Listening Post... Crowded House

   --  a short update on what I'm listening to  --   
THE start of a new year always brings with it fresh hope, and music is no different, whether it's the tantalising promise of new music from your favourite artist or a certain song that seems to resonate, January tends to evoke a different, more reflective mood...which brings me to Crowded House.

      Born in the early Eighties, I missed this antipodean band first time round but always knew a few of their big hits and it was after I turned on the radio and heard 'Don't Dream It's Over', arguably their best song and surely one of the best Eighties singles, that intrigue got the better of me and I picked up Spotify to take a closer look. And now years later after briefly listening to them before, it clicked - it's always at the turn of the year - but why?
      I think it's because in songs such as 'Weather With You' and 'Distant Sun', their singer and chief songwriter Neil Finn (above) is able to evoke the feeling of yearning for a better situation and more understanding between friends, lovers etc and that these sit along neatly next to the themes of hope and homecoming in many of their other songs such as 'Better Be Home Soon' and 'Four Seasons In One Day'. So it's hardly surprising their 'pull' is greater around this time, the yearning of wanderlust and of new horizons. Perhaps it is as much because I'm from Northern hemisphere UK - is it the same feeling for a Kiwi fan of The Smiths? Who knows..
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5471570     
      What did I listen to specifically though? Their 1996 career overview Recurring Dream is for me one of the greatest 'Best ofs', a perfect route in to the band, a band who whilst not releasing a dud, never managed to produce that one classic album that defined them; 1991's Woodface was close but was let down by a poor second side. So go and listen to Recurring Dream you won't regret it.
       
     

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