Search - Crowded House :: Farewell to the World

A Wonderful "Farewell"

R. D. Seale Jr. | Birmingham, AL United States | 03/20/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Of course, with the news that Neil Finn, Nick Seymour, and Mark Hart will be touring again with a new drummer, this isn't really a 'farewell' as it were, but for hardcore CH fans, it is, and with the recent death of drummer Paul Hester, this recording attains an added bit of ironic melancholy and increased appreciation.



This is a great double CD, and for even casual fans of the band, it is well worth purchasing. The production is fabulous, and the performances are excellent. One will find so many of the "greatest hits" ("Distant Sun", "Weather With You", "World Where You Live", "Don't Dream It's Over", and my personal favorite, "Fall At Your Feet") done well, especially "Don't Dream", the last song of the show, complete with crowd-sung chorus and deafening applause at the conclusion. But fans will also enjoy other non-single album tracks like "Whispers And Moans", "Fingers of Love", and "When You Come", songs that are terrific but didn't make the Greatest Hits cut. Also included are some elements of the personality of the band, something that separated them from the majority of bands who take themselves way too seriously. Neil adds alternate lyrics in "Into Temptation" when he realizes the crowd in front needs water; during "Sister Madly", Paul does an imitation of Tina Turner, and the songs ends with the line, "Climb every mountian...". The guys are fully enjoying this last show, and you can tell it is not just for the 100,000+ fans there and the MTV Europe audience watching it live, but for themselves as well, and this recording captures that nicely.



I will say this: I bought a VHS copy of this show a few years ago before this CD was officially released, and this recording takes out some of the in-between song banter that made the concert feel even more like a concert. But on the up-side, more songs from the show were included in this 2 CD set than on the original film, especially a few more songs with neil's brother Tim, and the Hester-penned song "Italian Plastic".



I highly recommend this release."

Excellent live album full of energy and killer songs for Cro

Wayne Klein | My Little Blue Window, USA | 07/15/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ok true confessions first--I'm a huge Neil Finn fan and also had this when it was released 10 years ago as part of the Crowded House Fanclub live releases. This release improves on the original in one way--we get two discs instead of one. I really haven't compared this to my fanclub CD (hey, it's the only fanclub I belonged to and I did**honest**for the CDs)but this does seem a bit louder with less dynamic range. Nevertheless, I'm going with the five stars here for the performances.



I can't say I've done a head-to-head of late between this and the previous single disc edition so I don't know if any overdubbing was done. If it was, they did a masterful job of hiding it--the band sounds terrific (and yes, on a great night they sounded this good--heck even on a bad night they outclassed the competition). The only new material here is a cover of the Hunter & Collector's tune "Throw Your Arms Around Me" but it's one of the few places to also get a stunning live version of "Everything Is Good For You" (which appeared on their last release as a band the "Recurring Dream" Best of set). It's also one of the few CDs in print where you can hear live versions (many of them stunning)of the tracks for their albums "Woodface" and "Together Alone". The band DID release a live EP with some of the material here but that's long out of print and probably fetching high prices on Ebay and here as well.



Even my LEAST favorite track the humorous "Italian Plastic" by the late Paul Hester is enjoyable to listen to here. Luckily for fans, the Dream isn't over as the band has since released a new album and is touring the world. Let's hope that they get back in the studio quickly as Neil's indicated that he'd like to put together another album of new material ASAP."

A fitting endpoint to Crowded House: Phase 1

Howlinw | California, USA | 03/18/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I know quite a number of music fans who avoid "live" albums in favor of studio recordings. They perceive that the live albums sometimes do not add much over the studio recordings, and in some cases even detract from the band's overall quality of output if the performance is too sloppy or the recording is not well-produced. Well, here we have a live recording that is well worth anyone's time, and adds something significant to the band's already sterling catalog of recordings.



Crowded House wasn't the most prolific of bands, but what they recorded was some of the best music of the 80s and 90s. Their albums were filled with incredibly well-written songs that betrayed a depth of insight into the human condition that is rare in popular music. Here, the songs shine in a live setting. The band approaches the material with reverance and looseness, never sounding like they are just going through the motions. An enthusiastic crowd adds a vibrant energy to the performance, and Neil Finn seems to easily establish a real rapport with his fans. The song choices are smart, balancing more lively numbers with introspective ones to vary the mood enough to hold the listener's interest. With two CDs, there is plenty of material covered. This was the perfect way to exit the public stage (temporarily as it turned out), and the band seems legitimately appreciative of this opportunity to leave on such a high note.



This is one of the best live CD sets available and I recommend it for anyone."