Neil Finn's First "7 Worlds Collide" Project in 2001

Neil Finn is the legendary singer/songwriter who has made a lot of great music with Split Enz, fronting Crowded House, and on his own excellent solo albums. This past winter, he again brought together a large group of musicians, including members of Radiohead and Wilco, to play a series of shows in his native New Zealand. This time, the group took the band name of 7 Worlds Collide and recorded a double album of new songs, Sun Came Out. There will be a post on this blog next week about this album, (I have to listen to it first!) but in the meantime, you can order it here.

Before that, I thought it would be a good idea to look back at Neil Finn's first "7 Worlds Collide" project in 2001. Neil put together a great group of musicians, including:

Tim Finn, his brother and collaborator in Split Enz, Crowded House, and Finn Brothers
Johnny Marr, guitarist and songwriter for The Smiths
Eddie Vedder, lead singer of Pearl Jam
Lisa Germano, a solo artist & former violinist for John Mellencamp
Ed Obrien, guitarist in Radiohead
Phil Selway, drummer in Radiohead
Sebastian Steinberg, bassist in Soul Coughing

The musicians rehearsed for a few weeks before playing a week's worth of shows in New Zealand. The final concert in Aukland was recorded for the DVD and CD release Neil Finn and Friends - 7 Worlds Collide: Live at St. James.

In this first video, Neil explains the process of putting everything together before the band opens the final show with the Crowded House classic "Fall at Your Feet."



Along with Neil's own songs, the band played music from each other's careers. One of the highlights was Neil singing lead on the Smiths' song "There is a Light That Never Goes Out." This video is followed by the mp3 from the live album.



Neil Finn & Friends - There is a Light That Never Goes Out (Smiths cover)

Eddie Vedder was an important part of the shows, usually taking lead on some of his favorite Split Enz tunes. The first two videos here are followed by mp3s.



Neil Finn & Friends (w/ Eddie Vedder) - Take a Walk (Split Enz cover)


Neil Finn ft Eddie Vedder - Stuff and nonsense

Mauro|MySpace Videos

Neil Finn & Friends (w/ Eddie Vedder) - Stuff & Nonsense (Split Enz cover)

The coolest part of the DVD was when when Eddie joined Neil's son Liam's band Betchadupa (where Liam played drums) midset to cover a few Split Enz songs. What makes this especially cool in retrospect is that since then, Liam had made a great solo album, I'll Be Lightning, and has been the opening act on many of Eddie's solo shows these past few years. Here's their first time working together:



Liam's uncle Tim joined in on this wild performance of "I See Red."



The project also showcases Neil's phenomenal second solo album, One All. Here they perform one of the most beautiful songs you'll ever hear, "Last to Know."


Last To Know - Neil Finn

Neil Finn|MySpace Music Videos

Another great moment in the concert film came when everyone got together near the end for "Weather With You," another classic song from Crowded House.



To check out an older post about Neil and Tim Finn's first band Split Enz, (w/ some covers by Pearl Jam), go here.

Thanks for checking this out. Look for a post on the new 7 World Collide project next week.

Buy the CD and DVD Neil Finn & Friends - 7 Worlds Collide: Live at St. James on amazon.com

Neil and Tim Finn in Split Enz

Split Enz was an excellent band from the 1970's and 80's and the first group from New Zealand to become a worldwide success. The band began in 1972 and would go through many changes, but they were primarily led by brothers Tim Finn and Neil Finn up until they disbanded in the mid-1980s. While Tim had a successful solo career, Neil would go on to form Crowded House, which became much bigger than Split Enz. Tim reunited with Neil on the Crowded House record Woodface, and they went on to work together on two Finn Brothers albums as well as each other's solo work.

Split Enz is fondly remembered as an amazing group that was ahead of their time. It was in this band that Neil and Tim Finn refined their craft for writing great lyrics with incredibly catchy hooks. They have a huge and rabid cult following and have been a major influence on many of the great bands of today. Most notable of these would be Pearl Jam and in particular, Eddie Vedder, as you'll see from a few of the great covers at the end of this post.

Here are some classic videos and mp3s of some of my favorite songs from Split Enz.



Split Enz - "I See Red"




Split Enz - "I Got You"




Split Enz - "History Never Repeats"




Split Enz - Six Months in a Leaky Boat


Here are two really cool live covers of Split Enz tunes by Pearl Jam:

Pearl Jam - I've Got You (From the bootleg comp 2000 Tour Live Rarities)

Pearl Jam (w/ Neil and Tim Finn) - History Never Repeats (from a PJ Ten Club Christmas Single)

To see more Split Enz, Crowded House, and Finn Brothers videos, check out this blog I made a few years ago, Neil Finn Videos.

Buy History Never Repeats: The Best of Split Enz from amazon.com