Mental Notes (Split Enz album)
Mental Notes is the debut studio album by New Zealand band Split Enz. The album cover was painted by band member Phil Judd. Original vinyl copies featured Judd saying "Make a mental note" in the runout groove of the record's second side, causing the phrase to be looped ad infinitum on manual turntables until the stylus is removed.
| Mental Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 31, 1975 | |||
| Recorded | May-June 1975 | |||
| Studio | Festival Studios | |||
| Genre | Progressive rock | |||
| Length | 44:17 | |||
| Label | White Cloud | |||
| Producer | David Russell, Split Enz | |||
| Split Enz chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
Recording
Bassist Mike Chunn later complained about the "totally unsympathetic treatment we'd had when we were recording in Australia. The engineer in Sydney thought we couldn't tune our guitars and that we were unprofessional and he just showed total disinterest right through."
Much of the material derived from Tim Finn's and Phil Judd's fascination with the work of the renowned English writer and artist Mervyn Peake – notably "Spellbound" the epic track "Stranger Than Fiction" (their concert centrepiece) and "Titus", named after the hero of Peake's Gormenghast trilogy.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Walking Down a Road *" | Phil Judd, Tim Finn | 5:26 |
| 2. | "Under the Wheel" | Phil Judd, Tim Finn | 7:50 |
| 3. | "Amy (Darling)" | Phil Judd, Tim Finn | 5:18 |
| 4. | "So Long for Now" | Phil Judd, Tim Finn | 3:19 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Stranger Than Fiction *" | Phil Judd, Tim Finn | 6:58 |
| 2. | "Time for a Change *" | Phil Judd | 3:46 |
| 3. | "Maybe" | Phil Judd, Tim Finn | 2:59 |
| 4. | "Titus *" | Phil Judd | 3:02 |
| 5. | "Spellbound †" | Phil Judd, Tim Finn | 5:00 |
| 6. | "Mental Notes" | Phil Judd | 0:34 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11. | "129 (Live)" | Phil Judd/Tim Finn | 3:03 |
| 12. | "Lovey Dovey (Live)" | Phil Judd/Tim Finn | 3:22 |
- * These songs were re-recorded for the Second Thoughts album.
- † This version has Phil Judd singing lead vocals. An earlier version (found on The Beginning of the Enz) recorded in 1974 has Tim Finn singing lead.
Personnel
Split Enz
- Tim Finn - vocals, piano
- Phil Judd - vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin
- Eddie Rayner - piano, mellotron, synthesizer, organ, clavinet, electric piano
- Wally Wilkinson - lead guitar
- Mike Chunn - bass, piano on 'Titus'
- Emlyn Crowther - drums
- Noel Crombie - percussion
Charts
| Chart (1975) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report) | 35 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[1] | 7 |
References
- "Charts.nz – Split Enz – Mental Notes". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 November 2020.