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Neil Finn

One All

One All Tracks
1. The Climber
2. Driving Me Mad
3. Hole In The Ice
4. Last To Know
5. Wherever You Are
6. Secret God
7. Lullaby Requiem
8. Human Kindness
9. Turn And Run
10. Anytime
11. Rest Of The Day Off
12. Into The Sunset
Neil Finn - One All
One All Review
The 12 tracks on One All proffer a more organic, rougher-hewn take on Neil Finn's solid classicism. While Crowded House's populist folk-pop tugged as many purse-strings as it did hearts, Finn's solo career has been characterized by nothing more strident than the soft shuffle of gentle understatement--as if the antipodean troubadour feared his former muse would be insulted by any attempts to out-pop the relentlessly tuneful House. Not that this follow-up to 1998's patchy solo debut, Try Whistling This, is in any way underwhelming. The swirling effects and treated guitars of "Rest of the Day Off" hint more at latter-day Split Enz and even, occasionally, Oasis, than Crowded House. Unfortunately, there is also a sense that the addition of such sonic accoutrements may be little more than a ham-fisted attempt to add techno-savvy flesh to basic, traditional bones--with "Hole in the Ice" and "Secret God" imbued with dubious guitar solos and irritatingly superfluous backing vocals (courtesy, bizarrely enough, of former Prince demoiselles Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman) that merely serve to detract from the music's warm-hearted core. Nevertheless, Finn's long-running lyrical concerns--love, loyalty, and, predominantly, self-doubt--have never been expressed more adroitly. --Sarah Dempster


Users's Reviews
Feel free to add your comments about One All
Neil Finn-Modern Day Legend
5
Nothing more to say. For those of us who know Mr. Finn's work, it is nothing short of amazing to have this man creating during my lifetime. For those unfamiliar with Neil Finn's long musical history, take a leap and experience what music is truly meant to be.
Posted by Anonymous, on 2005-08-15
Warm album; I like it better than Crowded House
4
More haunting tunes... And I can't believe his son's band, Bethchadupa, isn't mentioned in the Amazon suggestions. Check that one out, THE ALPHABETCHADUPA. Also the soundtrack to the movie RAIN, if you can get a copy. Father and son and some others give good stuff there.
Posted by Anonymous, on 2005-06-29
Zeigiest lyrics - a soundtrack to society and The Times...
5
Neil Mullane Finn is one of the best poetic lyric writers of our generation. His John Lennon like anthems are subliminal and Zeigiest. This album sees him returning to his Catholic guilt heritage. Songs like Secret God, Lullaby Requiem (a song about the death of his mother Mary Finn RIP) and Human Kindness are argubaly spiritiual songs. Where he was agnostic in prior album Try Whistling This and parts of One Nil (Don't Ask Why) this sees a rejuvenated and spirited return for Finn.

Human Kindness can also be a termed as anti or pro materialism/capiltilsm song, as is Rest Of The Day Off. The Climber is a tribute to the loneliness and maybe decay of western society : "besides me now are strangers to my eyes, MIGHT be getting CRAZY might be wise, were stranded either way, in such a lonely place". All in all a brillian opener to the album. Anytime is as existential song you can get - a song about feeling vulnerable to mortality and death.

I could talk forever about the impact of Mr Finn's lyrics on my life. He is the closest this agnostic can get to having a Bible. One All (11) and One Nil(10) the album titles - where did the titles come from? I have this crazy theory they are to do with the binary code of 1's and 0's for computers OR a blueprint on how to live life. Check out the Matrix and it opens with 1's and 0's in it's green computer screen. This is what you have and get here. An album that plunges the deep lyrical depths of contemoprary society.

Posted by Anonymous, on 2003-11-07