Neil Finn - One All
|
Our Price: $27.66 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.88 (click here) Category: Music CD See more new music releases 
|
|---|
Canadian Music Store
Free Music Notes for One All
Free Music Review: just buy it
Hit: 5 Stars
This disc has been in the player for about a year. We bought it at the Neil Finn show in San Diego last February and have not stopped listening to it since. Neil Finn is a very talented artist.Free Music Review: he is a genius.
Hit: 5 Stars
He did stand aloof from Beatles!Free Music Review: It Grew on this Neail Finn Fan...
Hit: 4 Stars
(Reviewing One Nil, very similar Import release))Well, I am by no means a verbose, seasoned music critic, but I am a huge Neil Finn fan. We're talking in line for the shows before the president of the local fan clubs show up. *grin* And honestly, I definitely prefer Try Whistling This over this latest album. Try Whistling This (first solo album after Crowded House) grabbed me immediately. Of course, I am a woman who responds emotionally to Neil's heart-squeezing-but-with-a-sharp-edge ballads, and TWT has some of his best ever, even rivaling some of my favorite Crowded House tunes like "Into Temptation", "Better Be Home Soon" (Temple of Low Men), "Fall at Your Feet", "Four Seasons in One Day" (Woodface), "Together Alone" (title track) and so on.
So this album comes, and it is riding the line between pop-y and I-don't-know-what. Love Sheryl Crow's back-up vocals, as well as Sharon Finn's cameos throughout. But it doesn't immediately make me a happy camper. It took a few plays before the songs grew on me, and even then, some songs are just...ho hum, waiting for the next tune. And that is from someone who can't get enough Neil.
SO, that said, of COURSE I want everyone to still buy it. If you don't buy it, then the American record labels that were so slow to pick up this album will be even slower the next time Neil's talents come down the pike. And I haven't seen Neil in concert for years. Where will that leave me?! *whine*
Honestly, though. For those who are fans of Neil, you will want to add this album to your collection. Yes, One All, even though it is similar to One Nil, has a couple remixes that I can attest to being even better than the import release. For those of you who don't know Neil and what to get to know him, I can't say that this album is his best work, but you won't be comparing this album to his other work, so independently it may be a work of sheer genius as the last reviewer implied. Either way, you really can't go wrong buying anything Neil has put his hands to. He is an amazing songwriter, lyricist, and singer. Don't miss him any chance you get. You know I won't!
Free Music Review: One for all...
Hit: 4 Stars
It's a pity that it took over a year to get this released in the US. One All (aka One Nil down under)is an intelligent, well crafted set of songs. It's certainly no accident that Neil Finn has excelled at writing material like this. While it sounds worlds away from the quirkier arrangements of Split Endz, One All would have fit in very well with the Crowded House catalog.So what's the difference between One All and One Nil? One All actually sounds more consistent. The two new songs are a mixed bag. Lullaby Requiem is certainly well crafted but the chorus puts it a bit over the top while Human Kindness stands as one of Finn's best ballads. THe album feels more complete with these although adding them (Vs. subtracting the two tracks Don't Ask Why and Elastic Heart are both admirable efforts equal to anything else here. It seems that Finn and Netwerk should have enhanced the original experience by including them as bonus tracks.
The four remixed tracks vary in quality. There's not a huge improvement although all seem a little slicker and more streamlined. One All certainly has an advantage over the earlier edition but is it worth paying the extra money for? If you've already purchased One Nil it all depends on how big a fan of Finn you are. Are the new tracks essential? Probably not but most fans will want them anyway.
Although not as experimental as Try Whistling This, One All has it's moments that equal (and in some cases surpass) his debut solo album. Now that this has finally been released in the US, we'll be able to see Finn tour America again. Although not quite up to the stanard of his best two Crowded House albums (Woodface and the darker, subtle Together Alone), One All is every bit the equal of the CH debut album and (the criminally underrated) Temple Of Low Men.
If you're a fan of XTC, The Beatles or Eels, you'll enjoy this finely crafted work. The melodies are rich, the lyrics thoughtful and well written and the performances are all outstanding.
Free Music Review: For Fin's Fans
Hit: 4 Stars
Neil Finn, the mastermind behind the late, lamented Crowded House, has again delivered an engaging, animated collection of tunes. No matter what you think of Neil's efforts, there is no denying he is a great and prolific song writer."One All"---which is a remixed and reworked version of the more cleverly named import One Nil---features Neil's trademark vocals and arrangements interspersed with some odd, even jolting, contributions from his sidewomen, Lisa and Wendy who are best known for keeping Prince in check with their great bass and drum work on Purple Rain. But the best tracks, in opinion, are those where Sheryl Crow melds her vocal with Neil's. Driving Me Mad is one of those songs that keeps haunting you hours after you have heard this CD. Another one that will haunt you is "Anytime."
Though I prefer the earlier "Try Whistling This" just a bit to this CD---in part because some of the innovations there seem less obtrusive than they do here---"One All" is sure to make my favorites list for this year.
I'm not sure if this CD will make many converts but it will surely satisfy the legions of Neil Finn/Crowded House/Split Enz fans around the globe. And the fact that Neil gets nil play on American radio further underscores just how moribund and stale a state the music industry here has lapsed into.