NETTWERK AMERICA "Everyone Is Here," a new album by Neil, left, and Tim Finn is outstanding from beginning to end.

Finn Brothers’
CD a big hit

The pair combines to come up with
a wonderful, soul-satisfying album

Brothers Tim and Neil Finn have shared a rich musical history together, dating back to when they sung in harmony as kids at family parties in the town of Te Awamutu in Auckland, New Zealand. They also spent time together in the gleefully eccentric new wave band Split Enz and in the later years of Neil's internationally successful pop ensemble, Crowded House, specifically the album "Woodface."

"Everyone Is Here" The Finn Brothers (Nettwerk America)

Both as partners and by themselves, the Finns have written such memorable songs as "I Got You," "Six Months in a Leaky Boat" and my choice for the perfect pop ballad, "Don't Dream It's Over."

Now middle-aged, drawing on lifetimes of dreams, memories and emotional growth, the two have put together a truly wonderful and artistically confident album.

"It was quite uncanny," Tim said in a press release, "how often one of us would have a lyric or an idea that would fit something the other was working on. There were no rules or parameters about what might make it. We wanted it to be emotional, and we wanted it to be direct."

The first two songs off the album are proof of that -- "Won't Give In," with its slightly melancholic tone wrapped around the song's yearning lyrics, revisits the initial power of "Don't Dream It's Over," and the harmony vocals buoying "Nothing Wrong With You" are heartrending.

With the help of veteran recording studio masters Mitchell Froom, Tony Visconti and Bob Clearmountain, the sonics heard on "Everyone Is Here" is on a par with the songs. There's an expansive feel, helped by Visconti and the Finns' string arrangement, on the song "Homesick" that captures its adrift and disassociate lyrics. The rueful "Edible Flowers" captures in fine detail the contrast between older brother Tim's darker, heavier voice and Neil's brighter vocal tone. And the closing "Gentle Hum," with its "breathing" accordion, ends the album on a prayerful note.

The album works perfectly as a total statement, with songs segueing into each other in a complementary way. The bond of the brothers of "A Life Between Us" breaks out into the purposeful statement of unity of "All God's Children," and the hope and faith in humanity found in Tim's singing on "All the Colours" changes to the dynamic harmonies of "Part of Me, Part of You."

While Neil has been the most visible of the two during their respective musical careers, a newfound appreciation for Tim's talents can be found on "Everyone Is Here." His showcase vocal on the redemptive "Luckiest Man Alive" is a highlight.

From beginning to end, I can't think of a more soul-satisfying album that has been released so far this year as this one.