Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
So much atmosphere crammed onto such a small disc ..., 27 Jul 2001
If you asked the average person to name a Crowded House song, I think they'd probably choose something from Woodface, and in this respect Together Alone could be viewed as a poor relation.Indeed, Woodface was in many ways a contemporary pop classic that offered some evocative, lyrically-clever songs, but for me Together Alone towers high above it. The crisp, pop-style production of previous albums is replaced by a compelling atmosphere and moodiness that permeates what was Crowded House's final studio album. If you've never listened to Crowded House before, or were put off by their previous offerings, leave your mind open to this album because it is truly captivating. Spine-tingling moments abound, notably in the wonderful 'Nails In My Feet', opening track 'Kare Kare' and 'Walking On The Spot', with a slightly more familiar Crowded House sound in 'In My Command' and 'Locked Out'. Despite the fact that this album is now eight years old, it still inhabits a time and a mood all of its own, somewhere in a dreamland at the edge of the world.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An amazing, uneasy climax., 13 Jan 2004
While definitely not the album that spawned the most well known Crowded House (for that one should check out 'woodface'), this final album is without a doubt their best.
It was recorded when the band was nearing its end, and it makes for jarring, uneasy melodies interspersed with the usual brilliance of Neil Finn's writing. This makes for a much less commercial album than woodface, but give this album a bit of a chance and the payoff is very big indeed.
For example, the opener 'Kare Kare' evokes the New Zealand beach it was recorded on, but is tinged with melancholic strings and delay ridden guitars. That's not to say that the album is all downright experimental - as always the quality of the songwriting is at the forefront of Crowded House's music; anyone looking for more great pop songs should look no further to 'locked out' or the sharp acoustics of 'pineapple head'.
It is as the album draws to a close though that the album goes from merely good to a little masterpiece. After the glorious 'Distant Sun', 'Catherine Wheels' edges along easily, before 'Skin Feeling' brings us back into focus with a more upbeat track. The finale 'Together Alone' is amazingly powerful - the maori choir certainly something that would not have occurred to some of the bands at the time, but works wonderfully at the time. Interestingly it has since been utilised on the Lord of the Rings soundtrack - another New Zealand endeavour.
Ultimately, you have to wonder just why Crowded House are as underrated as they are. It makes little sense to me, as seems to be the case with the other reviewers here.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Compelling, 16 Nov 2000
I circled around this album for a number of years - it is an odd collection indeed. It came from a potent brew of a strange producer, a strange house, and a band that was dissolving but did not yet openly recognise it. Throw all that up in the air and you get a collection of songs and performances which were DELIBERATELY chosen to be the most "out there". Right from the opening track Kare Kare, you feel you've stumbled into a room where 4 people have been locked to make music for days before you turn up.. there is no real concession to the outsider here. To give you the best idea of the power of this album, listen to "private universe", a song that seemed pretty straightforward when Crowded House sang it live. This version crackles with mysterious shimmering noises, all sorts of almost sub-auditory distortions, all of which creates an odd, disturbing ambience. The finest moment on this collection is, for me, the closing song Together Alone.. here we have a Maori choir, what sounds like 100 trouser presses being played, a band slightly tired and emotional - and the kind of performance that leaves you speechless. This has been played, on its own, at many different alternative health courses, and never fails to bring tears to someone's eyes. Try it and see.
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