Disco de Crowded House: “Together Alone”

At the time of the release of Together Alone, U2 and R.E.M. were enjoying huge commercial and critical success with their albums Achtung Baby and Automatic For The People respectively. Despite gaining deservedly similar critical success and being generally regarding as one of the main rock bands at the time, Together Alone became for some reason a commercial failure, especially in light of the album being the follow-up to the massively popular Woodface. Lousy choices of singles most have been a significant factor.

Together Alone is in many ways contradictory. The melodies are fantastic; very few albums have such abundance of catchy pop tunes. The lyrics, however, are reflective, sinister and even harrowing (Catherine Wheels). Neil Finn was obviously at the top of his game during that period. The production of the songs meanders from being soft and slick as in the opening track, Kare Kare, to becoming raw in instrumentation and singing as in the next track, In My Command. The production is still constantly experimental. The number of instruments used is not still that many, with most tracks driven by the routine guitar/bass/drums. Various sound effects and subtle use of other instruments are, however, created, adding texture to the sound. Case in point is Private Universe, a haunting song with many drum effects creating an atmospheric sonic experience.

Together Alone is in many ways not unlike the Beatles' White Album. All kinds of variances are taking place in all manners but the end result is yet as complete as pop albums are able to achieve.

From my standpoint, Together Alone is among the era's best albums and beats other Crowded House releases hands down. Neil Finn has not come close since going solo in producing anything of the same quality. Together Alone is Finn's career peak and a must have for all Crowded House fans.

Crowded House is my 2nd favorite band of all time after The Beatles. "Together Alone" is my favorite CH album. It was a big hit in the U.K. but did nothing here in the U.S. which is such a shame.

This is a beautiful album of songs that showcase once again Neil Finn's masterful songwriting. All these songs here are great.

KARE KARE: Which opens the CD is my all time favorite (the last time I'll use that word...promise!) CH track. Love it! It has a real eerie/floaty feeling to it. Just brilliant. The ending drum flurry by Paul Hester puts a sastisfying capper on the end.

For me, it's one of those 'sit back in your chair and go "Wow" songs'

IN MY COMMAND: Comes out loud and bold and stays that way 'til the end. Great chorus.

NAILS IN MY FEET: When I first heard this song I pictured the "Don't Dream It's Over" video but in reverse with Neil going trough the house right to left. Don't know why. Love the song.

BLACK AND WHITE BOY: Incredible song.

FINGERS OF LOVE: Lovely, dreamy.

PINEAPPLE HEAD: Always caught me as a very strange song with a strange title. Love it.

LOCKED OUT: I always loved this song and only recently saw the video which made me love the song even more. Manic and crazy.

PRIVATE UNIVERSE: Beautiful

WALKING ON THE SPOT: Sad

DISTANT SUN: One of the greatest songs of all time ever! The bridge shouts out "I don't pretend to know what you want/ But I offer love."

CATHERINE WHEELS: Love it!

SKIN FEELING: Good Rocker with a nice chorus. One of the few songs written by drummer Paul Hester.

TOGETHER ALONE: The closer and a wonderful one at that. Sad now in reflection as it was the last song on the last CH studio album.

I hope Capitol will continue to re-release the CH catalog. The fact that this CD is out of print is a shame. If you are a fan of Neil Finn it is a must.

Serving as Crowded House's last official studio album, _Together Alone_ packs quite an eclectic punch. For fans of songs like "Fall at Your Feet" and "Don't Dream It's Over", the album contains slower songs such as "Nails in My Feet" (one of Finn's best out of many, many deeply romantic, intimate songs), "Fingers of Love", and "Catherine Wheels." However, Crowded House locks into full agressive adult rock mode on tracks like "In My Command", "Locked Out", "Black and White Boy", and "Skin Feeling."

If one of your favorite qualities of Crowded House is Finn's voice, this might be the best Crowded House album to pick up. His voice literally soars on all the tracks. The production is also quite inventive and dense - you'll be picking up new little things left and right with repeated listenings.

When I think of Crowded House, I think of them as one of the few bands that actually justifies the relative expensive price of CDs - these are albums that contain songs that will remain with you forever and you will never grow tired of. They made albums that stay in your CD player for months at a time. They made albums that hit you on the first listen and only get better with time. They made albums that should've gotten more attention than they did. Oh well...our little secret treasures are the general public's loss.

I own over 800 cd's and consider myself someone who knows about great music. As much as i adore all CH albums this one stands out every time. To hear new things after 100 listens is simply magic. In my opinion Crowded House and (Radiohead Ok computer) are the only ones who come very close to the mighty Beatles. Together with Abbey Road and Ok Computer, Together Alone must be included in the best albums I posess. Very underrated.

I would put Neil Finn up against any songwriter. He has written some of the most haunting, delightful and enduring songs in my musical library. A few of the songs on this disc are among my favorite Crowded House songs: "Nails in My Feet," "Pineapple Head," "Walking on the Spot" and "Catherine Wheels" instantly connect--beautiful, lyrical and timeless. But even when the song carries a meditative or poignant tone, there is always a sense of lightness or even humor hidden within. I guess that's something I appreciate about Finn's songwriting--the layers of heart, wit and beauty that seem to weave together so naturally. The songs feel true to life.