Second Thoughts (album)

Second Thoughts is the second studio album by New Zealand art rock band Split Enz. It was recorded in London with Roxy Music's guitarist Phil Manzanera producing the album.

Second Thoughts
Studio album by
Split Enz
ReleasedAugust 1976 (AUS, NZ), September 1976 (UK), January 1977 (US)
RecordedApril – May 1976, Basing Street Studios, London, England
GenreProgressive rock
Length41:48
LabelMushroom Records (AUS/NZ), Chrysalis Records (Rest of world)
ProducerPhil Manzanera
Split Enz chronology
Mental Notes
(1975)		 Second Thoughts
(1976)		 Dizrythmia
(1977)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

Four of the songs on the album were reworked versions of songs from their 1975 debut album Mental Notes. Two other songs on the album had been first recorded during the Mental Notes sessions, but left off and re-recorded for Second Thoughts. There were two new songs, both written by Phil Judd, and a re-recording of an early Judd/Finn composition ("129"), which for the Second Thoughts version, was renamed "Matinee Idyll".

The album was called Mental Notes when released outside Australasia and also featured a reworked version of the Mental Notes cover (for comparison see original and remake). Wally Wilkinson's image was replaced with that of Robert Gillies, and some band members are shown with newer haircuts: Phil Judd was now bald, and Tim Finn had his sides shaved.

Tim Finn, Robert Gillies and Eddie Rayner have said that the band felt the songs needed to be redone. But both Phil Judd and Noel Crombie have been quoted as saying that the re-recording of the Mental Notes tracks was a waste of time. On his MySpace forum, Phil has been quoted as saying that Tim Finn was obsessed with making the songs sound better, while he had new songs that he wanted to record.

Track listing
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Late Last Night"Phil Judd4:03
2."Walking Down a Road" (*)Tim Finn, Phil Judd5:22
3."Titus" (*)Phil Judd3:15
4."Lovey Dovey" (†)Tim Finn, Phil Judd3:06
5."Sweet Dreams"Phil Judd5:04
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Stranger Than Fiction" (*)Tim Finn, Phil Judd7:07
2."Time for a Change" (*)Phil Judd4:05
3."Matinee Idyll"Tim Finn, Phil Judd2:56
4."The Woman Who Loves You" (†)Tim Finn, Phil Judd6:50

* These songs are new arrangements of ones that first appeared on Mental Notes.

† These songs were recorded during the Mental Notes sessions but were not included in it, and were re-recorded for Second Thoughts.

Personnel
  • Tim Finn – vocals, piano on "Stranger Than Fiction"
  • Phil Judd – vocals, guitars, mandolin
  • Jonathan Michael Chunn – bass, piano on "Titus"
  • Noel Crombie – percussion
  • Emlyn Crowther – drums
  • Robert Gillies – saxophone, trumpet
  • Edward Rayner – keyboards
  • Miles Golding – violin on "Stranger Than Fiction" and "Matinee Idyll"
  • Ian Sharp – cello on 'Matinee Idyll'
  • Rhett Davies, Guy Bidmead – Recording engineers
  • Phil Manzanera – producer
  • Rhett Davies – Mixing engineer
  • Front cover photograph – John Prew
  • Back snaps – Split Enz
  • Special Thanks To Dave Russell and Wally Wilkinson

Charts
Chart (1976) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[2] 25
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[3] 18

References
  1. Allmusic review
  2. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. p. 288. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1970 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988.
  3. "Charts.nz – Split Enz – Mental Notes". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
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