Send "Crowded House " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Popmatters |
 At least the folks at Capitol have a sense of humor. With the extra “very” in The Very Very Best of Crowded House, they’re acknowledging this is a cash-in on a band that’s no longer on their roster. Capitol released Recurring Dream—The Very Best of Crowded House shortly after the band split in 1996. Hot on the heels of the re-formed Crowded House’s latest studio album, Intriguer, comes this new collection. Intriguer, however, is not represented on The Very Very Best of Crowded House. Instead, Capitol has licensed from the band’s current label a couple tracks off 2007’s Time on Earth, shoehorned them into Recurring Dream, swapped out handful of tracks for good measure, and given the small number of new fans a slightly more comprehensive career overview. Got that? Both collections come in at 19 tracks, and have all but five of them in common. Redundant, yes, but that’s what struggling major labels do when there’s a back catalog that can be exploited for a fraction of the cost of a studio album. So which one’s better, The Very Best of Crowded House or The Very Very Best of Crowded House? Basically, it’s a six-of-one, half-dozen-of-the-other proposition. You can’t lose, because Crowded House is one of the most consistent, intelligent, and catchy pop-rock groups of the last 25 years. Either way, you’ll get highlights from the band’s initial four studio albums, plus a couple tracks recorded for the 1996 release. Or, spring for the digital version, which consolidates both releases and adds even more tracks. “Don’t Stop Now” and “Pour le Monde” from Time on Earth are fine songs, but neither is a dealmaker or breaker. If anything, they demonstrate how songwriter Neil Finn has aged gracefully, perhaps too comfortably for some. ...full text |
| Bbc |
| It’s simple, really: if you write super songs, they won’t get old. Crowded House have a catalogue that features so many gems that they should, perhaps, be held in the high regard primarily reserved for acts that came before them, the likes of The Beatles and the Stones. At least, they should be seen as a sort of southern hemisphere R.E.M. – capable of writing the finest pop songs, but always with an air of vulnerability, with heavy heart and burning soul. Their roots are very different, but the songs speak for themselves: several of these 19 tracks are solid-gold greats. Whether the world needs another Crowded House best of, after two already – 1996’s Recurring Dream and 2003’s US release, Classic Masters – is ultimately a moot point as, while the Neil Finn-led outfit has hardly been a global chart force since their 2006 reunion, the songwriting quality has remained firmly intact. This set, covering as it does all of their studio albums except for Intriguer of June this year, is their most complete hits package to date, and effectively becomes their definitive document. It is, therefore, essential – should these songs not already be part of your record collection, of course. Highlights are only ever going to be determined by the period of Crowded House’s existence that the listener was first alerted to. For me, the songs of 1991’s Woodface and its great, dark follow-up, 1993’s Together Alone, are the most fondly remembered; but the group’s eponymous debut spawned its share of celebrated singles, including Don’t Dream It’s Over, Something So Strong and Mean to Me. Woodface’s Weather With You is the band’s only UK top 10 to date, but they’ve broken the top 20 several times: Distant Sun, a standout of Together Alone, reached 19, and the same LP’s Locked Out went higher still, peaking at 12. Private Universe flopped as a single, but it’s one of the most intimate and melancholic songs Finn and company have ever penned....full text |
| Blogcritics |
| Crowded House is a rock band out of Melbourne, Australia that came together in 1985 and to this day, continues to reign as a cultural icon in music. On October 25, 2010, the band released a CD of fan favorites to celebrate the band's 25th anniversary. The Very Very Best...contains 19 singles and most notably of the songs are my personal favorites, "Don't Dream Its Over," "Something so Strong," and "Better Be Home Soon." The band originally consisted of Neil Finn, who performs the vocals, guitar and keyboards; Paul Hester on drums; and Nick Seymour on bass in the 80's. Later on, American multi-instrumentalist Mark Hary became a permanent member, and Matt Sherrod joined the Crowded House band on drums. In 1986 the band's self titled debut album rocked Billboard coming in #12 with it's break out single "Don't Dream It's Over," which became a world-wide phenomenal #2 hit in 1987. The song is featured on the Very Very CD. "Don't Dream It's Over" is, still to this day, one of the world's best songs and a nostalgic trip back to the days where movies like the Breakfast Club (1985) and Pretty in Pink (1986) were everything that signified what was truly awesome about the 80s. The band next hit "Something So Strong" also reached the Billboard's Hot 100 charts at #7. The song is another fresh and upbeat tune that is also memorable lasting sound....full text |
Crowded House lyrics
|
| |||||||||||||
