Home sweet home (Split Ends) (LP 3856 - 3865)

Split Enz  The Beginning of the Enz (Vinyl, Mushroom Records, 1979) ****  

Split Enz  Mental Notes (Vinyl and CD, White Cloud Records/ Mushroom Records, 1975) ***** 

Split Enz  Mental Notes (Vinyl, Chrysalis Records, 1976) **** 

Split Enz  Dizrythmia (Vinyl, Mushroom Records, 1977) ***** 

Split Enz  Frenzy (Vinyl, Mushroom Records, 1979) ***  

Split Enz  True Colours (Vinyl, Mushroom Records, 1980) ****  

Split Enz  Waiata (Vinyl, Polydor Records, 1981) *** 

Split Enz  Time and Tide (CD, WEA Records, 1982) ***  

Split Enz  Conflicting Emotions (Vinyl, CD, Mushroom Records, 1983) ***

Split Enz  See Ya 'Round (Vinyl, Mushroom Records, 1984) ***

Genre: NZ Music, pop, art rock, prog rock, new wave 

Places I remember: Marbecks Records, Little Red Bookshop, JB Hi Fi, Chaldon Books and Records,

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Six Months in a Leaky Boat (Time and Tide)

Gear costume: Without a Doubt (Dizrythmia)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6

Active compensatory factors: I bow to my good friend Kevin Simms in terms of his knowledge of Split Ends/Split Enz and his remarkable collection of their albums and singles. In comparison I scratch the surface with single copies of their albums and a smattering of singles. Along with thousands of fellow boomers who were glued to NZ's single channel TV station in 1973, our origin stories remain similar (you can read about it here).

Before Mental Notes came along, The Beginning of the Enz album celebrates those early singles and tentative steps (the demos of some early songs). In many ways this is my favourite period - it seemed like no one outside of Mt Albert Grammar School in 1973 was talking about Split Ends apart from me and my mates. They were our secret band! When Mike gave me a copy of their single I was made up. 

Looking at the clip now it seems very innocuous but in the early 70s it was revolutionary in NZ to see a scruffy bunch of university students singing 129 on the telly.  

That single is among the songs chosen for this compilation - 129 and the Sweet Talkin' Spoon Song. Both extraordinary. The rest of the album is a testament to their early brilliance - like nothing else we'd heard in NZ.

That feeling would continue for Mental Notes in 1975. I really think highly of all but one song on this classic, iconic kiwi album (that one song, in case you were wondering, is So Long For Now - not a bad song by any means but for me, the weakest song on the album).

I confess that I did not get Mental Notes immediately - mainly because it seemed so different to that poppy single. It was weirdly art rockish, almost goth, with dark, doomy and dense overtones to my Led Zep/Deep Purple stained ears. So, I was suspicious of Mental Notes for quite a while, but I backtracked to it eventually. 

It's lovable because it's a one-off - a unique moment in their evolution. They'd return quickly to the poptastic sounds with the next albums - post Judd. Mental Notes feels like Phil Judd's particular set of visions - he dominates. For me it has special resonance because of the reliance on dreamscapes, Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast trilogy and a surreal Alice in Wonderland feel. The heavy themes of fear and childhood traumas are unusual in their canon, and they add layers of depth that Tim et al were unwilling or unable to return to after Judd left.

IMHO the album as a whole is their Sgt. Peppers. I think that was deliberate on their part as there are quite a few parallels: the rabid progressive Beatle-ish experimentation after a poptastic start to their career; the use of sound effects to link some tracks or the close segue into the next song makes it all feel linked; the conceptual overview (mental notes and the torture of relationships). Children/parents feature a lot - and there are a lot of missing people in these songs. BTW I like the ambiguity of both words - mental as in inside the head and the crazy connotation plus note - musical and written. Other similariyies are the repetition of the phrase mental notes in the run out groove and Spellbound's similarity to A Day in the Life as the penultimate song before the run-out groove. Plus, each album seems like the band's definitive statement.

My fav songs have changed over the years. Early on - as in the eighties/nineties, it was the longer more proggy kitchen sink songs - Stranger Than Fiction, Under the Wheel and Spellbound, but in the latter years my two clear favourites are the shorter and poppier Maybe and Titus. I tend to think of those two songs together actually as they complement each other so well.

Titus is an amazing song by Phil Judd - the one time on the album that he briefly lets the artiface slip and his soul is laid bare for a split (enz) second - when are you coming back to me? - before the self-deprecating 'babe' tries to recapture the nonchalance. Heart-breaking. 

I love the surreal lyrics he creates on this song and the brilliant interplay between Tim and him - perfect foils for each other at this point. It also has that early classic mandolin sound that I really really love. Spine-tingling this song - genius and pain etched in the killing me/lying to me refrain! Btw Titus seems to be referencing Mervyn Peake's gothic novels - Titus Groan, Gormenghast, and Titus Alone. Wonderful novels that I read as a teenager. Titus as a character doesn't appear in the song though, I don't think.

Musically, I especially like the drumming, the mellotron provides a great soundscape and the Pink Floyd style special effects. Sparse guitaring in these songs - seems Eddie provides the keyboard riffs a lot of the time, but highly effective when it comes in. The twists and turns in the songs - time and space - I really love. But then I'm a big fan of prog rock. It's so much of its time - lightning in a bottle. 

The UK version of Mental Notes on Chrysalis is a mix of early stuff with selected tracks of the original Mental Notes. It's cool to have but it's a curiosity.

If push comes to shove Dizrythmia is my favourite Split Enz album. Always has been. 

Ironically, after Phil Judd and Mike Chunn left the band (both had commercial hits later with The Swingers and Citizen Band respectively) they returned to the commercial mothership with their next single - My Mistake. Cor! What a song! They followed that up with another brilliant single - Bold As Brass. These were big hits in NZ and I was hooked, again.

Those late seventies days were heady ones for me: going to Auckland University, meeting new people, living a self-indulgent lifestyle that was so carefree in so many ways. Split Enz as they now called themselves were a real part of that. Both in concert and on record.

I saw a few of their late seventies Auckland shows - most notably at the Auckland Town Hall and His Majesty's Theatre, that one in the company of the brothers Knowles. I remember the Town Hall one because The Swingers were the support and they were deafeningly loud. It was a really unpleasant experience for me and my date (Phyllis Omand). The Enz sound was much better but it's the His Majesty's one that I remember best of those Dizrythmia centred gigs. The venue was great and we had superb views. It is a very cherished memory of a band at their peak (in my opinion) and a great, iconic, venue (His Majesty's was demolished in the late eighties).

But, here we are in 2025. Older, more knowledgeable, and definitely wiser. Unlike my buddies, I much prefer a live album to a live in person experience; especially these days. And a vinyl record remains the best of all. I listened to this album four times during the week and the vinyl version sounded much better than the Spotify experience.

Back in '77 I knew very little about the inner dynamics of the band - i.e. why Phil Judd, Mike Chunn and Emlyn Crowther left and were replaced by Neil Finn, Nigel Griggs and Malcolm Green. Without the internet, a celebrity culture, and with Rip It Up just starting out - I was in the dark about how much of the album reflected the tensions between Phil and Tim.

Now, of course, we have the benefit of hindsight, the internet, and completist collectors (it seems Kevy is by no means alone in his collecting approach to Split Enz). So, we now know much more.

Which brings me to Dizrythmia. I hadn't heard it for years, so - here we go - a fresh listen in 2025!

The album title is interesting - Kevy says the 'z' is a nod to Nu Zild and I'm happy to believe him. The absence of an 'h' is more problematic though. Presumably they named the record after the medical condition (an abnormal heartbeat) because the beats are irregular - i.e. not the usual. So, the name signals something bizarre, off-kilter and unusual is coming (in sympathy with their hair, clothes, and style of music).

The cover is also fractured, disjointed and unusual. Each of the seven members is seen separately and each comes with their upside down near reflection. Things ain't what they used to be (the Mental Notes cover has a group portrait).

The schism between Phil and Tim becomes the focus for many of the album's best songs, mostly from Tim's p.o.v. as he's the main lyricist (and lead singer throughout). It's a chance for Tim to start over again but he clearly misses his creative foil: First song, Bold As Brass, presents Tim's mission statement -Standing fast as bold as brass/ Holding on until the last/ Call the tune and play it all day long/ There's a song that's just begun/ Strikes a chord in everyone/ It's the decent thing to do your best.

In My Mistake Tim wishes Phil well, even though he misses him - When all I needed was a friend/ To make me stop and think again/ To pull me up and pull me through/ Tally ho, your health my dear.

Maybe the duality is best summed up in Without A Doubt (my favourite song on Dizrythmia) - When you have yourself a friend/ Then you have yourself a foe/ My right to defend, yours to scatter with one blow, and in Crosswords - We're still friends but we're still fighting.

Musically this may be the bravest Split Enz album. It often seems the band dares to be different at every opportunity and those songs where they chanced their arm are terrific. The most straightforward pop song is Nice To Know and it's probably the weakest one (still great, but the rest is outstanding in a next level way).

Apart from Tim's superb vocals (he really does a terrific job as leader as well - tally ho!), special mentions to Eddie who emerges as a star turn, Rob Gillies who adds some spectacularly skonky sax, and Neil who doesn't have a huge role, but he never wastes a chance, or a note. His stabbing guitar riffs on Nice To Know are brilliant touches.

They are all ably supported in their endeavours by Geoff Emerick. He of course worked as an engineer on Beatles records and George Martin credited him with bringing "a new kind of mind to the recordings, always suggesting sonic ideas, different kinds of reverb, what we could do with the voices".

The final song, Jamboree, is the closest song to the art-rock of Mental Notes (Mike Chunn and Phil Judd are listed among the composers, so it was probably a song that was left off MN). It was one of my favourites back in the seventies, mainly for their spirited performance on stage - Neil and Tim's weird dancing to it and larking about on stage. It ranks for me with Noel's spoons solo and Tim's bravura live version of Charley. I was spellbound!

So, there we have it (and I haven't even focused on fan favourite - Charley) - Dizrythmia is a great snapshot in time. A time of inner changes to the Split Enz fabric, but they emerge triumphant, ready to set off on Tim's endless quest: it's the decent thing to do your best. I love that rallying cry.

I can't fault this album. A five-star classic, a national treasure, and part of our national DNA.

Frenzy returned to a Mental Notes style cover - a painting of the new look Enz against an iconic Nu Zild landscape of sheep, cabbage trees and a tin shed. The band are seen as ordinary kiwi blokes against that background - something they are and they aren't.

The poppier music was a bit of a let down after the excesses of Dizrythmia with Neil starting to exercise his presence, albeit tentatively, with two lead vocals. The production by Mallory Earl and mix feels flat to my ears. I have two initial Aussie pressings so my copies don't include I See Red, added for subsequent editions of Frenzy. 

Everything about Frenzy feels transitional to me: the cover's focus away from the bizarre costuming; Neil's emergence; Eddie's keyboards; and the changing emphasis towards mainstream pop songs. At the time I really enjoyed the album, but it hasn't aged particularly well.

What were they transitioning towards? True Colours. It became their big seller thanks to the big pop single - I Got You. I have two copies - a special laser disc edition (1979) and the recent reissue in 2020 with Eddie tinkering with the sound to update it (I can't tell the difference).

Where Frenzy felt slightly flat, True Colours, produced by David Tickle, pops and leaps off the turntable. The big hit is not out of place here with some other great Enz songs coming to the party: Shark Attack; Poor Boy; I Hope I Never being particular favourites.

Waiata was next and again there were some smash hits on it: One Step Ahead and History Never Repeats were another couple of Neil Finn songs that propelled the album to success. The only problem was that there were other songs on the album that were in the nice but forgettable category. Given the huge success of True Colours, Waiata was a bit of a letdown. It proved a hard act to follow, as the band indicated on side 1, track 1.

Time and Tide was their seventh studio album. It has three great songs - Dirty Creature, Six Months in a Leaky Boat and Haul Away and a lot of other songs. Neil's contributions are not particularly strong for this outing except for the catchy Hello Sandy Allen. I'm swimming against the tide (see what I did there?) with my rating for this one and their next.

I much prefer Conflicting Emotions. Apparently, the band cite this album and the creative time making it as the beginning of the enz (okay - I'll stop it now) but I don't hear it. Instead, I hear a great cohesive album.

Their ninth and final studio album is See Ya 'Round from 1984. Tim had gapped it to continue his solo career, leaving Neil to shoulder the responsibility of producing a Split Enz album. It's Split Enz, so it's not a bad album - I Walk Away is a lovely song and was a deserved hit in Nu Zild. That said it doesn't compare well to their seventies glory years.

Where do they all belong? Apart from a couple of compilations - that's it for this iconic, legendary band. I don't own any live albums and I should so I'll look out for them.

Staring at the embers (Tim Finn) (LP 768 -769)

Tim Finn  Escapade (Vinyl, Mushroom Records, 1983) ***

Tim Finn  Big Canoe (Vinyl, Virgin Records, 1986) ***

Genre: NZ Music 

Places I remember: Vinyl Countdown

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Fraction Too Much Friction

Gear costume: Staring At The Embers 

Active compensatory factors: Escapade and Big Canoe are Tim's first two solo albums, made after leaving his group - Split Enz.

At the time - early to mid eighties I was overwise engaged, working and raising two children, so these albums weren't on my radar, even though they were big sellers in NZ. Fraction Too Much Friction was all over the radio!

It's only recently that I have rediscovered their 'charms'. Because it was the eighties and Tim was a hip young dude his early albums are awash in the production methods of the day, i.e. approach with caution.

Nevertheless, the man is a great NZ singer/song-writer and there are glimpses of his talent on these early solo albums. Hence the three star ratings.

Where do they all belong? Much more Tim Finn to come on CD.

Another night (Citizen Band) (LP 460)

Citizen Band C.B. Bootleg (Vinyl, CBS, 1980) *** 

Genre: NZ pop/rock

Places I remember: Slow Boat Records (Wellington)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: I Feel Good (no live version available on YouTube so enjoy the studio one again instead).

Gear costume:  Ladder Song, Julia  

Active compensatory factors: Has it really been 40 years? Seems like last week that me Kevy and Greg were going gaga over Mike and Geoff Chunn's next band after splitting from Split Enz.

They'd joined up with two others - Brent Eccles on drums and Greg Clark on lead guitar, both from Space Waltz, to produce Citizen Band. 

Two studio albums later and then this live album and that was that. 

Initially, I was disappointed when C.B. Bootleg came out. So much that I sold my copy (this is a replacement bought last year while on holiday in Wellington).

For a starter, the faux bootleg cover is a poor choice - it's been done to death and this one isn't a good example of the sub-genre.

As a live album, it just doesn't have the flow of a live concert. It feels disjointed and a little flat. Having relistened to it, I'm more inclined to its rocky charms. Ladder Song and especially I Feel Good get the juices flowing.

Where do they all belong? Moving to Australia wasn't a good idea (is it ever?), they weren't ours anymore, and then in 1982 it was all over Rover. 

Instead - return to that sublime debut album and dig that tex! 

I'm flying through space, I'm an asteroid (The Swingers) #394 - 395

The Swingers One Good Reason/ All Over Town (Ripper Records, RIP 002, 1980)
The Swingers Counting The Beat/ One Good Reason (Ripper Records, RIP 012, 1981)

Three posts in a row on kiwi rock! Nice.

Phil Judd is an interesting character to say the least. He was a founding member of NZ's favourite sons - Split Ends/Enz but finally left in 1978 after 6 years.

The Swingers existed for even less time, from 1979 to 1983. Life since then has been lived in Australia where he got into strife with the law in the late 2000s. A problematic private life has also been mixed in with infrequent musical adventures.

These two singles, however, contain his most poptastic work without a doubt. Weirdly (sensing a theme yet) they came about after Phil flirted with two of NZ's seminal punk bands - The Suburban Reptiles and The Enemy (with Chris Knox).

The man could write a catchy chorus that's fer sure. Gimmie one good reason not to love these singles or 5 6 7 8 9.

Hidden gems: The B side version of One Good Reason is a re-recorded one; I prefer the original spark on the earlier one. All Over Town is another ace slice of kiwi pop from Phil.

It's hard to stay one step ahead of you (Split Enz) #356-358

Split Enz One Step Ahead/ In The Wars (Polydor, POLY 100, 1980)
Split Enz History Never Repeats/ Holy Smoke (Polydor, POLY 110, 1980)
Split Enz I Don't Wanna Dance/ Shark Attack; What's the Matter With You (Polydor, POLY 113, 1981)


These singles trace Neil's increasing ability to stay one step ahead of brother Tim - both One Step Ahead and History Never Repeats are landmark songs in the Enz's catalogue and therefore in New Zealand music. 

Although neither single could break into the top spot on NZ charts they both sold well at the time, assisted by some cheap but clever MTV friendly videos.

One and History are both light years away from the Phil Judd years (although, with The Swingers, Phil would also move right away from his experimental SE years). Instead these are more mainstream pop songs.

Tim tries a bit too hard to be current with I Don't Wanna Dance and comes up short.

Hidden gems: Tim's In The Wars is spirited - a nice chorus, but wasn't considered strong enough for parent album Waiata. 

Neil's Holy Smoke is lively but also wasn't good enough to appear on Waiata.

Shark Attack and What's The Matter... are live versions. I saw the band live a number of times and their live excitement has never been communicated well onto live vinyl.

If there's a better way I'll learn it (Split Enz) #354-355

Split Enz I See Red/ Hermit McDermitt; Message Boy (Mushroom, K 7284, 1978)

Split Enz Things/ Semi Datached (sic) (Mushroom, K 7643, 1979)

To my mind there are distinct phases to the Split Ends/Enz story:

• Prologue - Split Ends release two singles and appear on New Faces
• Act 1 - Split Enz - Phil Judd and Tim Finn in control, Mike Chunn on board
• Act 2 - Tim Finn in control (Neil ascending)
• Act 3 - Neil in control (Tim descending, then no Tim)
• Epilogue - reformations

These two singles are firmly in the transitional zone into Act 2 with Tim in control and younger brother Neil finding his feet.

I See Red is a Tim song and is a frenzied blast of raw kiwi rock and roll. It works, spectacularly! A classic!

Things is a Neil song (although Tim and Neil sing great co lead vocals) and is catchy in a clever XTC pop way. Although undeniably catchy, it's still not quite firing on all cylinders. 

Neil was paying attention though as we'll see in the next post.

Hidden gems: The bizarre image years of weird haircuts, weird makeup, and weird clothes were becoming a thing of the past but Hermit and Message both have that kind of weird vocal quirkiness to them still.

Semi Detached (but spelled incorrectly on my copy) is a kind of Charlie or Stuff And Nonsense style ballad. For my money Tim nailed it more on those other two titles.  

Ah c'mon all you lads (Split Enz)

1. The Exponents – Like She Said (1994)/ Nameless Girl (1992)
2. Blerta - Dance All Around The World (1972)/ Joy Joy (1972)
3. Dragon – Young Years (1989)/ Rain (1984)
4. John Hanlon - Higher Trails (1975)/ Wind Songs (1975)
5. Crowded House - Private Universe (1994)/ Weather With You (1991)
6. Split Enz - Six Months In A Leaky Boat  (1982)/ Split Ends - One Two Nine (1973)

Sixth in the Wozza countdown of the 10 best Nu Zild bands and their two best songs is the mighty Split Ends who then became the even more mighty Split Enz.

One of the great things about NZ music is how accessible the bands are to the public at large.

My mate Greg wrote recently to tell me that he remembers hearing Dragon rehearsing from their house near his place in Mt Eden when he was a teenager. He also reminded me that people could book John Hanlon to appear in their living rooms with his guitar and voice.

The band who played at the Mt Albert Grammar school ball in 1976 was Th' Dudes - a great NZ band who may have made my top 10 (you'll have to wait and see). I remember the night well!

And then there was Split Ends, as they were called when they started out: a people's band if ever there was one. The Finn's of Te Awamutu - there you have it - as down home as you can get!


I have a single in my collection at home in Nu Zild that is very special to me. It is Split Ends One Two Nine on the EMI label. You'll notice it was the B side (to Sweet Talking Spoon Song, a good but to my ears, an inferior song to the wonderful One Two Nine).

It was given to me in 1973 by a school friend from Mt Albert Grammar - a fellow member of Senior Five - Michael Budd. I can remember the day he gave it me very clearly.

I was living with the rest of my family in Asquith Ave in Mt Albert at the time, close to another mate (Peter Cahill) while we were waiting for our new home in Mt Roskill to be built. I loved living so close to all my friends (Mike lived in Ponsonby) and so close to the school.

One day during the summer holidays Mike came round to our place in his little Morris Minor (called a Morrie Thousand or Morrie Thou' for short) after work. He was working at the local Heards’ sweet factory.

He had a pile of singles with him: One Two Nine by a group called Split Ends. Seems some members of the group were also working at the Heards factory - supplementing a non-existent income I guess - and they had given Mike some singles to give to his friends. I still have the copy he gave me as I mentioned.

This was fantastic because I knew the song from the TV show - a NZ Opportunity Knocks style show called New Faces. We all loved this show - an early precursor to the X Factor, Turkmenistan's Got Talent rubbish we have now.

At the time it was one of the rare chances we had to see some pop bands on TV. I can remember seeing bands like Split Ends and Space Waltz and solo artists like John Hanlon and Shona Laing from that show especially.



Regardless of my rose tinted memories, it’s a great great song – done in an endearingly flippant kind of tone. I can remember being slightly disappointed with their first album (Mental Notes) because it was much darker and dense in its sound compared to the fun One Two Nine.

Six Months… comes from a vastly different period for the band; much more straight forwardly poppy thanks to Nil Fun being a member (see my previous post for his adventures after the end of the Enz).

It’s probably become a larger than intended touchstone for ex-pats because of the New Zealand references (Aotearoa, rugged individual) and the succinct explanation for our country’s isolation (tyranny of distance).

I include it also to celebrate the patriotic feel that I always have when I live outside the country. Even when I visited NZ at Christmas I felt more positive about the place. Much more positive.

Here’s my top ten of NZ positivity

·         The music industry is fantastic.

·         Isolation can be a blessing.

·         Being laid back is better than over thinking things.

·         Pohutakawa blooms are amazing.

·         The All Blacks won the world cup.

·         The proximity of the sea and swimming beaches is a real plus.

·         The film industry is exciting.

·         JB Hi Fi has a great CD and DVD selection at reasonable prices.

·         My habibi and the immediate fandamly are (mostly) there.

·         And, of course, some of my favourite people are NZers.

Get her in the palm of your hand (10CC)

The final post on the musicians taking centre stage theme.and it's my favourite category - cartoon or drawn representations of the group.

One of my favourite top 5 covers of all time is the West Bruce & Laing cover to their second album. The music is sloppy and debached (and nowhere as good as their epic first album) and the cover is a perfect complement to that. I know the cover backwards because I have stared at it for hours.



The Rolling Stones - It's Only Rock'n'Roll