Album Essentials: Crowded House "Woodface (1991)
By Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor
A long time ago, in a forgotten chapter in the rock and roll tale, there was a band called Split Enz. This wacky art-pop combo was formed in the early 1970s by Tim Finn and Phil Judd. These New Zealand popsters had a very colorful vision of what pop music could be and could look like. After a series of albums that failed to make a dent anywhere but in their homeland, Judd left to form his own band, the Swingers (cue ‘Counting The Beat’), while others shifted in and out as well. In the process, Tim asked his little brother Neil if he'd jump on board. Thankfully for all, he did.
Their kinetic, sometimes hyper approach to rock/pop caught the ear of a few; Roxy Music's Phil Manzanera was one who not only produced an early LP but would enlist Tim Finn as vocalist for some of his own solo projects. Soon enough, brother Neil proved Tim was not the only talent in the family, and by the time of 1980's 'True Colors' had given the band their first hit in the form of the classic single 'I Got You,' which had just the right amount of classic pop coupled with the then current 'new wave' vibe that people worldwide took note. The record became the band's first number-one hit at home, while, thanks in part to the video, also introduced the band America. The album also topped the charts in New Zealand, and it started a run of No. 1 LPs at home.
By the time of their 1983 LP, 'Conflicting Emotions,' Tim's involvement in the band had nearly dropped off the map due to a tandem solo career. Nearly all of the songs on that LP were penned by Neil. The following year, the band delivered one final album with Tim now completely absent, and the band was put to rest. During the Split Enz farewell tour, Neil began to put together his next chapter in the form of Crowded House. While Tim was no slouch in the song department, Neil was simply a natural, reeling off classic after pop classic. The proof was found very easily in the Crowded House debut, which would catapult the band to worldwide fame and hit records, which Split Enx never managed to do. The stripped-down, more polished approach did the job.
A second album, 'Temple Of Low Men,' followed, and then the trio, Neil Finn started to work on a side project with brother Tim called the Finn Brothers; this idea would be temporarily shelved when it seemed better for Tim to join Crowded House. Released in 1991, 'Woodface' saw elder brother Tim Finn back in action with his brother, giving Crowded House another angle from which to write. Most of the tracks were co-written by the Brothers Finn, and, for the moment, at least, all seemed well in Crowded House. Tim and Neil wrote very well together, complimenting each other's style and the entire album benefits from it.
The album is loaded with top-shelf songs. 'Chocolate Cake,' 'It's Only Natural,' 'Fall At Your Feet,' There Goes God,' and 'Weather With You' alone stamp this as a classic, hard-to-top LP, and that's barely half the tracks. "Brothers! You're just brothers," said Tim Finn in a documentary on the album. "It's hard sometimes, but there's so much good about it. It you start talking too much, it'll never end. There'll be grievances going back to birth!" The album came together organically, according to Neil, calling it "a very effortless and fruitful session. Every day we felt we were coming up with something. Some of them came out in one go, from thin air, and others were drawn from a verse here and a chorus there." The album was a major hit in their homeland and a top ten showing in the UK, and although it got great reviews and college airplay, it failed to catch fire in the US. During the tour for the band, Tim left.
The band maintained the constant status of huge at-home, less severe returns worldwide, but that's sales. Artistically, Crowded House maintained a strong level throughout and ultimately has a wonderful catalog to prove that. So where does 'Woodface' fit in the large scheme? While lacking the hits of the debut, it is as strong an album as they ever made, and if you are a fan of great Pop music, Crowded House and 'Woodface' in particular are rightfully marked as essential.