Crowded House's greatest hit, "Don't Dream It's Over," cemented them firmly into the collective American consciousness as a mere highlight of a John Hughes soundtrack or momentary inhabitants of the mid-'80s college rock ghetto. Though they rose to highest U.S. acclaim with that song and its follow-up, "Something So Strong," Crowded House charted consistently in their homeland of Australia and were widely popular outside of the States for the second half of their initial run. Songs like "Better Be Home Soon" and "Weather with You" charted massively in the U.K., Canada, and New Zealand, but never brought the group more than a cult following stateside. Including a variety of singles and highlights from albums Woodface, Temple of Low Men, and their self-titled debut, Essential provides a comprehensive overview of Crowded House's wistful songwriting style and bouncy pop productions, all of which predated the rise of alternative, but didn't quite fit any mainstream mold.
Crowded House is a long standing and much-loved vehicle for the song writing talents of Neil Finn. Formed in Melbourne Australia in 1985 out the ashes of New Zealand’s Split Enz by Neil, Paul Hester and Nick Seymour, their eponymous self-titled debut album on Capitol Records went on to global success with the hits ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’ and ‘Something So Strong’. Those songs and many that followed are still resonating with audiences today, the former in particular being one of the most covered songs of the last 20 years. The band’s first incarnation lasted from 1985 through 1995 with 4 studio albums and enjoyed much success worldwide, becoming particularly beloved for their freewheeling and interactive live shows. This line-up said Farewell to the World on the steps of the Sydney Opera House in 1996 with a now legendary performance in front of 150,000 people.
The moody and atmospheric "Fingers of Love" was released as a two-part single in the U.K. While it is certainly an odd choice as a single, it does stand as one of the defining moments of Together Alone. Pt 2 of the "Fingers Of Love" single. Great artwork again and this time the rarities are rarer than usual. Both live tracks are only available on this single.
The moody and atmospheric "Fingers of Love" was released as a two-part single in the U.K. While it is certainly an odd choice as a single, it does stand as one of the defining moments of Together Alone. Part one of the two-part series adds three live tracks: "Skin Feeling, " "Kare Kare, " and "In My Command." Part 1 of a 2-cd set. The artwork is fantastic and rarities are here, too. I added artwork from the promo version of this, as I had it laying around (eBay seller sent the wrong item). The live tracks were recorded to DAT. So I'm sure they are "bit-perfect".
5CD compilation entitled: 'Songs From The 100 Best Australian Albums'. It is a companion to a new book written by John O'Donnell, Toby Creswell & Craig Mathieson. As the name suggests, the book counts down the 100 Best Aussie albums of the pop era with detailed exploration of why the albums were chosen. The compilation is a 5CD pack and will include many tracks which rarely clear for compilations including not one, but two Midnight Oil tracks. It also features Easybeats - Friday On My Mind, Daddy Cool - Eagle Rock, The Saints - I'm Stranded, John Farnham - You're The Voice, Crowded House - Better Be Home Soon, Powderfinger - These Days, The Presets - My People, and many more.