EnzSO: EnzSO

It's easy to forget what a delicate thing good pop music is. If nothing else, this full orchestral recording of songs by the New Zealand pop group Split Enz—a precursor to Crowded House—demonstrates how easy it is to mess a good thing up. It's easy to forgive, and even enjoy, ridiculous lyrics like, "When my baby's walking down the street / I see red, I see red, I see red / How can someone wicked walk around free / I see red, I see red, I see red / Ooh" when they stand in front of jangling guitars and are confined to a catchy three minutes. When the same song is expanded to seven minutes and backed by the swelling strings of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra—and the low moan of the New Zealand National Youth Choir—the result is laughable. Fans of Split Enz and Crowded House may be interested in hearing singer Tim Finn trade vocal duties with brother Neil, but despite their involvement, the weight of the project's pretensions still drags it down to the level of The Symphonic Sounds Of The Rolling Stones and other such nightmares.