Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Going Out With a Bang!!!, September 13, 2002
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!!!!
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Achtung, Automatic, ...Together?, July 17, 2004
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.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
the greatest pop album of all time?, February 24, 2002
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 parts1. 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
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by Crowded House 
