Double Dose of Seeing Red

The post I did the other day on the Clean has me on a New Zealand kick. Today, I could go with the Chills, the Bats or Sneaky Feelings, but I have decided on an early one from Split Enz. 'I See Red' is a spastic ball of energy penned by the great Tim Finn. The song appeared on the 1978 album 'Frenzy.' It was a minor hit in their home country (No. 43), but it did quite well in Australia, peaking at No. 15. They would not chart again until 1980 with the world-wide smash, "I Got You." There is no doubt the chorus of "I Got You" is a timeless great worthy of accolades, but my love for "I See Red" comes from the crazy keyboards of Eddie Rayner. Rayner and XTC keyboardist Barry Andrews must have attended the same music classes.

You can find an interesting version of the song on Neil Finn's all-star project '7 Worlds Collide.' It was recorded live at Aukland's St. James Theatre in the spring of 2001. Among those in the band for this take are Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder, Tim Finn and Neil Finn's son Liam on guitar. Since then, Liam has become quite an artist in his own right, but that's a story for another day. Vedder has great taste in bands and baseball teams (Chicago Cubs)... my kind of guy. So, why don't I like his stuff more?

Split Enz - I See Red (mp3)
Neil Finn & Friends - I See Red (Live) (mp3)