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Post by martine on Jan 16, 2010 18:03:57 GMT -8
;D I was wondering if you and Anni would like me to email you an mp3 of the only heard once at Largo new Crowded House song that's been confirmed to be appearing on the new album? ;D Here are the titles of the songs we can expect on the new album as confirmed by Peter Green. The running order is probably not accurate as shown. Nor do we have an album title yet: Archer's Arrows Saturday Sun AmsterdamEither Side of the WorldFalling DoveIsolationIntriguerTwice If You're LuckyEven If Inside Out[glow=red,2,300]Elephants[/glow] 7 of these songs were performed during the 2008 tours the ones in boldface....the glowy one at the end is the song we heard Neil debut at Largo.....there are a few more that were performed but they seem to be missing. Some people are speculating that maybe some of the unfamiliar titles may be these songs but have been renamed. If you would rather abstain from hearing it, as some people are actually strong enough to do, fair enough
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Brian
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Post by Brian on Jan 17, 2010 1:43:51 GMT -8
Oh no, Martine, we're not abstaining from anything here. Please e-mail that mp3. Anni and I heard four of the seven songs you boldfaced nearly two years ago now at the Orpheum -- the three we didn't get were "Amsterdam," "Intriguer" and "Inside Out" -- and enjoyed them even more than the material from the Crowded House reunion album in 2007, "Time on Earth."
I'm excited about the upcoming album and glad you started this thread. Do you have any early favorites?
Mine is "Isolation." This fan's video from their June 2008 concert at Sherwood Pines in Nottingham Forest had the best sound and performance compared to the others on You Tube, but it only has 135 views:
"Turn It Around" was played in Los Angeles too but it's missing from the album's list under that name.
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anni
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Post by anni on Jan 17, 2010 18:14:52 GMT -8
Wow, this is a great example of how timeless is our Crowded House. I love this song!
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Post by martine on Jan 17, 2010 19:40:29 GMT -8
Yes, it's quite lovely, I think.
Do I have any favourites...well...really, I've had Twice if You're Lucky on constant rotation for the last 20 months.
Im with the "I liked the first version better" camp. There's been a long impassioned discussion comparing the pro's and con's of the "first" version vs the "second version" which first seemed to rear it's head in December of 2008. Re-named "Lucky Lola" it was a totally different song with just very little similar to the first version.
I am sort of flabbergasted too that Turn it Around (Blame it on the Dogs) doesn't seem to have made the cut. According to an interview that has just popped up, apparently Mark Hart confirms that it made it into the studio and given the full treatment, but Neil wasn't knocked out by it so off it went. I suppose it might be a strong contender for a b side, but b sides are rarely performed live and it's a bit of a pity really because it got quite an audience reaction back at the time.
Intriguer started life out as 789---within seconds of this song being played, people were commenting how similiar to the Sesame Street theme it seemed (Something I'm sure Neil would have been horrified to know!)
I do believe this updated version was performed in Melbourne in December of 2008 and I'm sure I've heard it but again...partial to the original but my impression was it hadn't changed substantially as we see with Twice if You're Lucky.
When i spoke to Neil briefly, back in Chicago after the first night, I did ask him about some lyrics (From Turn it Around) and he sort of dodged the question preferring to remind us that it was early days yet, things could change and he didn't want to confirm or deny (!!) whatever it was he was singing.
At the time, I considered being present at the gigs where they unveiled so much new material a huge privelege and a big thrill. It's just too bad it was so long ago because the buzz was substantial at the thought of all these great tunes.
I am glad that I haven't heard all the songs yet and look forward to seeing how some of the ones I am familiar with have evolved.
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Brian
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Post by Brian on Jan 18, 2010 0:11:52 GMT -8
Intriguer started life out as 789---within seconds of this song being played, people were commenting how similar to the Sesame Street theme it seemed (Something I'm sure Neil would have been horrified to know!)
I do believe this updated version was performed in Melbourne in December of 2008 and I'm sure I've heard it but again...partial to the original but my impression was it hadn't changed substantially as we see with Twice if You're Lucky.
I am glad that I haven't heard all the songs yet and look forward to seeing how some of the ones I am familiar with have evolved. Me too. I can't think of anyone who has given us a greater insight into his songwriting process than Neil Finn -- maybe because he certainly takes longer than most artists to issue his recordings, but mostly he's so generous to his fans in his concerts and with his webcasts. He even blesses the freebies of his music on the Web in this May 2008 video of "789" from the Crowded House gig in Washington, D.C. Wow, it almost sounds like an outtake from "Together Alone" at the end. Then I found this audience sound recording of unknown origin of "The Intriguer" with a photo montage on You Tube. Is this the Melbourne version you refer to, Martine? I'm hearing the song for only the first time tonight. I have to admit that I don't know what the "Sesame Street" theme sounds like, but my first impression is that the opening is too precious for the epic it becomes. And no doubt the album version -- perhaps mixed in Santa Clarita last August? -- will differ again.
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Post by martine on Jan 18, 2010 8:28:41 GMT -8
Yea, I don't know if I like the new intro or not, it does sound a touch Georgian monk, doesn't it? And yes, this second video *is* the Melbourne 2008 version.
Seems like all the words are completely different until the bridge (which I always liked) As I recall, that was the one thing that blew me away with some of these new songs--and possibly also due to the presence of Don McGlashan (Mr Multi-Instrumentalist) on stage--all the ends to all the songs were HUGE EPIC endings...which are very exciting indeed and resulted in EPIC thunderous applause.
Brian, if you can find the youtube to the Washington performance of Twice if You're Lucky and post it here, I'd appreciate it. Seems it appears and disappears without rhyme or reason. I did save it to my iTunes and hard drive back when so I do have both the audio and video but not in a form that I could re-post here.
Getting back to the Intriguer, "google" Sesame Street theme and then listen to the intro's of either one of these versions--it's definitely there.
It's intriguing to me (ba-dumpbump) to hear how these songs have evolved and he certainly doesn't seem to be running out of good melodies anytime soon.
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Brian
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Post by Brian on Jan 22, 2010 1:03:14 GMT -8
Brian, if you can find the youtube to the Washington performance of Twice if You're Lucky and post it here, I'd appreciate it. Seems it appears and disappears without rhyme or reason. I did save it to my iTunes and hard drive back when so I do have both the audio and video but not in a form that I could re-post here. I tried several ways and could not find the Washington clip either. But for Anni and anyone else interested in the version of "Twice If You're Lucky" that we heard last spring, here's a decent video from Dublin that's missing the intro. You must have seen this, Martine: I've just heard last month's reincarnation called "Lucky" or "Lucky Lola" from Australia that you wrote about in your earlier post, and I'm with you in preference for -- and in awe of -- the original, especially the ending. Grand, glorious and faintly psychedelic, it was probably my favorite new song at the Orpheum. I need to catch up with all of the audio and video available on the Internets.
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Post by martine on Jan 23, 2010 20:37:55 GMT -8
Brian, I hadn't heard this version of TIYL mainly because I so loved the Washington version, there was no need to go search for any other.
I'll have to re-visit this version, my sound card is very finn...icky these days, some days it works and some days it doesn't.......for no reason......other than to annoy me, I'm sure.
That guitar solo at the end.....perhaps the most exciting guitar I've heard out of Neil since You Can Touch...psychedelic indeed!
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Post by martine on Jan 26, 2010 17:05:16 GMT -8
for your reading pleasure and edification:
Bio Crowded House
This is a biography for Crowded House in the year Twenty Ten in which I will attempt to provide a bit of history, lay out the facts surrounding the making of our upcoming record and to signal our intention for new shows and extra curricular activity thereof…..right then.
This is Neil talking. The whole thing started with Split Enz. In 1972 I watched it unfold in real life as a glassy eyed teenage brother, became immersed in it and then at the age of 19, that was 1977, I got to be part of that mighty and mental NZ invention. We took it to every corner of the globe, stumbling from one opportunity to another. I wrote some songs along the way, I Got You, Message To My Girl , One Step Ahead, History Never Repeats , they helped to give the band a bigger audience but that early music will always stand tall for me, original and uncompromising, my inspiration…check out Mental Notes! Respect to brother Tim, Eddie , Noel , Phil and the others for blazing the trail. After all, they started it. I was invited in. It was intense and truly excellent.
Paul Hester (drums) and I (singer / guitar) went onwards from Split Enz to Crowded House, we wanted to be in a 3 piece band that could fit into one rental car. We found our bass player Nick Seymour, fresh from the catwalk, clearly loving the attention. We liked how he wore his bass low, had aspirations to funk and after a while we let him paint our suits with Masonic symbols. Despite all that and along the way we became a really good band. I think we tried to make ourselves even smaller by turning to acoustic, bass, snare drum, 3 part harmonising our way through lounge rooms and restaurants, busking, unplugged, whatever they ended up calling it on MTV. It made us very interested in our audience and we learnt how to draw them in, to sing together like it’s a party. That’s became our way of doing things, wishing for accidents, showing artifice and awkwardness the door.
Four albums later, praise be, we had a lot of songs that a lot of people liked to sing along to, like Don’t Dream Its Over, Fall At Your Feet, Better be home soon, Something So Strong , Weather with You, 4 Seasons In One Day….. We were grateful to all of them, and to the special people that helped us bring the songs forward, producers Mitchell Froom and Youth, mixer Bob Clearmountain. It was a blessing beyond belief but it also messed with our minds as only success can do.
I remember Nick wanted us to be the biggest band in the world and was convinced that it was right there and we should take it. He was probably right but I didn’t really like the attention that much and so I pulled away from it. I dyed my hair one too many times and worried about it all far too much. Paul built up a layer of contempt for the whole circus and after a while just couldn’t find the joy in it. He wanted to go home and watch telly, he even got a tattoo of TV’s on his arm, and then he left in the middle of a U.S tour, Atlanta it was, but we carried on undaunted until ……can’t exactly remember what made me break up the band. I was just over it. That was 1995.
For 10 years thereafter I had a great time lovingly making records at a more modest level, working with wonderful collaborators, did some good stuff with brother Tim. Best of all I tuned in to my family, watched my sons grow into fine young men.
When we lost Paul it was like someone pulled the rug out from underneath everything, a terrible jolt out of the dark blue. He was the best drummer I had ever played with and for many years, my closest friend . I thought our history was good, how could it have ended up in this place? Later that year I started making music with Nick again, and it felt right somehow that we put another chapter in the book, the motive was simply to exist again and put our belief into it, reconnect with the kindred spirit.
Enter Matt Sherrod on drums, knowing nothing of Crowded House and in no ones shadow, he gave Crowded House a new anchor, proving a good foot and a big smile goes a long way. Welcome back Mark Hart, the keeper of knowledge with his giggling fits and his daily devotion to the piano. Time On Earth was released in 2007 and the tour that followed turned us into a great band again, much more than nostalgia, it gave us the scent of something new.
And so the 4 of us Nick Seymour ( bass ), Mark Hart ( keys / guitar ), Matt Sherrod (drums) and myself Neil ( singer, player ) began our new record last year at Roundhead studios in Auckland with Mr Jim Scott as our producer ally. Some of these 11 songs were first played at a little gig north of Auckland The Leigh Sawmill back in Feb 2008. They have been worked over on the road and transformed a few times, some all the way back to square one, it’s a good place to return, from time to time.
That was the case with the song Twice If You’re Lucky, we played an alternative version, more complex and mysterious on tour then deconstructed back to original simple form in the last week of recording. I am inclined to circle the songs, looking for any bit of advantage I can find, a verse, a chord or a word to change .Its sometimes unsettling for the band but it’s my way and I’m sticking to it.
There’s always a possibility of transformation. It was a wonderful moment when the song Either Side Of The World took off on a Samba groove at last rehearsal. “Isolation” travelled a twisted pathway too ending up as a hybrid of 2 songs, its folky origins now obscured by some deep tremolo guitar and my wife Sharon’s ethereal singing. “Saturday Sun” was awash with guitars until mix day when I went to town with a korg microsynth, a gift from a friend that arrived that day.
There were other fine contributors too. Our friend Don McGlashan, helped us lay down tracks adding, percussion, acoustic and horns. Lisa Germano took to Archers Arrows and Even If with her extraordinary violin playing. Jon Brion added layers of sampled voices and mashed up guitar to Twice If You’re Lucky. My son Liam took to Falling Dove and the coda of Isolation with psychedelic guitar. James Milne aka Lawrence Arabia provided manly voices to the Intriguer.
Jim Scott mixed the record back in L.A and we caroused and held up the bar in his very well appointed studio/ den within sight of Magic Mountain. The late evening playbacks at maximum volume are my favourite part of the whole process and Jim mixes an excellent cocktail as well. ….It’s so important to have a good time making music .
And yes, the tour will follow, from the Byron Bay Blues and Roots Music festival to The Isle of Wight, May/ June theatres in The U.K and Europe, late summer in the U.S and maybe a few far flung cities, new destinations, we could turn up anywhere. The intention is the same as ever to get the people involved, to hit some heights and leave the songs hanging in the air….
This 11 track album is exotic in parts, traditional in origin, through many a twist and turn we fashioned some drama and intrigue. You will find some threads that go back through all that history and some new discoveries as well that will need to be followed up. Its part of the continuum and it may just be the best thing we’ve done ……till the next one.
See You Later ………………….This year
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Brian
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Post by Brian on Feb 3, 2010 0:00:22 GMT -8
Don't know if anyone can drive so far north on U.S. 101 and back on a weeknight -- sure wish I could! -- but just in case, I pass along an e-mail our mutual friend Martine in Winnipeg just sent to me: Neil Finn is playing a one-off gig in Santa Barbara next Tuesday (Feb 9) at the Soho Restaurant and Music Club. It's being billed as a '7 Worlds Collide' show and will feature Lisa Germano and Sebastian Steinberg.
www.ticketfusion.com/store/one/index.html?store_id=7453&page_type=sched
Also, on the same night as part of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, there is a debut showing of The Sun Came Out documentary about the making of the 7 Worlds Collide album. It is listed as 1 hour and 30 mins in length - so this sounds like a longer doco than the one that was shown on NZ TV last year. Some reports say there will be a Q&A session after - not sure if Neil will be at that. I guess it could be possible given that the gig at the Soho doesn't start till 10 pm.
www.independent.com/movies/845/
Synopsis: A rare and intimate behind the scenes look as some of the world’s best musicians gather together in New Zealand to record an album for charity.
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