14 Oct 2010 : HE WILL HAVE HIS WAY: THE SONGS OF TIM & NEIL FINN
Following on from the massive success of 2005’s She Will Have Her Way: The Songs of Tim & Neil Finn, now it’s the men’s turn to come out to play and pay homage to the glory of the brothers Finn.
He Will Have His Way: The Songs of Tim & Neil Finn is the male sequel to the critically-hailed female-voiced album She Will Have Her Way, which was released in October 2005 and went on to Triple Platinum sales in Australia and Double Platinum sales in New Zealand. All up, She Will Have Her Way is now nudging 300,000 sales, received ARIA nominations and unanimous critical praise.
Like its popular predecessor, He Will Have His Way: The Songs of Tim & Neil Finn brings together a diverse collective of talent from Australia and the Finn brothers’ homeland of New Zealand to honour and celebrate these songwriting greats.
Musical legends such as Paul Kelly, Jimmy Barnes, Paul Dempsey, Darren Hayes, Chris Cheney, former members of Midnight Oil [in their new band The Break] and Empire Of The Sun’s Luke Steele [here fronting his original outfit, The Sleepy Jackson] share the stage with popular contemporaries and newcomers such as Sydney acts Boy & Bear, Art Vs Science, Philadelphia Grand Jury and Angus Stone [of Angus & Julia Stone]; Melbourne artists Dan Sultan and Oh Mercy; Queenslanders Busby Marou; and New Zealand’s Artisan Guns and Kody Nielson.
Each artist brings their unique musical perspective to reinterpreting a Finn classic, along with the odd hidden gem from the brothers’ extraordinary catalogue.
Some have come to respectfully bow down to the originals, not wanting to mess with perfection. Others have come to reinvent. Whatever their approach, the 16 acts on He Will Have His Way: The Songs of Tim & Neil Finn have brought their own strong personality and voice to the universally acclaimed songs of Tim and Neil Finn.
Among the rare musical moments presented on He Will Have His Way: The Songs of Tim & Neil Finn, The Living End’s Chris Cheney makes a rare solo appearance, delivering an edgy take on “Distant Sun”, backed only by his electric guitar; Paul Kelly joins forces with Angus Stone to offer a most delicate duet of “Four Seasons in One Day”; while the hypnotic Dan Sultan fronts the normally instrumental surf outfit The Break for an appropriately swampy take on “Shark Attack”.
Elsewhere, Jimmy Barnes rocks up “Message To My Girl”, Darren Hayes croons “Not Even Close”, Art Vs Science goes psycho on “I See Red”, while Glenn Richards of Augie March has a party all on his own with his surprising choice of “She Got Body, She Got Soul” [Tim Finn’s showstopper from the soundtrack of the classic 1982 Aussie film Star Struck and the Split Enz album Frenzy].
Nowhere is the spectrum of the varying musical approaches more evident than in the two versions presented here of the Crowded House ballad, “Better Be Home Soon”. While Busby Marou tackle the song with a very traditional approach, accenting the track’s Irish folk roots, Luke Steele’s The Sleepy Jackson delivers an unexpectedly bent electronic interpretation of the same song.
As both Luke Steele and Darren Hayes point out in the new album's liner notes, there is something special in the Finns’ DNA. Whatever it is, it has got under the skin of literally millions of people right around the world, especially in Australia and New Zealand, making a very deep and real connection now spanning four decades.
The Finns' music continues to affect people from all generations. This was evidenced on She Will Have Her Way and is what primarily led Executive Producers John O’Donnell and Craig Hawker to decide to re-visit and re-engineer the concept with a male skew.
From the cerebral to the surreal, the delicate to the chaotic, the jovial to the soulfully tortured, the artistry of the Finn brothers’ work shines through in each of these 16 re-imagined versions of classic cuts from their incomparable song catalogue, all recorded exclusively for inclusion on He Will Have His Way: The Songs of Tim & Neil Finn.
HE WILL HAVE HIS WAY: THE SONGS OF TIM & NEIL FINN
- “I Feel Possessed” – Oh Mercy
- “Distant Sun” – Chris Cheney
- “Fall At Your Feet” – Boy & Bear
- “Four Seasons In One Day” – Paul Kelly & Angus Stone
- “She Got Body, She Got Soul” – Glenn Richards
- “Addicted” – Paul Dempsey
- “Message To My Girl” – Jimmy Barnes
- “I See Red” – Art Vs Science
- “I Got You” – Philadelphia Grand Jury
- “Better Be Home Soon” – The Sleepy Jackson
- “Private Universe” – Artisan Guns
- “Not Even Close” – Darren Hayes
- “Shark Attack” – The Break with Dan Sultan
- “Poor Boy” – Perry Keyes
- “Better Be Home Soon” – Busby Marou
- “Kiss The Road To Rarotonga” – Kody Nielson
- “Angels Heap” – Perry Keyes [Bonus Track for iTunes]
