560 Hello Crowded House - Don't Dream It's Over

Chart  entered  :  6  June  1987

Chart  peak :  25

Number  of  hits  : 15

This  was  an  early  hit  for  one  of  my  favourite  groups  of  the  nineties.

Crowded  House  were  something  of  a  successor  band  to  New  Zealand's  Split  Enz.  They  had  been  formed  at  Auckland  University  in  1972 . They  are  best  described  as  art  rock  with  elements  of  glam, music  hall, rock  and  pop  in  their  music   presented  with  a  garish  theatricality. The  band  had  weird  haircuts ,  lavish  make-up   and  wore  bizarre  colour-coded  suits.  This  was  the  province  of  their  art  director  Noel  Crombie  but  he  also  appeared  on  stage  with  them  despite  not  being  able  to  play  anything  bar  a  couple  of  spoons, a  prototype  Bez  if  you  like. They  released  their  first  album  "Mental  Notes"  in  1975  which  was  only  released  in  the  Antipodes  but  it  was  a  hit  in  both  Australia  and  New  Zealand. It  attracted  the  attention  of  Roxy  Music  guitarist  Phil  Manzanera  who  brought  them  over  to  London  to  record  the  second  album  "Second  Thoughts"  though  it  contained  four  tracks  re-recorded  from  the  debut. Despite  Manzanera's  involvement  and  some  press  interest  the  album  failed  to  chart  in  the  UK.

Up  to  that  point  the  band  had  been  led  by  twin  front  men   Tim  Finn  and  Phil  Judd  but  they  found  it  increasingly  difficult  to  work  together  and  there  was  a  major,  er,  split  in  the  band  in  1977  with  Judd  and  two  others  departing. One  of  the  replacements  was  Tim  Finn's   younger  brother  Neil   who  joined  as  guitarist  and  took  the  image  of  a  dissolute  public  schoolboy. The  next  album  "Dizrythmia"  was  pretty  much  already  written  so  Neil  had  no  songwriting  credits  on  it  and  it's  hard  to  spot  any  influence  he  might  have  had  on  the  record. It's  a  rewarding  listen  but  few  of  the  tracks   have  immediate  appeal  bar  the  pre-Madness  music  hall  romp  of  the  single  "My  Mistake".  "Crosswords"  directly  references  the  situation  with   Judd  - "We're  still  friends  but  we're  still  fighting"  and  is  strikingly  followed  by   the  macabre  "Charlie"  a  morning  after  lament  from  someone  who's  just  killed  his  mate.
The  album  outperformed  its  predecessors  in  Oz and  NZ  but  there  was  still  no  international  breakthrough  and  the  band   parted  company  with  their  UK  label  Chrysalis.

Their  history  becomes  a  bit  confusing  now. They  recorded  a  series  of  demos  in  a  small  studio  in  Luton  early  in  1978  which  became  known  as  "The  Rootin'  Tootin'  Luton  Tapes". 28  songs  were  recorded  in  total.  Neil  wrote  three  songs  and  co-wrote  two  others  with  Tim.  Later  in  the  year  the  band  went  to  Manor  Studios  and  re-recorded  some  of  the  songs  for  their  second  album  "Frenzy"  which  was  released  in  the  Antipodes  only. The  band  were  not  happy  with  the  results,  blaming  co-producer  Mallory  Earl  for  its  woolly  sound  and  it  did  not  match  the  performance  of  "Dizrythmia"  in  the  charts. Two  years  later  keyboard  player    Eddie  Rayner  re-mixed  the  album  and  dropped  three  of  the  tracks  in  favour  of  other  songs    from  the  Luton  sessions  including  the  awesome  "Semi-Detatched.  In  the  UK  it  was  given  away  alongside  their  1982  album  "Time  And  Tide. That's  the  version  of  Frenzy  reviewed  on  my  albums  blog  here .

By  the  time  of  their  next  album   in  1980  they  had  new  deals  with  Chrysalis  in  the  USA  and  A &  M  in  Europe. "True  Colours "  saw  the  band  embrace  the  new  wave  on  most  songs  with  two  synth-led  instrumentals  among  the  eleven  tracks. The  album  was  a  major  commercial  breakthrough  largely  due  to  the  global  hit  single  "I  Need  You", one  of  three  tracks  written  by  Neil. This  examination  of  an  unhealthily  possessive  relationship is  masterfully  constructed with  the  sinister  uncoiling  of  the   verses  giving  way  to  an  explosive  pop  chorus.  It  reached  number  12  in   the  UK  after  being  championed  by  Simon  Bates. It's  equalled  by  Tim's  "Nobody  Takes  Me  Seriously"  ( the  flop  follow-up  in  the  UK  ) an  anthem  of  Everyman  self-pity   given  extra  potency  by  his  squeaky  tenor. The  other  tracks  don't  quite  reach  those  heights  but  it's  a  very  solid  album  which  made  the  Top  40  in  both  the  UK  and  US.

Their  next  album  "Waiata"  in  1981 ,where  they  moved  in  a  synth-pop  direction,  is , I  think, their  strongest  set  of  songs  although  it  failed  to  chart  in  the  UK. Neil  got  the  lion's  share  of  the  singles  with  the  Beatles-influenced  "History  Never  Repeats"  becoming  a  minor  hit  in  the  UK,   largely  due  to  its  still-impressive  laser  etching. However  some  of  Tim's  songs  like  "Hard  Act  To  Follow"  and  "Ghost  Girl"  are  every  bit  as  good.

You  can  find  my  review  of  the  next  album  "Time  And  Tide"  on  the  same  link  above.  After  that  Tim  did  a  solo  album  with  songs  that  he  felt  didn't  fit  the  Enz  mould. The  album  "Escapade"  and  single  "Fraction  Too  Much  Friction"  did  much  better  ( in  the  Antipodes )  than  he  expected  . He  also  acquired  an  impressive  new  girlfriend  in  UK  actress  Greta  Scacchi   and  so  came  to  the  next  Enz  album  "Conflicting  Emotions"  in  a  somewhat  distracted  frame  of  mind. It's  the  first  album  on  which  Neil  wrote  the  majority  of  the  songs. It's  a  decent  song  collection  but  conspicuously  short  on  real  magic. Neither  single , the  lacklustre  funk  workout  "Strait  Old  Line"  or  the  bland  pop  of  "Message  To  My  Girl"  which  could  fit  neatly  on  any  Crowded  House  album, shines  and  it  was  their  first  album  of  the  eighties  not  to  top  the  charts  in  Oz  and  NZ.

Though  he'd  filled  the  stool  adequately  enough  on  the  previous  album , Crombie  had  no  real  desire  to  be  the  band's  drummer  and  hardly  played  on  the  LP  which  employed  drum  machines  or  ex-Beach  Boy  Ricky  Fataar  instead. The  band  decided  a  new  drummer  was  needed  for  the  tour  and  engaged  Paul  Hester , a  24 year  old  veteran  of  various  Melbourne    bands  including  Deckchairs  Overboard. They  were  a  new  wave  pop  act  who  enjoyed  some  minor  chart  success  in  Australia . Paul  co-wrote  their  first  three  singles,  on  the  evidence  of  which  they  were  useless,  despite  having  a  very  attractive  female  bassist / singer. Paul  quit  them  in  1983.  

Not  long  after  the  tour  was  completed  , to  no  one's  surprise,  Tim  Finn  announced  that  he  was  leaving  and  moving  to  England  with  Scacchi,  leaving  Neil  to  inherit  the  band. After  reviewing  the situation ,  Neil  unilaterally  decided  that  the  band  was  not  viable  without  Tim  and  announced  that  their  next  album  would  be  their  last.  To  make  matters  worse,  Neil  only  had  an  EP's  worth  of  material  written  for  the  album  so  the  other  members  were  requested to  throw  in  one  song  each  to  make  up  the  required length. "See  Ya  Round" ( 1984 )  isn't  entirely  worthless. Although  the  lead  single,  "I  Walk  Away" , is  bland  and  forgettable  , the  follow-up  "One  Mouth  Is  Fed"  shows  that  their  talent  for  throwing  in  the  unexpected  hadn't  entirely  deserted  them  with  a  big  male  voice  choir  refrain  where  you  least  expect  it. Neil's  collaboration  with keyboard  player   Eddie  Rayner  , "Years  Go  By"  is  another  good  track  but  the  songs  from  the  others  only  prove  they  should  have  left  it  at  an  EP. Crombie's  "Ninnie  Knees  Up"  is  three  minutes  of  my  life  I'll  never  get  back.

Tim  agreed  to  come  back  for  the  final   Enz  With  A  Bang   tour . During  the  tour  Neil  met  bass  player  Nick  Seymour   who  had  been  in  a  number  of  Melbourne  bands  most  notably  avant-garde  outfit  Plays  With  Marionettes. He  was  invited  to  audition  for  the  new  band  Neil  was  starting  with  Paul  and  passed.

The  new  band  was  initially  called  The  Mullanes  and  originally  featured  another  guitarist  who  quit  when  the  band  re-located  to  Los  Angeles  to  record  their  debut  album  for  Capitol  records. The  label  didn't  like  the  folk-ish  name  of  the  band  so  they  came  up  with  Crowded  House  referring  to  their  cramped  living  quarters. At  some  point  Eddie  Rayner  was  invited  to  join  the  band  but  he  declined  due  to  family  commitments. Producer  Michell  Froom  played  keyboards  on  the  album  instead.

Their  debut  album  "Crowded  House"  was  released  in  June  1986. The  singles  were  released  in  a  different  order  in  different  territories   but  it  started  with  the  opening  track  "Mean  To  Me"  being  released  in  Australia  a  fortnight  before  the  LP. A  shaggy  dog  story  with  Neil  as  a  decent  guy  trying  to  escape  his  involvement  with  a  nightmare  date   it's  a  slice  of  brash  guitar  pop  driven  by  Paul's  hard  drumming  and  the  Heart  Attack  Horns. It  was  followed  in  October  by  the  bland  Monkees-pop  of  "Now  We're  Getting  Somewhere"  which  features  session  musicians  as  the  rhythm  section  in  place  of  Nick  and  Paul. At  the  same  time  "World  Where  You  Live"  was  released  as  the  first  single  in  the  UK.  A  slightly  more  interesting tune  about  the  impossibility  of  knowing  what's  going  on  in  someone  else's  mind,  it  suffers  from  the  lack  of  a  strong  hook  and  the  over-prominence  of  Paul's  bass  drum, a  sign  of  the  times  unfortunately. It  later  reached  number  65  in  America.

"Don't  Dream  It's  Over"  followed  in  Oz  in   October  1986  and   opened  their  US  account  the  following  January.  An  instant , much-covered  ( despite  some  very  specific  lyrics  about  Neil's  car  breaking  down  during  a  re-location )  the  song  glides  along  on  a  melodic  bassline  with  clipped  rhythm  guitar  and  woozy  Hammond  organ  ( which  sounds  like  it's  going  to  break  into  A  Whiter  Shade  of  Pale  at  one  or  two  points  )  from  Froom. It's  topped  by  one  of  Neil's  best  plaintive  vocals  before  the  rest  of  the  lads  come  in   for  that  killer  chorus. Even  without  the  motivational  words,   the  track  generates  a  tremendous  warmth  that   has  attracted  covers  like  flies  starting  with  Paul  Young's  redundant  cover  that  somehow  managed  to  get  higher  than  the  original  in  the  UK. In  the  US  it  reached  number  2  in  April  1987  and  on  the  back  of  that  started  to  climb  the  charts  here  too.