Crowded House Gravity Stairs released

Gravity Stairs Crowded House

Released: May 31, 2024 Peak: -- Sales (in millions): -- Genre: adult alternative rock

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. Magic Piano [4:46] Teenage Summer [3:39] (4/11/24, --) The Howl (Liam Finn) [3:26] (5/30/24, --) All That I Can Ever Own [3:04] Oh Hi [2:59] (2/8/24, --) Some Greater Plan (for Claire) (N. Finn, Tim Finn) [4:10] Black Water, White Circle [3:42] Blurry Grass (Neil Finn, Elroy Finn) [3:09] I Can’t Keep Up with You (N. Finn, L. Finn) [4:01] Thirsty (N. Finn, E. Finn) [3:30] Night Song [4:12] Songs by Neil Finn unless noted otherwise. Total Running Time: 40:40 The Players: Neil Finn (vocals, guitar) Nick Seymour (bass) Mitchell Froom (keyboards, production) Liam Finn (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals) Elroy Finn (drums, guitar)

Rating: 3.488 out of 5.00 (average of 7 ratings) Quotable: “The most Crowded House thing that Crowded House have made in 30 years.” – Andy Fyfe, Mojo

About the Album: “Everyone who admires a well-crafted melody and a flawless pop song was delighted when Neil Finn reconvened Crowded House for 2021’s Dreamers Are Waiting.” HP That lineup featured “Finn’s gifted sons Liam and Elroy as well as the talents of Mitchell Froom, who worked the faders on the first three albums including 1991’s solid gold classic Woodface.” HP On Crowded House’s Dreamers Are Waiting they offered “many highlights such as ‘To The Island’ and the bouncing ‘Playing With Fire,’ but they’ve surpassed it here.” MJ While that album “had flashes of the old days,” MJ Gravity Stairs features tracks that “effortlessly withstand direct comparison with the band’s mid-’90s peak.” MJ Dreamers Are Waiting and the two previous Crowded House albums (2007’s Time on Earth and 2010’s Intriguer) were “ad hoc affairs, mostly comprising songs written for other Neil Finn projects that he felt somehow aligned more with his old band.” MJ However, Gravity Stairs “started and finished as pure Crowded House” MJ with “the five-piece gelling wonderfully on this loose, gently psychedelic LP that’s still guided by Finn’s immaculate pop instincts.” RS “There’s a dreamlike, swirling quality to the sound on this record.” HP This “fresh collection of expertly written and recorded songs…is a testament to their enduring talent, featuring tracks that are deep, uplifting, and clever.” IR Each song showcases Crowded House‘s signature blend of poignant lyrics and moving melodies, ensuring that listeners are both moved and inspired.” IR “It’s an impressive new chapter for Crowded House that hints toward there still being plenty of interesting corners of the pop universe left for them to explore.” RS It is “the most Crowded House thing that Crowded House have made in 30 years.” MJ “Themes of mortality, such as fatherhood, the afterlife, nostalgia, and the unknown future of the planet, are woven throughout Finn’s songwriting on the record.” IR The album title was inspired by a stone staircase near where Neil vacations. They symbolized “the struggle to climb up, to keep going, which grows in difficulty as one ages. And the stairs are a metaphor for Finn’s creative process, the building-up process that ends with the completed song.” GM “Magic Piano” Magic Piano “is the first song that the band worked on for the album. It’s a mellow song with an echo-laden lead vocal by Finn.” GM It “channels a stoned Beatles vibe that would make Paul McCartney envious.” RS It “is an impressive and catchy production that immediately draws the listener into the whirling mind of Finn’s captivating songwriting. It establishes the overall vibe of the record—steeped in mystery while simultaneously remaining entirely familiar and captivating.” IR In the album bio, Neil said, “It was a very different song when we started playing it. It was probably ambitious as a first recording because it’s not a simple song — it’s got a lot of twists and turns. But the aim is to produce something that sounds effortless, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world and that it’s always existed like that. That’s the art of record making.” GM “Teenage Summer” Second single Teenage Summer “proves Finn is still the Southern Hemisphere’s undisputed king of jangle pop.” RS It “floats through like a July breeze when you’ve all the windows open and you’re feeling good about yourself. Its original title, ‘Life’s Imitation,’ was ditched when Finn’s grandson told the song writer over the phone that he really liked the ‘Teenage Summer’ song. Finn wisely paid attention, adding in a recent interview with this reviewer that, ‘It seemed obvious and we won’t have people in record stores asking for the wrong song like they did with ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’. “Have you got ‘Hey Now’?’” HP “The theme is of longing for connection during a time of isolation.” GM Neil said in the album liner notes that “It’s about trying to achieve some reality and being aware that connection is hard to make. And even before Covid, it was hard to find closeness to people. That became particularly acute afterward.” GM “The Howl” Third single, The Howl is the “album highlight” RS It “is a gorgeous song” GM that “opens with the kind of circular guitar figure they excel at with Finn’s voice soaring around the melody.” HP Liam wrote the song and it is featured “in a slightly different form on Liam’s excellent new album Hyperverse.” RS “All That I Can Ever Own” This is “a great song about telling the missus she’s the greatest in the car on the way home – could pass for some long buried Beatles ‘66 outtake or a piece of sunshine.” HP It “is a rumination on growing older and wiser, and realizing that there are many things in life that one cannot control. On the subject of the song, Finn said in the album bio, ‘Throughout your life there’s an element of letting go of anything other than the love you feel for somebody.’” GM “Oh Hi” The upbeat, bright” GM and “joyous ‘Oh Hi’” HP “was an obvious choice for the first single.” HP The song was inspired by Neil’s work with So They Can, a nonprofit organization which builds schools in Kenya and Tanzania. WK Neil said “it’s very much inspired by these incredible kids and their magnificence.” GM “Some Greater Plan (for Claire)” This “touching song” IR features “folk-mandolin-esque tremolo strumming in the song’s orchestration.” IR Neil got the idea for the song after reading in his father’s war diary about a brief romance he had in Italy during the Second World War and “the wistful look in his eye in later years” GM when he discussed that period. Neil’s brother Tim guests on the track. As for the “Claire” in the title, it isn’t a reference to Neil’s father’s lost love, but a friend of Neil’s that passed away. GM “Black Water, White Circle” This “is a moody and gentle song with a soft lead vocal by Finn that is supported by perfectly understated backing by the band.” GM “Blurry Grass” This “is a bit laid back with some trippy elements to it.” GM “I Can’t Keep Up with You” This “is dreamlike at the outset with echo effects and distant vocals before it shifts about 30 seconds in to a more straight-ahead rock song with strident guitar, solid bass and drums and Finn’s direct lead vocal. It contains some quirky, Split Enz-like elements to it. At the end, the song slowly grinds to a halt.” GM “Thirsty” This “is so gorgeous in its simplicity, it’s natural to assume it must have been written before.” HP It “is a softer song with acoustic guitar and brushes on the drums. Finn’s perfectly measured lead vocal is at its center. A dreamlike song with good backing vocals, it has a countrified feel to it.” GM “Night Song” This “ambitious closer” HP is “a wistful and glitzy pop song” IP with “distinct movements.” HP It “is jazzy with light piano and a smooth lead vocal by Finn at the outset. The pace picks up about two minutes in, with more prominent bass and drums. Finn’s lead vocal grows stronger and is complemented by equally powerful backing vocals.” GM Neil was inspired by a guy “ranting outside a hotel-room window one night at 3 a.m.” GM Neil said, “You share that part of the night with people who are on his kind of trip. I felt a strange kinship with him.” GM The song is “is a fitting end to an album filled with impressionistic lyrics backed by adventurous soundscapes.” IR “A voice at the end says, ‘Beautiful, I love it!’ You will too. Bet The ‘House. You can’t lose.” HP

Resources and Related Links: GM Goldmine album review by John Curley (5/30/2024) HP Hot Press album review by Pat Carty (5/31/2024) IR The Indy Review album review by Kenny Cotich (5/30/2024) MJ Mojo album review by Andy Fyfe (5/31/2024) RS Rolling Stone Australia album review by James Jennings (6/1/2024) WK Wikipedia Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 5/31/2024.

Crowded House released Dreamers Are Waiting

Dreamers Are Waiting Crowded House

Released: June 4, 2021 Peak: -- US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US and UK) Genre: adult alternative rock

Tracks: Song Title [time] (Writers) (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Bad Times Good (N. Finn, Seymour, Froom, E. Finn, L. Finn) [3:41] Playing with Fire (N. Finn, Seymour, Froom, E. Finn, L. Finn) [3:27] (5/12/21, --) To the Island [3:59] (2/17/21, --) Sweet Tooth [3:12] Whatever You Want [3:22] (10/29/20, --) Show Me the Way (L. Finn) [3:43] Goodnight Everyone (L. Finn) [3:30] Too Good for This World (N. Finn, Tim Finn) [3:39] Start of Something [3:20] Real Life Woman [3:48] Love Isn’t Hard at All (N. Finn, E. Finn) [3:02] Deeper Down [3:10] Songs written by Neil Finn unless noted otherwise. Total Running Time: 41:53 The Players: Neil Finn (vocals, guitar) Nick Seymour (bass) Mitchell Froom (keyboards, guitar, backing vocals) Liam Finn (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals) Elroy Finn (drums, guitar)

Rating: 3.650 out of 5.00 (average of 4 ratings) Quotable: “The band’s first album since 2010 is full of beautiful details and deceptive tonal shifts – a slow burn but worth the effort.” – Andrew Stafford, The Guardian

About the Album: Dreamers Are Waiting is the seventh album from Australian rock band Crowded House – their first studio album since 2010’s Intriguer. Frontman Neil Finn said he was waiting for a “fresh and authentic way to re-approach” WK recording with the group because he was “afraid of just repeating the same formulas.” WK The album was recorded largely in Los Angeles in 2020 prior the Covid-19 lockdowns and finished remotely. Aside from Neil, the only other member to appear on every Crowded House album is bassist Nick Seymour. However, an old friend returns. Mitchell Froom, who produced the band’s first three albums, replaces Mark Hart “on endlessly inventive keys.” SMH In addition, this became more of a family affair than previous Crowded House albums as Neil’s sons Liam and Elroy join the fold. They “are so steeped in their dad’s harmonic sensibility that they can only amplify it: exactly the kind of moral support that plants a permanent flickering smile on a decidedly ambivalent set of lyrics.” SMH Neil’s brother Tim, who was a member of the band for 1991’s Woodface, drops in for a co-write on Too Good for This World and Neil’s wife Sharon on backing vocals for “the airborne Love Isn’t Hard at All…the album’s most transparent and uncomplicated expression – and tellingly its least interesting.” SMH There is “a clear musical divide” GU between the first four albums and the latter three, released after original drummer Paul Hester’s 2005 suicide. “Some of the band’s natural joie de vivre – along with the tightly wound pop hooks and effortless anthems – went with him.” GU “You won’t find anything approaching ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’ here…but it’s worth making the effort because the beauty of this record is in the detail and deceptive tonal shifts.” GU “The songs get under your skin like an itch you just have to scratch, almost subliminally addictive.” GU “The sneaking suspicion that the band is having a ball grows with each elaborate left-field diversion…A turned woodblock giggles over here, an outrageous guitar line snakes away over there.” SMH On Bad Times Good, “it would take one of those nerdy YouTubers who deconstruct Beatles songs to explain Neil’s perpetual oscillation between major and minor moods.” SMH On the single Playing with Fire Neil “sounds more fatalistic than optimistic, but it’s a good choice as [a] single, with just a hint of the old snap, crackle and pop of Split Enz, parrping horns in the chorus.” GU Neil “references quarantine madness and confesses, ‘I’ve been lying frozen in my bed / Feeling like the end isn’t far away.’ Still, those horns sure sound like a triumph.” SMH Whatever You Want “features the most flatulent bass solo ever recorded: a pretty funny detail in an angry song about some crazy lying king who’s ‘as bent as a snake.’” SMH “When the next generation is allowed behind the wheel – Liam’s Show Me the Way and Goodnight Everyone – the results are the equal of anything else here, not just in quality, but in their hypnotic, edge-of-delirium feel. At these moments, it feels like Crowded House is now less Neil’s vehicle than a multi-headed hydra for this extraordinary musical family.” GU However, it’s Neil’s name and voice, “still one of the most sensitive and alluring instruments in pop, leading the way. He’s a little sadder, and world-wearier, but his craft is as good as ever.” GU Sweet Tooth “is the nagging pop nugget its titles suggests,” GU showcasing the band’s trademark “ingenious melody knitting together a bunch of chords and a bass line that sound like they would otherwise be complete strangers.” SMH The Guardian’s Andrew Stafford asserts that it is “the closest thing here to a vintage Crowded House song” GU while Michael Dwyer of The Sydney Morning Herald argues that Real Life Woman “is the most classic Crowded House song of the lot” SMH with “a cryptic character analysis set to a slowly descending chime of guitars and ominous keyboard washes.” SMH Second single To the Island “is the thematic heart of the whole head-spinning trip. In a world of chaos and confusion…there’s a place that’s just the right size.” SMH It “could be a paean to the safety of a long-term relationship, or to the Finns’ native New Zealand.” GU “For all its insistent, whispering panic, Dreamers Are Waiting is a work of such intricate, almost cartoonish musicality that it feels blissfully nostalgic by nature in a world which, by and large, just doesn’t make records like this anymore.” SMH “It doesn’t just retain the intimacy that made them so cherished, but makes it their signature sound.” GU

Resources and Related Links: GU The Guardian (6/3/20201). “Crowded House: Dreamers Are Waiting review – record of understated hope is a Finn family affair” by Andrew Stafford SMH The Sydney Morning Herald (6/3/2021). “The dream isn’t over: no duds on Crowded House’s ‘perfectly formed’ new album” by Michael Dwyer WK Wikipedia First posted 6/4/2021.

Crowded House released Intriguer

Intriguer Crowded House

Released: June 11, 2010 Peak: 50 US, 12 UK, 11 AU Sales (in millions): -- Genre: adult alternative rock

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Saturday Sun (4/17/10, --) Archer’s Arrows Amsterdam Either Side of the World (8/28/10, --) Falling Dove Isolation Twice if You’re Lucky (11/8/10, --) Inside Out Even If Elephants The Players: Neil Finn (vocals, guitar, piano) Nick Seymour (bass) Mark Hart (piano, keyboards, electric guitar) Matt Sherrod (drums)

Rating: 3.450 out of 5.00 (average of 24 ratings)

About the Album: Crowded House formed as an offshoot of Split Enz, a band initially helmed by Tim Finn, but later handed off to little brother Neil. Neil developed a more commercial sound which evolved into Crowded House and the #2 U.S. hit “Don’t Dream It’s Over” in 1987. The band would record four albums in less than a decade’s time, but folded up their tent after 1993’s Together Alone. Neil spent the next decade and then some on solo projects and collaborations with brother Tim before reconnecting with House mate Nick Seymour in the wake of original Crowded House member Paul Hester’s suicide. Neil’s intended solo project at the time transformed into a comeback for Crowded House, the 2007 set Time on Earth. Proving that wasn’t just a one-off reunion, Finn and Seymour return again with multi-instrumentalist Mark Hart and drummer Matt Sherrod, who had done some work on the Time on Earth album and return here as full-fledged band members. The group brought producer Jim Scott (who’d worked with Wilco) on board, “who then continued to produce the whole album in Finn’s studio, Roundhead Studios in Auckland, New Zealand.” WK The band also “hired various guest musicians throughout the recording process, including multiinstrumentalist Don McGlashan, Lisa Germano on violin, Jon Brion on vocals and guitars, James Milne on additional vocals, and Finn’s wife Sharon and son, Liam Finn contribute backing vocals and guitars, respectively.” WK Considering Time on Earth began as a Neil solo effort, it is no surprise that this is “more of a band effort.” TH The group “settle into comfortable craft on Intriguer,” STE having “managed to arrive at a certain age without either denying their mortality or seeming defeated by it.” EG This “isn’t as self-consciously weighty as Time on Earth,” STE understandable since that album grew out of the band mourning for Hester, and “it’s also not as hazy as Finn’s pair of solo LPs. In tone and timbre, it’s closest to the second Finn Brothers album, the ruminative Everyone Is Here, but it lacks the reflective undertow of that 2004 album; it may be subdued, but it’s not reveling in its melancholy, it’s riding a gentle wave, swaying from song to song.” STE “Finn claims to have experimented with new sounds here,” TH saying “Intriguer is exotic in parts, traditional in origin.” AZ Certainly “there are songs that bristle with ambition, with strange undercurrents and scuffed melodies.” MC Indeed, “the tempo gets slightly heated” STE at times – “Inside Out works a nicely grinding guitar riff” STE while “opening track Saturday Sun, with its squalling electronics buzzing beneath vigorous guitars” MC and a vocoder which offers “a ghostly and effective touch.” TH The song is “unexpectedly reminiscent of Sonic Youth’s The Eternal.” MC Overall, though, the album “doesn’t mess with the Crowded House formula.” TH “Finn’s handling of a tune remains strong and his poetic sense of place, familiar to fans of the band, remains.” TH However, “those hoping for the instantly gratifying melodies of catalogue classics like ‘Weather With You’ will have to dig a little deeper” TH as Intriguer “doesn’t command attention so much as it teases it.” STE Some songs “plod amiably along, as comfortable as a fraying pair of slippers,” MC such as the “anaesthetised 1950s doo-wop meets late-1960s psychedelia of Isolation.” MC To non-fans, “the album's more conventionally crafted pop songs…invariably sound dull” MC but for fans, songs like “the gently shuffling Twice if You’re Lucky will be perfection itself.” MC There’s also “the wistful dreaming of Amsterdam and the joyful atmospherics of Either Side of the World, with its loose samba beat and disco-influenced piano (actually inspired by John Paul Young’s ‘Love Is in the Air’). The subtlety in the strength of material like the radio-friendly ‘Saturday Sun’ and the gently epic Archer’s Arrows bears out the band’s instinct not to take their experimentation to excess.” TH While the album may not be loaded with hits, the “light touch suits Finn’s songs; he’s favoring subtle craftsmanship over immediate hooks” STE as he “crafts songs that capture the enduring thrills and chills of life and love after youth. He and his band deliver them with a grace that doesn’t detract from their rueful punch.” EG The mood of the album “is soothing, something that pays off great dividends upon close listens. It may not be flashy but it’s sturdy and expertly honed.” STE “There are muddied moments which let some songs down: Elephants, for example, fails to transcend its ponderous title. But these dips are infrequent, and occur towards the end of the album.” TH In the end, Intriguer holds “together better as an album than any Finn project in recent memory.” STE Finn himself says of the album, “It may just be the best thing we’ve done.” AZ Notes: A special edition of the album includes a live DVD.

Resources and Related Links: AZ Amazon.com MC Maddy Costa (6/10/2010). The Guardian STE Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide EG Elysa Gardner (7/13/2010). USA Today TH Tom Hocknell (6/2/2010). BBC Music WK Wikipedia Last updated 6/4/2021.

Crowded House released Time on Earth

Time on Earth Crowded House

Released: June 29, 2007 Peak: 46 US, 3 UK, 38 CN, 11 AU Sales (in millions): 0.45 world (includes US and UK) Genre: adult alternative rock

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Nobody Wants To Don’t Stop Now (6/16/07, –) She Called Up (9/17/07, –) Say That Again Pour Le Monde (12/10/07, --) Even a Child Heaven That I’m Making A Sigh Silent House English Trees Walked Her Way Down Transit Lounge You Are the One to Make Me Cry People Are Like Suns Total Running Time: 58:31 The Players: Neil Finn (vocals, guitar, piano) Nick Seymour (bass, backing vocals) Mark Hart (piano, keyboards, electric guitar, harmony vocals) Matt Sherrod (drums, backing vocals)

Rating: 3.790 out of 5.00 (average of 21 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: Crowded House released four albums in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. Frontman Neil Finn then ventured out as a solo artist and released “the kaleidoscopic Try Whistling This and the hazy One Nil, both book-ended by albums with his brother Tim.” AMG Year after year went by without new music from Crowded House. Then tragedy struck in 2005 when Paul Hester, who’d drummed with Finn on all four Crowded House albums and even worked with him back in his Split Enz days – committed suicide. This sparked Neil to reconnect with Nick Seymour, the bassist on all four Crowded House albums. Multi-instrumentalist Mark Hart, who’d worked on Together Alone, also rejoined the fold and what had initially been intended as Finn’s third solo album evolved into the first Crowded House album in fourteen years. However, this still looks and sounds more like a Neil Finn solo outing than a Crowded House effort. Most of the album was recorded with session musicians – nost notably guitarist Johnny Marr of the Smiths. The team of Finn, Seymour, Hart, and Sherrod only appear on four of the album’s tracks. As a result, “it’s streamlined where their previous albums were ragged, and the most notable element that’s been trimmed is the humor that ran throughout each of their albums.” AMG “This curtailing of good spirits is an appropriate, even expected, reaction to Hester’s death, and his ghost does linger over the whole of Time on Earth.” AMG Nick Seymour did the cover art, as he did for the previous Crowded House albums, and made it a tribute to Hester. The cover – a direct reference to the sea serpent in Olaus Magnus’ book History of the Northern Peoples, features a blue dragon eating a human, a symbol of the depression that consumed Hester. WK Of course, Hester’s presence is “most apparent in the subdued, contemplative tone of the album.” AMG Uncut’s Bud Scoppa says the opening cut, Nobody Wants To, sets “the prevailing melancholy mood.” WK Regarding People Are Like Suns, Finn said “part of it is the idea that people burn brightly and then they fade out.” WK Yahoo! Music’s Andy Strickland asserts that English Trees is a “brilliant weaving of a tale of loss and yearning…[that puts him] up there with the very best songwriters working today.” WK Less direct are songs like Silent House, which Finn initially wrote with the Dixie Chicks prior to Hester’s death. It first appeared on their 2006 album Taking the Long Way, but resurfaces here. The song reads specifically as a reminiscing excursion sparked by going through a grandmother’s belongings after her death from Alzheimer’s. However, on a grander scale it works as a reflection on loss of loved ones in general. “This mildly mournful vibe is enhanced by the subdued tone of the album.” AMG Billboard’s Jessica Letkemann says, “Gone are the more overtly ‘80s top 40 flourishes.” WK “This set of songs takes its time, relying heavily on ballads and meditative, mid-tempo pop tunes, and even the brighter numbers like She Called Up are far from sprightly.” AMG “Finn may in a ruminative mode but Time on Earth is not heavy-handed or oppressively sorrowful: it’s contemplative and sweetly melancholy. Given this hushed vibe, it’s not surprising that the album, as a whole, is a bit of a grower, as Finn’s tunes take some time to reveal their gifts. A few songs have an immediate impact; such as the gently propulsive Don’t Stop Now, the snappy, jangly Marr collaboration Even a Child (the closest this record comes to a rocker) and the spacy, tongue-in-cheek Transit Lounge, featuring Beth Rowley as vocal support; but most of these are subtle songs that unfold at their own speed. It may take some time for the songs to catch hold, but once they do, they dig deep, sticking around in the memory like much of Finn’s best work.” AMG Pour Le Monde (French for “For the World”), one of Finn’s “achingly fine ballads,” WK was inspired by a demonstration Finn observed in Paris against the war on terror. WK Transit Lounge is about the time Finn spent in transit lounges around the world, particularly Singapore and Bangkok. WK “Even if the best of this album does stand proudly alongside the best of Finn’s music, Time on Earth is still quite unlike any of his other records: strangely, it feels more like a solo album than either of his solo albums, partially because it’s such an introspective work, partially because it sustains a bittersweet tone from beginning to end, whereas his other solo efforts careened wildly between moods.” AMG While this is “Neil Finn’s show, this also does feel like the work of a band, since there is a warmth here, a feeling of support, that sounds like a group, not a one-man-band. This curious intermingling of sounds and intent makes Time on Earth a haunting yet comforting affair that is quite unique in Neil Finn’s body of work, yet functions as an oddly appropriate, utterly worthy, comeback as Crowded House.” AMG Notes: The CD was released with a bonus DVD.

Resources and Related Links: AMG All Music Guide review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine WK Wikipedia Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 3/3/2008; last updated 8/9/2021.

Crowded House released Together Alone

Together Alone Crowded House

Released: October 11, 1993 Peak: 73 US, 4 UK, 18 CN, 2 AU Sales (in millions): 0.3 UK Genre: adult alternative rock

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Kare Kare [3:35] In My Command [3:43] Nails in My Feet [3:39] (11/20/93, 22 UK, 34 AU) Black and White Boy [4:01] Fingers of Love [4:26] (6/11/94, 25 UK) Pineapple Head [3:28] (9/24/94, 27 UK) Locked Out [3:18] (12/25/93, 12 UK, 8 MR, 81 CN, 79 AU) Private Universe [5:38] (8/94, 46 AU) Walking on the Spot [2:55] Distant Sun [3:50] (10/2/93, 19 UK, 26 MR, 4 CN, 23 AU) Catherine Wheels [5:12] Skin Feeling (Hester) [3:57] Together Alone (N. Finn/Hart/Wehl) [3:57] All songs written by Neil Finn unless noted otherwise. Total Running Time: 51:32 The Players: Neil Finn (vocals, guitar, keyboards) Nick Seymour (bass, backing vocals) Paul Hester (drums, percussion, vocals) Mark Hart (keyboards, guitars, etc.)

Rating: 3.896 out of 5.00 (average of 26 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “More experimental and musically varied than any of their previous releases” AMG Together Alone is “arguably [Crowded House’s] best record.” AZ The band is “branching out into traditional Maori music and heavy guitars;: AMG “the musical arrangements here reflected and encompassed more of their native Kiwi homeland [of] New Zealand.” AZ The band switch from longtime producer “Mitchell Froom to Killing Joke’s Youth,” AZ a move that “energizes their sound without losing sight” AMG of “the shining pop songcraft that is Neil Finn's trademark.” AMG “Each track…is played with passion and heart…The music is simply breathtaking and the lyrics poetic and intelligent.” AZ “Neil [writes] meaningful heartfelt material…in droves.” GS “Most of the songs have ‘The Touch’” GS on “this set of thirteen ear catching tracks.” AZ “One really good new element here is new member Mick Hart's guitar playing. His style is mostly quite traditional; far from being an aficionado of "new" playing techniques, his main idols seem to rather belong to the Clapton/Harrison crowd…it helps make the opening pop rocker, Kare Kare, about ten times moodier than it could have been otherwise. The idea is to create a slightly dark, but utterly romantic mood without sounding cliched, and the subtle touches of Hart's slide guitar after each verse are the main ingredient in the concoction; the song's main hookline is not the actual chorus, but rather the way Finn's oo-oo-ooing seamlessly merges with Hart's playing.” GS “For those who want to hear their favourite band rocking out, there's In My Command, not exactly a hard rocker per se, but a song that cleverly alternates power-pop choruses with hellraising guitar passages.” GS Nails In My Feet’s “melody…is as gentle and crystal clear and fresh and guitar-based as always, and vocal hooks just keep splashing off the walls. The transition from the rough desperation of the verses to the gorgeous ‘and it briiiiings me relief’ culmination is so natural and easy-going you can't help but admire the artistry.” GS “Other soft-sounding, caressingly arranged ballads like Pineapple Head and Catherine Wheels also qualify in this regard.” GS “If you wanted something really heavy, there's always Black & White Boy, with easily the grungiest guitar part to ever come from these guys…[There are also] mysterious lyrics whose protagonist is definitely not easy to decipher…some people have suggested it's actually a dog - could certainly be, at least it's a nice explanation that relieves the band of any possible racist/sexist accusations.” GS “The speedy, funky, Madchester-influenced Locked Out, with a particularly paranoid coda offer[s] something tasty for the headbangers.” GS “For those who just want straightahead, unassuming…power-pop, there's…Distant Sun…For all their adult-contemporarishness, Fingers of Love and Private Universe…betray far more personality.” GS The latter features some “neat guitar textures…where it almost sounds like an Eno-enhanced pseudo-ambient synthesizer, successfully outpunching the real (boring, but maybe necessarily boring) synthesizers.” GS “The title track, closing the album in anthemic style…[is] all about paying tribute to Neil Finn’s native homeland, including some Maori tribal chanting and drumming (although, for some reason, the chanting suspiciously reeks of generic gospel in places.” GS In short, “Together Alone wasn’t actually planned as a goodbye album, [but] it works well as one.” GS

Resources and Related Links: AMG All Music Guide review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine AZ Amazon.com GS George Starostin First posted 3/3/2008; last updated 5/15/2021.

Crowded House released Woodface

Woodface Crowded House

Released: July 2, 1991 Peak: 83 US, 6 UK, 20 CN, 2 AU Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.6 UK, 0.6 world (includes US and UK) Genre: adult alternative rock

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Chocolate Cake [4:02] (6/15/91, 2 MR, 69 UK, 9 CN, 20 AU) It’s Only Natural [3:32] (8/17/91, 5 MR, 24 UK, 55 CN, 15 AU) Fall at Your Feet (N. Finn) [3:18] (10/19/91, 75 US, 17 UK, 27 CN, 31 AU) Tall Trees [2:19] Weather with You [3:44] (2/20/92, 7 UK, 34 CN, 27 AU) Whispers and Moans (N. Finn) [3:39] Four Seasons in One Day [2:50] (6/20/92, 26 UK, 68 CN, 47 AU) There Goes God [3:50] Fame Is (N. Finn) [2:23] All I Ask [3:55] As Sure As I Am (N. Finn) [2:53] Italian Plastic (Hester) [3:39] She Goes On (N. Finn) [3:15] How Will You Go [4:45] Songs by Neil and Tim Finn unless noted otherwise. Total Running Time: 48:11 The Players: Neil Finn (vocals, guitar, keyboards) Tim Finn (vocals, piano, guitar) Paul Hester (drums, percussion, keyboards, vocals) Nick Seyour (bass, vocals)

Rating: 4.108 out of 5.00 (average of 22 ratings) Quotable: “A depth and texture…just not found in most popular music” – CdUniverse.com Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “Woodface reunited the band’s front man and principal songwriter Neil Finn with his big brother, Tim, with whom he had previously played in the eccentric, influential cult group Split Enz.” EG “More than half of the album was originally conceived as a Finn Brothers project, which was Tim and Neil’s first crack at writing together. The songs are easily their finest to date, combining flawless melodies and the outstanding harmonies of the brothers’ perfectly matched voices.” AMG The album’s “consistency and complexity secured the Finns’ status as smart-pop heroes.” EG “Where Crowded House’s previous album, Temple of Low Men, showcased the often dark side of a man alone with his thoughts, Woodface represents the joy of reunion and the freedom of a collaborative effort.” AMG This is an “album that’s filled with intelligence, grace, and humor, not to mention absolutely breathtaking vocal harmonies. There is a depth and texture to the songwriting and performance in the songs of Crowded House, which is just not found in most popular music.” CDU Album opener Chocolate Cake “would have easily fit onto either of the two preceding albums.” GS With “its thinly veiled attack on mass culture values,” GS the song “categorized Americans as fat and greedy and didn’t exactly earn the band a top spot on U.S. airplay lists.” CDU It not only “hits really hard…metaphorically [but] literally, with a mean drum attack and angry guitar wailing.” GS ”The disc moves to the stunning Its Only Natural” CDU which is “ well-written, well-played, and well-meaning.” GS Fall at Your Feet is “romantic without being too sappy, moderately catchy without being annoying.” GS “There’s one moment of really really pretty modulation…where [Neil] goes ‘I’ll be waiting when you call’. That moment happens to be truly captivating.” GS ”Just listen to Weather with You to find out how perfect pop music can be—it’s a track that manages the difficult task of never devolving into sentimentality or inanity.” CDU It was this song that finally broke Crowded House in the U.K. – the song crawled its way up to #7 on their song chart, one of a whopping five songs from the album to land on the U.K. singles chart. ”The stirring surrender of Four Seasons in One Day further demonstrates Neil Finn’s ability to transform his deepest, most disturbed emotions into great songs.” CDU “It is really a pretty, utterly believable ‘philosophical ballad.’” GS An argument can be made that this album could be pared down a few songs, but weaker songs like Tall Trees, Fame Is, and Italian Plastic keep the album from tipping too heavily to an adult contemporary sound. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to lop off She Goes On and How Will You Go - they aren’t bad songs, but by the time we’ve gotten to the end of the album, there’s no need to add any slow tempo tunes to a collection that already gave us the brilliant balladry of “It’s Only Natural,” “Fall at Your Feet,” “Weather with You,” and “Four Seasons in One Day;” not to mention “All I Ask” and “As Sure As I Am.” When all is said and done, though, this is Crowded House’s most interesting album, if not their best. Adding Tim Finn “brought an offbeat edge to Neil’s polished song craft, resulting in biting, ironic rockers…and…pointed, wistful ballads.” EG "’Beauty’ is not a word often used to describe pop music. But in the case of…Crowded House, it is more than appropriate.” CDU Notes: In 2016, a deluxe edition was issued which included a second disc comprised mostly of demos.

Resources and Related Links: AMG All Music Guide review by Chris Woodstra CDU CdUniverse.com EG Elysa Gardner, Barnes & Noble GS George Starostin First posted 3/3/2008; last updated 5/15/2021.