Crowded House

When this sparkling debut by the three-piece Crowded House made its appearance in 1987, those starved for hooks minus the usual sentimentality were finally sated. New Zealander Neil Finn came all the way to Los Angeles from Australia, bringing with him some of the finest melodies and knowing lyrics to come down the pop-music pike in years. With immaculate production and keyboard additions by Mitchell Froom, (who found his fame with this band), CROWDED HOUSE proved to be a stellar debut.

More...

When this sparkling debut by the three-piece Crowded House made its appearance in 1987, those starved for hooks minus the usual sentimentality were finally sated. New Zealander Neil Finn came all the way to Los Angeles from Australia, bringing with him some of the finest melodies and knowing lyrics to come down the pop-music pike in years. With immaculate production and keyboard additions by Mitchell Froom, (who found his fame with this band), CROWDED HOUSE proved to be a stellar debut.
Neil Finn first made his mark as a member of his big brother Tim's band, Split Enz. His contribution to that band gave Split Enz its first international hits (the most notable of which was "I Got You"). Finn continued this tradition of writing and performing harmony-rich gems when he formed Crowded House with Split Enz drummer Paul Hester and Melbourne bassist Nick Seymour. Featuring the beautiful yet ambiguous "Don't Dream Its Over" (covered by Paul Young at the Nelson Mandela Tribute Concert), "World Where You Live", and "Something So Strong", CROWDED HOUSE is the ideal introduction to the delights of Neil Finn and his exceptional band.

Rolling Stone - Ranked #71 in Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Albums Of The 80s" survey.

CMJ (2/14/00, p.22)
- "...guitars jangle and warble and scrape around while songwriter Neil Finn's voice swung from a serenade to a kind of sculpted holler....each song [providing] a lyrical shock tied to a perfect hook..."