Mental Notes (Split Enz album)

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Mental Notes is the 1975 debut album by New Zealand art rock band Split Enz. The album cover was painted by band member Phil Judd. Original vinyl copies featured Phil saying "Make a mental note" in the runout groove of the record's second side, causing the phrase to be looped ad infinitum until the needle was removed from it.

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Walking Down a Road *"	Phil Judd, Tim Finn	5:26
2.	"Under the Wheel"	Phil Judd, Tim Finn	7:50
3.	"Amy (Darling)"	Phil Judd, Tim Finn	5:18
4.	"So Long for Now"	Phil Judd, Tim Finn	3:19

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Stranger Than Fiction *"	Phil Judd, Tim Finn	6:58
2.	"Time for a Change *"	Phil Judd	3:46
3.	"Maybe"	Phil Judd, Tim Finn	2:59
4.	"Titus *"	Phil Judd	3:02
5.	"Spellbound †"	Phil Judd, Tim Finn	5:00
6.	"Mental Notes"	Phil Judd	0:34

Bonus Tracks on 2006 Remaster

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
11.	"129 (Live)"	Phil Judd/Tim Finn	3:03
12.	"Lovey Dovey (Live)"	Phil Judd/Tim Finn	3:22

* These songs were re-recorded for the Second Thoughts album.

† This version has Phil Judd singing lead vocals. An earlier version (found on The Beginning of the Enz) recorded in 1974 has Tim Finn singing lead.

Personnel

Split Enz

• Timothy Finn – vocals, piano
• Philip Judd – vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, mandolin
• Jonathan Michael Chunn – bass, piano on 'Titus'
• Noel Crombie – percussion
• Emlyn Crowther – drums
• Eddie Rayner – organs, synthesizers, piano, clavinet, mellotron, electric piano
• Wally Wilkinson – lead guitar
• David Russell – bass on 'Maybe' link
• Robert Gillies – trumpet on "Maybe", saxophone on "129 (Live)" and "Lovey Dovey (Live)"

Production

• Engineered by Richard Batchens
• Produced by: David Russell and Split Enz
• Recorded at Festival Studios, Studio 24, May/June 1975
• Tapes and Equipment: Murray Ward
• Artwork: Graeme Webber
• Cover painting by Phil Judd

Special Thanks to

• Robert Gillies
• Geoffrey Chunn
• Peter Madill
• James Farrell
• David Russell
• Miles Golding

History and features

The album was a moderate success on its release in July 1975. It sold 12,000 copies in Australia, reached #35 on the album chart for one week, and peaked at #7 in New Zealand. Much of the material derived from Tim Finn's and Phil Judd's fascination with the work of the renowned English writer and artist Mervyn Peake – notably Spellbound, the epic track Stranger Than Fiction (their concert centrepiece) and Titus, named after the hero of Peake's Gormenghast trilogy.

External links

• Enzology - Episode 2: Mental Notes (Radio New Zealand National)