Together Alone - Crowded House

Advantages: Neil Finns vocal performances, some great tunes
Disadvantages: nope, cant think of any.

CROWDED HOUSE - TOGETHER ALONE ------------------------------- Crowded house were an amazing band, most people will know at least one of their songs, but you would probably be surprised at how many others that you know as well. Over the years they have been most well known for the song 'Don't dream its over', but surprisingly this wasn't the only track this band recorded, in fact there were quite a few others! Since 1986, this band has produced ...
...of my reviews of a band that has quite literally changed my life. Most people have a single song that reminds them of a certain person, but for me this band reminds me of certain times and places, but even though some of these times were quite bad, the songs still hold me, and make me happy. This album was in my cd player all the time whilst I was with my ex girlfriend, a girl that almost ruined my life, so for quite a while it was very hard to ... Read review

Advantages: Brilliant songwriting, Atmospheric, looser and more experimental than before, timeless
Disadvantages: Not as immediately accessible as previous albums

...took a different direction with Together Alone, and it worked. The album was produced by the eccentric Youth in New Zealand, and the less pedantic tendencies of Youth help the band create a very natural sound on this record, along with the influence of the New Zealand environment. The tracks all have the inherent Finn songmanship that had already been shown in his previous Crowded House and Split Enz work, but also have an extra ambient and uninhibited ...
...to the previous Crowded House albums, Together Alone is not as immediately grabbing but it takes you after a few listens and has much more of a timeless lasting quality. In summary, this is a great work and emphasises why it was such a shame that the House came down. ... Read review

Advantages: Great lyrics, timeless music
Disadvantages: not enough songs possibly

Having listened to "Crowded House" so much over the last four years, i have experienced a completely different type of music, which really does stand in a league of its own. Like alot of people i know, i started listening to "Crowded House" when they released there "Best of" album. Like all of their music, the album grew on me, and eventually i found myself wanting more. Songs like "Dont Dream it Over", their most popular hit, along with "Weather ...
...in what they had been doing before. This is when i came across this album. A masterpiece!! It is so rare that i should come across an album, and not dislike any of the tracks on it. From the opening track "Kare Kare", Named after the beaches this song was written on, to the final track, "Together Alone", which, even though is not in the style you would expect from them, it is still another very addictive song. Personal Favourites include "Nails in ... Read review

Advantages: Too many to mention
Disadvantages: n/a

More gems are offered on this 'last' album of Crowded House in the form of songs like 'Kare Kare', Nails In My Feet', 'Fingers of Love' and 'Private Universe' that featured the now familiar Crowded House signature sound. 'In My Command' has a Beatle-esque rock feel with a Lennon-like vocal for the more manic sections homage and invention in it's own right rather simple mimicry. The power of the rockier tracks like 'Black and White Boy', 'Locked Out' ...
...accoustics and lyrically. They remind of INXS with snatches of Simple Minds mixed to make a little more interesting. The ballads show a wide sweep of both dynamics and emotions in the production and the lyrics from Neil Finn which are again a pleasure to behold. The omission of lyric pages a bit annoying as like to enjoy them fully without the need for looping parts of tracks. ... Read review

Advantages: beautiful, magnificent songs with great lyrics
Disadvantages: too short!

If I were stranded on a desert island, this is the album I would hope I had managed to salvage. It is a beautifully crafted, perfectly flowing piece of work that stands as CH's finest hour. More polished than Woodface, it produces less smiles but allows you an hour to drift off and be led where the music takes you. It's like floating on a raft through the initial songs, the tide rising in the middle until you are thrown down into the water again ...
...the death of the album. Lyrically beautiful, Finn's songwriting is based around a couple of lines in each song that it is impossible to forget. Your skin is like water on a burning beach. I don't pretend to know what you want, but I offer love; both lines that are waiting for the perfect moment. ... Read review