| Nature's Best | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Compilation album by Nature's Best series | ||||
| Released | 14 January 2002 | |||
| Length | 115:56 | |||
| Label | Sony Music New Zealand | |||
| Nature's Best series chronology | ||||
| ||||
Nature's Best is a two-disc compilation album of thirty New Zealand popular music songs, selected by a panel as the top thirty New Zealand songs of all time.
The genesis of the idea was the 75th anniversary of the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) in New Zealand in 2001 and the selection of the top 100 New Zealand songs of the past 75 years. A list of over 900 candidate songs was prepared, and voting was open to APRA members and an invited academy. The list of the top 100 songs was announced in stages in 2001, with the number one place going to the 1969 song "Nature" by Fourmyula. [1]
A collaborative effort by representatives of major record companies and APRA - most notably Mike Chunn [2] [3] - took place to produce an album of the top 30 songs from this selection. The resulting album was named Nature's Best after the title song, and was released in January 2002 on the Sony Music label. Sales were extraordinary - in the first four months after its release, over 100,000 copies were sold [4] (over quintuple platinum in the New Zealand market).
Subsequent releases followed:
Neil Mullane Finn is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known for being a principal member of Split Enz with his brother Tim, the lead singer and a founding member of Crowded House, and a touring member of Fleetwood Mac. Finn joined Split Enz in 1977 after the departure of founding member Phil Judd and influenced a shift away from band's art rock roots and towards a new wave and pop-oriented sound. Gradually rising in creative prominence within the band, he came to write the majority of the band's successful songs in the 1980s, including "One Step Ahead", "History Never Repeats", "I Got You", and "Message to My Girl".
The music of New Zealand has been influenced by a number of traditions, including Māori music, the music introduced by European settlers during the nineteenth century, and a variety of styles imported during the twentieth century, including blues, jazz, country, rock and roll, reggae, and hip hop, with many of these genres given a unique New Zealand interpretation.
Split Enz were a New Zealand band formed in 1972. Regarded as the first New Zealand band to gain significant recognition outside of Australasia, they were initially noted for their progressive/art rock sound, flamboyant visual style and theatrical performances. The band later moved toward a pop/new wave sound that yielded the breakthrough hit single "I Got You" (1980). Split Enz broke up in 1984. Since that time, the band has staged several brief reunions.
Briolette Kah Bic Runga, recording as Bic Runga, is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist pop artist. Her first three studio albums debuted at number one on the New Zealand Top 40 Album charts. Runga has also found success internationally in Australia, Ireland and the United Kingdom with her 1997 song "Sway".
Sir David Joseph Dobbyn is a New Zealand musician, singer–songwriter and record producer. In his early career he was a member of the rock group Th' Dudes and was the main creative force in pop band DD Smash. Since then he has released the majority of his recordings as a solo performer.
Brian Timothy Finn is a New Zealand singer, songwriter, musician, and composer. He is best known as a founding member of Split Enz. Finn founded the band in 1972 with Phil Judd and served as lead singer and principal songwriter. Following Judd's departure in 1977, he was joined by brother Neil. Finn wrote or co-wrote some of the band's best-known songs, including "I See Red" and "Six Months in a Leaky Boat". While still a member of Split Enz, he began a solo career, scoring the two hits "Fraction Too Much Friction" and "Made My Day" in 1983; he left the band in early 1984, briefly returning for their farewell tour later that year.
Ross Elliott Burge is a New Zealand musician, who started playing drums with the Nelson College rock band Mandias in 1973. He decided that this was to be the life for him, and called the NZPO to ensure back-up. He has since played drums for bands and artists such as, and in roughly chronological order:- Andy Anderson's express, Rodger Fox Big Band, Sharon O'Neill, Jon Stevens, The Scouts, Two Armed Men, Spines, Sneaky Feelings, The Happ'ng Thang (Australia), The Mutton Birds, Bic Runga, Rick Bryant, Windy City Strugglers, Tim Finn, The Finn Brothers, Dave Dobbyn and Anika Moa.Hamish Gunn [ guitar and vocals in Mandias, Golden Horn Sound Company Band sponsored “Lady and BackBone” ].
Together in Concert: Live is a 2000 live album by Tim Finn, Bic Runga, and Dave Dobbyn during their Together in Concert tour. It was recorded in the months of August and September 2000 in venues around New Zealand. Both the concert and album feature all three performers providing vocal and instrumental backing on each other's songs.
"Bursting Through" is a song by New Zealand artist Bic Runga, released in September 1996 as the first single from her debut studio album, Drive (1997).
Nature's Best 2 is a two-disc compilation album of 35 New Zealand popular music songs, numbers 31-65 on the APRA 75th Anniversary Top 100 New Zealand Songs of All Time. See Nature's Best for more information on the selection process of this list.
Nature's Best 3 is a two-disc compilation album of 35 New Zealand popular music songs, numbers 66-100 on the APRA 75th Anniversary Top 100 New Zealand Songs of All Time. See Nature's Best for more information on the selection process of this list.
The Nature's Best DVD is a DVD release of 60 music videos to songs from the three Nature's Best compilation albums.
More Nature is a one-disc compilation album of twenty notable New Zealand popular music songs from 2000 to 2005, intended to be a supplement to the Nature's Best series of compilation albums. The song selection for More Nature was not voted on by Australasian Performing Right Association members as were the Top 100 New Zealand Songs of All Time. All of the songs on this album were selected because they had been released after the voting for the Nature's Best song list was conducted. The album was certified platinum.
ENZSO was an orchestral project started by former Split Enz keyboardist Eddie Rayner. It combines the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra with contemporary pop singers to perform Split Enz songs.
"Message to My Girl" is a song by New Zealand art rock group Split Enz. It was released in January 1984 as the second single from their ninth studio album Conflicting Emotions.
Second Nature is the fifth solo album by Margaret Urlich. Released in May 1999 in New Zealand, it achieved gold status and was her last album before her death in 2022. Second Nature was produced by Eddie Rayner from Split Enz and was recorded on and off over 12 months and involved musicians from Australia and New Zealand. The album comprised cover versions of some of Urlich's favourite New Zealand songs that she grew up with. These included artists like Split Enz, Crowded House, Dave Dobbyn, Max Merritt, Shona Laing, Don McGlashan and Tim Finn.
"Loyal" is a single by New Zealand singer/songwriter Dave Dobbyn, released in 1988 from the album of the same name. The song reached number 19 on the New Zealand charts and has since become a cult song for the nation.
Language is a single by New Zealand singer/songwriter Dave Dobbyn, released in 1994 as the first single from the Twist album. The song reached number 4 on the New Zealand charts.
The APRA Top 100 New Zealand Songs of All Time is a selection of New Zealand songs as voted in 2001 by members of the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). The top 30 of this selection was used to create the Nature's Best CD and the rest of the list for follow-up compilations. A similar list was made in Australia of the top 30 Australian songs.
Anthology is a compilation album by New Zealand singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Bic Runga. The album was initially set to be released on 23 November 2012, but ultimately released on 1 December 2012 in New Zealand. The album cover was revealed on 29 October 2012.
