Music Review: Crowded House – The Very Very Best Of Crowded House

When Split Enz ended, Crowded House began. Split Enz formed during 1971 and relocated to Australia before disbanding in 1984. Neil Finn and Paul Hester were members of the group and quickly formed their own band, Crowded House.

Crowded House are superstars in their native Australia and New Zealand, and four of their albums have reached the British top ten including the Number One Recurring Dream: The Very Best Of Crowded House. While their commercial success in the United States may have not reached the heights of some of these other countries, their albums have sold consistently well. They produced two successful singles in the United States, reaching Number Two with “Don’t Dream It’s Over” and Number Seven with “Something So Strong.”

Crowded Houses’ former label, Capital, has released The Very Very Best Of Crowded House to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the band’s formation. The album has been released in three different formats. There is the single-CD version with 19 tracks, a CD + DVD set which includes 25 of their music videos, and a deluxe 32-track set that is only available by digital download.

As with many greatest or best-of compilations, there is always some controversy as to what is included and left off of the release. I would have preferred that “World Where You Live” and “Into Temptation” had been included in this case, but my complaint is minor.

The second issue is this is not the band’s first compilation album and no new material is included, so fans of the band will not find any hidden gems or previously unreleased tracks. It is as advertised, which is most of the best of Crowded House. Fans will have to decide whether they want these songs again. True fans will probably migrate toward one of the larger collections.

The album does make for a nice introduction to the band, though, and for casual fans this would be a good place to start. Songs such as “Better Be Home Soon,” “Fall At Your Feet,” “Distant Sun,” “Not The Girl You Think You Are,” “Nails In My Feet,” plus the two aforementioned U.S. hits are a nice introduction to their music.

The Very Very Best Of Crowded House may not be an essential release in their catalogue, but is a nice overview of their music and an enjoyable listening experience.