Music Review by Bill Rendall

Crowded House

Much of the best music of the eighties came from Australia, where bands were still playing guitar based rock in defiance of the synthetic sound that was dominant in other parts of the world. Neil Finn, the creative force of Crowded House, stands out as a songwriter in the classic rock tradition. His songs have strong melodies, interesting chord structures and thoughtful lyrics.

By the time the debut Crowded House album was released Finn had already honed his songwriting skills over a number of years with his previous band Split Enz. He draws upon real life experiences for many of his lyrics. This sometimes makes things uncomfortable for him.

Finn grew up in the New Zealand town Te Awamutu which was immortalised in the opening lines of 'Mean to Me.' The song relates a true story of a female fan from the USA who was staying in New Zealand. She arranged to meet Finn in a small town hotel he was passing through on tour. The poet referred to in 'Mean to Me' is Gary McCormick, a name familiar to New Zealanders. The subjects of the song were not entirely happy when they discovered Finn had written a song about them.

'Hole in the River' was inspired by the real life suicide of Finn's paternal aunt. Some of Finn's family thought the song was a bit close to home and wished he hadn't written it.

The most successful song on the debut album was 'Don't Dream it's Over.' The song came within a whisker of making number one on the US charts. Possibly if the song title had included 'Hey Now' in parentheses it would have made number one as this was the hook that stuck in people's minds. The song included a catchy organ solo reminiscent of the sixties classic 'A Whiter Shade of Pale.'

Crowded House wisely used retro keyboards. Most bands at that time were using synthesizers which sounded trendy then but now sound hopelessly dated. The second Crowded House album featured a Chamberlin, a keyboard related to the Mellotron made famous in the sixties by bands such as the Moody Blues. It was used to great effect on 'Into Temptation.'

In 1996 Neil Finn decided to call it quits for Crowded House. A memorable farewell concert was staged in Australia outside the Sydney Opera House. A recording of the concert is available on video and it is a worthy memento of the band.

The Crowded House debut album defined the band's sound and gets my recommendation. The band continued to mine the same vein with their later albums and they are all worth a listen. The Woodface album is an interesting collaboration with Neil Finn's older brother Tim. The Recurring Dream compilation album is a good summary of their career.