Customer Reviews

Together Alone

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Most other bands would kill for a track record this good: the four star "Woodface" and their three masterpieces, of which "Together Alone" is the final one. I remember how this CD didn't even make a blip on the radar screen in 1993, other than for those people who truly know good music. Like many of you, I feel that Neil Finn could sing the ingredients from a box of cookies and make it sound tuneful. All Crowded House albums have many samples of why Neil is a songwriting god, and this one is no exception: "Nails in My Feet," "Fingers of Love," and the positively captivating "Walking on the Spot." If you ever see this in a used CD store, you owe it to your soul to pick it up; heaven awaits!!!!

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.

It figures. There's a second coming of the Beatles, at least in songwriting, and we can't hear the music above the metal and rap and grunge. To make matters worse, the more significant the Crowded House masterpiece, the more they are ignored. Thus it is fitting that the final CH album is their true desert island opus. The label execs clearly placed their promotion strategems Alone on an uninhabited atoll, but NO ONE should be without Together Alone. Such a combination of beauty, melodic phrasing, tight harmonies, imaginative production, visceral power, and poetry has been rarely if ever put on vinyl or acetate. The album could be a greatest hits of powerful tunes, yet as superb as each song is, the total is still greater than the sum of the parts

1. Kare Kare - the influx of native Maori rhythms and harmonies adds tension to a dreamy production.
2. In My Command - like a powerful injection of Beethoven and punk into I Got You
3. Nails In My Feet - it left me gasping. What a combination of ear candy and emotion!
4. Black and White Boy - Neil Finn saves the big hooks for the chorus and bridge
5. Fingers of Love - gorgeous pop classic
6. Pineapple Head - hypnotizing pop clarity
7. Locked Out - great rocker with another clever Neil Finn bridge
8. Private Universe - so insular, so beautiful
9. Walking on the Spot - play the accordion, go to heaven - best use since The Rascal's "How Can I Be Sure?"
10. Distant Sun - Should have been a No. 1 hit
11. Catherine Wheels - more hooks than the backside of Abbey Road
12. Skin Feeling - Neil's vocals make the most of this interesting song
13. Together Alone - a rousing almost Biko (Peter Gabriel) - like finale

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.

It's horrid to think that an album of this magnitude came out in my lifetime (one of very few to do so)and is already out of print! Then again, the know-nothings are at the helm now. That being said, let's talk about TOGETHER ALONE. This is the Crowded House masterpiece. The whole disc moves along in sort of a dreamscape or a "private universe" as Neil sings. The effects on the guitars and the overall sound of the instruments is golden. You couldn't get a better sound out of them (though I could swear that a bouzouki was playing the lead part on "Pineapple Head"). The strange marriage of Maori voices and log drums and rock music works on "Private Universe" as the electric guitars serve more to set the mood than jar the listener. The Maori chorus on the title track is almost tear-jerking, especially if you ever find a translation for what it means. In my mind the best song on the whole disc is "Distant Sun". Listen to that bass lick as it goes into verse no. 2!
My advice, if you can't find this album here, look SOMEWHERE for it. You will need to look no further for a better album.

Together Alone was the fourth and final album for Crowded House (not counting compilations), and as such, cements the group's pattern of light album/dark album. The album is more of a stylistic brethren with the band's second album, Temple of Low Men, than the joyful Woodface. In addition, as their only album without famed producer Mitchell Froom at the boards, the group's sound takes a stylistic turn to darker, more textured pop. Hearing Neil Finn's songs wrapped in textured layers is a good sound for the group, and one that Finn himself would explore a little more in his solo work.

The album itself is a dark (could I use that word just one more time?) beauty, with a fairly strong selection of songs. The echoey "Kare Kare" begins the album and sets forth the new feel of the group's music; "Private Universe" is a gem with a intense personal feel, given a world music feel by log drumming; "Walking on the Spot" is one of the most beautiful things Finn has ever written; "Distant Sun" is one of the closest stylistically to what the House has done before, and another great song.

Crowded House tries a lot on this album and succeeds at a lot of it. There is more variance in styles from song to song than on any other CH album; this can make the album feel slightly disjointed, and it mainly holds together by the unity in sound. This is a pretty good way for a group to go out, reminding you that they were still trying to expand and trying new things. Start with one of the other albums first, but get this one eventually.

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.

Crowded House are one of those rare bands who could find the happy medium between sounding instantly familiar and being something deeper and transcendent. Neil Finn's songs, like those of the Beatles (an overused point of comparison, but very appropriate here), will have a child singing along halfway through the first listen, and will give an adult something to chew on. This is why those who "catch on" to Crowded House become fiercely adament fans for life.

"Together Alone" is their masterpiece. Neil Finn's songs simply hit their mark like they rarely have before or since. "Distant Sun" embodies all the best qualities of his songwriting. The melody is pretty and catchy, and sounds like it's always been here, simply waiting for someone to pluck it out of the air. The lyrics are ambiguous enough for personal interpretation, but create a specific atmosphere that is both sad and uplifting. Somehow it's all in there, and though it's enjoyable any time, if it catches you at the right moment you'll experience the sort of disarming transcendence that only the best songwriters can summon (think "A Day In The Life").

On this album the band takes a giant leap forward in its sound, moving out of the almost bland production of "Woodface" and into something ambitious, exotic, and multi-layered. Listening with headphones reveals a surprising amount of experimentation. "Catherine Wheels" shimmers with Maori choir and atmospheric noise, and "Private Universe" employs native log drummers and digeridoos. Using these instruments in pop music seems destined to sound forced or phony, but they're integrated so well here you barely stop to notice. Not every song has the band pushing their boundaries; there's also a straight-ahead rocker ("Locked Out"), a folksy waltz ("Pineapple Head"), and a simple, haunting ballad ("Walking On The Spot"). The impressive thing about this album is the way tradition and ambition coexist seamlessly.

"Together Alone" is a gem, a rare album where every stage of the process--songwriting, arrangement, performance, mixing, etc.--are rock solid in their own right and gel into something magical. It has enough variety to serve as a tour of everything that made Crowded House special, and certainly ranks among the very best "serious" pop albums of last twenty years.

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.

One of the other reviewers wrote "I feel that Neil Finn could sing the ingredients from a box of cookies and make it sound tuneful." Having been to a couple of Neil Finn's concerts, I think I can say that's true from experience. Not that ever did exactly that, but that he can make up a song on the spot from dialog with the crowd that you'd happily pay money have a copy of.

So what does that have to do with 'Together Alone'? Well, nothing really, except that what we're all trying to express is the instant accessibility of Neil Finn's song writing talents, his beautiful voice and the depth of his work. You don't have to go deep to appreciate his music. You don't have to work at it. But the depth is there if you want it and more likely than not, you'll find yourself appreciating it without any effort on your part at all.

'Together Alone' features some of the most catchy pop songs of any CH album (and any other album of the '90's) along with some of the most inventive instrumentation ever to grace one of their albums. It's kind of an open secret/inside joke that Crowded House were like the second coming of The Beatles. I joked once that I bought the Beatles "White Album" on the strength of 'Woodface' by Crowded House. And it's kind of true, though Neil Finn is not derivative in any obvious way. He's not trying to sound like The Beatles. Just that he has that same satifying blend of creamy pop goodness forged with solid song craft, an adventurous sound pallette and barely hidden depth running throughout his work.

'Together Alone' is unique in that pushes farther away from the Beatle-esque qualities of his earlier albums and takes the listener into unfamiliar, though thoroughly enjoyable, territory. Mark Hart joins Crowded House as a full member of the band on this album and without overstating this understated, undersung musician, it's an excellent album made brighter for his contributions.

Get yourself a copy, quick as you can.