Neil Finn 4: The Sun Came Out

This pleasant little album came out of a three-week experiment wherein Neil Finn invited musical friends and family to workshop at his studio in New Zealand. Credited to 7 Worlds Collide—from the title given to the collective who contributed to his 2001 live album of the same name—The Sun Came Out was made available as a single or double CD, with the proceeds intended for Oxfam. This time the all-star proceedings were augmented by members of Wilco, who were recording their latest album there anyway, one-hit wonder KT Tunstall (famous for “Black Horse And The Cherry Tree”, or that “woo-hoo” song some women like to obliterate at karaoke), and a few other folks we hadn’t heard of yet but are encouraged to explore further. Everybody plays on each other’s songs, and the whole collection is very cohesive, even with the range of vocalists.

Neil himself wrote and/or sang and/or played on several tracks, starting with the highly catchy “Too Blue”, a wonderful collaboration between Johnny Marr and Jeff Tweedy. Wilco’s eventual hit, the George Harrison-influenced “You Never Know”, makes its debut here. “Little By Little” is a collaboration between Mr. and Mrs. Finn with son Liam on drums, in something of a foreshadowing of a future project. For a more experimental change of pace, “Learn To Crawl” comes from Neil and Liam with Johnny and Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien, while “Red Wine Bottle” comes from Liam and Johnny. Ed and Liam’s “Bodhisattva Blues” is particularly noisy, offset by Tweedy’s “What Could Have Been”. “All Comedians Suffer” finds Neil fronting most of Wilco but still sounding like himself. He harmonizes splendidly, of course: on “Hazel Black”, his soulful co-write with KT; “Over & Done”, John Stirratt’s bid to be more than just Wilco’s bass player; brother Tim’s “Riding The Wave”.

The non-Neil tracks are also enjoyable, with strong contributions from Kiwi musician Don McGlashan and Aussies Glenn Richards and Bic Runga. Radiohead drummer Phil Selway reveals himself as a sensitive acoustic folkie, while young Elroy Finn sounds a lot like his dad. (Lisa Germano’s “Reptile” appears to provide the album title.) It really is a strong set, and it was a for good cause anyway.

7 Worlds Collide The Sun Came Out (2009)—3½