The album was recorded last year at Roundhead Studios, in Auckland, with Grammy award-winning US producer/mixer Jacquire King (Kings Of Leon, Tom Waits, Norah Jones and Modest Mouse).
Tim Finn's history is long. Since his beginnings in Split Enz he has been responsible for songs such as Six Months In A Leaky Boat, Poor Boy, Dirty Creature, I See Red and Persuasion.
For The View Is Worth The Climb he has assembled a band of like-minded musicians for the recording; Joey Waronker (Beck, REM), Zac Rae (Macy Gray, Fiona Apple, Cold War Kids), Brett Adams (The Bads), Tony Buchen (Andy Bull) and Mara TK (Electric Wire Hustle).
The title track is co-written with Aria Award winner Megan Washington.
• It's a Mission
The date for the 20th Anniversary Mission Estate Winery Concert has been confirmed as Saturday, February 25, 2012.
From the beginning in 1993, with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, the Mission Concert has established itself as a premier event.
Dionne Warwick, Ray Charles, Kenny Rodgers, The Beach Boys, Sir Cliff Richard, Tom Jones, Eric Clapton and Sting have all graced the Mission stage, and next year Rod Stewart makes a return visit.
On the web: www.missionconcert.co.nz
• Super heavyweight
As supergroups go, a Rolling Stone, a Eurythmic and Joss Stone make a pretty fearsome one. Superheavy is: Mick Jagger, Damian Marley, A.R. Rahman, Dave Stewart and Joss StoneThe group's first single, Miracle Worker, has been delivered to New Zealand radio recently.
This eclectic line-up, who share 11 Grammy Awards between them, have been recording together in studios around the world, with the majority of the tracks on the project laid down over three weeks in Los Angeles earlier this year.
The album will be unveiled in September and tracks include the first single Miracle Worker, plus One Day One Night, Energy, Unbelievable, SuperHeavy, I Cant Take It No More, You're Never Gonna Change and I Don't Mind.
Stewart refers to SuperHeavy as "a mad alchemist-type experiment". Fusing the talents of one of the greatest frontmen of all time, a two-time Academy award-winning Indian composer, a soul vocal prodigy, a three-time Grammy-winning reggae star, and one of the most soughtafter producers, you would expect the explosive results to defy categorisation.
SuperHeavy came together after Jagger and Stewart considered what a band comprising of musicians from different genres would sound like. Jagger explains, "Dave really wanted to make a record with a different group of musicians, in other words, with different backgrounds of music."
• Reggae rules
Ali Campbell's UB40 will headline at Raggamuffin 2012 at Rotorua's International Stadium on January 28.
The original voice of Red Red Wine, Kingston Town and Can't Help Falling In Love, will return to New Zealand with his new band.
Campbell is the first of a series of international and local artists to be announced for New Zealand's biggest reggae event.
Fans can register at www.raggamuffin.co.nz for a special cheap ticket deal that goes on sale on Wednesday, August 10 for a limited time.
