Woodface (Woodface - Crowded House)

Member Name: davepridd

Product:	Woodface - Crowded House
Date:	22/07/00 (49 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great songs, performing, lyrics

Disadvantages: None

Neil Finn is frequently compared to Paul McCartney in respect of his incredible ability to manipulate melodies, but this is the album where this comparison definately works best. I think that 'Four Seasons on one day' is probably one of the most beautiful pieces of modern pop music, and is very intricate with its interplay of acoustic guitar and harpsichord. The album also contains the best known Crowded House song 'Weather with you'.

The mood of this album is very laid back, exploring a whole range of emotions - and instrumentation, with the use of a full string section on 'all I ask', and a lot more keyboard textures than one other Crowded House albums. However, it is most definately not MOR, as the lyrics are clever and sensitive, and the music is top quality throughout; even minor glitches such as 'Chocolate cake' cannot detract from this. Few other groups of the modern period can match Crowded House for the sheer quality of their material; I can only think of the Beautiful South and REM who come close. Central to the appeal of this album is the fact that it is such a group effort, with Nick Seymor providing beautiful artwork as well as bass and vocal harmonies. Drummer Paul Hester wrote the very cheerful 'Italian Plastic' track which stands up well to the quality of the Finn brothers material.

My only criticism with this album is that the follow-up 'Together Alone' is even better, and feels like a more complete concept, whereas this is much more of a collection of songs.

Summary: