My vote for most underrated songwriter of the rock era goes to Neil Finn, who’s been composing sophisticated tunes since joining his brother Tim’s band Split Enz in 1977, at the age of 18. He went on to found Crowded House before releasing two solo albums. Perhaps the best point of comparison for his music is Squeeze — songs built around a lot more chords than traditional rock or blues, with sophisticated lyrics to match. “Sinner” might be the best known song from “Try Whistling This,” but the whole album is a treasure, and most of the songs rock harder than this one.
For another taste, here’s “She Will Have Her Way,” with a video built around clips from “Attack of the 50-Foot Woman.”
