Plenty of Profound Performers
3 Out of 5 Stars
Split Enz made their second attempt at world pop domination on this album, the follow-up to "True Colors." "Corroboree" (or "Waiata" for us Yanks who bought in on vinyl in 1981) is not quite as strong as its predecessor, but still has some astounding songwriting from Neil and Tim Finn. But once again, American stardom eluded them, despite such strong contenders as "History Never Repeats," "One Step Ahead" and "Ghost Girl."
It is interesting to me that, as the band lost their eccentric get-ups and stage shows, their music became more and more confident. The opener, "Hard Act To Follow," had the kind of choral hook that most bands would kill for, and the crashing chords on "History" never fail to make me smile. The haunting melody of "Ghost Girl" has stayed with me for almost 30 years, and "Iris" gives hints of balladry to come (like "Message To My Girl" or Neil's later Crowded House songs). The bring down is the inclusion of two - yes two - instrumentals, which then reeked of filler, and today sound like synthed-out 80's trifles.
I have at times wondered if they were under pressure to put this out to capitalize on the US semi-success of "I Got You." Especially after the legendary story that A&M retitled and recolored the album when they determined the title and the color brown would 'put off' American buyers. Dopey marketing or not, "Corroborre" has enough good songs on it to overcome its weaknesses.
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