Crowded House Full Back Catalogue Reissue Program (No Surround Though…)

[rtbluray]

From the Crowded House Facebook page:

Universal Music announce full Back Catalogue Deluxe Re-Issues

Each of Crowded House's six studio albums - Crowded House, Temple Of Low Men, Woodface, Together Alone, Time on Earth, Intriguer plus 1999's rarities album Afterglow, will be released as deluxe editions on Friday, November 4.

Each body of work will be expanded to include previously unreleased studio recordings, home demos, live tracks, b-sides and other rarities. In physical format, each album will contain a 36-page book showcasing unseen photos, new interview transcripts with Neil Finn and Nick Seymour, liner notes from esteemed album producers and journalists, alongside insights from the creator of the benchmark setting cover art for each album; Nick Seymour. Each album will also be made available on 180-gram vinyl; back on the format for the first time in many years. The Deluxe editions and vinyl are available to pre-order now at CrowdedHouse.com.

Neil Finn: “We are thrilled all seven of our albums are about to be reissued in all formats including vinyl, each one accompanied by a rich trove of rarities including writing demos and other unreleased musical curiosities, as well as new original artwork from my dear friend Nick Seymour. This has been many years in the making with much of the exhaustive listening, editing and remixing being done by the keeper of knowledge Jeremy Ansell in Auckland. It has been a labour of love for us and our mission all along was making a superlative quality, definitive document of Crowded House’s unique history for all the fans who have given us their affection over the years.”

See the tracklists at www.crowdedhouse.com

I'm disappointed that the surround mix of the first record will not be a part of its deluxe edition. Maybe they will see fit to release a single HFPA Blu-Ray disc around the time of the deluxe edition releases, but I certainly have not seen anything yet to indicate that will happen, so hold onto your DVDAs and dual-discs of that album, because it is really quite good!

 

[privateuniverse]

I will be buying all of these as I'm such a huge fan of the band, however I am disappointed that they didn't do more with them. Of course, remixing all of the albums for 5.1 would have been wonderful, but there's also a wealth of video material that could have been added to each album.

Here's the full track listings for the bonus disc with each album:

CROWDED HOUSE (1986)

1. SOMETHING SO STRONG (HOME DEMO)
2. HOLE IN THE RIVER (STUDIO DEMO)
3. LOVE YOU ‘TIL THE DAY I DIE (HOME DEMO)
4. THAT’S WHAT I CALL LOVE (STUDIO DEMO)
5. CAN’T CARRY ON (STUDIO DEMO)
6. WALKING ON THE PIER (STUDIO DEMO)
7. DOES ANYONE HERE UNDERSTAND MY GIRLFRIEND (STUDIO DEMO)
8. OBLIVION (STUDIO DEMO)
9. WALKING ON THE SPOT (STUDIO DEMO)
10. SOMETHING SO STRONG (STUDIO DEMO)
11. NOW WE’RE GETTING SOMEWHERE (STUDIO DEMO)
12. STRANGER UNDERNEATH YOUR SKIN (HOME DEMO)
13. DON’T DREAM IT’S OVER (HOME DEMO)
14. LEFT HAND (LIVE)
15.GRABBING BY THE HANDFUL (LIVE)
16. WORLD WHERE YOU LIVE (WRITING DEMO)
17. RECURRING DREAM (ORIGINAL VERSION)

TEMPLE OF LOW MEN (1988)

1. Whispers and Moans (home demo)
2. Never Be The Same (home demo)
3. Dream On (home demo)
4. Never Been Born (rehearsal excerpt)
5. Think I’m Gonna Change (home demo)
6. Into Temptation (home demo)
7. Fire Will Keep Me Warm (In The Lowlands home demo)
8. Love This Life (home demo)
9. Sister Madly (studio out-takes)
10. Mansion In The Slums (live)
11. This Is Massive (live)
12. Love This Life (live)
13. In The Lowlands (live)
14. I Feel Possessed (live)
15. Burnt Out Tree (live)
16. Mr Tambourine Man (live)
17. Eight Miles High (live)
18. So You Want To Be A Rock’n’Roll Star (live)
19. When You Come (live)
20. Sister Madly (live)
21. Better Be Home Soon (live)

WOODFACE (1991)

1. BURNT OUT TREE (HOME DEMO)
2. I MAY BE LATE (HOME DEMO)
3. SHE GOES ON (HOME DEMO)
4. AS SURE AS I AM (HOME DEMO)
5. MY LEGS ARE GONE (STUDIO)
6. YOU GOT ME GOING (HOME DEMO)
7. ITALIAN PLASTIC (HOME DEMO)
8. BE MY GUEST (HOME DEMO)
9. WEATHER WITH YOU (HOME DEMO)
10. CHOCOLATE CAKE (HOME DEMO)
11. HOW WILL YOU GO (HOME DEMO)
12. IT’S ONLY NATURAL (HOME DEMO)
13. FOUR SEASONS IN ONE DAY (HOME DEMO)
14. THERE GOES GOD (HOME DEMO)
15. CATHERINE WHEEL (HOME DEMO)
16. ALL I ASK (HOME DEMO)
17. FIELDS ARE FULL OF YOUR KIND
18. CREEK SONG/LEFT HAND
19. FALL AT YOUR FEET (EARLY VERSION REHEARSAL)
20. THE BURGLAR’S SONG (MEDLEY) – AROUND THE UK IN 7 MINUTES (LIVE)
21. I’M STILL HERE (FULL VERSION)


TOGETHER ALONE (1993)

1. BLUE SMOKE (home demo)
2. F I NGERS OF LOVE (writing demo)
3. P R I VATE UNIVERSE (home demo)
4. THE SAME LANGUAGE AS ME (live)
5. TAIL OF A COMET (live)
6. DISTANT SUN (writing demo)
7. I AM IN LOVE (band demo)
8. FINGERS OF LOVE (band demo)
9. FINGERS OF LOVE (alernative studio take)
10. BLACK AND WHITE BOY (early rough mix)
11. LOCKED OUT (Zen mix)
12. NEWCASTLE JAM (studio version)
13. CONVENT GIRLS
14. ZEN ROXY

AFTERGLOW (1999)

01. I am in love home demo
02. instinct home demo
03. spirit of the stairs home demo
04. I’m so scared of losing I can’t compete home demo
05. everything is good for you home demo
06. not the girl you think you are home demo
07. anthem
08. I don’t know you studio demo
09. taste of something divine studio demo
10. spirit of the stairs studio demo
11. loose tongue rough mix
12. instinct
13. everything is good for you
14. not the girl you think you are

TIME ON EARTH (2007)

1. She Called Up (home demo)
2. A Sigh (home demo)
3. Here’s a Note (studio demo)
4. Purple Light (studio demo)
5. So Dramatic
6. Stare Me Out (alternative version)
7. Distance Across (studio demo)
8. Lost Island
9. Stare Me Out
10. Bound To Rescue (home demo)
11. Don’t Stop Now (home demo)
12. Won’t Be Silent (home demo)
13. People Are Like Suns (piano version)

INTRIGUER (2010)

1. ONLY WAY TO GO IS FORWARD (LIVE)
2. BEAUTIFUL LIFE (LIVE)
3. EITHER SIDE OF THE WORLD (LIVE)
4. TWICE IF YOU’RE LUCKY (LIVE)
5. BOUND TO RESCUE (LIVE)
6. GOD LIVES OVER THE ROAD (STUDIO DEMO)
7. ISOLATION (STUDIO DEMO)
8. BETTER THINGS (STUDIO DEMO)
9. EVEN IF (TAKE 1)
10. ARCHER’S ARROWS (ALTERNATIVE VERSION)
11. SATURDAY SUN (ALTERNATIVE VERSION)
12. THE INTRIGUER (STUDIO)
13. TURN IT AROUND
14. EYES GROW HEAVY
15. TWO MINUTES OF SILENCE
16. NONSENSE OF COURSE

 

[GabeL]

I too am very surprised that the band has made no effort to revisit these fantastic albums with surround sound (at least not to our knowledge). The one DVD-Audio that was released is among my favorites and I really believe all of their albums would be an amazing treat in surround sound....ah well, perhaps in the future, or not.

 

[HomerJAU]

Crowded House are reforming and playing outside the Sydney Opera House later this year. Last time they played there it was their Farewell Concert in front of 200,000 fans and was recoded for DVD. I hope they film this one in HD and release it on BDV!

 

[edisonbaggins]

Baggy knows exactly one song from these guys!

 

[DuncanS]

It would be nice to get a BD of the gig. I never saw Crowded House, but I did see Split Enz!

Crowded House are reforming and playing outside the Sydney Opera House later this year. Last time they played there it was their Farewell Concert in front of 200,000 fans and was recoded for DVD. I hope they film this one in HD and release it on BDV!

 

[elmer]

Crowded House are reforming and playing outside the Sydney Opera House later this year. Last time they played there it was their Farewell Concert in front of 200,000 fans and was recoded for DVD. I hope they film this one in HD and release it on BDV!

There is an excellent live Neil Finn DVD - Sessions at West 54th. Great band, tons of Crowded House tunes, and an excellent live surround mix - albeit in Dolby 5.1

 

[HomerJAU]

The closing song from their Farewell Concert DVD:

[video=youtube;I52eefwAKDE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I52eefwAKDE[/video]

 

[rtbluray]

This is fascinating.
Paul Sinclair over at SuperDeluxeEdition.com has an interview with Jeremy Ansell, the producer of this Crowded House reissue series, and when asked about 5.1 surround mixes, here's what Ansell had to say:

SDE: It’s probably going to be the same answer to this question, but was the idea of doing a 5.1 mix of, in particular, Together Alone, or any of the other albums ever discussed?

JA: Oh, I brought it up at every opportunity. I would love a 5.1 mix of Together Alone. Woodface would’ve been fantastic, too, but no – I couldn’t get any interest from anybody [laughs]. I think those of us who love 5.1 mixes would like every album in the world to be mixed that way, but those who aren’t interested just aren’t. I’m amazed that XTC, Andy Partridge, has managed to get so many of his albums done like that. I’m not sure how. He must’ve been able to afford it, but good on him.

SDE: With 5.1, the problem sometimes is that there’s no availability of the original multi-track tapes, but I’m assuming that probably wasn’t the case here?

JA: Yes, yes. There’re bits and pieces, but I think they’re all accessible. I mean, they certainly managed to do the first album back in 2002, I think it was… Capitol Records put up the DVD-A, but yes, I’m still hopeful that Together Alone, at least, might get a 5.1 mix one day. It certainly deserves it, in my opinion.

SDE: Indeed. The production on that record is quite special, isn’t it, and it would lend itself to that?

JA: Ah, it’s such an atmospheric album, one of my all-time favourite albums by anybody, and to be immersed in that would just be heaven.

And later in the interview:

SDE: Just going back to the 5.1 thing, you’d imagine someone like Youth would be well up for going back and doing that job himself.

JA: Yes. He probably wasn’t approached. Maybe one day he will be. If I can, I will continue to try and encourage that to happen. The whole 5.1 DVD-As and SACDs, and now Blu-rays, it’s something I got very excited about when they first started coming out, and a bit dismayed that it hasn’t really taken off, especially with relatively cheap surround systems being available in the shops these days, for people’s home theatre set-ups. But, it hasn’t really taken the market by storm like I thought it would, therefore record companies aren’t so interested.

Anyway, you can read the whole interview here:
http://www.superdeluxeedition.com/i...producer-talks-to-sde-about-the-new-2cd-sets/

 

[mattB2]

I just listened to the first album and for some reason it's been made a lot "louder" than the earlier versions (a DR of 7 compared to the DVD-A's 12). It's listenable but I found it quite a fatiguing experience. Quite why Crowded House are aiming for a Metallica level with their CD mastering is beyond me. It's a really nice package but why spoil it with this type of mastering? I had hoped we were getting beyond all this stuff. Sad.

 

[privateuniverse]

Crowded House is back with a new single!

 

[privateuniverse]

New Crowded House single, "To the Island", will be released tomorrow.

Also, I found the following over on SHF. Not sure what the source of the info is; I don't see any mention on the band's or Neil's Facebook pages:

New album officially announced today. Title is Dreamers Are Waiting , release date not till June 4. (Why they're announcing it four months in advance I do not know).

TRACKLISTING
1. Bad Times Good
2. Playing With Fire
3. To The Island
4. Sweet Tooth
5. Whatever You Want
6. Show Me The Way
7. Goodnight Everyone
8. Start Of Something
9. Too Good For This World
10. Real Life Woman
11. Love Isn’t Hard At All
12. Deeper Down

 

[privateuniverse]

Ooooh.....I guess it's tomorrow already in Australia!

Here's the new single!

 

[privateuniverse]

New Crowded House single "Oh Hi" (from the forthcoming album Gravity Stairs) is out tomorrow. Fingers crossed for Atmos, but Neil hasn't seemed too interested in surround so I'm not holding my breath.

 

[JoshBasswood]

Massive fan here. I am very eagerly hoping for some live shows on the EU mainland - in addition to the UK shows that have been announced so far.
Also very much hoping for some Atmos or 5.1 mixes (first one should be Together Alone IMO).
Trying to find a decently priced copy of the Crowded House DVD-A, but no luck so far.

 

[privateuniverse]

The new single has arrived.....and it's in Atmos!

 

[BPWingN]

Baggy knows exactly one song from these guys!

I think you may know more, but not recognize them by title. That happens to me quite often with various bands.

EDIT: OOPS. Just saw I replied to an 8 year old post! Sorry' bout that, Edison.

 

[edisonbaggins]

I think you may know more, but not recognize them by title. That happens to me quite often with various bands.

EDIT: OOPS. Just saw I replied to an 8 year old post! Sorry' bout that, Edison.

Having heard this album, now, I'm a little more familiar. I really did only know the one song, but this album is awesome. Excellent material.

 

[BPWingN]

Having heard this album, now, I'm a little more familiar. I really did only know the one song, but this album is awesome. Excellent material.

Well then, that blows my theory all to hell, doesn't it? Lol!
Yeah, good album(s) , good band. Great songwriting, production, and vocals.

 

[privateuniverse]

I heard a new interview with Neil yesterday. He said the band will be playing gigs in Australia and New Zealand at the end of the year. He said the band will tour the US and the UK before that. I caught them twice last year and they are still great in concert. Looking forward to seeing them again....