Waiata (album)

For the Māori word for "song" (Waiata), see Māori music.

Waiata (Corroboree)
New Zealand release
Studio album by Split Enz
Released	March 1981
Recorded	AAV Studios, Melbourne, 1980
Genre	New wave
Length	37:20
Label	Mushroom (Australia and New Zealand) A&M (Rest of world)
Producer	David Tickle
Split Enz chronology
Beginning of the Enz (1980) Waiata (Corroboree) (1981) Time and Tide (1982)
Alternative cover
Australian release
Alternative cover
International release

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	C+[2]
The New Rolling Stone Record Guide	[3]

Waiata is the seventh studio album by New Zealand new wave band Split Enz, released in March 1981. Its Australian release was titled Corroboree. Waiata is the Māori term for song and singing, while corroboree is an Aboriginal term. According to Noel Crombie the intention was to name the album using a word from the natives of every country it was released in. This did not go ahead and the only country to adopt this change was Australia. The rest of the world kept the New Zealand title Waiata.

The songs "History Never Repeats" and "One Step Ahead" were among the first music videos aired on MTV when the cable television channel launched in the United States in 1981.[4]

Track listing

All songs written by Tim Finn, except where noted. Side one:

1. "Hard Act to Follow" – 3:17
2. "One Step Ahead" (Neil Finn) – 2:52
3. "I Don't Wanna Dance" – 3:34
4. "Iris" (N. Finn) – 2:50
5. "Wail" (Eddie Rayner) – 2:49
6. "Clumsy" – 3:29

Side two:

1. "History Never Repeats" (N. Finn) – 3:00
2. "Walking Through the Ruins" – 4:15
3. "Ships" (N. Finn) – 3:01
4. "Ghost Girl" – 4:26
5. "Albert of India" (Rayner) – 4:03

2006 remaster

All songs written by Tim Finn, except where noted.

1. "Hard Act to Follow" – 3:21
2. "History Never Repeats" (N. Finn) – 2:59
3. "I Don't Wanna Dance" – 3:34
4. "One Step Ahead" (Neil Finn) – 2:51
5. "Walking Through the Ruins" – 4:07
6. "Wail" (Eddie Rayner) – 3:09
7. "Iris" (N. Finn) – 2:51
8. "Clumsy" – 3:32
9. "Ghost Girl" – 4:39
10. "Ships" (N. Finn) – 3:03
11. "Albert of India" (Rayner) – 4:14
12. "In the Wars" – 3:33

Personnel

Split Enz

• Tim Finn – vocals
• Neil Finn – vocals, guitar
• Noel Crombie – percussion
• Malcolm Green – drums
• Nigel Griggs – bass
• Edward Rayner – vocals, keyboards
• International Management – Nathan D. Brenner

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1981)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[5]	1
Canada[6]	17
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[7]	1
US Top LPs & Tape (Billboard)[8]	45

Year-end charts

Chart (1981)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[9]	10
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[10]	3

See also

• List of Top 25 albums for 1981 in Australia

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[11]	Platinum	50,000^^
Canada (Music Canada)[12]	Platinum	100,000^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Corroboree Review by Chris Woodstra". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
2. Christgau, Robert. "Waiata". Robert Christgau.
3. Marsh, Dave; Swenson, John, eds. (1983). The New Rolling Stone Record Guide. New York: Random House/Rolling Stone Press. p. 480. ISBN 978-0-394-72107-1.
4. "The First 50 Music Videos Ever Played on MTV". DataLounge.com. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
5. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. p. 288. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1970 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988.
6. "RPM Canadian Charts". Retrieved 13 July 2011.
7. "Charts.nz – Split Enz – Waiata". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
8. "All Music Guide". Retrieved 11 November 2010.
9. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 433. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
10. "Top Selling Albums of 1981 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
11. "Major fight economics with quirky rock originals". Billboard. 12 June 1982.
12. "Split Enz – Part Two - The Eighties". AudioCulture. 1 April 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2020.