(MM) Formed in 1972 in Auckland, New Zealand, Split Enz, known initially as Split Ends, were, and remain, utterly unique. As the first band from New Zealand to achieve major success beyond the Southern Hemisphere, they blazed a trail with a sound and style entirely their own. Evolving from folk-inspired beginnings into a fusion of art-rock, new wave, and theatrical performance, Split Enz didn't just follow trends, they genuinely created them. While no one sounded like Split Enz at the time, countless acts have drawn inspiration from their legacy over the past five decades.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of their groundbreaking debut, Mental Notes, the first installment of a landmark archival project, ENZyclopedia Volumes One & Two, presents a comprehensive tribute to New Zealand's most visionary and influential band. Housed in a deluxe 5-CD box set (also available as a 3-LP + Blu-Ray edition), this release has been curated in close collaboration with the band. It offers an in-depth look at their formative years, showcasing the evolution of a group whose creative spirit reshaped the boundaries of popular music from New Zealand.
CD1 features a 2025 remaster by Phil Kinrade at AIR Studios, from the original master tapes of the band's 1975 debut, Mental Notes. Disc two has a brand new remix of Second Thoughts by the band's Eddie Rayner, which was recorded at Basing Street Studios in London with Roxy Music's Phil Manzanera, while Bob Marley and The Wailers were making Exodus in the Downstairs studio. CD3 has a remastered version of the original mix of Second Thoughts. The penultimate disc collects together the band's earliest singles and rare tracks from their formative years. And disc five, Wide Angle Enz, is an archive of unreleased and rare material, including never-before-heard live recordings from the 1975 Ormond Hall show and rough mixes from the Second Thoughts sessions, recently uncovered in the Chrysalis archives.
The five-disc set is housed in a tri-fold sleeve within a rigid slipcase, complete with an obi-strip and a lavish 40-page booklet featuring previously unpublished photographs, rare memorabilia, and in-depth commentary from Tim Finn, Eddie Rayner, Wally Wilkinson, Mike Chunn, and Phil Manzanera. The 3-LP vinyl set features newly remastered editions of Mental Notes, Second Thoughts (Eddie Rayner 2025 Remix), and The Beginning of the Enz, pressed on three 140g LPs. The package mirrors the CD edition with a rigid slipcase, heavy-stock inner sleeves, obi-strip, and the full 40-page booklet. The Blu-Ray, exclusive to Superdeluxe edition.com, features Atmos and 5.1 mixes of Second Thoughts by Michael Carpenter, as well as hi-res stereo versions of the new Eddie Rayner remix and the original 1976 stereo version-a hi-res stereo version of Mental Notes and three music videos.
Lead singer Tim Finn, "Mental Notes was an album we carried around in our heads and hearts for a few years before we actually got the chance to make it. Phil and I had imagined epic and luxurious soundscapes that would stand alongside the masterpieces from the sixties we had fallen in love with in our most impressionable years, far removed in a land at the bottom of the world. Which is why, thinking we had fallen short, we tried to make our first album twice. Once in Sydney and again in London in 1976. So the "real" Mental Notes is still hovering somewhere between two records, never to be fully realised. However, nowadays I can hear beauty in the flaws, and completeness in the imperfections."
Speaking about the band now Phil Manzanera recalls "We (Roxy Music) arrived in Sydney after this horrendously long journey via Mumbai and all sorts of stopovers and I get into my hotel room, turn on the TV and there was Split Enz, playing live on GTK. I was absolutely blown away when I found out they were playing with us at the Hordern Pavilion there in Sydney. At the gig, I decided to watch from the side of the stage and was very impressed. My recollection is that when the band came off stage, I passed by their dressing room, put my head in and said, 'Hey guys that was terrific. If there is anything I can do to help let me know.' How it came about that they came to London, I don't know, but I organised the recording of what became the album Second Thoughts at Basing Street Studios in Notting Hill Gate. During the recording I was amazed by how together and accomplished they all were with the song arrangements, but of course I didn't really appreciate how long they had been gigging. It was a joy to work with them."
Of the task of remixing tracks from the mid-70's, the band's keyboard player, Eddie Rayner, says, "The original 1976 mixes (of Mental Notes) always felt right to me-no need to touch them. But in early 2025, while sifting through digital transfers from the Chrysalis archives, the sessions quietly called to me... and curiosity got the better of me. At first, I thought a remix might just be an interesting curio for die-hard fans. Remixing something that didn't need fixing was daunting. Phil Manzanera and Rhett Davies had nailed it the first time around. But hearing the raw tracks again, I was hit by how inventive and fearless the arrangements were-and how good the band actually was. Croth's complex, swinging drumming, Chunn's melodic bass lines, Tim's piano, always tasteful. Juddsy's inspirational guitar work and Rob's dextrous brass- all far more refined and accomplished than I remembered. Even Noel's colourful percussion, which had been tucked away in the original mix, got a proper moment this time around."
In 1975/76, Split Enz were Tim Finn - vocals, piano, Phil Judd - vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, Eddie Rayner - acoustic and electric piano, mellotron, synthesizer, organ, clavinet, Mike Chunn - bass, Emlyn Crowther - drums. Noel Crombie - percussion, and Wally Wilkinson - lead guitar on Mental Notes & Robert Gillies on saxophone for Second Thoughts.
SPLIT ENZ
'ENZYCLOPEDIA VOLUMES ONE & TWO' 5CD SET
CD 1 - MENTAL NOTES (2025 REMASTER)
1. Walking Down A Road
2. Under The Wheel
3. Amy (Darling)
4. So Long For Now
5. Stranger Than Fiction
6. Time For A Change
7. Maybe
8. Titus
9. Spellbound
10. Mental Notes
CD 2 - SECOND THOUGHTS (2025 EDDIE RAYNER REMIX)*
1. Late Last Night
2. Walking Down A Road
3. Titus
4. Lovey Dovey
5. Sweet Dreams
6. Stranger Than Fiction
7. Time For A Change
8. Matinee Idyll
9. The Woman Who Loves You
CD 3 - SECOND THOUGHTS (2025 REMASTER)
1. Late Last Night
2. Walking Down A Road
3. Titus
4. Lovey Dovey
5. Sweet Dreams
6. Stranger Than Fiction
7. Time For A Change
8. Matinee Idyll
9. The Woman Who Loves You
10. Mental Notes
CD 4 - The BEGINNING OF THE ENZ
2025 Eddie Rayner Remixes*
1. Spellbound
2. No Bother To Me
3. Malmsbury Villa
4. Sweet Talking Spoon Song
5. Lovey Dovey
2025 Remasters
6. 129
7. Split Ends
8. For You
9. Home Sweet Home
CD 5 - WIDE ANGLE ENZ*
1. Sweet Dreams [Live at Ormond Hall, Eddie Rayner Remix]
2.Late Last Night [Archival Rough Mix]
3. Stranger Than Fiction ['Mental Notes' Version, Eddie Rayner Remix]
4. 129 (Matinee Idyll) [Live at Ormond Hall, Eddie Rayner Remix]
5. Titus [Archival Rough Mix]
6. Under The Wheel [Live at Ormond Hall, Eddie Rayner Remix]
7. Time For A Change [Live at Ormond Hall, Eddie Rayner Remix]
*Previously unreleased/new mixes
SPLIT ENZ
'ENZYCLOPEDIA VOLUMES ONE & TWO' 3LP SET
LP 1 - MENTAL NOTES (2025 REMASTER)
Side A
1. Walking Down A Road
2. Under The Wheel
3. Amy (Darling)
4. So Long For Now
Side B
1. Stranger Than Fiction
2. Time For A Change
3. Maybe
4. Titus
5. Spellbound
6. Mental Notes
LP 2 - SECOND THOUGHTS (2025 EDDIE RAYNER REMIX)
Side A
1. Late Last Night
2. Walking Down A Road
3. Titus
4. Lovey Dovey
5. Sweet Dreams
Side B
1. Stranger Than Fiction
2. Time For A Change
3. Matinee Idyll
4. The Woman Who Loves You
LP 3 - THE BEGINNING OF THE ENZ
Side A 2025 Eddie Rayner Remixes
1. Spellbound
2. No Bother To Me
3. Malmsbury Villa
4. Sweet Talking Spoon Song
5. Lovey Dovey
Side B 2025 Remasters
1. 129
2. Split Ends
3. For You
4. Home Sweet Home
SPLIT ENZ
'ENZYCLOPEDIA VOLUMES ONE & TWO' BLU-RAY
MENTAL NOTES
1975 Original Stereo Mix Remastered [96/24 bit]
1. Walking Down A Road
2. Under The Wheel
3. Amy (Darling)
4. So Long For Now
5. Stranger Than Fiction
6. Time For A Change
7. Maybe
8. Titus
9. Spellbound
10. Mental Notes
SECOND THOUGHTS
Michael Carpenter Dolby Atmos Mix [48/24 bit]
Michael Carpenter 5.1 Mix [48/24 bit]2025
Eddie Rayner Stereo Mix [96/24 bit]
1976 Original Stereo Mix Remastered [96/24 bit]
1. Late Last Night
2. Walking Down A Road
3. Titus
4. Lovey Dovey
5. Sweet Dreams
6. Stranger Than Fiction
7. Time For A Change
8. Matinee Idyll (129)
9. The Woman Who Loves You
10. Mental Notes (1976 Stereo Mix Only)
MUSIC VIDEOS
1. Sweet Dreams
2. Lovey Dovey
3. Late Last Night
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