Following
on from the massive success of 2005's 'She Will Have Her Way: The Songs of Tim
& Neil Finn', now it's the men's turn to come out to play and pay homage to
the glory of the brothers Finn.
'He Will Have His Way: The
Songs of Tim & Neil Finn' is the male sequel to the critically-hailed female-voiced
album 'She Will Have Her Way', which was released in October 2005 and went on
to Triple Platinum sales in Australia and Double Platinum sales in New Zealand.
All up, 'She Will Have Her Way' is now nudging 300,000 sales, received ARIA nominations
and unanimous critical praise.
Like its popular predecessor,
'He Will Have His Way: The Songs of Tim & Neil Finn' brings together a diverse
collective of talent from Australia and the Finn brothers' homeland of New Zealand
to honour and celebrate these songwriting greats.
Musical legends
such as Paul Kelly, Jimmy Barnes, Paul Dempsey, Darren Hayes, Chris Cheney, former
members of Midnight Oil [in their new band The Break] and Empire Of The Sun's
Luke Steele [here fronting his original outfit, The Sleepy Jackson] share the
stage with popular contemporaries and newcomers such as Sydney acts Boy &
Bear, Art Vs Science, Philadelphia Grand Jury and Angus Stone [of Angus &
Julia Stone]; Melbourne artists Dan Sultan and Oh Mercy; Queenslanders Busby Marou;
and New Zealand's Artisan Guns and Kody Nielson.
Each artist
brings their unique musical perspective to reinterpreting a Finn classic, along
with the odd hidden gem from the brothers' extraordinary catalogue.
Some
have come to respectfully bow down to the originals, not wanting to mess with
perfection. Others have come to reinvent. Whatever their approach, the 16 acts
on 'He Will Have His Way: The Songs of Tim & Neil Finn' have brought their
own strong personality and voice to the universally acclaimed songs of Tim and
Neil Finn.
Among the rare musical moments presented on 'He
Will Have His Way: The Songs of Tim & Neil Finn', The Living End's Chris Cheney
makes a rare solo appearance, delivering an edgy take on "Distant Sun",
backed only by his electric guitar; Paul Kelly joins forces with Angus Stone to
offer a most delicate duet of "Four Seasons in One Day"; while the hypnotic
Dan Sultan fronts the normally instrumental surf outfit The Break for an appropriately
swampy take on "Shark Attack".
Elsewhere, Jimmy Barnes
rocks up "Message To My Girl", Darren Hayes croons "Not Even Close",
Art Vs Science goes psycho on "I See Red", while Glenn Richards of Augie
March has a party all on his own with his surprising choice of "She Got Body,
She Got Soul" [Tim Finn's showstopper from the soundtrack of the classic
1982 Aussie film Star Struck and the Split Enz album Frenzy].
Nowhere
is the spectrum of the varying musical approaches more evident than in the two
versions presented here of the Crowded House ballad, "Better Be Home Soon".
While Busby Marou tackle the song with a very traditional approach, accenting
the track's Irish folk roots, Luke Steele's The Sleepy Jackson delivers an unexpectedly
bent electronic interpretation of the same song.
As both Luke
Steele and Darren Hayes point out in the new album's liner notes, there is something
special in the Finns' DNA. Whatever it is, it has got under the skin of literally
millions of people right around the world, especially in Australia and New Zealand,
making a very deep and real connection now spanning four decades.
The
Finns' music continues to affect people from all generations. This was evidenced
on She Will Have Her Way and is what primarily led Executive Producers John O'Donnell
and Craig Hawker to decide to re-visit and re-engineer the concept with a male
skew.
From the cerebral to the surreal, the delicate to the
chaotic, the jovial to the soulfully tortured, the artistry of the Finn brothers'
work shines through in each of these 16 re-imagined versions of classic cuts from
their incomparable song catalogue, all recorded exclusively for inclusion on 'He
Will Have His Way: The Songs of Tim & Neil Finn'.
HE
WILL HAVE HIS WAY: THE SONGS OF TIM & NEIL FINN
1.
"I Feel Possessed" - Oh Mercy
2. "Distant Sun" - Chris
Cheney
3. "Fall At Your Feet" - Boy & Bear
4. "Four
Seasons in One Day" - Paul Kelly & Angus Stone
5. "She Got Body,
She Got Soul" - Glenn Richards
6. "Addicted" - Paul Dempsey
7. "Message To My Girl" - Jimmy Barnes
8. "I See Red"
- Art Vs Science
9. "I Got You" - Philadelphia Grand Jury
10.
"Better Be Home Soon" - The Sleepy Jackson
11. "Private Universe"
- Artisan Guns
12. "Not Even Close" - Darren Hayes
13. "Shark
Attack" - The Break with Dan Sultan
14. "Poor Boy" - Perry
Keyes
15. "Better Be Home Soon" - Busby Marou
16. "Kiss
The Road To Rarotonga" - Kody Nielson
17. "Angels Heap" - Perry
Keyes [Bonus Track for iTunes]
'He Will Have His Way: The
Songs of Tim & Neil Finn' is available now.
