Right second time, for next edition of Kiwi songbook

Kiwi as: Murray Thom's loyal to NZ music. Photo / Supplied

More than 120,000 people bought The Great New Zealand Songbook - something of a coup for its musical mastermind Murray Thom, who says most had assumed the glory days of pressed plastic were over.

But having just the one songbook felt incomplete, so Thom has put together another double CD of what he considers to be the best of Kiwi music. View asks the burning questions that will undoubtedly pop up when you're pondering whether to buy it.

What's so special about Vol 2?

Volume 1 came with flash packaging - a glossy box, adorned with a guitar-toting Charlie the Four-Square man and a meaty book of music memorabilia. That's notably absent this time because, as Thom explains, it's really just the music Kiwis want. "Of the 120,000 albums we sold, 100,000 were of the standard edition." Besides, not all is lost. Artist Dick Frizzell's Charlie has made the cover again. He's giving a peace-up sign as he walks off into the distance, symbolising that this is the final Songbook.

Who is Murray Thom?

A legend in the industry, managing director of CBS Records NZ at the age of 23, the man who signed Dave Dobbyn and helped make Loyal the classic Kiwi album that it is. He's also the reason Peking Man's Room That Echoes topped the charts in 1985.

Who makes the cut?

There are very few surprises on the Last Century disc, with classics that have stood the test of time, from Split Enz and Dave Dobbyn to Crowded House and Shihad. It's the This Century disc that gets tricky. How do you get just the right balance of new songs with those five or six years old that may not be classics yet but soon will be? Thom says it wasn't easy. Expect to hear J Williams and Kids of 88 alongside Che Fu and Fur Patrol.

Isn't it uncool to categorise Kiwi music?

The last word belongs to Thom: "I love what The Great New Zealand Songbook celebrates. Do we need to celebrate it? I think it's fantastic that we can and now that we've got two volumes, that's seriously cool."

*The Great New Zealand Songbook Volume 2 comes out tomorrow.

- Herald On Sunday / View