The Sun Came Out

As it isn't listed yet on Amazon, tracklist for this CD is as follows;

Disc One:
1. "Too Blue" (Johnny Marr/Jeff Tweedy), vocals Neil Finn and Johnny Marr, featuring Ed O'Brien, Phil Selway (Radiohead) & Glenn Kotche
2. "You Never Know" (Jeff Tweedy), vocals Jeff Tweedy
3. "Little By Little" (Sharon Finn/Neil Finn), vocals Sharon Finn and Neil Finn
4. "Learn To Crawl" (Ed O'Brien/Jonny Marr/Neil Finn/Liam Finn), vocals Neil Finn
5. "Black Silk Ribbon" (KT Tunstall/Bic Runga), vocals KT Tunstall and Bic Runga
6. "Girl, Make Your Own Mind Up" (Don McGlashan), vocals Don McGlashan, featuring Glenn Kotche, Ed O'Brien & Jeff Tweedy
7. "Run In The Dust" (Johnny Marr), vocals Johnny Marr
8. "Red Wine Bottle" (Liam Finn/Chris Garland/Johnny Marr), vocals Liam Finn
9. "The Ties That Bind Us" (Phil Selway), vocals Phil Selway
10. "Reptile" (Lisa Germano), vocals Lisa Germano, featuring featuring Glenn Kotche & Neil Finn
11. "Bodhisattva Blues" (Ed O'Brien/Liam Finn), vocals Ed O'Brien and Neil Finn
12. "What Could Have Been" (Jeff Tweedy), vocals Jeff Tweedy

Disc Two:
1. "All Comedians Suffer" (Neil Finn), vocals Neil Finn
2. "Duxton Blues" (Glenn Richards), vocals Glenn Richards featuring Johnny Marr & Neil Finn
3. "Hazel Black" (KT Tunstall/Neil Finn), vocals KT Tunstall
4. "Riding The Wave" (Tim Finn), vocals Tim Finn
5. "The Witching Hour" (Phil Selway), vocals Phil Selway
6. "Over And Done" (John Stirratt), vocals John Stirrat featuring Glenn Kotche
7. "Change Of Heart" (Bic Runga/Dan Wilson), vocals Bic Runga featuring Glenn Kotche & Neil Finn
8. "Don't Forget Me" (Pat Sansone), vocals Pat Sansone, featuring Glenn Kotche & Johnny Marr
9. "Long Time Gone" (Don McGlashan), vocals Don McGlashan featuring Johnny Marr, Phil Selway & Ed O'Brien
10. "The Cobbler" (Elroy Finn), vocals Elroy Finn
11. "3 Worlds Collide" (Glenn Kotche/Phil Selway/Neil Baldock), drums & percussion Glenn Kotche & Phil Selway
12. "The Water" (Sebastian Steinberg), vocals Sebastian Steinberg featuring Neil Finn, Glenn Kotche & Johnny Marr

As a fan of Crowded House and Neil Finn, as well as most of the artists on this CD, it was always a given that I would love this album. This is the second CD by Finn's "7 Worlds Collide" project and unlike 2001's debut which comprised live recordings, these are studio originals. As with the debut, this was also recorded to benefit Oxfam. Despite appearing on 7 tracks, and co-writing 4 tracks, the result sounds very like a Crowded House affair, light and airy gorgeous melodies and harmonies.

The sound is light and airy, an Alt/Folk/Pop affair and standouts are plenty; on Disc 1 we have the George Harrison-channelling "You never know" by Jeff Tweedy, the spare acoustic "Learn to crawl" by Neil Finn and son Liam Finn, the gentle acoustic "Black silk ribbon" harmonised beautifully by KT Tunstall and Bic Runga, the dreamy "Girl make your own mind up" by Don McGlashan, the more upbeat "Run in the dust" by Johnny Marr (with hypnotic sounding jangly guitars and dreamy harmonies), the woozy waltzy "Red wine bottle" by Liam Finn (who has definitely inherited his dad's sense of melody), a clear voiced Phil Selway on the floaty "The ties that bind us" (very Simon & Garfunkel), the upbeat Rocking Blues "Bodhisattva Blues" by Ed O'Brien and Neil Finn (superb "Oooooh" harmonies), and "What Could Have Been" by Jeff Tweedy.

Disc 2 has the following highlights; the upbeat "All comedians suffer" by Neil Finn (incredible guitar breaks), the dreamy "Duxton blues" by Glenn Richards, KT Tunstall's bouncy Blues/Country "Hazel back", the tender acoustic almost lullaby-like "The witching hour" by Phil Selway, the enchanting and dreamy "Riding the wave" by Liam Finn, the pretty voiced Bic Runga singing the hymnal "A change of heart", "Don't forget me" by Pat Sansone (sunny and gentle in turn), the rocking "Long time gone" by Pat Sansone (with spoken/sung verses), the acoustic "The cobbler" by Elroy Finn (with erie electronic flourishes), the instrumental "3 worlds collide" with tribal-sounding drumming by Glenn Kotche & Phil Selway, while closing is the delicate "The water" by Sebastian Steinberg featuring Neil Finn, Glenn Kotche & Johnny Marr.

For an album with 24 tracks, there is surprisingly very little filler if any. Highly reccommended!

The second incarnation of a Neil Finn side project, Seven Worlds Collide is out with a two disc set of 24 songs written, sung and played by a remarkable collection of players from all members of Neil Finn's family (yes Tim on board) (all exceptionally talented), Wilco, Radiohead plus the great Johnny Marr, Don McGlashan (Mutton Birds), K.T. Tunstall, Bic Runga and others. A great collection of well crafted songs, beautifully played and joyfully executed. Neil gathered this talent for an"Oxfam" benefit. Look for a dvd of the three concerts the put on, at some point. Neil is always at his best when collaborating and he gets his fill here. Lots of highlights including the playful "Little by Little" sung by Neil and his wife Sharon; the Phil Selway songs (suprisingly good voice) and the K.T. Sunstall songs, but there is little filler over these to albums. Put them on and enjoy. The quality of the songs here bodes very well for the upcoming Crowded House album this winter. Can't wait. In the meantime, we get this treasure trove of songs.

7 Worlds Collide is a collaboration of numerous musical talents including Neil Finn, Tim Finn, members of Wilco, members of Radiohead, Bic Runga, KT Tunstall, Glenn Richards of Augie March, Don McGlashan and last but by no means least, Johnny Marr. There are also Finn family members chipping in as well. All I can say is that this is a huge surprise to me. A project on such a massive scale shouldn't work. Amazingly it works very very well. The songs are all of the highest quality. I especially love 'Too Blue' by Johnny Marr and Jeff Tweedy. It has a Nashville/Motown/Phil Spector-ish feel to it. It reminds me of 'Yes' by McAlmont and Butler as well. It's a very strong number. I also love 'Long Time Gone' by Don McGlashan. Tweedy of Wilco's 'You Never Know' is an all time classic. It reminds me of Travelling Wilburys. I am still listening to the whole album and I am enjoying the majority of the songs. Phil Selway, the Radiohead drummer, is a major surprise as well. He sounds not unlike Nick Drake on his two self penned numbers. What an exciting project. Great to hear a supergroup that actually works as well as the sum of the parts !

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 9 reviews  4.7 out of 5 stars