that what you meant/ When you said I should stay at home?” The next bit (where the the la-la’s come in) is removed, staying on that a darker vibe instead the former circus groove. Then it builds quickly to the chorus, appropriating the lines “Was that what you thought/ When I left you on your own?” In the earlier, Tim irreverently sings “I turned to my guide but just as I feared/ The preaching began so I …. disappeared/ to a tiny door with a golden sign/that magic place of great renown.” This is completely dissolved away in Tim’s reworking. He changes it to “I disappeared when the preaching began”. On the surface at least, this whole section changes from the mystical, playful psychedelic Alice in Wonderland imagery into what appears to be a haunting aftermath of a confronting argument. Who was preaching? What was so offensive that caused the withdrawal?
And those papers on the lawn. Was it something in the headlines that started this? Perhaps the onset of lockdowns and the news of Brexit and Trumpism were swirling around in Tim’s head when he was working on these. That could all be true. Or not. I’m sure those with deeper knowledge will have their own opinions, searching behind the meaning of ‘Walking Down the Road’, and the meaning behind ‘Walking’, looking for clues to the connection between the songs.
‘Chances Are’, the most obvious track, reworks ‘Spellbound’, re-purposing these lyrics as well. In the original, the vocals have a maniac, chaotic approach. Tim and Eddie have softened it into a more upbeat radio, friendly sing-along. You can’t deny the groove on this fits the ENZ legacy, especially the sound they created around the ‘True Colours’ era. The song moves from a cautionary tale about falling in love “chances are, it’s not that far to go / Chances are, there’s not that much to know”, to an inevitable conclusion (in the new song) “Where will I run to / Chances are / It will be to you.”
The song ‘Abandoned’ had me wondering. It was inspired by ‘129/Matinee Idyll’. Was there some novel twist in this re-visit? No. It turns out it was inspired by time when Tim was traveling through Italy during the mid-80’s. He noticed the abundance of big sprawling, crumbling mansions high up on the surrounding hills that appeared to be empty and uncared for – “Nostra villa abbandonata/ No one lives there anymore/ I’ll light a fire/ And remember the feeling/ Is that you?/ Knocking on the door/ Our stately home’s been abandoned/ (Forever)/ Like a ghost house high on a hill…”
In contrast the accompanying video features reassembled footage from Split Enz’s earliest TV performance in 1973, shot by a relative on their 8mm camera straight off the TV screen while watching back home in Te Awamutu. The obvious reference point is memories of past revelries – both in ‘stately homes’ and on the stages. “…walk beside me through empty rooms, walk beside me through your memory”.
“Empty Nest’ continues the abandonment theme with bittersweet melancholy and contemplation. Now that his son Harper Finn’s career has taken off, he’s heading to the States. Daughter, Elliot, has also moved out. So, that just leaves Tim and his wife, Marie Azconda alone in their villa. The song is a defiant separation, and a re-birth of sorts. New energies, separate from the former, needed to raise a family are available. He wants to use this time to explore that and declares that “In order to create you must destroy…we have to tell everybody, leave us alone”.
Like some dark Tennyson poem, mixed with elements of 50’s cold war B&W noir films and 70’s Bond soundtracks ‘Europe Speaks’ is a haunting, dramatic, half spoken/half sung dark cabaret number. In the song, there are references to the Brexit, the impact of Covid and the legacy of the World Wars. Tim’s father was involved in the WWII and he’s lifted a couple of lines from his Dad’s diary from that time – perhaps the lines “I saw…shattered tree trunks, ruined houses, unburied corpses, a picture of desolation, I can’t easily forget”. Eddie adds some cinematically dense, suffocating black chords of doom and you instantly think of grey clouds over bombed out factories, rising red dust and industrial coal smoke, fields of charred trees tortured by the icy winds.
There is the constant insecurity and uncertainty Europeans must continue to live with: “We feel at ease in the middle of a storm, when the seasons come and the sun is warm, and all we find in the unmoving air is our despair. Europe speaks of Europe.” There are also observations about holding the Euro-centric hard line, ignoring the rest of the planet: “Europe only speaks of Europe.” The reedy sax and oboes slithers through this one like a Russian spy lurking unseen in the undergrowth: “…like a wolf from the fold/the Assyrian was there or so we were told, and the bare black cliffs clanked around him…”
On the same ‘Euro’ theme, there’s this a slick, shiny of eclectic ‘Europop’ called ‘Premiere Fois’ (First time). Tim must fancy himself as Serge Gainsbourg, perhaps, breathing his way through the French lyrics. The Stephen Langdon-directed B&W video features Tim, standing in front of drawing of a building (presumably French architecture) awkwardly speaking his lines, as if he’s being reluctantly coached from the wings. As the camera pans out, we see that he’s actually addressing Gus the dog on the state of things when you fall in love. Dark references to cutting out family faces from the photo album if they don’t agree with your choice of lover. A change of ‘rules’ and loyalties. When you fall in love for the first time, everything you know is turned topsy turvy. As a short movie, it’s all very ‘French’. Eddie also pops up to do a keyboard solo in this absurdist clip. You can tell they are having fun, though – on a budget it appears.
Initially, I thought the smoky, indulgent ‘Rules’ might have been a reaction to Covid lockdowns and all that goes with that. But as you dig into the lyrics you realise it’s not about that at all. Potentially, this could be the salacious murmurings in an illicit relationship: “I’ll never let go/ We didn’t make the rules/ Who knows how love will go? / Everybody needs to hide sometimes/ From the slings and arrows / And minds that are too narrow.”
There are plenty more ‘eggs’, as Tim calls them to be found on this album.
More pealing bells, lifted no doubt from 1978’s ‘Give It a Whirl’ are infused throughout the horn and woodwind Cèilidh of ‘Shut the Door’, punctuated by an uplifting chorus of bopping keys.
‘Strange Stars’ borrows heavily from the lushest moments on ‘Under The Wheel’, and might well be the most indulgent song on the collection.
A similar musical them also appears on ‘Love is’, and side by side, these two songs could almost be cut from a similar cloth. Likewise, ‘System Overload’ again seems like a slice taken from ‘Walking Down A Road’ and again with ‘System Overload’. By this point the novelty is wearing off a little and you could be thinking there’s just too much of the same going on… Then you get ‘I Spy’, with it’s funky backbeat, a nod to ‘I hope I never’ and similar clever couplings like the Finn-fest ‘Chocolate Cake’. Again, vague references to recent America, this time a hint at the ‘Fake News’ culture. “I spy with my little eye something beginning with ‘you’/ your voice ringing in my ear, and now it’s not ringing true.” “We cry with both our eyes but something has made them smart / … are we getting off or just getting even? … why are we clued to each others’ solitude?” Witty swing, indeed. The digital fadeout on this song is remarkable. It’s the strongest groove on this album.
Aside from Eddie there were others in on this act. The duet ‘Unlikely Friend’, features Australian singer Megan Washington. She has collaborated with Tim before and wrote material on his 2011 album ‘The View Is Worth the Climb’. “The inception of this and several other songs included on the Forenzics album,” writes Tim on their Facebook page, “was created out of ‘jams’ Eddie Rayner did with his (other) ensemble Double Life.
“My years in Split Enz, followed by other musical improv collaborations, informed my vision of the instrumental ensemble we called Double Life,” says Eddie. ‘Unlikely Friend’ came from a session with that group. “Handed over to Tim to conjure and create the lyrics and melody. The song beckoned a strong harmony vocal which then morphed into the guest vocal appearance from Megan Washington.” It’s got a jazzy upbeat that made me immediately think of ‘Straight Old Line’, even though that’s a Neil Finn number. Perhaps it’s Noel Crombie’s brushwork that gives it away. Add to that Megan’s sweet voice and Eddie’s uplifting keyboards and orchestral washes alongside the chirpy woodwinds that make it feel like a theme song from a 70’s sit com.
The other dial-in contribution comes from none other than Phil Manzanera himself. Fitting that he was the one in on the ground floor of the concept that started all this. His trademark playing style is all over this album, quietly adding a smidgen of prog-rock flavour to nearly every song. His most obvious presence is in the intro to Autumn, which again finds its roots in those first two albums. This becomes a soft rock ballad with hints of ‘Meddle’ and ‘Dark Side…’ era Pink Floyd drifting in and out of it.
Tim sings of his own phoenix rising. He’s reinventing the past with a more positive future. He’s clearly optimistic, “Summer’s over but the future is too infinite to know my mind expands in brightly colours .. day of delight are back…I’ve found my hope again … Autumn is my Spring!”
This is the voice of men who are not yet done. The kids have gone, the house is quiet, the furniture and possessions have been swept aside. Time to look at the achievements of the past. We must remember that these two albums ‘Mental Notes’ and ‘Second Thoughts’ display some remarkable musicianship and creativity. But it’s also an opportunity to remix the past and use it to create new sounds for now, and the future. Now, of course, we hope with crossed fingers the next few albums in the catalogue will get their Forenzics treatments, too!
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Interesting that so many of the tracks are built on the frames of old band mate Phil Judd’s songs…