Search - Various Artists :: She Will Have Her Way: Songs of Tim & Neil

Cripes! Good idea but ruined by a couple of the girls

Steven Guy | Croydon, South Australia | 05/29/2006

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Potentially, this is a great idea - a group of women interpreting Split Enz and Crowded House songs. It should have worked and been a magnificent and thoughtful album. And yet.... it isn't.

The women who sing on this album are merely "going through the motions" and in some cases, they seem to be passing motions! (see Kasey Chamber and Little Birdie) The songs are performed in ways which reduce them to fashion store jingles and "filler". Kasey Chambers' rendition of "You Better Be Home Soon" is, as always, execrable and her abrasive, coarse and amateurish voice, complete with a faux American accent, is the kiss of death to this song. Little Birdie is just as bad and one feels like reaching for the air-rifle when hearing her on this disc. Her "Six Months In a Leaky Boat" makes one wish that the holes had only been a little bigger and the boat had been scuttled at sea.



The other interpreters have all done better work elsewhere and, if anything, all this disc proves is that many of these songs haven't travelled as well as one would have otherwise thought.



Am I the only person in the world who thought that Crowded House was dull? Split Enz were gods, but only before Neil Finn turned them into AOR fluff!



"

Not Since "The Sundays..."

Flyboy | USA | 03/26/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Not since The Sundays "Reading, Writing and Arithmetic"! An absolutely wonderful collection of truly fine songs. Please, please give it more than a casual listen to, once through. If you are not captivated by the third play, you can always go back to American radio."

SEX CHANGES DOWN UNDER

Alan Dorfman | DELRAY BEACH, FL United States | 03/15/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Brothers Tim and Neil Finn individually, collectively and as leaders of their own bands (Tim - Split Enz, Neil - Crowded House) have arguably accumulated one of the top catalogs of songs in Australian music. This CD takes the cream of this catalog and puts it in the mouths of some of the top female singer/songwriters and female fronted bands of Australia and New Zealand. Few of the names will ring any bells to statesiders besides Natalie Imbruglia and, for some, Kasey Chambers and Sara Storer. But don't don't let lack of familiarity with the artists deter you.



The concept almost works. While no indivdual song is bad there is an ongoing sense of being overly respectful as if these songs were museum pieces. Very few of the artists seem to be willing to put their own stamp on the songs. The winner in this derby is Sarah Blasko who takes the wistfull "Don't Dream It's Over" and makes it almost funereal, complete with choir. Kasey Chambers turns "Better Be Home Soon" into a country lullabye and New Buffalo scores strongly with an updated "Four Seasons In One Day." You will remember this CD fondly because it saves the best for last, finally fulfilling its potential with the last three covers, Natalie Imbruglia's "Pineapple Head," "Stellar's "Persuasion" and Sophie Koh's rousing "Wake Up Charlie" which would have made more sense kickstarting the CD as the first song rather than finishing it.



And then, when you're done listening to these ladies, you can slip CD2 into your player and listen to the originals and make your own judgments.

"