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Neil Finn of Crowded House is back again with another 7 Worlds Collide project.
The name 7 Worlds Collide comes from Crowded House’s 1993 single “Distant Sun” (”seven worlds will collide/whenever I am by your side”). The original 7 Worlds Collide group formed in 2001, with Finn teaming up with Eddie Vedder, Johnny Marr (of the Smiths), Ed O’Brien and Phis Selway (of Radiohead), Tim Finn (Neil’s older brother), Sebastian Steinberg, Lisa Germano and Betchadupa (which features Neil’s son Liam) for a musical collaboration truly deserving of the word “supergroup. The group played five shows that later became the album 7 Worlds Collide: Neil Finn & Friends Live at the St. James.
Now Finn and friends (which include the returing Marr, Selway and O’Brien) are giving us the sequel, the double-disc album The Sun Came Out. Joining the group this time around are KT Tunstall and members of Wilco: bandleader Jeff Tweedy, bassist John Stirratt, drummer Glenn Kotche, and multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone. Tweedy’s teenage son Spencer also pitches in.
The album, due September 29 via Sony Music, is truly a collaborative effort, with band members trading off songwriting duties on each track. Selway even sings lead vocals and plays guitar on “The Ties That Bind Us,” a rare vocal turn from the drummer.
Wilco fans can look forward to a re-working of Wilco (The Album)’s “You Never Know” and the Tweedy/Marr joint effort “Too Blue.” Portions of proceeds from The Sun Came Out will go to Oxfam, a confederation of thirteen international non-profits fighting against poverty.
A press release takes us behind the collaboration:
At the heart of the record is Neil Finn. His enthusiasm and drive persuaded the likes of celebrated producer Jim Scott, Lisa Germano, Johnny Marr and Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, Pat Sansone, John Stirratt and Glenn Kotche (amongst others) to spend their Christmas holiday in New Zealand and even interrupted KT Tunstall’s honeymoon in the process.
With families welcome, the studio became a constant whirl of creativity and energy throughout the three weeks allocated to create the record. Johnny Marr returned from a run on the beach with the
basis of ‘Too Blue’, where Jeff Tweedy was waiting to add his talents; KT Tunstall stopped Neil retiring to his bed to complete ‘Hazel Black’; a wandering Johnny Marr added a chorus melody to Liam Finn’s
‘Red Wine Bottle’; Ed O’Brien fashioned ‘Bodhisattva Blues’ from a Tibetan chant. In this atmosphere, anything was possible and Neil’s wife Sharon found herself laying down her debut vocal on ‘Little By
Little’ whilst Phil Selway also took his vocal bow and unveiled a hitherto unknown songwriting talent with his solo turn ‘The Ties That Bind Us’ in one take.
Says Tunstall: “It’s Neil. It all comes from him. There’s something about him that made everyone
open up creatively.”
Hear snippets from the album here.
The complete tracklisting and credits for the 2-CD set is below:
Disc 1
1. Too Blue – (Johnny Marr/Jeff Tweedy) – Johnny Marr and Neil Finn vocals
Elroy Finn & Glenn Kotche (drums), Phil Selway (percussion), John
Stirratt (stand-up bass), Johnny Marr & Ed O’Brien (guitars), Pat
Sansone (piano), Nile Marr & Neil Finn (acoustic guitars), and Lisa
Germano (violins)
2. You Never Know – (Jeff Tweedy) – Jeff vocals
Jeff Tweedy (acoustic & electric guitars), Glenn Kotche (drums), Pat
Sansone (acoustic 12 string guitar & piano), John Stirratt (bass),
Neil Finn (Wurlitzer piano, fuzz guitar), Liam Finn (additional fuzz
guitar), Nels Cline (electric/slide guitar), and Mikael Jorgensen
(organ/synth)
3. Little By Little – (Sharon Finn/Neil Finn) – Neil and Sharon vocals
Glenn Kotche (drums & percussion), Liam Finn (additional drums),
Sharon Finn (bass), and Neil Finn (guitars, Chamberlin, Jupiter 8,
marimba)
4. Learn To Crawl – (Ed O’Brien/Johnny Marr/Liam Finn/Neil Finn) –
Neil and Liam vocals
Glenn Kotche (drums), Ed O’Brien, Johnny Marr, Pat Sansone (acoustic
guitar arpeggio), Neil Finn (bass), Pat Sansone (background
harmonies), Jeff Tweedy (disembodied voice), and Lisa Germano (violin)
5. Black Silk Ribbon – (KT Tunstall/Bic Runga) – KT and Bic vocals
Luke Bullen (drums, thigh slap), KT Tunstall & Bic Runga (acoustic
guitars), Sebastian Steinberg (stand up & bowed bass), and Lisa
Germano (violin)
6. Girl, Make Your Own Mind Up – (Don McGlashan) – Don vocals
Don McGlashan (guitar), Glenn Kotche (drums), Ed O’Brien (electric
guitar atmosphere), John Stirratt (bass), Ivy Rossiter (backing
vocal), and Jeff Tweedy (electric guitar solo)
7. Run In The Dust – (Johnny Marr) – Johnny vocals
Phil Selway (drums), Sebastian Steinberg (bass), Johnny Marr (guitar),
Ed O’Brien (electric guitar), Pat Sansone (Hammond organ), Jeff Tweedy
(harmonica), Neil Finn, Lisa Germano, and Pat Sansone (harmonies)
8. Red Wine Bottle – (Liam Finn/Chris Garland/Johnny Marr) – Liam vocals
Glenn Kotche (drums), John Stirratt (bass), Liam Finn (acoustic
guitars, guitar loops and solo, Hammond mash), Neil Finn (Hammond
flourish), Johnny Marr (electric guitar), Eliza Jane Barnes & Cecilia
Herbert (harmonies)
9. The Ties That Bind Us – (Phil Selway) – Phil vocals
Phil Selway (acoustic guitar), Glenn Kotche (drums, percussion), Pat
Sansone (acoustic guitar, celeste), Sebastian Steinberg (standup &
bowed bass), Lisa Germano (violin & whisper), Don McGlashan (euphium,
flugelhorn), and Jeff Tweedy (additional arrangement)
10. Reptile – (Lisa Germano) – Lisa vocals
Lisa Germano (electric guitar, Theremin), Sebastian Steinberg (bass),
Spencer Tweedy (drums), Glenn Kotche (toys and robots drumming), Pat
Sansone (12 string guitar), Neil Finn (xylophone), Sonny Marr, Nile
Marr, Sam Tweedy, Jeff Tweedy, Louise Callaghan, Emma Scott, Pearl
McGlashan, mae Moreno, Sharon Finn, Julia Connolly, Sebastian
Steinberg, and Milla (humans & dogs singing background vocals)
11. Bodhisattva Blues – (Ed O’Brien/Liam Finn) – Ed and Neil Finn vocals
Ed O’Brien (electric guitar), Elroy Finn (drums), Liam Finn (guitar),
Neil Finn (Wurlizer piano, bass), Jeff Tweedy (guitar solo, vocal
response & scream), and Johnny Marr (guitar solo)
12. What Could Have Been – (Jeff Tweedy) – Jeff vocals
Glenn Kotche (drums, percussion), Jeff Tweedy (acoustic guitar), John
Stirratt (bass), Neil Finn (vibes, electric guitar, harmony), and Pat
Sansone (piano, Wurlitzer organ)
Disc 2
1. All Comedians Suffer – (Neil Finn) – Neil vocals
Glenn Kotche (drums), Neil Finn (electric guitar), Pat Sansone
(acoustic guitar), Liam Finn (bass, electric guitar, harmonies), and
Jeff Tweedy (chorus fuzz, electric guitar solo)
2. Duxton Blues – (Glenn Richards) – Glenn vocals
Glenn Richards (guitar), Liam Finn (drums, guitar & vocal loops),
Johnny Marr (electric guitar), Sebastian Steinberg (bass), Bic Runga &
Neil Finn (background vocals)
3. Hazel Black – (KT Tunstall/Neil Finn) – KT and Neil vocals
KT Tunstall (acoustic guitar, handclaps, background vocals), Luke
Bullen (drums, handclaps), John Stirratt (bass), Johnny Marr & Pat
Sansone (electric guitars), Neil Finn (piano, harmony), Glenn Kotche
(handclaps), Sonny Marr & Bic Runga (back-
ground vocals)
4. Riding The Wave – (Tim Finn) – Tim vocals
Tim Finn (piano), Elroy Finn (drums), Neil Finn (acoustic guitar,
slide guitar, harmony), Liam Finn (harmonies), Sebastian Steinberg
(bass), Johnny Marr (electric guitar), and Pat Sansone (Hammond organ)
5. The Witching Hour – (Phil Selway) – Phil vocals
Phil Selway (acoustic guitar), Bic Runga & KT Tunstall (background
vocals), Lisa Germano (violin), and Jeff Tweedy (Optigan organ, piano)
6. Over And Done – (John Stirratt) – John vocals
John Stirratt (guitar), Glenn Kotche (drums), Pat Sansone (bass,
piano), Don McGlashan (Euphonium, Flugelhorn), and Neil Finn & Pat
Sansone (harmonies)
7. A Change Of Heart – (Bic Runga/Dan Wilson) – Bic vocals
Bic Runga (acoustic guitar), Glenn Kotche (drums), John Stirratt
(bass), Neil Finn (piano), Pat Sansone (Hammond organ), and Don
McGlashan (humming)
8. Don’t Forget Me – (Pat Sansone) – Pat vocals
Pat Sansone (guitar), Glenn Kotche (drums), John Stirratt (bass), and
Johnny Marr (electric guitar)
9. Long Time Gone – (Don McGlashan) – Don vocals
Don McGlashan (guitar), Phil Selway (drums), Pat Sansone (bass), Ed
O’Brien (electric guitar), and Johnny Marr (12 string & 6 string
acoustic guitars, backing vocals)
10. The Cobbler – (Elroy Finn) – Elroy vocals
Elroy Finn (guitar), Lisa Germano (violin), and Sebastian Steinberg (bowed bass)
11. 3 Worlds Collide – (Glenn Kotche/Phil Selway/Neil Baldock)
Glenn Kotche & Phil Selway (drums, percussion)
12. The Water – (Sebastian Steinberg) – Sebastian vocals
Sebastian Steinberg (guitars, bass), Neil Finn (piano), Glenn Kotche
(drums), and Johnny Marr (ghost guitar)
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