Well, I know they didn't like the drum machines but really, the songs are great,the band plays well,it opens well and ends well. (and they had the best producer money could buy.)
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Quite a few things were happening around this period that didn't relate to the music and that did cause some problems around the album.
There was a small "war' between management and the record company, at one stage I was the only person allowed in the Mushroom building from the Enz Management office, was kind of strange and intense....this continued all the way up to See ya Round in Australia. Plus Tim's involvement was limited
as mentioned in Mike Chunns great book...
Despite the 'battle' 'Conflicting Emotions' was not a total flop, and in some areas sales were very strong.
Australia it is around the 60,000 mark so close to achieving Platinum.
It did really well in Canada, NZ and Holland, pretty sure it made Top 10 in those 3 countries
'Message to my Girl' made it to #11 in Australia which was mostly due to very loyal fans and some radio play and still receives high radio play to this day.
I think that 90% of sales would of been from the long term fans, it just didn't cross over with the general public as much as the previous 3 releases. Add to that , that True Colours, Corroboree and Time & Tide were such huge sellers here, that if Conflcting was only moderately successful it would always be compared to those three....
I still think it has some really fine moments.... and shows the Enz in a slightly different light.
Gryph.
There was a small "war' between management and the record company, at one stage I was the only person allowed in the Mushroom building from the Enz Management office, was kind of strange and intense....this continued all the way up to See ya Round in Australia. Plus Tim's involvement was limited
as mentioned in Mike Chunns great book...
Despite the 'battle' 'Conflicting Emotions' was not a total flop, and in some areas sales were very strong.
Australia it is around the 60,000 mark so close to achieving Platinum.
It did really well in Canada, NZ and Holland, pretty sure it made Top 10 in those 3 countries
'Message to my Girl' made it to #11 in Australia which was mostly due to very loyal fans and some radio play and still receives high radio play to this day.
I think that 90% of sales would of been from the long term fans, it just didn't cross over with the general public as much as the previous 3 releases. Add to that , that True Colours, Corroboree and Time & Tide were such huge sellers here, that if Conflcting was only moderately successful it would always be compared to those three....
I still think it has some really fine moments.... and shows the Enz in a slightly different light.
Gryph.
quote:Originally posted by gryphon:
I still think it has some really fine moments.... and shows the Enz in a slightly different light.
Gryph.
It's still an Enz album I play at least once a month from start to finish.
There's more to like than dislike.
Gryphon, and idea why the extra verse in "Our Day" was cut out?
quote:Originally posted by gryphon:
'Conflicting Emotions' was not a total flop, and in some areas sales were very strong.
Australia it is around the 60,000 mark so close to achieving Platinum.
It did really well in Canada, NZ and Holland, pretty sure it made Top 10 in those 3 countries
That probably explains why I like it so much then (I live in the UK, but come from Holland). I have always really liked Conflicting Emotions, it was the first Split Enz album I ever got, I caught up with all the others later, some much later.
I know a lot of people don't like it, but I've always had a soft spot for it. How could you not like songs like Message To My Girl and The Devil You Know?
Devil You Know is my very favourite Enz song, it is just sublime 
When I picked up "True Colours," "Waiata," "Time and Tide," and "Conflicting Emotions" in late 87 after discovering CH, "Conflicting Emotions" was my immediate favorite probably due to the larger presence of Neil Finn on the album. Took me a while to like most of Tim's stuff.
I also love "Devil You Know". One of my all time faves from the band....
Lorrie
I also love "Devil You Know". One of my all time faves from the band....
Lorrie
i enjoy this album & listen to it a fair bit. sure they went down a different path with this one, but it's still an enjoyable record. however my main gripe is there's not enough tim. as fantastic & enjoyable as neil's work with the enz was/is, tim always added something special to split enz that no one else could. i personally think 'i wake up every night' & 'bon voyage' are up there with 'message to my girl,' strait old line' & 'the devil you know.' but maybe that's just me, each to their own
the good outweighs the bad by a long way. Still it doesn't stand up to the great Time and Tide which is why it could have had some of the shine taken off it.
Conflicting Emotions has the best Enz album cover too.
Time & Tide would have been a difficult album to follow up.
Time & Tide would have been a difficult album to follow up.
Can't say I really enjoyed the drum kit, but that, to me, was minor.
Overall, I thought it was a pretty decent album. I enjoy it! Not as bad as some would like you to think it is.
Overall, I thought it was a pretty decent album. I enjoy it! Not as bad as some would like you to think it is.
Might have something to do with when you first heard it and expectations. If you got into the Enz in retrospect and had heard some rumblings fom the Frenz community, maybe it pleasantly surprised.
I remember waiting and waiting for that album and thinking it was going to be the bees knees: the prior album (T&T) was awesome and they seemed on top of their game, they had all the extra time to write the songs (esp Neil), and the pre-interviews I saw/red talked of how eager they all were to record. So... with all that factored in, it was a little bit of a let down for me. I tried very hard to like the songs (and really, should you have to "try" to like music?) but it never really clicked with me. Mind you, it didn't do anything to dis-spell the "magic" of the Enz to me.
The only album that I think I had huge expectations for AND that subsequently met those expectations was the debut Crowded House album. Twas a blissful year.
I remember waiting and waiting for that album and thinking it was going to be the bees knees: the prior album (T&T) was awesome and they seemed on top of their game, they had all the extra time to write the songs (esp Neil), and the pre-interviews I saw/red talked of how eager they all were to record. So... with all that factored in, it was a little bit of a let down for me. I tried very hard to like the songs (and really, should you have to "try" to like music?) but it never really clicked with me. Mind you, it didn't do anything to dis-spell the "magic" of the Enz to me.
The only album that I think I had huge expectations for AND that subsequently met those expectations was the debut Crowded House album. Twas a blissful year.