The Records

This is a survey of Crowded House's recording history. All links lead to pages about individual releases and songs.
For detailed information about Crowded House recordings, see:

CROWDED HOUSE (1986)
Crowded House was Neil Finn's first real foray outside of Split Enz. Aided by Mitchell Froom's airy production, Crowded House produced a slew of hit singles, including "World Where You Live," "Now We're Getting Somewhere," "Something So Strong," and "Don't Dream Its Over," the band's biggest hit, which rose all the way to #2 on the U.S. charts.

SONG SEQUENCE
1. Mean To Me (3:17)
2. World Where You Live (3:05)
3. Now We're Getting Somewhere (4:05)
4. Don't Dream It's Over (3:57)
5. Love You 'Til The Day I Die (3:33)
6. Something So Strong (2:51)
7. Hole In The River (4:00)
8. Can't Carry On (3:57)
9. I Walk Away (3:07)
10. Tombstone (3:30)
11. That's What I Call Love (3:40)


TEMPLE OF LOW MEN (1988)
Jokingly titled "Mediocre Follow-Up" during production, Temple of Low Men was darker and much less commercially successful than Crowded House, but it's considered by many to be the band's best work. The uplifting-yet-harrowing "Love This Life" (originally planned to be the album's final track) also provided the Crowded House Internet mailing list with its name, "Tongue in the Mail."

SONG SEQUENCE
1. I Feel Possessed (3:48)
2. Kill Eye (3:14)
3. Into Temptation (4:34)
4. Mansion In the Slums (3:45)
5. When You Come (4:46)
6. Never Be the Same (4:29)
7. Love This Life (3:36)
8. Sister Madly (2:53)
9. In the Lowlands (3:58)
10. Better Be Home Soon (3:07)


WOODFACE (1991)
A merging of two aborted projects: a third, scrapped Crowded House album and an untitled Finn Brothers project, Woodface joined the classic Crowded House trio with Neil's brother Tim Finn. In the case of Woodface, the parts are probably greater than the whole: it's not a very cohesive record, but it's filled with excellent songs, among them "It's Only Natural" (from the aborted Finn Brothers recording) and "Fall at Your Feet" (from the original Crowded House sessions).

SONG SEQUENCE
1. Chocolate Cake (4:02)
2. It's Only Natural (3:32)
3. Fall At Your Feet (3:19)
4. Tall Trees (2:20)
5. Weather With You (3:44)
6. Whispers and Moans (3:40)
7. Four Seasons in One Day (2:50)
8. There Goes God (3:50)
9. Fame Is (2:23)
10. All I Ask (3:56)
11. As Sure As I Am (2:54)
12. Italian Plastic (3:40)
13. She Goes On (3:15)
14. How Will You Go (3:12)
15. I'm Still Here (1:09)


TOGETHER ALONE (1993)
Recorded in a rented house above the remote New Zealand beach of Kare Kare, Together Alone is perhaps Crowded House's most atmospheric records. The final Crowded House studio album, and the only one not produced by Mitchell Froom, Together Alone at various times offers grunge guitar, a salute to glam rock, accordion solos, and a Maori choir. But at the core of the record are some classic Neil Finn songs, chief among them "Nails in My Feet" and "Distant Sun."

SONG SEQUENCE
1. Kare Kare (3:35)
2. In My Command (3:43)
3. Nails In My Feet (3:39)
4. Black & White Boy (4:01)
5. Fingers of Love (4:26)
6. Pineapple Head (3:28)
7. Locked Out (3:18)
8. Private Universe (5:38)
9. Walking on the Spot (2:55)
10. Distant Sun (3:50)
11. Catherine Wheels (5:12)
12. Skin Feeling (3:57)
13. Together Alone (3:57)


RECURRING DREAM (1996)
Released as the band announced its dissolution in mid-1996, Recurring Dream: The Very Best of Crowded House features three new songs and sixteen classic tracks (four each from the four studio albums), though puzzlingly not the non-album track which gives the collection its name, "Recurring Dream."

SONG SEQUENCE
1. Weather With You
2. World Where You Live
3. Fall at Your Feet
4. Locked Out
5. Don't Dream It's Over
6. Into Temptation
7. Pineapple Head
8. When You Come
9. Private Universe
10. You're Not the Girl You Think You Are
11. Instinct
12. I Feel Possessed
13. Four Seasons in One Day
14. It's Only Natural
15. Distant Sun
16. Something So Strong
17. Mean To Me
18. Better Be Home Soon
19. Everything Is Good for You


Album descriptions by Jason Snell.
ch-adm@listproc.wsu.edu (Crowded House List administrators)
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