The Rootin' Tootin' Luton Tapes

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Among Split Enz fans, there are no recordings as legendary as The Rootin' Tootin' Luton Sessions, the demos the band cut in 1978 just after they fired their manager, split from their record company, and had an acrimonious parting with co-founder Phil Judd. Severed from so much they knew, the Enz decided to regroup by recording in an exceedingly tiny studio in Luton. The studio just passed the definition of "studio," barely being big enough to house the band, but such close quarters produced vital, kinetic music that signaled a rebirth of the group. A fair share of that energy could be heard on the subsequent Frenzy, but the Luton sessions -- containing songs that never surfaced on a proper album -- had a unique energy and vibe unlike anything else in the Enz catalog, a quality clearly evident to the band and their fans, so the sessions became a much sought-after bootleg item, where they rightly earned the name The Rootin' Tootin' Luton Sessions. Almost 20 years after their recording, the demos finally saw an official release in 2007 when Eddie Rayner remastered the entire Enz catalog for reissue. The Rootin' Tootin' Luton Sessions appeared as part of the massive box set Enz to Enz, but also as a separately available single disc (and as double-disc limited edition to the Frenz of the Enz fanclub), allowing listeners who are not fanatics to hear some of the band's finest music. So often, rarities beloved by diehards do not translate to a wider audience, but that's certainly not the case with The Rootin' Tootin' Luton Sessions, which contain some of Split Enz's liveliest, best music, perched precisely between their proggy start and the tightly coiled new wave pop that gave them hits in the '80s. Sometimes the group does tilt a bit too heavily toward their elliptical beginnings, but the stripped-down, direct arrangements, along with the raw kinetic performances, prevent this from getting too arty. Indeed, these nervy readings give the Luton Sessions their rootin' tootin' energy, but the songs themselves are equally infectious, finding Split Enz flirting with everything from country-rock in "Evelyn" to the pounding rock & roll of "Message Boy" and the frenzied angular pop of "Miss Haps," a song that suggests the band's future. But even if portions of the sessions point the way toward what lies ahead for the Enz, The Rootin' Tootin' Luton Sessions remains a singular, compelling listen in how it acts as a fulcrum between the two eras of the Enz, producing some of the band's very best music as the group barrels ahead unadorned, unaffected, and unquestionably inspired. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine