A Split Enz album with identity issues, the group’s sixth studio album is released as Corroboree in Australia and New Zealand, and as Waiata in all other territories. Again produced by David Tickle, this album continues with the punchier True Colours sound and yields the international hit “History Never Repeats”, whose video becomes one of the very first ever played by a new American music video channel, MTV. 
This album contains the first song I ever heard by Split Enz, “History Never Repeats”, as well as quite a few other gems. Where True Colours tended to fall into a single stylistic rut replete with organ solos and choppy guitar work, Corroborree is much more diverse and much smoother, and Neil Finn continues to assert his growing musical talent with each outing, his contributions now at least equaling those of older brother Tim. Neil’s standout tunes include “Iris”, “One Step Ahead”, “Ships” and the single “History Never Repeats” (which was actually my first exposure to the Enz). Tim, however, also turned in the wonderfully silly “I Don’t Wanna Dance” (gratingly but humorously sung just perfectly out of key!), “Ghost Girl” and “Walking Through the Ruins”. Tim’s songs stick to the past Split Enz formula of musical comedy, and in that way, his material is perhaps closer to the original intention of Split Enz than Neil’s. Overall, a good album.
- Hard Act To Follow (3:17)
- One Step Ahead (2:52)
- I Don’t Wanna Dance (3:34)
- Iris (2:50)
- Wail (2:49)
- Clumsy (3:29)
- History Never Repeats (3:00)
- Walking Through the Ruins (4:15)
- Ships (3:01)
- Ghost Girl (4:26)
- Albert of India (4:03)
Released by: Mushroom
Release date: 1981
Total running time: 37:36
1992 music review by Earl Green