Search - Neil Finn :: One Nil

"Wherever you are" - Thank you Neil

Tom Donald | Australia - now living in the U.K | 11/01/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

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After four Crowded House albums producing a large songbook of classic songwriting, Neil Finn parted with his band to pursue a solo career. Since Crowded House, Finn has taken an even more personal and sensitive approach to his colourful songwriting. The first solo album "Try Whistling This" was a darker and more sombre alternative to Crowded House and "One Nil" (re-released in America as "One All") is without any exaggeration, probably one of the finest albums of the last 20 years or so.

I do not make such a statement without a number of reasons, and I'm certainly not measuring this albums sheer greatness by commercial success.

Craft, craft and craft, this album from the first moments to the close is an intensive marrying of lyrics, chords, melodies and unique instrumentations creating a complex and beautiful canvas of musical imagery. Neil's chord patterns are just as inventive as his attention grabbing metaphors. This album is filled with classic opening lines such as "Let's go climb up on the roof, in the twighlight" (Secret God), "There's a light overhead, overhead" (Turn and Run) "I've never been to heaven but it feels alright, and I woke up this morning with a permanant smile" (Don't Ask Why) or "Wherever you are, it's 3 am and I'm awake, imagine the light upon your blue transparent face", transparent indeed is a fine description of this album. The songs are 3 dimensional and like most of Neil's music they pull the heartstrings with their warmth of expression and evocative imagery without ever being sentimental. And that's a big plus, it means Neil can write a love song or two to his wife like "Turn and Run", or "Wherever you are" without a cheesy, soppy result!

This album has a very natural and organic feel; it's an uncanny pleasure hearing each song emerge. Through a simplistic chord progression and melody the music is filled with such colour, variety and a haunting energy, this is simply the work of a master songwriter who paints pictures with his voice and mould shapes with his chords.

When I say this is one of the finest albums around, I do acknowledge this albums sheer subtlety. It's not a spectacular concept production like Floyds "The Wall" or Queens "A Night at the Opera." But it doesn't need be - at all. Neil Finn matches Lennon and McCartney's finest songwriting days, and Finn at his finest (I dare say) defeats their post Beatles solo work. If not, Neil makes Noel Gallagher look like a teenager trying to write a song, he even makes the great Radiohead look like they are trying a bit too much to be progressive. Neil Finn doesn't need to try; his musical language speaks all for itself. I hope he will continue a steady stream of wonderful solo albums. This is his best work yet."

One Big Step Forward

gnagfloW | Rosa Barks | 05/21/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Although I seem to be in a minority, I felt that Finn's previous work before this release was a major letdown. That album, Try Whistling This, lacked worthwhile melodies and the production was surprisingly stale considering a Neil Finn project.



From that standpoint, I was not expecting too much from One Nil. Such fears were unwarranted because this is where he should have continued from Crowded House's Together Alone, their finest release IMHO. It was evident straight from the opening track, The Climber, that his originality and knack of writing melodic and yet warm tunes (even those organically produced) was back. Rest of the Day Off follows, giving the opening stages a splendid flow that remains mostly throughout the record.



The production is less dense than TWT and one senses that Neil has regained his confidence which probably took some beating during the final stages of Crowded House.



Highlights include Wherever You Are, Turn & Run (a duet with Sheryl Crow) and Into the Sunset. The only tracks not up to par are Don't Ask Why and Elastic Heart but those are in no way songs one reaches out for the remote for.



This album is definitely among Neil Finn's best work and hopefully a signal that TWT was only a minor sidestep of his consistency in producing among the best work in pop music in recent years and the future.



One last note, the US version, dubbed One All, is even better.

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