True Colours 40th Anniversary Reissues

Great news! I don't do vinyl, but really excited about a re-mixed cd with BONUS TRACKS!

Confused by this and Eddie's comments here - http://www.noise11.com/news/sp...ry-comeback-20200309

I have at least two remastered versions of True Colours on CD, the second of which is the 2006 remaster by Eddie and Adrian Stuckey. And I seem to recall the first remaster had Eddie involved too. I don't have Spotify - is the version on there that much different? Don't they just stream the 2006 remaster?

This 40th anniversary reissue sounds like yet another version and is it really necessary - can it be that much different? Does Eddie just like tinkering?! Where do you draw the line on this?

Yeah... I must say, I thought the same. I have two ‘remastered’ versions. This one is being remixed, but you are right - how much different can it really sound? I guess time will tell.

The obsessive compulsive collector in me is excited about new vinyl though!

Yes, is this merely another *remaster*, or an actual *remix*, like happened with Frenzy and Waiata?

Apparently this is a remix like Frenzy and Waiata...

Whysus posted:

Apparently this is a remix like Frenzy and Waiata...

Well, that should be interesting, if nothing else.

There are various masterings of "True Colours" in different Spotify territories.

I'm new to Frenz - so: Hi. I came to Split Enz, nascent 80s, when the True Colours album came out, and then bought all the following Split Enz albums, until sadly they stopped. They prooved to be one of those rare things - a group which improves with time. Just a few days ago I ordered the Split Enz DVD with all the single videos - I am looking forward to watching that, it reawakened the desire to listen to Split Enz. It seems to be quite a wild coincidence (!) as right now, the earlier albums are being re-released on coloured vinyl. I have to confess, I only have the album just before True Colours (Frenzy).

But the thing I am very excited about is this 40th anniversary of True Colours in green (etc) vinyl. It is quite expensive (over £50) and so I am thinking this price will reflect something very much worth having, and to my mind Split Enz ARE worthy of that attention. After True Colours there are a number of great albums.

Amazon says quite a bit about the forthcoming vinyl (I will paste it in a separate entry otherwise this will be too long). Apparently Eric Raynor will be "remixing it" and he qualifies why this is necessary. I am a bit confused by the lack of distinction between remix and remaster.

Interesting what you guys above say and thanks Whysus for opening the dialogue -  I mght be confused by what you mean by "5 vinyl". (Are there going to be five vinyls in each purchase?) I think maybe five different colour versions for the cover as originally there were eight (?). Whatever is done, it needs to justify the purchase price and there is a bit of mystery at the moment, I can't find a Split Enz dedicated www currently running . . .

I'm not sure about "remasters" either. What I have is the original vinyl album, so no degeneration problems - and I don't spotify. But I would be interested in remixes or bonus tracks. I don't think Split Enz ever got into the remix craze. And generally I was excited that a great group is still thriving.

And Whysus again you mention a remix of Waiata. A real remix? IE different, or just a remaster, taking it back to what it should have been originally . . . Cheers.

Product description

When? 

Hi Maxal - Welcome to the Forum!

Here are some links you may find useful regarding Enz re-releases:

This shows the 5 True Colours versions being released:

https://store.warnermusic.com....ollections/split-enz

In NZ they are very reasonably priced at $39.99 each (so less than 20 pound UK) as shown in the link below:

https://www.jbhifi.co.nz/popul...0true%20colours&

To learn more about the re-mastered and re-mixed Enz CD catalogue, you might want to have a look at the below forum threads (there plenty more like these out there!):

https://www.frenzforum.com/top...s---a-summary?page=1

https://www.frenzforum.com/top...ed-enz-cds-questions

Hope this is useful for you!

@Lance LaSalle posted:

When? 

Release date is 19 June in NZ

Thanks Whysus. After writing the above, I re-read your initial piece and noticed your hyperlink to the Warner site, which I had at first missed! It makes it clear what you mean by the "five vinyls": one picture disc and then four different colour options for the vinyl (red, blue, orange and green).

UK Amazon is currently advertising the green vinyl for pre-order at £55. (Stupid price, maybe they will lower the price closer to the release date.)

I have caved in and pre-ordered the orange one through Warner. It might not be the best way to buy it, but I don't want to find that colour sold out - not too keen on the green and the 'Christmassy red'. Then I noticed the blue one and thought, well actually that's a quieter combination of colours which works better longterm. I might add the blue to my order. (Totally stupid!) But I do love this album.

For anybody devoted to vinyl, I personally recomend the original laser etched vinyl edition of True Colours before buying any others. It's easily available through Discogs. I don't believe there were any production criticisms for this album and it should be the yardstick album.

That said, I do look forward to hearing the 40th reissues.

[The text colours available on this site are mushroomy-bland.]

[But Wavey makes up for the lack of colour.]

https://store.warnermusic.com....h-anniversary-mix-cd

Tracklisting as per the Warner website:

Shark Attack
I Got You
What's The Matter With You
Double Happy
I Wouldn't Dream Of It
I Hope I Never
Nobody Takes Me Seriously
Missing Person
Poor Boy
How Can I Resist Her
The Choral Sea
Firedrill - Live from the Capitol Theatre Sydney, July 1982
Hard Act To Follow - Live from Logan Campbell Centre Auckland, December 1984
I Walk Away - Live from Festival Hall Melbourne, November 1984
Log Cabin Fever - Live from the Capitol Theatre Sydney, July 1982
Lost For Words - Live from the Capitol Theatre Sydney, July 1982
Ninee Neezup - Live from Festival Hall, Melbourne, November 1984
Wail - Live from the Regent Theatre Sydney, March 1981

Keen to hear the remixes but a little guttered that the "unreleased tracks" aren't unreleased songs, rather just live tracks from all future tours except the True Colours one (any chance we can get a remixed and HD version of the filmed London concert?).
Also strange how 'Things' and 'Two of a Kind' aren't on this version either.

Thanks for that link! ... that is a bit disappointing. As you say, none of those live tracks are related to True Colours. I just don’t get the logic of it - they are a pretty eclectic bunch of songs. Do we really need another live version of Ninee Neezup? How many of us already skip it on Living Enz (as much as we love Noel)???

I would have liked to have had an unreleased, well mixed/mastered version of the song True Colours on there. I’m not sure if they ever recorded a studio version of it, but if they did, this would have been a good time for it to see the light of day. But there are some good live versions out there that probably warrant some decent treatment.

How incredibly disappointing is the bonus disc on this re-issue????  It is obvious there is nobody overseeing the curation of these projects now. Peter Green and others would once have been all over this and we would’ve been treated to demos, rehearsals and live recordings from the appropriate era. Not what is being served up here. I was excited to know something was in the works for the 40th anniversary but I’ll give this a miss now.

I'm still interested in the remix, but the bonus discu is a bit disappointing.

 On another board a guy posted who claimed that he recorded the Harlequin demos (which is what I was hoping for) and that he had them but wouldn't dream of sharing them. So they exist and are in good condition. But instead we will get some live songs from the Living Enz, probably brickwalled, disappointingly.

I agree; the bonus tracks are curious at best and a wasted opportunity at worst. As mentioned above, 'The Living Enz' resurfaces in at least 3 tracks while I think that the live Regent Theatre clip of 'Wail' has been on YouTube for a number of years. The only bonus track song that is of great interest is 'Log Cabin Fever' as it is one of THE outstanding Neil songs of his Split Enz compositions, and I think that they rarely played this live ('Make Sense Of It' in a live setting would've been a great treat, as well).

The set list of songs is a very Split Enz choice to make but I wonder if Split Enz now is simply the one musician who decides these days what to release and what to hold back. I understand and appreciate the approach to keeping the music of Split Enz in the public eye. However, 'Live, Alive Oh' didn't receive any awareness and I doubt if much will come from The Forenzics project. Eddie's greatest chance really was during the remastered re-releases of 2006 where he could've done what Crowded House managed to superbly achieve 10 years later with their own catalogue re-release: the original album + a second disc rehearsals/demos/live performances. I know that most of the 2006  Enz albums had extra tracks but really, 'Things' and 'Two Of A Kind' did not fit onto 'True Colours' (different sessions) yet 'Firedrill' was left off 'Time & Tide' (the same sessions). Not only is 'True Colours' commercially successful in huge terms, it has brilliant music that still holds up 4 decades later. I hope that Eddie has treated the remix with the respect that those songs deserve because I become somewhat apprehensive when I read in the 2020 'True Colours' press release that "....after convincing Warners it was a good idea, I did the remix, and then told the band."

I am grateful that Eddie periodically revisits the back catalogue. Without him, I think we would be truly languishing, as the others have not generally showed much interest or initiative.

Having said that, in my opinion, the quality control of releases has not been great. The 2006 re-releases remixed (and resequenced) some albums, but not others and followed no consistent pattern with the bonus tracks. I recall reading that "Fire Drill" was left off "Time And Tide" simply because Tim no longer liked it!

And then there's the endless recycling of the live 1993 performances. Is it possible when he produced "Live, Alive Oh" that Eddie actually forgot that "ExtravagEnza" already existed as a fix for the original "Anniversary"? He seemed to have forgotten the 2006 re-releases when he claimed not to have heard "Mental Notes" for over 20 years in a 2015 RNZ interview.

Has anybody got this yet? it comes out July 7th in the UK; but apparently came out on June 19th in NZ? What's the verdict on the mix? Is it interesting? and most importantly, did Eddie brickwall it?

NZ release has been delayed to July 31st.

@David Goldsmith posted:

Is it possible when he produced "Live, Alive Oh" that Eddie actually forgot that "ExtravagEnza" already existed as a fix for the original "Anniversary"?

I've lost track... can someone remind me what the differences are between Extravagenza and Live, Alive Oh ?

@Flicker posted:

I've lost track... can someone remind me what the differences are between Extravagenza and Live, Alive Oh ?

Live, Alive Oh has one disc of highlights from Extravagenza and one disc of highlights from Auckland 2008, technically the last Split Enz show apart from their slot at the charity Sound Relief gig in ‘09.

@Thom Bullock posted:

Live, Alive Oh has one disc of highlights from Extravagenza and one disc of highlights from Auckland 2008, technically the last Split Enz show apart from their slot at the charity Sound Relief gig in ‘09.

Thanks... and was Greatest Hits Live a single-disk version of Extravagenza then?

@Flicker posted:

Thanks... and was Greatest Hits Live a single-disk version of Extravagenza then?

Yes - Greatest Hits Live was an unofficial 1 disc edit of Extravagenza from a few years back. Skip that one.

If you wanted a 1 disc take on the 1993 tour, there the official cd “Anniversary” from ‘93, but that’s only interesting as a curiousity, the audience was not well mic’d on the tour and so they overlaid fake crowd noise on that album. The 2005 double cd with a real - if slightly distant - audience is the definitive document of that tour. And, for my money, the definitive live Enz - a far better sound than Living Enz even if that was recorded while the band were still active.

@Thom Bullock posted:

Yes - Greatest Hits Live was an unofficial 1 disc edit of Extravagenza from a few years back. Skip that one.

If you wanted a 1 disc take on the 1993 tour, there the official cd “Anniversary” from ‘93, but that’s only interesting as a curiousity, the audience was not well mic’d on the tour and so they overlaid fake crowd noise on that album. The 2005 double cd with a real - if slightly distant - audience is the definitive document of that tour. And, for my money, the definitive live Enz - a far better sound than Living Enz even if that was recorded while the band were still active.

Yes, I have Extravagenza (an improvement over Anniversary), but Live Alive Oh somehow passed me by.

Interview with Eddie on TVNZ's "Seven Sharp" tonight on the eve of the NZ release. Good to see glimpses of various master tape boxes etc.

@David Goldsmith posted:

Interview with Eddie on TVNZ's "Seven Sharp" tonight on the eve of the NZ release. Good to see glimpses of various master tape boxes etc.

Here's the link. (Not sure whether it's geoblocked to people outside NZ though.)

Well, it's certainly a different listen. Very nice! There's a lot more detail in the instrumental tracks. Tim's vocals are the highlight for me, almost with a viscious desperate edge and at times more reminiscent of Luton Tapes period. Who ever knew he lets out a snarl/laugh on "laugh with me" towards the end of "What's The Matter With You". 

The live tracks are a nice bonus set. Interesting song selection. Interesting to see that "Fire Drill" has been brought back from the cold after its ignominious exclusion from the "Time And Tide" remaster. Magnificent.

Eddie has talked for years about remixing his hoard of live material. This could be a teaser to test the market. I'm excited to hear more of this quality. Would be great to hear "The Living Enz" remixed as a starter.

There's an interview with Tim today in the NZ Herald.

@David Goldsmith posted:

There's an interview with Tim today in the NZ Herald.

Paywalled...

Well first listen, only on Shark Attack and immediately happy to hear all of Noel's parts have been restored!

Three programmes on RNZ to celebrate the re-release: an interview with Noel, a disappointingly short interview with Eddie and a more lengthy panel discussion which features Jeremy Ansell of Enzology (and this forum) fame.

Split Enz's True Colours tops Kiwi charts 40 years after it came out.

Tim Finn discusses 40th anniversary of Split Enz's True Colours.

Is this available to purchase digitally anywhere?

@slowpogo posted:

Is this available to purchase digitally anywhere?

It seems to be available on Apple, Google, iTunes, and Spotify.
https://nztop40.co.nz/chart/nz...13&record=474997

Not in the US unfortunately. Only option seems to be physical media from Australia.

Same situation as the original release 40.5 years ago.