Those of you who know me are aware of the fact that I consider the Finn brothers two of the best songwriters ever after Lennon/McCartney. When Split Enz broke up, brother Tim took off on his own and Neil formed Crowded House, and for ten years or so, basically ruled the world outside of the U.S. Sure, they had a couple of top 10 hits you all know, but each of their four albums was chocked full of "intellipop", much too smart for American radio music directors. Damn shame. Another ten years go by and Neil decides to reform the band, releasing the live swan song concert from the 90's (I don't think it ever came out here but it charted wherever it was issued) and now this second studio album, "Intriguer." It doesn't have a clear cut radio-friendly hit, but an adventurous programmer could pick any of the ten songs and be an influence in creating a hit. Complex yet melodic, lyrically stimulating, beautiful instrumentation and expert production...yep, I love it, can you tell? Featuring many of the family and friends who participated in the Seven Worlds Collide project, this is a pop masterpiece that won't go completely unnoticed thanks to a Top 50 showing in Billboard and a US tour featuring at least half the album. You can purchase this record in a number of formats and from plenty of locations. I now wish I had known there was a DVD with 11 live tracks also available. Oh well, I'll find it somewhere.
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