Crowded House - Together Alone
Written by: Moti Kupfer
Release date - 18.10.1993
Neil Finn has said that he tries to put himself in unusual and difficult situations as often as possible, hoping to capture a sense of struggle in his music.
In June 1993, the New Zealand government recommended that the British Queen appoint Neil and Tim Finn Officers of the Order of the British Empire for their longstanding contribution to New Zealand music. "Crowded House" grew out of "Split Enz", initially under the name "The Mullanes", after Neil Finn's middle name, Mullane. After signing with "Capitol", they changed their name to "Crowded House", inspired by the small Hollywood Hills house they shared while recording their debut album.
The Finn brothers, who played and sang in "Split Enz" and "Crowded House", became two of New Zealand's best-known musicians, particularly after their third album, "Woodface", yielded such beautiful songs as "Fall at Your Feet", "Four Seasons in One Day" and "Weather With You".
Despite that success, Tim Finn left the band toward the end of 1991, after their onstage partnership failed to work as well as they had hoped. Keyboardist Mark Hart, who had already contributed to "Woodface", soon took his place on tour. He subsequently became a permanent member, completing the lineup alongside Neil Finn, bassist Nick Seymour and drummer Paul Hester.
When Neil Finn and "Crowded House" began planning their next album, "Together Alone", released on October 18, 1993, they were looking for a change of direction. Finn explained that they had made all their previous albums between Los Angeles and Melbourne, and that the desire for a complete change took them to New Zealand's west coast.
The band went further, replacing longtime producer Mitchell Froom with Martin Glover, known as Youth, and the choice was no coincidence. Glover brought a youthful enthusiasm and passion to a group of musicians who had reached something of a crisis and were searching for their way forward.
Finn explained that they wanted to isolate themselves so they could think only about the music, free from other considerations. They were drawn to New Zealand's "Karekare" beach because it felt as far removed from the music industry as they could get.
The relative distance from civilization had its effect, and some of the album's songs took on a darker, more contemplative character, in both their lyrics and their sound.
Hester recalled days when they would look outside and see mist rolling in from the sea, transforming the valley from a sunny landscape into somewhere dark and shrouded in fog.
The album opens with "Kare Kare", a tribute to the beach where they stayed while recording "Together Alone". A long, isolated stretch of coastline, many miles from the nearest shops, it left a powerful impression. The lyrics convey the band's sense of disorientation during those first days there.
The album features intricate guitar and keyboard arrangements, alongside a Māori choir and log drummers.
On the first single, "Distant Sun", Neil Finn uses celestial imagery to consider our place in the universe and how it relates to our relationships with one another.
On "Nails in My Feet", which we consider one of their finest songs, if not their very best, the elusive lyrics suggest both strength and inner struggle. The narrator feels constrained by something or someone. There is also a tension between closeness and suffocation, without necessarily tying the words to any particular disagreement within the band.
Drummer Paul Hester struggled with depression for years. He died by suicide in 2005. "Black and White Boy", whose lyrics move between elation and despair, has often been associated with him, although that connection remains an interpretation.
"Pineapple Head" beautifully captures the complexity of human emotions. To us, it serves as a poignant reminder that it is all right to feel vulnerable, lost or uncertain at times. Its unusual imagery actually originated in things Neil's son, Liam Finn, said while delirious with a fever.
On "Private Universe", Neil returns to childhood memories and his home in Melbourne, describing the private space a person builds for themselves. Finn explained that the song has no clear narrative, but rather a deep sense of atmosphere and the alternative reality that music can offer.
Bassist Nick Seymour created the album cover, which depicts a red car carrying Jesus and Buddha, with another figure in the back. Only that passenger's arm, clad in a striped sleeve, is visible. The figure was intended to represent Muhammad, concealed behind a curtain out of respect for the prohibition on depicting him.
After "Together Alone", the members of "Crowded House" recorded a few more songs and released the greatest hits collection "Recurring Dream" in 1996, before saying farewell to their audience at a concert in Sydney. The band returned in 2007.
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