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The American sound of their self-titled debut album began to slowly resonate in the US and hit a peak when the single “Don’t Dream It’s Over” climbed to No.2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album's rhythm tracks were recorded by Larry Hirsh at Capitol Recording Studios, Los Angeles. The remaining recording sessions for the album were at Sunset Sound studios, where the group first collaborated with engineer Tchad Blake who also worked on the next two Crowded House albums. Seymour and Hester do not appear on "Now We're Getting Somewhere", which was recorded early in the sessions with drummer Jim Keltner and bass player Jerry Scheff. For many they’re just that band with infectious ear-worm ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’ to their name, but for real fans they are so much more. One of Australia's finest exports, Crowded House were formed in 1985 around the songwriting talents of Neil Finn.
Read Neil’s latest newsletter for 20 April 2024 on the Journal
Primary Wave Music has announced a new partnership with veteran singer-songwriter Neil Finn, founding member of Crowded House, longtime member of Split Enz and solo artist. The multi-million-dollar deal sees the company acquiring Finn’s music publishing catalog and writer’s share of public performance for his work with Crowded House as well as his solo material. Playing Fleetwood Mac’s propulsive songs kickstarted Finn’s desire to record an “outgoing”, rather than introspective, album; and a move to Los Angeles for his new gig aligned a nexus of collaborators. Liam was living in LA with his wife and young sons, and Elroy and Froom had moved there too – with Seymour travelling from his home in Ireland. Rehearsals began in mid-November 2019, the very day after the 13-month Evening With Fleetwood Mac tour finished. Crowded House have unveiled a new single, “Oh Hi.” The buoyant song, the band’s first original music in two years, was influenced by band leader Neil Finn‘s support for So They Can, an international nonprofit focused on building schools in remote parts of Kenya and Tanzania.
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Dreamers Are Waiting
In contrast to its predecessor, the group’s third album Woodface is overflowing with joyous, melodic songs that cannot help but lift the spirits, including the ultra-catchy “Weather With You,” which in March 1992 became their first ever UK Top 10 single. As the group’s popularity in Europe exploded, the album climbed to No.6 in the UK and reached double-platinum status during a chart run powered by a succession of hit singles. These included the spirited, country-flavored “It’s Only Natural,” which additionally became a top five hit on Billboard’s Modern Rock chart, although the album climbed only as high as No. 83 in the US.
MUSIC
There’s no instant gratification, but like much of Dreamers Are Waiting, the song gets under your skin like an itch you just have to scratch, almost subliminally addictive. Crowded House, which now includes Finn’s sons Elroy and Liam, will release its eighth album, “Gravity Stairs,” next month. More recently, global superstars Miley Cyrus and Arian Grande covered 'Don't Dream It's Over' for a Happy Hippie Backyard Session while dressed in cute onesies, helping bring this masterful pop song to a new generation. A band as big as Crowded House has picked up a few surprising fans along the way, including Dave Mustaine of thrash metallers Megadeth, Princess Diana, Liam Gallagher, and Paul McCartney.
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AllMusic said that Finn "has consistently proven his knack for crafting high-quality songs that combine irresistible melodies with meticulous lyrical detail."[59] Neil's brother Tim was an early and important musical influence. Neil first saw Tim play with Split Enz in 1972, and said "that performance and those first songs made a lasting impression on me."[60] His mother was another significant musical influence, encouraging him to listen to a variety of genres, including Irish folk music and Māori music. She would play piano at family parties and encourage Neil and Tim to accompany her. On 19 August 2021, the band performed their single “To the Island” on CBS's The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
He added that they were making a new studio album, the first since 2010's Intriguer. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the band's planned 2020 concerts have had to be rescheduled to 2021, and later again to 2022. Although breaking the US took a while to happen, once “Don’t Dream It’s Over” became a big hit, there was real momentum behind the band with the uplifting “Something So Strong” climbing to No.7 on the Hot 100. Sequenced next to it on the first album is “Hole In The River,” which Finn co-wrote with Split Enz keyboardist Eddie Rayner after being told his aunt had died by suicide. This haunting song stood outside the album’s overall mainstream sound and hinted at real depths to Finn’s songwriting. A further scan of the songwriting credits shows Liam has two songs here, Show Me the Way and Goodnight Everyone, which sit squarely in the middle of the album.
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7 Worlds Collide saw him performing with guest musicians including Eddie Vedder, Johnny Marr, Ed O'Brien and Phil Selway of Radiohead, Tim Finn, Sebastian Steinberg, Lisa Germano and Betchadupa (featuring his son Liam Finn). The next single, "Don't Dream It's Over", was released in October 1986 and proved an international hit, reaching number two on the US Billboard Hot 100[7] and number one in Canada.[19] New Zealand radio stations initially gave the song little support until months later when it became internationally successful. Ultimately, the song reached number one on the New Zealand singles chart and number eight in Australia.[4][6] It remains the group's most commercially successful song.
But the musician decided to bring back Crowded House in 2021 with his sons Liam and Elroy as official members.
Oh Hi (official music video)
As the group rose from the ashes of Split Enz, they often performed various Split Enz songs, in particular "This Is Massive" because it was written by Paul Hester for Split Enz's last album, the only studio album he performed on. It’s not easy to connect the first four albums Crowded House made in their first life (from their formation in 1985 to their dissolution in 1996) to the three released since the traumatic passing of drummer Paul Hester in 2005. Although still the main and most popular vehicle for Neil Finn and original bass player Nick Seymour, there’s a clear musical divide that makes them feel like the works of very different bands. For antipodeans, those early albums are akin to Graceland or Born in the USA, with the prolific Finn our version of Tom Petty.
Love Isn’t Hard at All is a co-write between Elroy and Neil, with Sharon Finn (married to Neil since 1982) on backing vocals. The first two songs, Bad Times Good and lead single Playing With Fire, are group compositions. A crucial part of Crowded House’s personality was lost with Hester besides his deft percussive touch, and that is throwing no shade on drummer Elroy Finn (Neil’s youngest son). Crowded House was never going to be the same after that tragedy, and some of the band’s natural joie de vivre – along with the tightly wound pop hooks and effortless anthems – went with him.
Crowded House themselves frequently perform a version of the Hunters and Collectors' "Throw Your Arms Around Me" and Paul Kelly's "Leaps and Bounds" during their live sets (including at the ARIA Music Awards of 1997 ceremony, inducting Kelly into the Hall of Fame). Their version of The Zombies' "She's Not There" was used on the soundtrack of The Crossing, a 1990 film starring Russell Crowe.[40] In addition to these, the group often would perform The Beatles' "Rocky Raccoon", among many other Beatles songs. The group would also often perform Irish folk traditional piece "The Parting Glass".
While they lost the US mainstream with third album Woodface, its set of uplifting, sonically-pleasing songs won them newfound popularity in the UK and Europe. However, the death in 2005 of Paul Hester after years of fighting depression brought the band back together for two more albums. Another long hiatus followed when Finn returned to his solo career and became part of Fleetwood Mac’s touring band, but they reunited again at the end of 2019 with Mitchell Froom and Finn’s two sons Liam and Elroy joining the line-up. The appropriately titled Dreamers Are Waiting, the group’s first studio album in 11 years, was released in June 2021. Neil Finn formed Crowded House out of the ashes of New Zealand power-pop band Split Enz and it edged him closer to pop perfection with a series of beautifully crafted and melodically rich songs built on depth, emotion, and self-reflection. Initially comprising vocalist, guitarist, and principal songwriter Finn, Split Enz drummer Paul Hester, and bassist Nick Seymour, the group found their immediate musical direction when they signed to Capitol Records and relocated to Los Angeles to record with producer Mitchell Froom.
Drafting in new drummer Matt Sherrod and with long time touring member Mark Hart they released the album “Time On Earth” to critical acclaim and toured the world. Another album, ‘Intriguer”, was recorded in 2009 and Crowded House was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2016, at the same time reprising its Farewell shows at the Sydney Opera House with 4 nights of stunning performances. A new compilation album, The Very Very Best of Crowded House, was released in October 2010 to celebrate the band's 25th anniversary.[39] It includes 19 of the band's greatest hits and is also available in a box set with a 25 track DVD of their music videos. A deluxe digital version, available for download only, has 32 tracks including a rare 1987 live recording of the band's version of the Hunters & Collectors song "Throw Your Arms Around Me". No mention of this album has been made on the band's official website or Twitter page, which suggests that they are not involved with its release.
This is a heartfelt and emotional song in which a lover pleads to their other half to change or their relationship could be over. It is one of his greatest compositions and deserved a far higher chart peak than No.42 on the Billboard Hot 100. The success of “Don’t Dream It’s Over” changed the band’s commercial fortunes and introduced a major new songwriter in the melodic tradition of Paul McCartney and Elton John. Denied the US No.1 spot in April 1987 by George Michael and Aretha Franklin’s “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me),” the song immediately sounded like a timeless classic and its reputation has only been enhanced by the passing of time. Finn has been active in recent years as a solo artist, and joined Fleetwood Mac (with longtime Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell) in 2019 for the group’s final tour. Dreamers Are Waiting is the first Crowded House album since 2010, and the band has expanded to a full-blown family affair.
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