The seventh album from Split Enz, Time + Tide, is released to a strong start, going gold within two weeks in Australia alone. With most of the songs written by Tim Finn, the album is surprisingly autobiographical. The album’s lead single, the sea-shanty-styled “Six Months In A Leaky Boat”, is chased off the airwaves by radio program directors when it’s interpreted as a commentary on the Falkland Islands War (despite the fact that the song was written and recorded months before the conflict ever took place). 
When I first heard “Giant Heartbeat”, “Hello Sandy Allen” and “Take A Walk” in 1990, I knew right then and there that this album was going to be a longtime favorite. Where Second Thoughts was the greatest accomplishment of the Enz’ original lineup, Time & Tide was an amazing musical accomplishment for the ’80s Enz. Tim and Neil Finn were perhaps at their best balance with one another, and the considerably darker tone of some of the songs here were indicative that perhaps Split Enz was finally growing beyond the whimsy that had characterized them in the past. What a welcome evolution. Among the highlights here are Neil’s guitar work finally achieving the first hints of the intricacy to come later in his Crowded House material, some wonderfully unusual instrumentation, and Noel Crombie handling both the drums and other percussion duties with tremendous impact. Tim Finn has since commented that Time & Tide was the favorite album of the band members as well – is it any wonder? A must-hear! Also, a rare accolade for the album cover. Track down the LP and look at the back cover – one of the most innovative “band line-ups” you’ve ever seen awaits you.
- Dirty Creature (4:02)
- Giant Heartbeat (3:57)
- Hello, Sandy Allen (3:50)
- Never Ceases To Amaze Me (3:04)
- Lost For Words (3:00)
- Small World (3:35)
- Take A Walk (3:35)
- Pioneer (1:31)
- Six Months in a Leaky Boat (4:20)
- Haul Away (2:26)
- Log Cabin Fever (4:35)
- Make Sense Of It (3:34)
Released by: Mushroom
Release date: 1982
Total running time: 41:29
1992 music review by Earl Green