TRUE COLOURS

True Colours was landmark album for Split Enz that introduced the 80s and the Enz effectively shed their lurid, weird, zany colourful persona to embrace a more pop-oriented sound. The new wave sound that relied heavily on synthesiser, echoing percussion and crystalline vocals. It's all here and tracks from the album permeated the airwaves in Australia and New Zealand. I cannot tell you how many times the local radio has played 'I Got You' which stayed at number one for ages. It wasn't just a one hit wonder either with tracks that soared up the charts such as the beautiful heartfelt 'I Hope I Never' or my personal favourite 'Poor Boy '. It was a giant album in its day and remains one worthy of a listen from end to end. It begins with the brilliant craziness of 'Shark Attack'. Listen to those bizarre, brash lyrics:

Well she chewed me up and she spat me out I didn't want to meet a maneater, Shark attack! Please don't mess around with me, I'm a shark fatality, in the sea, I'm the one with the bleeding heart, I thought you were a real lifesaver, And life for once would do me a favour, But babys just a butcher, and her teeth are razor sharp, Shark attack!

Its all pure fun and nonsense, sounding in a thematic sense to Van der Graaf Generator's 'Killer', and harking back to the nonsensical early Enz years but with so much more polished production value and style.

'Poor Boy' has always been my favourite. I love the way Tim Finn's vocals echo off from some distant beyond and the incandescant effects of the keyboards that rise and fall give a sense of timelessness and alienness. The lyrics supplement the high strangeness of the musical structure brilliantly and are very memorable:

My love is alien, I picked her up by chance, She speaks to me in ultra-high frequency, The radio band of gold, Gonna listen til I grow old, Ooh what more can a poor boy do? The crackle of the radio, The message in the evening sky, You're looking at an interplanetary Romeo,

The interplanetary Romeo was Neil Finn. When Neil Finn jumped on board he effectively transformed the sound of Split Enz - the real drawcard of the band as it turns out over the next few years. Neil went solo and Crowded House became his band when Split Enz split up. Neil sings 'I Got You' with a vulnerability and a sincerity unheard on earlier albums. It resonated a chord in the Oz/NZ musical industry and became a swansong of the band, played at every concert and still plays on the airwaves. The film clip to accompany it showed Neil almost separate from the band singing to a picture frame containing the other band members. In a sense that is what happened. Neil became the spokesperson and main vocalist after this effort. He was the main stay of the band although I always loved Tim's renditions, Neil sang rings around him in every sense. It was still great to hear the diverseness of the band from these two diverse singers. That is what made them so great. Not everything works on this album but enough to keep you interested.

True Colours is one of the best Enz albums but is not actually progressive apart from some moments in the musical department, and some strange lyrics. Overall, it is worth a listen, and I recommend the vinyl laser etched albums that reflects rainbow colours around the room when you play it. I can only give this 3 stars as it is not really progressive but the music is so good it is impossible to dislike.