Crowded House
	Produced by Mitchell Froom
	Released on March 1987
	US CHART POSITION #12 . . . PLATINUM RECORD
	Find it at GEMM
4XT-512485 cover

A nyone who listened to Split Enz knew that Neil and Tim Finn were both good for about half a great pop record. And anyone who listened to Escapade or See You Round realized that half a great record spread out over an entire album didn’t necessarily equal the parts of its original sum. So when Neil finally split the band to form what would eventually become Crowded House, few expected great things. And yet great things are what happened, at least in the United States where Neil, Paul Hester and Nicholas Seymour recorded their first album with Mitchell Froom. No Split Enz record had ever gone gold; Crowded House went platinum. Split Enz never had a Top 40 hit; Crowded House moved into the Top 10, twice (“Don’t Dream It’s Over,” “Something So Strong”). The difference wasn’t the songwriter. Neil had written some of Split Enz’ biggest hits: “I Got You,” “One Step Ahead,” “History Never Repeats.” The difference was how the songs were presented: lush, warm, accessible. No longer filtered through Split Enz’ self-conscious strangeness, the thoughtful, haunting melodies that were there all along were now there for everyone to see. Of course, the record also benefits from some of Neil’s best material. “World Where You Live,” “Now We’re Getting Somewhere,” “Mean To Me” and “Tombstone” provide Crowded House (the album) with a remarkably strong foundation. So is this a sell-out? I don’t think so. In fact, you could argue that Split Enz was more conscious of merchandising: laser-etching, crazy outfits. I miss some of the silliness and Eddie Rayner’s unpredictable solos, but I also expected Neil and Tim to grow up as we got closer to the finn de siecle. Crowded House is more than I expected, handily the best thing to come out of the Enz since Time And Tide.

4XT-512485 back sleeve

TRACK LISTING

1. WORLD WHERE YOU LIVE
2. NOW WE'RE GETTING SOMEWHERE
3. DON'T DREAM IT'S OVER
4. MEAN TO ME
5. LOVE YOU 'TIL THE DAY I DIE
6. SOMETHING SO STRONG    (Neil Finn/Mitchell Froom)
7. HOLE IN THE RIVER    (Neil Finn/Eddie Rayner)
8. (*cd bonus track) CAN'T CARRY ON
9. I WALK AWAY
10. TOMBSTONE
11. THAT'S WHAT I CALL LOVE    (Paul Hester/Neil Finn)
    
    All songs written by Neil Finn unless noted

CREDITS

NEIL FINN -- guitar, piano, lead vocal
PAUL HESTER -- drums, background vocals
NICHOLAS SEYMOUR -- bass guitar, design/cover painting
Jorge Bermudez -- percussion
Mitchell Froom -- keyboards
Jim Gilstrap -- background vocals
Heart Attack Horns -- horns
Jim Keltner -- drums (2)
Andy Milton -- background vocals
Noel -- background vocals
Tim Pierce -- guitar
Joe Satriani -- background vocals
Jerry Scheff -- bass (2)
Larry Hirsch -- ryhthm tracks engineer
Tchad Blake -- engineer
Dennis Kirk -- engineer
Michael Frondelli -- mixing
John O'Brien -- art direction
Dennis Keeley -- photography

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