Together Alone - Crowded House

Together Alone, Crowded House's 1993 fourth album, was their biggest chart hit in the UK, reaching number four - the perhaps more critically acclaimed Woodface of two years previously had topped out at number six, though curiously enough these are the only two of the band's five studio albums to date not to reach the top spot in their home(ish) country of Australia: both ran out of steam at number two. Neil Finn apparently counts this as his favourite of the group's records, and I think he might be right. The cover art has a style quite reminiscent of the earlier record, showing Jesus, Buddha and a mysterious figure of whom only an arm is visible travelling in ...  Read the complete review

Together Alone is the final album created by the celebrated antipodean band, Crowded House. Formed in 1984 as Split Enz, with Neil Finn and his brother Tim, the band evolved into Crowded House with Neil Finn being the main singer and songwriter and lead of the band, his New Zealand influence is all over this album, and for me is an absolute legend of modern music and is someone I would put in the higher echelons of musicians and songwriters of our time. This album was recorded in New Zealand with the producer Youth and you can hear the influences run through the album, Finn has always claimed to have been inspired by the Beatles, Stones and has influences including ...  Read the complete review

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 some outstanding tunes, spanning five albums, this is the second of my reviews of a band that has quite literally changed my life. Most people have a single song that ...  Read the complete review

TOGETHER ALONE marks Crowded House at their creative peak and is easily their finest album to date, a combination of simple, wistful pop songs and a few songs with a possibly more sinister undercurrent, a recurring theme throughout a lot of Crowded House's work. The album was Crowded House's most commerically successful...such a shame that they had to split just a year or so later. The album opens with 'Kare Kare', one of those bizarre tracks with utterly nonsensical lyrics, but which still manages to sound great, is certainly one of the album's best tracks. 'Black & White Boy' is also great, a bit heavier than most of Crowded ...  Read the complete review

This is Crowded House's final album, released in 1993, and probably their best. Whereas 1991's Woodface was their most successful album commercially, this one is a far more complete product, with some truely excpetional songwriting. The mood is very laid-back, but also quite melancholy, comparable with the Beautiful South's 'Miaow', in terms of style. Unlike the Beautiful South, however, the main appeal is in the music rather than the lyrics; songwriter Neil Finn is undoubtedly one of the greatest of recent years, and is frequently compared to Paul McCartney in his ability to manipulate melody. The album's title track is probably one ...  Read the complete review