Crowded House

Darker than Crowded House's debut and streaked with psychedelia, this sophomore effort can only be considered a failure in the commercial sense. The single "Better Be Home Soon" and the Beatles-y "Into Temptation" are just flat-out lovely, while the exhilarating "When You Come" would go on to become a Crowded House concert staple. Guitar hero Richard Thompson guests on "Sister Madly" (which was an alt rock hit) and "Mansion in the Slums" explains why the Kiwi band members were quickly tiring of living in the States.

It can be a somber business indeed when success – somehow it's never failure – leads a
rock band to wonder, What does it all mean? And it's particularly unsettling that Crowded
House has been moved to such musings. After all, it seemed like such a victory when the
lovely "Don't Dream It's Over," from the band's first album, Crowded House, cracked the
Top Ten last year and brought this trio much deserved notoriety. That victory m... More >

Problem's not that philistine tastemakers are quashing Neil Finn's hit-debut blues, but that Finn has neglected the only thing he has to offer the world: perky hooks. Programmers don't care what he's brooding about because nobody else does. Plenty of popsters have managed to stir up interest in their petty anxieties. Be thankful there isn't one more. (Grade - C)