Solid gold (Fanny) (LP 2512 - 2513)

Fanny  Mothers Pride (Vinyl, Reprise Records, 1973) ***

Fanny  Rock And Roll Survivors (Vinyl, Casablanca Records, 1974) ***

Genre: pop, rock

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Beside Yourself (Mothers Pride)

Gear costume:  Butter Boy (Rock And Roll Survivors)

Active compensatory factors: Back in the day, all women rock band, Fanny, were a favourite of mine because of their covers of Beatles' song Hey Bulldog, and Cream's Badge. Those are on the earlier albums (Fanny, Charity Ball) which I sold*. Doh!

Mothers Pride (no apostrophe from these rebels) was produced in overly exuberate fashion by Todd Rundgren (worst offender is I Need You Need Me). It's better when he scales back on the histrionics for Polecat Blues and Beside Myself. The off key singing on Solid Gold by drummer Alice de Buhr isn't fun.

She and guitarist June Millington left the band for Rock And Roll Survivors (Brie Howard and Patti Quatro joined). It sounds more polished and commercial (very Casablanca in other words) and is therefore missing the rawness of those first two albums.

Where do they all belong? *I used to have these but I sold them all off many years ago. Dumb. Now I'm trying to collect the first two again.

Love is emotional (Neil Finn) (LP 2508 - 2511)

Neil Finn  Out Of Silence (CD, Lester Records, 2017) ****  

Finn Brothers  Finn (CD, Parlophone Records, 1995) ****  

Finn Brothers  Everyone Is Here (CD, Parlophone Records, 2004) ****  

Neil & Liam Finn  Lightsleeper (CD, Lester Records, 2018) ****   

Genre: NZ music, pop

Places I remember: JB Hi Fi, Real Groovy Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Suffer Never (Finn Brothers)

Gear costume: Angel's Heap (Finn Brothers); Disembodied Voices (Everyone Is here)

Active compensatory factors: I am sadly lacking in Neil's solo albums. Instead, I have loads of other albums he's been a collaborator on, like 7 Worlds Collide, Crowded House, Split Enz of course, Finn Brothers with Tim, and with his son Liam.

Why is this? Not sure is the short reply. I love what he does: his singing, his songs, and his approach. Somehow, I haven't become a Neil Finn completist I guess.

The one solo album I do have, from 2018, is excellent. Sharon, Elroy, and Tim all appear on it. The harmonies on these well-crafted songs are a real stand out.

The two Finn Brothers albums are terrific. Their voices together are special and their brotherly bond shines forth throughout (the photos in the CD booklet are great - big brother Tim and the precocious talent of Neil on display).

Highlights aplenty on those two albums. I particularly like the range of styles and approaches over them. Overall, Everyone Is Here is a rockier effort than the first album (albeit with the Split Enz crew's Edible Flowers providing Tim with his sombre, somewhat bitter, moment).

For the moment, that just leaves his collaboration with son Liam, on Lightsleeper. 

Obviously the father son dynamic is a crucial one, but the Finn family all appear on this album as well - Sharon and Elroy are clearly an important part of the process as well as Neil and Liam. Harper, Elliot and Devo Finn get spots and Mick Fleetwood also makes an appearance.

But it's clear that the two main drivers are Liam and Neil. I love the way songs unfold gradually on this album. It feels utterly current too. I play it a lot!

Where do they all belong? There will be more to come. He's a favourite son of Nu Zild, and an artist I greatly admire. I even sat a few rows back from him at a Paul McCartney gig, so I feel connected. More to come from Neil with Tim's solo output and the Enz.

Little by little (7 Worlds Collide) (LP 2506 - 2507)

Neil Finn & Friends  7 Worlds Collide: Live At The St. James (CD, Parlophone Records, 2001) ****  

7 Worlds Collide   The Sun Came Out (CD, Oxfam Records, 2009) ****  

Genre: pop, rock, NZ music 

Places I remember: Oxfam charity shop (Caterham)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: There Is A Light That Never Goes Out (Neil on lead vocal)

Gear costume: All Comedians Suffer; Too Blue (The Sun Came Out)

Active compensatory factors: Before I launch into Neil Finn's solo career, a brief stop off for his supergroup from 2001 and 2009.

It started with the live album, made up of five shows at The St. James in Auckland. The friends joining Finn family members (Tim and Liam) are Eddie Vedder, members of Radiohead, Lisa Germano, and Johnny Marr.

It's a really cohesive, well-rehearsed set but still has that casual NZ brilliance that Neil brings to his projects. It all seems effortless, which of course means a lot of thought and work has gone into it.

Highlights aplenty from Eddie, Neil, Tim, and Betchadupa.

The Sun Came Out is a studio album featuring many of the same people from 2001 but with a few more NZ musicians contributing this time - Bic Runga, Sharon and Elroy Finn, Don McGlashan, plus members of Wilco.

It's bright and bubbly with a variety of different approaches and voices. Johnny Marr and the Wilco boys provide some of the best moments and Neil is a generous and democratic host.

As it's a double CD it's hard to maintain the quality but it doesn't often flag, and there's always another lovely song coming up. An underappreciated gem, I think.

Where do they all belong? That's it so far for 7 Worlds Collide. Next up - Nil Fun's solo albums.

Something familiar (Field Music) (LP 2504 - 2505)

Field Music  Field Music (CD, Memphis Industries Records, 2005) ****  

Field Music  Field Music (Measure) (CD, Memphis Industries Records, 2009) ***  

Genre: Alt pop 

Places I remember: Shona Walding collection; Marbecks Records  

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Something Familiar (Measure)

Gear costume: If Only The Moon Were Up (Field Music)

Active compensatory factors: I read a review of Measure in Mojo magazine and was intrigued enough to buy a copy. I like it but it's a loooooong album.

The bits I like the most are when they are channeling classic pop bands and sounds, like The Beach Boys, Steely Dan, and The Beatles.

The band is principally two brothers - Peter and David Brewis from Sunderland.

Their first album, which I inherited from Shona Walding's collection is the better of the two in my opinion.

It's briefer and to the point, and those influences are front and centre.

Where do they all belong? An interesting corner of the collection.

Wandering eye (Fat Freddy's Drop) (LP 2499 - 2503)

Fat Freddy's Drop  Live At The Matterhorn  (CD, The Drop Records, 2001) *** 

Fat Freddy's Drop  Based On A True Story  (CD, The Drop Records, 2005) ***  

Fat Freddy's Drop  Dr Boondigga And The Big BW  (CD, The Drop Records, 2009) **** 

Fat Freddy's Drop  Blackbird  (CD, The Drop Records, 2013) **** 

Fat Freddy's Drop  Special Edition Part 1  (CD, The Drop Records, 2019) ****  

Genre: NZ music, reggae, jazz, funk, dub

Places I remember: Slow Boat Records, Samantha Purdy, JB Hi Fi, Real Groovy Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: The Nod (Dr Boondigga)

Gear costume: Bounce (Live); Silver And Gold (Blackbird)

Active compensatory factors: Fat Freddy's Drop is a hard to categorise seven-piece NZ band from Wellington. Their first album was recorded live at a club in Cuba Street, Wellington (Slow Boat Records is just up the Cuba Mall). You can't get more Wellington than that! 

It only has four songs but the CD is 70 minutes long! The guys like to stretch out! What you get are deep grooves with trumpet and sax used as lead instruments with guitar and keyboards adding the groove.

Repetition is the name of the game for Fat Freddy's Drop. That means not only the groove but lyrics as well. On top of that comes lengthy improvisation. I'm a big fan, having been introduced to the band by one of my daughters (she left Boondigga behind when she left home).

It's hard to beat that first impression, so this is my go-to album and the one I promote to friends and family in the UK. It's unhurried but still well constructed and executed.

Blackbird is also a terrific example of the band at their peak. The dub influence is still very much in evidence. It's a harder sound than Dr Boondigga but great summer weather music. It also includes the single Silver And Gold - a clear standout in their catalogue.

Special Edition Part 1 came out in 2019 (there is no Part 2 as yet - maybe there won't be). The music is a little more keyboard driven (think electronica) these days which is cool with me. The reggae influence is still very prevalent though, as are the horns.

It's pretty amazing how they manage to evolve but keep true to their jam band origins.

Where do they all belong? A couple for me to catch up with - including Bays, a studio album from 2015.

Why d'ya do it (Marianne Faithfull) (LP 2497 - 2498)

Marianne Faithfull  Broken English (CD, Island Records, 1979) *****  

Marianne Faithfull  Blazing Away (CD, Island Records, 1990) **** 

Genre: Pop/ rock 

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records; Shona Walding collection.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Why D'ya Do It

Gear costume: Working Class Hero 

Active compensatory factors: Marianne Faithfull has generated a lot of publicity in her lifetime. If you google her name you're immediately given her relationship with Mick Jagger to peruse, but her extraordinary life is so much more than that short alliance. Her two autobiographies that I've read (Faithfull, Memories Dreams and Reflections) are harrowing documents.

Musically, she is very prolific, having started her recording career in 1964, and she's still active in the 2020's. Like Keith Richards, it's pretty amazing that she's still alive.

Broken English was an unlikely triumph for her in 1979. Her voice had undergone a radical transformation thanks to health issues, drugs and her lifestyle.

The new-wave, punkish rock of Broken English was also a radical departure and revelation after the whimsical folk stylings she had been releasing.

The sound is tough and uncompromising to a scary degree. Not for the faint-hearted this one.

Blazing Away is an excellent live album from 1990 and so forms a bit of a career summary with songs from 1964 onwards. As she says in her liner notes: here is my life story on tape.

Broken English songs are scattered throughout, of course. They stand out!

Where do they all belong? I've tried other albums by her but they don't have the extraordinary heft of Broken English.

New frontier (Donald Fagen) (LP 2496)

Donald Fagen  The Nightfly (CD, Warner Bros Records, 1982) ****  

Genre: pop/ rock

Places I remember: Roger Marbeck gave me this one.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: New Frontier

Gear costume: Ruby Baby

Active compensatory factors: I enjoy, without absolutely loving, this debut solo album from one half of Steely Dan.

It's familiar territory, and that's down to Fagen and all the musicians he used in Steely Dan albums as well. Although, having said that, the songs are quite autobiographical compared to his work with Steely Dan and it's a lot jazzier in style as well. Walk Between Raindrops is a good example as it trips along on jazzy organ lines from Donald.

New Frontier was my entry to the album, thanks to the wonderful video that was on all of the music video shows that were a big deal back in 1982. Weird how short lived they all were. YouTube killed them all off.

Bottom line: it's just not an album I have a hankering to come back and listen to that often, unlike Steely Dan albums. I'm not sure why that is.

Where do they all belong? A lot more Fagen to come when we eventually get to S.