Open House Again
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Just can’t get enough of the remarkable tunesmith Neil Finn - leader, singer-guitarist, and chief songwriter of the well-loved New Zealand/Australian rock ensemble Crowded House. Although he recorded a couple of solid solo projects (and two pleasing albums with his brother and frequent collaborator Tim Finn), we’ve heard nothing truly new from Crowded House in years. Understandably.Neil, bassist Nick Seymour, and drummer Paul Hester were the foundation of the band during its run from 1985 to 1996, with a few supporting players (such as Tim) coming and going. And they produced a string of dreamy, broadcast-ready pop-rock ballads - including “Don’t Dream It’s Over,” “Fall at Your Feet,” and my own favorite, the gorgeous “Weather With You” - that still sound dulcet to the ear today.They called it quits over a decade ago with a spectacular farewell concert in Sydney that even included a fraternally harmonizing guest shot from Tim – quite a figure in the Down Under music scene himself. Adding an all-too-devastating sense of finality to the Crowded House story, a depressive Hester committed suicide in 2005.So the House was shuttered. But damned if it isn’t back on the market with the release of the melodious, carefully wrought Time on Earth - the group’s fifth studio album of originals, and their first new songs since a couple of tracks were recorded for the 1996 career retrospective Recurring Dream. (Not gonna count the dribs-and-drabs on Afterglow, their 1999 collection of outtakes and previously-unreleased material.)Word has it that Neil was working on another solo album, and he called Nick to contribute. Soon, they had contacted another ex-Crowdie, multi-instrumentalist Mark Hart, and enlisted drummer Matt Sherrod, who had previously backed eclectic, experimental singer-songwriter Beck. I guess they figured that the time was right to resurrect Crowded House.It was a good call. Time on Earth is an abundant, sometimes heartbreaking addition to their canon. Neil came up with 14 worthy songs written from an older, wiser, and more somber perspective. Minor chords darken the band’s inevitably catchy up-tempo material, while their more stately ballads are marbled with melancholia and longing. From the strummed folk-rock of “Nobody Wants To,” wistful and pained, to the bounce of “She Called Up,” to the majesty of “Pour le Monde,” the album features a reassuringly familiar sound that belies its often disquieting lyrics.Guitarist Johnny Marr of The Smiths sat in on “Don't Stop Now” - the first single culled from the album, and a driving, hopeful, harmony-sweetened plea in the face of trouble. Marr also co-wrote the optimistic “Even a Child,” with its chiming guitars and propulsive rhythm.You can’t help but think that Paul Hester’s passing was on Neil’s mind when he recorded the poignant meditation on loss, “Silent House.” It was co-authored by Neil and the Dixie Chicks, who previously released a version on their Grammy-winning album Taking The Long Way. But it fits beautifully on Time on Earth, as does “English Trees,” another elegiac piece that seems directed at a departed friend.I’ve continued to tap into “Weather With You” and other random C.H. numbers on a regular basis, and thought I was relegated to playing them over and over in lieu of fresh material. Not so. Neil has come through for me and his legion of other fans.In the mid-‘70s, he joined Tim’s whimsical art-rock band Split Enz, which had been a well-regarded cult item out of their native New Zealand. Shortly thereafter, Neil penned and sang the first (and what would be the biggest) hit for the Enz in the United States: the insanely infectious “I Got You.” It was a marvel of pop craft. Now, after all this time, Time on Earth is ample evidence that Neil’s still got the goods.Speaking of “Don’t Stop Now”…
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