Crowded House (album)

Crowded House is the debut album by the band Crowded House. It was released in August 1986 and produced by Mitchell Froom. The album includes the hit singles "Don't Dream It's Over", "Something So Strong", "Mean to Me", "World Where You Live" and "Now We're Getting Somewhere".

Crowded House
Studio album by
Crowded House
Released1 August 1986
RecordedNovember 1985 – March 1986
StudioSunset Sound, Los Angeles; Capitol Studios, Hollywood and Vine; Platinum Studios, Melbourne
GenrePop rock, alternative rock, new wave[1]
Length38:40
LabelCapitol/EMI
ProducerMitchell Froom
Crowded House chronology
Crowded House
(1986)		 Temple of Low Men
(1988)
Singles from Crowded House
  1. "Mean to Me"
    Released: June 1986
  2. "World Where You Live"
    Released: July 1986
  3. "Now We're Getting Somewhere"
    Released: September 1986
  4. "Don't Dream It's Over"
    Released: 20 October 1986
  5. "Something So Strong"
    Released: 1 April 1987
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[4]
The Village VoiceC+[5]

At the 1986 Countdown Australian Music Awards the album won Best Debut Album.[6][7]

History

Following the breakup of Split Enz in 1984, Neil Finn and drummer Paul Hester decided to form a new band. Bass player Nick Seymour approached Finn during the after party for the Melbourne show of the Split Enz farewell tour and asked if he could try out for the new band.[8] Former Swingers and soon-to-be Midnight Oil bass player Bones Hillman was also a candidate,[9] but it was Seymour's playing on the demo for "That's What I Call Love" that earned him the spot. The group, then named The Mullanes, also included The Reels guitarist Craig Hooper, who left the band before they signed with Capitol Records.[8] Capitol rejected the name "The Mullanes", as well as alternatives such as "Largest Living Things". The name Crowded House was adopted after the trio flew to Los Angeles to record the album and were provided with a very cramped apartment to live in.[8]

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. The album was mixed by Michael Frondelli at Studio 55. 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.

The original New Zealand and Australia release of the album featured ten tracks, however when the album was being prepared for export it was decided to include Crowded House's version of the Split Enz song "I Walk Away". At the same time the track listing was re-ordered and the song "Can't Carry On" was dropped from the album. After the release of the band's second album, Temple of Low Men, EMI re-released Crowded House internationally, using the original Australian/New Zealand track listing but with "I Walk Away" included too. This is now considered the "standard" track listing of for the album. A DualDisc version of this album was made available in 2005. The DVD side features a DVD-A version of the album with lyrics, a discography and the music videos for "Don't Dream It's Over" and "Something So Strong."

Original copies of the CD in Australia and New Zealand were made in Japan, but after the Disctronics B plant at Braeside was formed, it was manufactured there.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Neil Finn, except where noted.

No.TitleLength
1."Mean to Me"3:15
2."World Where You Live"3:07
3."Now We're Getting Somewhere"4:09
4."Don't Dream It's Over"3:56
5."Love You 'Til the Day I Die"3:31
6."Something So Strong" (Finn, Mitchell Froom)2:51
7."Hole in the River" (Finn, Eddie Rayner)4:02
8."Can't Carry On"3:57
9."I Walk Away"3:06
10."Tombstone"3:30
11."That's What I Call Love" (Finn, Paul Hester)3:39

Note

  • The original release of the album in Australia and New Zealand featured "Can't Carry On" as track 8. This song was replaced by a re-recording of the Split Enz song "I Walk Away" for other markets. Later re-issues of the album include both songs with the listing extended to 11 tracks, as above.

Disc 1 (Original album)

All tracks are written by Neil Finn, except where noted.

No.TitleLength
1."Mean to Me"3:15
2."World Where You Live"3:07
3."Now We're Getting Somewhere"4:09
4."Don't Dream It's Over"3:56
5."Love You 'Til the Day I Die"3:31
6."Something So Strong" (Finn, Mitchell Froom)2:51
7."Hole in the River" (Finn, Eddie Rayner)4:02
8."Can't Carry On"3:57
9."I Walk Away*"3:31
10."Tombstone"3:30
11."That's What I Call Love" (Finn, Paul Hester)3:39

Disc 2 (Unreleased and rare material)

All tracks are written by Neil Finn, except where noted.

No.TitleLength
1."Something So Strong (Home Demo)" (Finn, Mitchell Froom)1:22
2."Hole in the River (Studio Demo)" (Finn, Eddie Rayner, Paul Hester)4:06
3."Love You 'til the Day I Die (Home Demo)"0:54
4."That's What I Call Love (Studio Demo)" (Hester, Finn)3:35
5."Can't Carry On (Studio Demo)"3:35
6."Walking on the Pier (Studio Demo)"3:20
7."Does Anyone Here Understand my Girlfriend (Studio Demo)" (Hester)3:23
8."Oblivion (Studio Demo)"3:36
9."Walking on the Spot (Studio Demo)"3:44
10."Something So Strong (Studio Demo)" (Finn, Froom)2:12
11."Now We're Getting Somewhere (Studio Demo)"4:32
12."Stranger Underneath Your Skin (Home Demo)"2:49
13."Don't Dream It's Over (Home Demo)"3:15
14."Left Hand (Live)"4:23
15."Grabbing by the Handful (Live)" (Finn, Hester, Craig Hooper, Nick Seymour)3:33
16."World Where You Live (writing demo)"1:17
17."Recurring Dream (original version) *" (Finn, Hester, Hooper, Seymour)2:59

Personnel

Crowded House

Additional musicians

Production
  • Mitchell Froom – producer
  • Eddie Rayner – producer "Can't Carry On"
  • Larry Hirsh – engineer (Capitol Recording Studios sessions)
  • Steve Himelfarb – assistant engineer (Capitol Recording Studios sessions)
  • Tchad Blake – engineer (Sunset Sound Factory sessions)
  • Dennis Kirk – engineer (Sunset Sound Factory sessions)
  • Michael Frondelli – mixer (Studio 55)
  • Glen Golguin – assistant mixing engineer
  • Wally Traugott – mastering (Capitol Recording Studios)
  • John O'Brien – art direction
  • Nick Seymour – design/cover painting
  • Dennis Keeley – photography

Charts and certifications

Album

The album peaked at number one in Australia,[11] [12] number 3 in New Zealand[13] and number 12 on the US Billboard 200 chart.[14] In the UK, the album did not chart until February 1995 and even then only reached number 99.[15] It has been certified platinum in Australia (x6),[16] New Zealand (x5) and Canada.[17] In the US it was RIAA-certified gold on 1 May 1987, and platinum on 25 November 1991.[18]

Chart Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[11][12] 1
Canadian Albums Chart[19] 8
Dutch Albums Chart[20] 20
New Zealand Albums Chart[13] 3
UK Albums Chart[15] 99
US Billboard 200[14] 12

Singles

The single "Don't Dream It's Over" was an international hit that reached number 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart on 25 April 1987.[21] Its enduring popularity was evident when 18 years later in 2005 it was used in TV commercials by the New Zealand Tourism Commission.[22] The follow-up single "Something So Strong," which lent its title to a 1997 biography of Crowded House by Chris Bourke, peaked at number 7 in the US.[21] "Mean to Me", "World Where You Live", and "Now We're Getting Somewhere" were also released as singles.

Song Peak chart positions
AUS[11] CAN NED[23] GER[24] NZ[13] NOR[25] UK[26] US[21]
"Mean to Me" 26 — — — — — — —
"World Where You Live" 43 — 76 — — — — 65
"Now We're Getting Somewhere" 63 — — — 33 — — —
"Don't Dream It's Over"[27] 8 1 7 13 1 6 25 2
"Something So Strong"[28] 18 10 — — 3 — 95 7
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Note

  • "Don't Dream it's Over" reached number 27 in the UK singles chart on release in May 1987, but peaked at number 25 when re-released in November 1996.

Further reading
  • Bourke, Chris (1997). Crowded House: Something So Strong. South Melbourne, Victoria: Macmillan. ISBN 0-7329-0886-8.[29]

References and notes
  1. "The 50 Best New Wave Albums". Paste Magazine. 30 August 2016.
  2. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Crowded House – Crowded House". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  3. Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-85712-595-8.
  4. DeCurtis, Anthony; Henke, James; George-Warren, Holly, eds. (1992). "Crowded House". The Rolling Stone Album Guide (3rd ed.). Random House. ISBN 0-679-73729-4.
  5. Christgau, Robert (24 February 1987). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  6. "Australian Music Awards". Ron Jeff. Retrieved 16 December 2010.
  7. "Final episode of Countdown". 1970scountdown. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  8. Bourke (1997)
  9. "BAND OF BROTHERS The Finns' Sibling Revelry" Chris Bourke - 2004
  10. "Archive: Neil Finn Interview" Flixelpix - 22 September 2011
  11. "This Week In... 1987". Australian Recording Industry Association. 7 June 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  12. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, New South Wales: Australian Chart Book Ltd. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  13. "Discography Crowded House" charts.org.nz,
  14. "Crowded House - Crowded House" Billboard
  15. "Official Albums Chart Top 100 - Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company.
  16. http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-accreditations-albums-2005.htm
  17. "Crowded House (1986)" Archived 31 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine crowdedhouse.com
  18. "GOLD & PLATINUM" RIAA
  19. "RPM Top Albums/CDs - Volume 46, No. 10, 13 June 1987" Library and Archives Canada
  20. "CROWDED HOUSE - CROWDED HOUSE (ALBUM)" Ultratop
  21. "Crowded House > Billboard Singles" Allmusic
  22. "Music used in New Zealand Television Commercials: T" Christchurch City Libraries NOTE: Scroll down to "Tourism New Zealand"
  23. "DISCOGRAFIE CROWDED HOUSE" dutchcharts.nl
  24. "Chartverfolgung / Crowded House / Single" Archived 10 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine Musicline.de
  25. "Discography Crowded House" norwegiancharts.com
  26. "Crowded House" Chart Stats
  27. "RPM Top Singles - Volume 46, No. 4, 2 May 1987" Archived 19 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine Library and Archive Canada
  28. "RPM Top Singles - Volume 46, No. 17, 1 August 1987" Archived 19 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine Library and Archive Canada
  29. "Crowded House: Something So Strong" books.google.com.au (Note: limited preview for on-line version)
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