ewe2
20-02-2006, 07:52 PM
Separate the fiction from the fact, I've been a little slow to react
But its nearly time to flick the switch, and I'm hanging by a single stitch
Laughing at the stormy face of gloom when your turn comes round
And the light goes on, and you feel your attraction again,
And your instinct can't be wrong
-- Instinct
Those lines from one of the last Crowded House recordings says a lot about Neil Finn and his band. Because although they started out with the best intentions of being a group of equals, it was always Neil's intentions that won out, and in the end he took responsibility for it, but for a while he dithered with unfortunate consequences. They were always a band of extraordinary honesty, well evidenced by the band biography published after their demise, and not a lot was left to speculation. But rarely do a band excite such passion and devotion that we fans regard them as friends, and if there is a Beatles comparison to make, this is the only fair one, group psychology be damned.
http://forum.zgeek.com/gallery/files/2/0/1/200px-NeilFinn1996.jpgAfter the Enz ended, Neil was determined that the next band would do it right from the start. Crowded House #1 (after a false start as the Mullanes) was designed to crack the US market the Enz had come so near to doing. They got American management, American studio time and an American producer. They went to America and recorded the demo there and went hunting for an American record deal, which they got with Capitol, which for Neil was perfect since it meant he could distribute on the Parliphone label (the old George Martin/Beatles label). Their eponymous album was painstakingly made, the boys made some brilliant video clips and worked their asses off to get MTV, any media coverage at all. And incredibly it all worked and they were a #1 hit in America. From nowhere to #1 in two years. Where to from here and why?
The bloody songs, for a start. Then there was their comic banter on and off the stage. Paul Hester was a devastating wit, with perfect timing. Nick Seymour (Mark Seymour's brother) shared a common Irish Catholic sensibility and younger brotherhood with Neil and wasn't slow with a quip himself, not to mention being handy with a paintbrush. It was a perfect offset to those songs. And what songs. Lyrics rooted in the personal but speaking to your own experience. Immaculate music matching the emotions perfectly. Good heavens it was grown-up music. For grown-ups! They toured relentlessly but didn't quite crack the UK scene, although they went down well in Europe.
Temple Of Low Men wasn't quite as successful, and interest in America began to wane. The overwhelming response to the first album and the relentless touring left Neil in a songwriting cul-de-sac of his own making. He got a serious case of writing block and wasn't above taking it out on the others, who never got a song of their own past him. When Tim and Neil wrote most of Woodface in an incredible three week writing spree, Paul finally got a song in, the first since his effort for the last Split Enz album. Woodface was their most accessible record yet, and even the UK gave in. Chocolate Cake was too rude for the US critics and they snubbed the band. Capitol was undergoing major changes and could no longer give the band their undivided attention.
Tim joined as keyboardist for Crowdies #2 but wasn't a very successful addition to the Crowded House stable and eventually he left, replaced by Mark Hart for the final Crowdies #3. By now the tensions between Nick and Neil and Paul and everybody were getting serious and Together Alone, a radically different album to the previous three (and another song by Paul), failed to solve the problem. First Paul left mid-tour and then finally Neil broke the band up two years later in 1996.
http://forum.zgeek.com/gallery/files/2/0/1/chlive.jpgOne of the ironies of musical groups it seems is that the tension of working together over long periods breeds its own kind of creativity, as if testing the edge of destruction sharpens the will to go further. On the greatest hits album Recurring Dream, there was a specially created live CD put together by none other than Nigel Griggs, the Split Enz bassplayer. A gig in Newcastle, during the late phase, was so energized that it made the cut on no less than four songs. The partial reason why is revealing: they had been dragging Nick Seymour behind the Tarago on a skateboard in the parking lot so fast it was a miracle he wasn't slammed through a car window or worse. The underlying tension recalls the endless competitiveness of Split Enz, who would have manic near-fistfights over who could make the best paper planes. Now you know what touring can be like.
Another revealing moment is when Paul Hester left the band. For four hours the band played "Hester by request", every song on the playlist and many more were dictated by him. He and Neil had almost come to blows the day before but now Neil gave him his blessing, typically changing his mind again during the rest of the tour as poor Peter Jones filled in. Nick had left the band several times, but Paul's departure sealed the band's fate in Neils mind and just as typically he took his time to decide it. It was an obvious decision but he couldn't make up his mind even after Hester rejoined to demo songs for a new album, but only to demo them, never to play with Nick and Neil again.
Now of course there can never be a reunion since Hester's death. There was a brief get-together on the set of Paul's wonderful show about sheds. There was the famous last concert by the Opera House (and how many bands get to do that?). Nick is somewhere in Ireland. Neil has worked on and off with Tim ever since.
This was a band that wore its heart on its sleeve, never shying away from sharing its good and bad sides. No two Crowdies gigs were alike. Not once. They knew very well their fans would come with them. I fell in love to "It's Only Natural", and divorced to "Catherine Wheels". When a group's music becomes a best friend, by extension so also the band. When it works, there's nothing as special as that in our culture, to share life's journey via the music. The Crowded House mailing-list, still going today, is called Tongue In The Mail, and gets that name from a line in Love This Life from the misunderstood Temple Of Low Men and it is a fitting coda:
http://forum.zgeek.com/gallery/files/2/0/1/chmelb.jpgSee my face, I get your tongue in the mail
Noone is wise, until they see how it lies,
Love this life, don't wait till the next one comes
Gonna peddle my faith, the wheels are still turning round, turn round
Maybe the day will come, when you never have to feel no pain
After all my complaining gonna love this live, gonna love this life
Love this life, and so they threw you in jail
Whatever you've done, it was a million to one
And don't you just love this life, when its holding you down
Gonna peddle my faith, the wheels are still turning round, turn round
Maybe the day will come, when you never have to feel no pain
After all my complaining gonna love this live, gonna love this life
Here's something that you can do, even if you think that I hate you
Stop your complaining, leave me defenceless when you love this life
Love this life, gonna love this life though you never know why
Gonna love this life
Links:Google Music listing (http://www.google.com/musica?aid=K1ocJNIYEGB&oi=musicr)
Wikipeda entry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowded_House)
Amazon.com listing (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/artist/glance/-/75982/104-7314290-1862316)
Neil Finn homepage (http://www.frenz.com/neilfinn/index.html)
But its nearly time to flick the switch, and I'm hanging by a single stitch
Laughing at the stormy face of gloom when your turn comes round
And the light goes on, and you feel your attraction again,
And your instinct can't be wrong
-- Instinct
Those lines from one of the last Crowded House recordings says a lot about Neil Finn and his band. Because although they started out with the best intentions of being a group of equals, it was always Neil's intentions that won out, and in the end he took responsibility for it, but for a while he dithered with unfortunate consequences. They were always a band of extraordinary honesty, well evidenced by the band biography published after their demise, and not a lot was left to speculation. But rarely do a band excite such passion and devotion that we fans regard them as friends, and if there is a Beatles comparison to make, this is the only fair one, group psychology be damned.
http://forum.zgeek.com/gallery/files/2/0/1/200px-NeilFinn1996.jpgAfter the Enz ended, Neil was determined that the next band would do it right from the start. Crowded House #1 (after a false start as the Mullanes) was designed to crack the US market the Enz had come so near to doing. They got American management, American studio time and an American producer. They went to America and recorded the demo there and went hunting for an American record deal, which they got with Capitol, which for Neil was perfect since it meant he could distribute on the Parliphone label (the old George Martin/Beatles label). Their eponymous album was painstakingly made, the boys made some brilliant video clips and worked their asses off to get MTV, any media coverage at all. And incredibly it all worked and they were a #1 hit in America. From nowhere to #1 in two years. Where to from here and why?
The bloody songs, for a start. Then there was their comic banter on and off the stage. Paul Hester was a devastating wit, with perfect timing. Nick Seymour (Mark Seymour's brother) shared a common Irish Catholic sensibility and younger brotherhood with Neil and wasn't slow with a quip himself, not to mention being handy with a paintbrush. It was a perfect offset to those songs. And what songs. Lyrics rooted in the personal but speaking to your own experience. Immaculate music matching the emotions perfectly. Good heavens it was grown-up music. For grown-ups! They toured relentlessly but didn't quite crack the UK scene, although they went down well in Europe.
Temple Of Low Men wasn't quite as successful, and interest in America began to wane. The overwhelming response to the first album and the relentless touring left Neil in a songwriting cul-de-sac of his own making. He got a serious case of writing block and wasn't above taking it out on the others, who never got a song of their own past him. When Tim and Neil wrote most of Woodface in an incredible three week writing spree, Paul finally got a song in, the first since his effort for the last Split Enz album. Woodface was their most accessible record yet, and even the UK gave in. Chocolate Cake was too rude for the US critics and they snubbed the band. Capitol was undergoing major changes and could no longer give the band their undivided attention.
Tim joined as keyboardist for Crowdies #2 but wasn't a very successful addition to the Crowded House stable and eventually he left, replaced by Mark Hart for the final Crowdies #3. By now the tensions between Nick and Neil and Paul and everybody were getting serious and Together Alone, a radically different album to the previous three (and another song by Paul), failed to solve the problem. First Paul left mid-tour and then finally Neil broke the band up two years later in 1996.
http://forum.zgeek.com/gallery/files/2/0/1/chlive.jpgOne of the ironies of musical groups it seems is that the tension of working together over long periods breeds its own kind of creativity, as if testing the edge of destruction sharpens the will to go further. On the greatest hits album Recurring Dream, there was a specially created live CD put together by none other than Nigel Griggs, the Split Enz bassplayer. A gig in Newcastle, during the late phase, was so energized that it made the cut on no less than four songs. The partial reason why is revealing: they had been dragging Nick Seymour behind the Tarago on a skateboard in the parking lot so fast it was a miracle he wasn't slammed through a car window or worse. The underlying tension recalls the endless competitiveness of Split Enz, who would have manic near-fistfights over who could make the best paper planes. Now you know what touring can be like.
Another revealing moment is when Paul Hester left the band. For four hours the band played "Hester by request", every song on the playlist and many more were dictated by him. He and Neil had almost come to blows the day before but now Neil gave him his blessing, typically changing his mind again during the rest of the tour as poor Peter Jones filled in. Nick had left the band several times, but Paul's departure sealed the band's fate in Neils mind and just as typically he took his time to decide it. It was an obvious decision but he couldn't make up his mind even after Hester rejoined to demo songs for a new album, but only to demo them, never to play with Nick and Neil again.
Now of course there can never be a reunion since Hester's death. There was a brief get-together on the set of Paul's wonderful show about sheds. There was the famous last concert by the Opera House (and how many bands get to do that?). Nick is somewhere in Ireland. Neil has worked on and off with Tim ever since.
This was a band that wore its heart on its sleeve, never shying away from sharing its good and bad sides. No two Crowdies gigs were alike. Not once. They knew very well their fans would come with them. I fell in love to "It's Only Natural", and divorced to "Catherine Wheels". When a group's music becomes a best friend, by extension so also the band. When it works, there's nothing as special as that in our culture, to share life's journey via the music. The Crowded House mailing-list, still going today, is called Tongue In The Mail, and gets that name from a line in Love This Life from the misunderstood Temple Of Low Men and it is a fitting coda:
http://forum.zgeek.com/gallery/files/2/0/1/chmelb.jpgSee my face, I get your tongue in the mail
Noone is wise, until they see how it lies,
Love this life, don't wait till the next one comes
Gonna peddle my faith, the wheels are still turning round, turn round
Maybe the day will come, when you never have to feel no pain
After all my complaining gonna love this live, gonna love this life
Love this life, and so they threw you in jail
Whatever you've done, it was a million to one
And don't you just love this life, when its holding you down
Gonna peddle my faith, the wheels are still turning round, turn round
Maybe the day will come, when you never have to feel no pain
After all my complaining gonna love this live, gonna love this life
Here's something that you can do, even if you think that I hate you
Stop your complaining, leave me defenceless when you love this life
Love this life, gonna love this life though you never know why
Gonna love this life
Links:Google Music listing (http://www.google.com/musica?aid=K1ocJNIYEGB&oi=musicr)
Wikipeda entry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowded_House)
Amazon.com listing (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/artist/glance/-/75982/104-7314290-1862316)
Neil Finn homepage (http://www.frenz.com/neilfinn/index.html)