After gradually assuming a front-and-center role in brother Tim's band Split Enz, native New Zealander and transplanted Australian Neil Finn moved firmly into a leadership position with Crowded House, a trio whose debut album appeared in 1986. Slightly more mainstream than his new-wavy Split Enz work, the record nonetheless evinced signs of darkness ("Don't Dream It's Over," "World Where You Live," "Hole in the River") among more chipper numbers such as "Something So Strong." Often gorgeous, Crowded House proved to be the group's biggest release in America, which didn't seem to have a radio home for them after the success of "Don't Dream" and "Something." They disbanded in 1996. --Rickey Wright
| Publisher | Capitol |
| Number Of Discs | 1 |
| Format | Audio CD |
| EAN | 0077774669320 |
| UPC | 077774669320 |
| Label | Capitol |
| Studio | Capitol |
| Artist | Crowded House |
| Title | Crowded House |
| Release Date | 1990-10-25 |
| Manufacturer | Capitol |
Review by sean, 2010-06-27
Crowded House cemented their names in 1986 with their self titled debut. The entire album is oozing with sheer light rock greatness. Wether it's the mega hit "Don't Dream It's Over", "Something So Strong", or "Mean To Me", you're bound to find a track you'll like. The lyrics are great, the songs are catchy, and it was just enough to get them known here in America. They failed to make a good comeback but this debut is almost all you'll need from them. And even if the band is not what it used to be now, they'll always be remembered for "Don't Dream It's Over". Listeners should pay attention to the lyrics as much as they can. The album holds up well, right here, right now in 2010. Call it what you want, Adult Contemporary, Rock, Pop, Indie, it's still great, and one of the most artistically impressive debut's of all time.
Key tracks:
Don't Dream It's Over
Something So Strong
Mean To Me
Review by melkents, 2010-06-12
Crowed House are basically the Finn brothers, who were the masterminds behind Split Enz.
I cannot believe the original date for this CD is 1986! I went to a Split Enz concert in 1979.My review is simple..The Finns or Crowded House were excellent musicians, and had a talent with
with lyrics.
By combining the two they created classic music. Even in 2010 it sounds fresh and melodic. Well done good and faihful servants of the music industry!I hope your homeland of New Zealand rewarded you well.
Review by Ignacio Litardo, 2010-01-08
It's not usual to re listen to an album you used to listen to a lot twenty years from now and feel, instantly, the same frenzied ecstasy some dare to call "happiness".
I suppose part of its pop power is that it sounds raw, young, unaffected. If you're over 30, it may help us connect with that aspect, and feel we could be like that. That's part of pop's magic, I guess, how it can tie a specific album with an epoch in the world at large. Irrevokably, this epitomizes the 80s as Nirvana means the 90s for me.
Since the first notes I felt I had to raise the volume, and more, till I realized of how bad the recording is... Even with my brand new Krell (advantages of being not-so-young :)) it soulds muddled, damp, well, the opposite of modern.
In spite of that, I'd like to think, its quick impact was still intact. Yes, I love "Don't dream it's over", but I can also quote by heart tracks 1-9. While the lyrics are not as deep as they pretend, they're solidly built. English being my second language, I am surprised of how this album touched me. It was not at all in fashion with my mates, definitely. So it wasn't "peer pressure" or "the song that played on the radio all summer". I suppose it's varitey with a catchy tune. From ethernal love in "Something so strong", doubts in "Can't carry on", despondency in "I walk away" (I wish I had this CD at hand when I needed it :)) to what I assume it's "grievance" and "family" in "hole in the river". I can't say I understood the lyrics, but yes, the music has, definitely, a place in my head. Now, thanks to internet and Amazon, I realize they were Australian, and consequently what I took to be "cockney accent" must be something else :).
I never read who the singers were, I must have opened the booklet only twice, and I listen to classical music 90% of the time. Not being exactly a fan, when I listen to my favourite, "Mean to me" I remember this idea that "a classic changes with you". Now the same song means different, richer things to me. Great drums. As is the bass on "World", another instant classic.
I can't understant why such a good band made bland albums like "Woodface" later... Definitely, sometimes first albums are the best, the most authentic. As usual, the Amazon reviewer R. Wright is right that there are chipper numbers like "Something ...", and in my opinion the last 2 tracks are the least memorable.
Amazon customer comment by "Doctor Beth" is also accurate in that the album is cohesive.
The guitar ending on "Can't carry on" tied to the beginning of the next track shows their ductility and changing genres and yet remaining masters of the "pathos".
Buy with confidence. When you least expect it, you'll realize you know it, and can sing it until having a sore throat, like I do. "Feels like teen spirit" :)!
Review by D.C. Hanoy, 2009-11-16
A review of 'Crowded House,' the DVD-Audio title by the group with the same name, ought to begin with something of a confession: Yes, it's been out for over a year, and, despite full knowledge of its quality, there has been no review. The explanation is fairly simple - once you start to listen to this disc, you only want to continue listening, not write about it.
'Crowded House' is among the best DVD-Audio discs available. The special quality of the music, and its technical merit as an example of the DVD-Audio format are, to this listener, irresistible.
Between 1986 and 1993, Crowded House released four albums (there were two subsequent releases, a "best of" collection called `Recurring Dream', and, as All Music Guide puts it, a 1999 album of "Crowded House leftovers and rarities," entitled `Afterglow'). The band was launched in Australia as a trio, although its actual genesis was in New Zealand as an offshoot of the band, Split Enz. There were a few personnel additions and interim substitutions (including the addition of former Split Enz founder, Timothy Finn) throughout its existence, which ended in 1996. At all times, however, Crowded House featured the obvious musical genius of Timothy Finn's younger brother - native New Zealander, composer, lyricist, guitarist, and pianist, Neil Finn.
In the latter years of Split Enz, Neil Finn joined his older brother Timothy and became its chief songwriter. In 1985, after older brother Timothy had decided to launch a solo career, Neil disbanded Split Enz and with drummer Paul Hester, went on to form Crowded House, recruiting bassist Nicholas Seymour as its third member. At that point, the Split Enz offshoot was transplanted from New Zealand to Australia.
`Crowded House' was the band's first and most commercially successful effort, with two of its singles reaching the American Top Forty - `Something So Strong' and `Don't Dream It's Over'. Reviewers commonly refer to the music of Crowded House as either new wave or something close to that - songs that are short in length, short on instrumental solos, and, to an extent, compatible with music videos. Much of that is actually true of `Crowded House', but the only real description gets offered by stopping the talk, and turning on the music. The album is one snappy yet alluring melody after the next, music that variously earns the description of soulful, emotional, often a celebration but sometimes solemn. Beneath it all, one detects in Neil Finn's music a passion and meticulous respect for the art he is creating. The lofty quality of his work not only applies to the music - his deceptively simple lyrics always emerge from the music, never the other way around.
Before commenting on the specific tracks, however, the sonic attributes of the disc should be noted. Particularly when compared to its Compact Disc counterpart, as well as its own two channel advanced resolution version, this offering from Capitol Records underscores in particular the possibilities inherent in the DVD-Audio format, and surround music generally.
For purposes of comparison, I had on hand the 1986 Capitol Records Compact Disc version. Although there is nothing at all wrong with the CD, there is likewise nothing subtle about the comparison between its 44.1kHz red-book audio and any of the alternative tracks on the DVD-Audio disc. Purely from a fidelity standpoint, the high-resolution disc takes you a few notches "closer" to the music, and the DVD-Audio version will likely spoil for you any further listening of the CD. This is true not just of the 96kHz 24-bit multi-channel track on the newer release, but, to a lesser degree, also its other options - the 96kHz 24-bit two-channel advanced resolution mix, the Dolby Digital track, and the DTS track, the latter pair being DVD-Video backward compatible. It should also be mentioned that the advanced resolution stereo track is available to DVD-Video players, some of which will be able to output the signal digitally at 96kHz.
The 5.1 surround mix on Crowded House is among the most discrete mixes available on either DVD-Audio or multi-channel SACD. In fact, when it comes to use of the center and LFE channels, it is more discrete than any disc I've yet heard, judging the pair in contrast to the sounds that come from the other channels. The center is restricted exclusively to the vocals of Neil Finn - you won't hear another thing from it - and the powerful bass response on this disc comes almost exclusively from the subwoofer. The bass extension is noteworthy not merely because it is almost exclusively directed to the subwoofer (as opposed to "sharing" much of it with the front main speakers), but also for the tight, calm thunder it delivers.
The surrounds are used aggressively, yet there is a beautiful and simple symmetry to the manner in which they get put in play - something that mirrors the style of Crowded House's music. The surrounds are almost always "reactive" to the front array, not duplicative - they're not pumping out the same thing that's coming from every other speaker. Instead, where there is an acoustic guitar from the front mains, there is the response of an electric piano in the surrounds. Where there is the lead vocal from the front center, the background vocals come from the surrounds. Various percussion accents like cymbals are more prominent from the surrounds. There is sometimes a hypnotic melding of rhythm guitar and organ, delicately but clearly divided from front soundstage to surrounds.
The album was originally recorded in 1986, apparently in separate sessions - some at Platinum Studios, in Melbourne Australia, and some at Capitol Recording Studios. The surround mix was done by Steve Genewick of Capitol Studios in 2002, and was mastered for surround by Robert Vosgien, also of Capitol.
There are eleven cuts on `Crowded House', and, if your listening experience is anything like mine over the last year, each one might prove your favorite at any given time. While I only had a passing acquaintance with Crowded House prior to the past twelve months, it says a lot to me that, after numerous listening, I still find something new in the music nearly every time I spin the disc (and I now have all of their material). This is particularly true of the 5.1 mix.
Time will not permit me to discuss each selection in the track listing, because I can only gush for so long - but each track is worthy of superlative comment. In `World Where You Live', the simple rhythm and catchy melody of the first verse - Neil Finn singing from the center channel, cymbals and background vocals only from the surrounds - the dynamic staircase of the music is mirrored by the involvement of the surrounds. During the chorus, the vocal harmonies fill the room entirely, but with sounds converging in balance and discrete identity. I should point out that listening from the general area of one's "sweet spot" is probably more important on this disc than most others, but I'll go out on a limb here and say that there's usually only one audiophile per home, and that's probably the location of the music-listening culprit in any case.
The same type of momentum or crescendo gets pulled off in `Now We're Getting Somewhere', as it begins with just the slow strumming of chords on an acoustic guitar and Neil Finn's lead vocals, increasing in speed and presence from verse to verse, getting joined by what sounds like an accordion or squeezebox of some kind. Interestingly, the credits indicate that Joe Satriani appears on that cut - as a background vocalist. I don't know if that is the Joe Satriani, but that's the name on the credits.
`Hole in the River' is a song about the suicide of Finn's aunt. The autobiographical nature of it is well known, and the somber nature of the lyrics become responsible for some unusual treatment in surround. In the song, Finn sings:
"There's a hole in the river where my Auntie lies
From the land of the living to the air and sky
Left her car by the river left her shoes beside
Through the thorns and the bushes I hope she was...
Dreaming of Glory
Miles above the mountains and plains
Free at last"
So what do the lyrics of `Hole in the River' have to do with a unique surround experience? They provide the context that enables it. Throughout the song, and especially toward the end, there is an unusual refrain of background vocals - for lack of a better description, the "wailing" of ghosts, as if in a haunted house. Without granting it the context of the music, as well as its artistic premise, one might suspect an effect that is off-kilter. Instead, the shrieking surround mix presents these "ghostly" voices in a fairly wild but striking surround experience. Ghostly shrieks are flying about the room in the midst of horns, low piano chords, and the cold subject of ice and death.
All of the music and the surround mix are simple and clean statements of sound. Often, there is a sudden-but-natural dynamic progression in both the melody and the mix. The straight-from-the-center lead vocals split the room sharply and discretely, as each channel delivers something unique to the overall presentation. To reiterate, this is the most "discrete" surround mix I've heard, reminding me of how I used to be fascinated by shifting left and right balance controls in later Beatles recordings.
The music of Crowded House seems to me to contain an obvious pop influence of The Beatles, although this is an observation commonly noted. Indeed, Finn's lyrics are particularly reminiscent of Paul McCartney's lyrics in an important respect - they are poetic, but not poetry: Instead, the lyrics are truly music, not literature.
Finn's lyrics have been published in a separate volume, `Love This Life', so named from a song he authored on the 1988 Crowded House album, `Temple Of Low Men'. As I reflect upon the themes and spirit contained in his lyrics, I could not think of a better title. His lyrics seem to emerge from the music, rather than the music being written around the lyrics. They can be playful without being frivolous and can be witty despite somber or even devout trappings - such as `Hole in the River', or `Tombstone' ("roll back the tombstone . . . let the saints appear").
I listened to the disc in each of its offerings. I actually started with the CD followed by the two-channel advanced resolution version on the DVD-Audio disc because I prefer to "start" the comparison with the first chronological mix, simply to note if subsequent surround mixes leave something out, or change the emphasis. What I discovered was that the surround mix made everything else seem limited in comparison. This not only caused me to prefer the 96kHz 24-bit 5.1 version over the two channel counterpart - it also meant that I preferred the Dolby Digital and DTS versions over the two-channel advanced resolution track. While the latter is several steps above the Compact Disc purely from a standpoint of fidelity, it is the surround mix that really takes this great music to the next level.
The extras on the disc comprise lyrics, two music videos (`Don't Dream It's Over', and `Something So Strong'), as well as an interesting version of a "discography" that scrolls from the cover art of Crowded House's first album - this one - to its last. While it scrolls, there is a portion from one cut of each album played in two-channel PCM. For those who believe that everything in the world has at least one fault, I can point out two of them on this DVD-Audio - namely the two music videos. There could not have been much money in the budget back then, and, with flying dishes, irons, vacuum cleaners, and the smiling guys in the band cramping one another - after all, this is a "crowded house" - it is every bit as bad as it sounds, although the effort is one of obvious parody. Fortunately, it's completely irrelevant to anything meaningful.
This is, and has been, one of the most impressive DVD-Audio discs I have heard. The music is always radiant and the surround mix is unique in its go-for-it approach to discrete surround. Buy this now, because Capitol Records needs a nudge - we need to tell them that we'll buy all of the `Crowded House' titles on DVD-Audio. -- Nicholas D. Satullo, High Fidelity Review 04/10/03
Review by Pat Lamorgese, 2009-04-24
Nick Finn stepped out of his brother Tim's shadow of Split Enz, and formed Crowded House. Production and keyboards by Mitchell Froom accurately capture the band's wit and musicianship. "World Where You Live" cuts with a catchy keyboard riff, and ends with strong choral harmonies. "Mean To Me" is a straight ahead rocker, with an interesting change in the middle and strong backbeat by drummer Paul Hester. "Now Where Getting Somewhere" has an accordian patch and mellow acoustic guitar introduction, and becomes a feel good, sing along. The dark hit, "Don't Dream Its Over" stands the test of time, and was the band's signature. Cutting organ by Froom is an essential part of the song in both the middle break solo and at the conclusion, over the "Hey Now"s sung by the trio. An unusually tense cut, "Love You Till the Day I Die" follows, with atonal vocals and thrusting guitar that shift the tune into a melodic chorus full of trademark Crowded House harmonies. "Something So Strong" is a traditional pop song, which is colored by Froom's reedy organ and production, another hit which stands the test of time. "Hole In the River" takes a darker, more dramatic path, with interesting orchestration, strong vocals and great dynamics that help build the tension. "I Walk Away" and "Tombstone" are well written, enjoyable numbers. "That's What I Call Love" is ranting ending to a wonderful debut. This is a debut that showcases the wit and musicanship of Finn, Hester, and Seymour, who were a great trio. Get it!
Crowded House - Recurring Dream: The Very Best Of Crowded House
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