Crowded House Album: “Recurring Dream: The Very Best of Crowded House”

As other reviewers have stated, Crowded House WAS underrated. The easygoing vocals are reminiscent of Paul Carrack. (Who? He sang "The Living Years" with Mike and The Mechanics.) The music is mellow and varied, but the two main weapons of this band were Neil Finn's lyrics and the harmonies ("Weather With You," case in point). These tunes harken to the lessons of Paul McCartney. They stick in my head not because they're annoying, but because they're GOOD.

Access all the track samples above; it's better than me taking up more space. See what I mean? Nearly all of these songs should have cracked the top 100 on U.S. college radio. (Top 40 was pretty much a mass grave even back then.) The aboriginal groove on "Private Universe" has a "Graceland"-era Paul Simon appeal. In some songs, the words convey a cautionary tale. In others, they're flat-out love letters. In EVERY song, the words tell a satisfying story.

"Something So Strong" and "Mean To Me" prove that the guys could rock; they just did so sparingly. Other tracks betray the influence of the Beatles ("Into Temptation," "Not The Girl You Think You Are," "Four Seasons In One Day," "Everything Is Good For You.")

At least they made a dent with "Don't Dream It's Over." Still, this band stands the test of time. They didn't blaze across the sky, but they've always hung well above the horizon.

Recurring Dream is a satisfying, if slightly cut-and-paste collection of Crowded House's finest moments. It pains me to see no listing for Together Alone in Amazon's lists, the band's most rounded album. It's from this album that the best songs come, the gentle Pineapple Head, the ravishing Private Universe and the heartbreaking Distant Sun...no Nails In My Feet though, a glaring omission. Don't Dream It's Over remains a classic and the cuts from Woodface show off the Finn's songwriting at it's strongest. If you're new to Crowded House this is an excellent starter but seek out Together Alone to make your collection complete.

Australia's Crowded House is one of the most underrated bands of the late 80's and 90's. They experienced their biggest commercial success with their first, self-titled album. The album contained the superb single, the languid "Don't Dream It's Over" which peaked at number two in 1987. It was followed by the more upbeat, but equally superb "Something So Strong" which also hit the top ten peaking at number seven. The band would never again hit the top forty with a single. Their next album, The Temple Of Low Men, was a 180-degree turn from their first album. It was dark and somber with intensely personal songs that probably turned fans away. The excellent "Into Temptation" is the strongest track and "Better Be Home Soon" also rates highly. Leader Neil Finn starting writing songs with his brother, Tim Finn for a proposed Finn Brothers project. That idea was scraped, Tim joined the band and the songs were included on their third album, Woodface, which is their masterpiece. The strength of the album is the brother's flawless harmonies that a deep richness to the songs. "Weather With You" is the band's best song and was unjustly never the hit it deserved to be. During the Woodface tour, Tim, left the band and he would be replaced on the fourth album by American guitarist, Mark Hart. Together Alone added a heavier guitar sound as well as a Maori influence and features the excellent "Pineapple Head". The band broke up in 1996. Recurring Dreams is a fine overview of the band's music, amply filled out by nineteen tracks, three of which, "Not The Girl You Think You Are", "Instinct" & "Everything Is Good For You" are new. Highly recommended for hardcore fans, is a two-disk set with the second disk being a DVD which includes all the band's videos as well as an interview.

I was always turned off by the cultish following Crowded House leader Neil Finn, in all his incarnations, seems to enjoy--kind of like a musical Saturn. And then I finally broke down and bought this, and on first listen I thought, what's the big deal?

And then I listened again, and again, and again. And thought, this Finn guy is GOOD.

I used to think that 'complex' and 'pop music' were mutually exclusive. Not anymore. This is clever, hook-filled music with complexity that only repeated listenings uncovers. Buy it!

It's taken me a long time to get around to writing this review. Not because I'm lazy, or because this album isn't a favourite which sits at the at the top of my pile (far from it!)..... but because I struggle to find the words which can describe such genius as Neil Finn and the rest of Crowded House.

It was the amazingly perfect pop piece "Weather With You" that stayed in my memory long enough for me to take an interest in Crowded House....

....and how glad I am that it did.

I often dream of situations, and imagine the artists, albums or songs that accompany them perfectly. For instance, if I were to be in a fighter jet - shooting down the enemy - speeding along at 1000 miles per hour, I think that Motorheads Ace of Spades would coincide nicely with the moment. Or if I were strolling through NYC on a hot July day - Jimi Hendrix's Crosstown Traffic fills the funk void quite nicely....

...Ok Ok, I'm rambling. But the point that I am trying to make is that however hard I try to pigeonhole 'Recurring Dream'....I fail. I personally find Crowded House's Greatest Hits album to contain the most perfect 'popular' music that has ever been produced. But I also find that you can't make it fit into one genre.

Although I had convinced myself that songs like "Locked Out" and "Distant Sun" were perfect for cleaning the house to, I also found that "It's Only Natural" was THE shower song, "Weather With You" was THE driving song, "Fall At Your Feet" was THE Love song, "Don't Dream it's Over" was the "pull myself together" song...in fact, "Recurring Dream" is THE album filled to the brim with THE songs. A greatest hits compilation that stands the test of time because you fail to notice a time that these songs belong to. And thats what makes it so perfect.

"Recurring Dream" is an album which confirms all that fans knew, and where newcomers find the genius that is sadly no longer harnessed as a group.

In short "Recurring Dream" is a timeless album, filled with timeless songs that you can listen to with ease and interest at any time... an album that you can take anywhere, put in any situation - and it will still fit...

Perfectly.