Product Description

When New Zealand's Split Enz broke up in 1985, the Finn brothers took decidedly different paths. Elder brother Tim married actress Greta Scacchi while going the solo route while Neil founded The Mullanes, who eventually became Crowded House. Following its wildly successful 1986 debut, this Kiwi threesome squeezed out nearly a decade's worth of smart guitar pop reminiscent of The Beatles, the Kinks, and Squeeze before calling it quits in 1996.
This compilation of 13 refurbished and/or remastered tracks consists of stray B-sides andhalf an album's worth of unreleased songs originally recorded for 1991's WOODFACE. Early tracks include "Recurring Dream", a chiming, pre-Crowded House number, and the wah-wah guitar-soaked "Left Hand", a loose workout spiked by some rollicking piano. Neil Finn's hand firmly steers the band's creative tiller through seas of love and pathos with inspiration ranging from his wife (the melodically rich "I Love You Dawn"), to his dog (a poignant demo of "Lester"). The only non-Finn song is drummer Paul Hester's zany, TV-obsessed "My Telly's Gone Bung". "Help Is Coming", an impressive slice of dream-pop from the band's last demo session, provides the perfect epilogue for this collection of melodic manna.

Track Listing

1. I Am In Love
2. Sacred Cow
3. You Can Touch
4. Help Is Coming
5. I Love You Dawn
6. Dr Livingstone
7. My Telly's Gone Bung
8. Private Universe
9. Lester
10. Anyone Can Tell
11. Recurring Dream
12. Left Hand
13. Time Immemorial

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #26575 in Music
• Released on: 2000-02-07
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

These were B-sides?!
This was the last Crowded House album missing from my collection, and I was reluctant to splash out on it - it's a collection of B-sides and tracks cut from other albums. How wrong I was to neglect it.

The opener 'I am in love' for example would have sounded entirely at home on Together Alone, with the trademark catchy chorus and excellent guitar work so characteristic of Crowded House. Next up is the upbeat and swinging 'sacred cow', which is somewhat similar to Sister Madly (from Temple of Low Men).

The album continues with generally high quality songs, and there really aren't that many weak points. There's a beautiful acoustic version of 'Private universe', and Paul Hester's contribution 'My telly's gone bung', a marvellous song about a broken televison.

All in all, for an album composed of songs they didn't think were up to scratch, Afterglow is a cracking slice of Crowded House. If anything, it's an indicator of the high quality of their creative output before they broke up, and the catchy, melodic and often amusing material showcased here is easily comparable with their more famous works!

Afterglow of brilliance.
Did you like me love Crowded House? Did you spend lonesome nights in wintery Scandinavia (or elsewhere), feeling rays of sunshine come from your speakers, as Neil Finn gave us his little life lessons and musings? Did you, like me, perhaps shed a few tears when you watched the Farewell to the World concert (now out on DVD), from the steps of Sydney's Operahouse? And have you like me, been craving just one more hit like some recovering junkie? Then buy buy buy buy this afterglow. I recommend it with all my heart. It's like having a Recurring Dream.

Excellent collection of B sides and unreleased tracks
This is a great record, showcasing early Crowdies songs through to some of the last material recorded. Some tracks have featured as B-sides in some form, others are unreleased officially but have featured in live shows over the years. 95% is top-class, comprising the usual lovely melodies and slightly off-beat lyrics. Paul Hester's "My Telly's Gone Bung" is thrown in too and well illustrates the drummer's sense of humour, if not his songwriting prowess. And an added bonus is the stripped-back mix of "Private Universe" - a lot of the layers from the 'Together Alone' album version are removed, revealing the beautiful acoustic guitar work beneath.

If you're a first time buyer, get Together Alone first, then Woodface, Temple Of Low Men and finally the debut Crowded House. Or get the Best Of if you must. Then get Afterglow.