Stranger than Fiction, Larger Than Life: the Finn Brothers song-by-song discussion thread

Start of Something - A really beautiful song on the album. In line with a lot of the other songs on the album, I sometimes have trouble recalling this song, but when I hear it, I wonder how that could be? Fairly direct lyrics that are really affecting and I agree with the analysis that it's a sad song, with a chorus that somehow manages to insert a note of optimism. (I've not listened to the demo from Fangradio so I have no idea how it compares to that).

This song really does strike an emotional chord, and I'd probably be in pieces if I was going through an emotionally fraught time - it's that good...

Maybe this goes to the heart of what @brownie61 has said. A lot of latter day Neil lyrics are pretty obscure and for this reason it makes it hard to connect to. That is, they paint an atmosphere. But they don't really address something directly like this song does. I'm personally big on atmosphere, so latter day Neil lyrics don't really bother me that much, but this song is really a bit of a return to the earlier Crowded House songs where you could much more easily identify with the narrative of the song. Of course, I could have that way wrong, but that's my impression.

4.5/5
(Dinging it 0.5 for not being able to instantly recall it. Not the fault of the song. I think I need to make more time to listen to the album so I recall this song instantly because it is brilliant).

 

You think so?

I don’t know, I feel like they’re just trying to write good songs. Liam (and Neil too) would be crazy to put that kind of pressure on themselves. You can never recreate the past.

 

It's interesting the comparisons to Together Alone. I don't necessarily hear that generally from a musical standpoint (although I've also made the comparison to Private Universe that a lot of others did). I do think though that my experience with Together Alone is similar to the one I'm experiencing with Dreamers Are Waiting.
It took me a little while to warm up to Together Alone when it was released. Partly because it was so different from the preceding album - and partly because I think I was super busy with college and a messy personal life at the time. In fact, maybe not so different from this release (although not the messy personal life beyond just busyness!). Not enough time to really listen, and not being able to figure out where it was on the continuum of Crowded House music (being not familiar with much beyond Time on Earth).

Now I love Together Alone, so I have high hopes that if I keep listening to Dreamers are Waiting that at some point in the future I'll wonder why I ever had trouble recalling the songs.

 

Yeah, I tend to agree with @brownie61 on this issue. I think Liam has an innate understanding of what makes a Crowded House song. Whether that's a feel, or something else mysterious. I don't think he's striving for a particular standard (say, Together Alone). I think they (Neil and Liam) are trying to capture the feel of the band. I have to figure it's like when Neil and Tim write together. They just KNOW what the other is going to do and you end up with a magical song as a result.

I know a lot of times when listening/commenting on Liam solo work I get glimmers of how his songs could sound in a different production. I'd say "Start of Something" is an extension of that. That is the collaborative nature of a band (and it's ethos so to speak) results in a song like this. If Liam did this solo, or if it had been on Lightsleeper maybe it would have been a very different song.

 

I agree. IN the end, they are just trying to do the best they can.

What I get from these songs is that Liam, Elroy, Mitchell and Neil himself are very much playing within the rulebook of what they think a Crowded House song does. (And Nick is doing what he does, no matter what.) Maybe Elroy always wanted to play a sort of bossa nova-ish groove like "She Goes On"and maybe he always wanted drum in a way that recalled "Private Universe."


Now I also compared "Good Night, Everyone" to "Private Universe" (not Together Alone) mainly because of the percussion, drums and the vaguely exotic, slightly wild night-time feeling it imparted. Some of the keyboard textures do sound more Liam than Mitchell, but I’d bet money that Together Alone was a big influence on his music in general.

And I'm also comparing today's song to "She Goes On." This is not the first time Crowded House have kind of couched a song in a similar arrangement to a former song : "In the Lowlands" and "Sacred Cow", were very much working within the "Crowded House shuffle template" of "Now We're Getting Somewhere", while "Fields Are Full of Your Kind" has a drum pattern very very similar to "I Feel Possessed."

(Funny that two of those were from the original aborted Woodface: which goes to show you that in 1990, Neil and Froom were up against the limits of their arrangement ideas and skills and were kind of stuck, IMO, which is why the Tim/Neil project injected something fresh into the band, even though, with some songs lacking Nick or even Paul, that album is almost-not-quite as questionable to me as being "Crowded House" as Time On Earth. Another discussion, though it flavors my points.)

I think if Liam had as much power over Crowded House as people think he does, it would, you know, sound a lot more like a Liam Finn record. The melodies would be largely hidden behind arrangements that sound like a blazing city at rush hour, or like sirens in the dark.

This song does NOT sound like a Liam Finn solo song to me: it sounds like "She Goes On", what with the richly arpeggiated ringing chords and the rhythm. Neil is no Brian Wilson, character-wise. Neil's an extremely strong-willed, high-strung, ambitious, tough mother and workaholic behind the scenes and there is no way that anybody but him -- not Liam, not Elroy, not Mitchell and certainly not Nick -- is really calling any kind of shots on this album. They make suggestions and I'm sure he respects those suggestions; but Neil is not sharing the Iron Throne, IMO.


Despite the fact that I compared "Good Night Everyone" to "Private Universe", I really don't think Dreamers Are Waiting in general recalls Together Alone much. An element here and there, sure.

But if I was to compare this album to any Crowded Hosue album it would definitely not be Together Alone: it would be Woodface. Mainly because of the plethora of ultra-tight two part harmonies, the tightly packed hooks and general kind of upbeat poppy feel: Neil doesn't write up, bright, poppy songs on his own very often, IMO. He has a kind of uptempo dark thing going more often than not. But Together Alone elements are here and there, now I think about it. Maybe it's a sort of Together Alone/Woodface hybrid.

 

As always @Lance LaSalle you've expressed my ideas and thoughts way more eloquently that I could have done myself!

 

This is my favourite track. What a chorus!

 

Ha, I don’t know about that: far less succinctly, for sure.

 

Start of Something

This is a simple straightforward song musically (despite the sneaky key change). In terms of comparing this to previous CH albums, I don't think this would fit on any of them. I'd put it as being like one of the extra new tracks released on Afterglow. I think it would fit there.

I don't mind the 'make up/breakup' line as I think it works better as those words aren't at the ends of lines but near the beginning. An internal rhyme.

The harmonising and backing vocals are very good indeed.

I agree it's a bit short, but not every song needs to be extended until it's prog rock. The song satisfies as it is.

3.7/5

 

I agree with the majority consensus that "Start Of Something" is one of the better songs on the album. The harmonies are among the best Neil and Liam have done, and I will be interested to hear if/how they incorporate more harmonies into the classic CH songs at the concerts, because I feel this is one area where this CH lineup could distinguish itself favourably from the original.

4/5

 

Could be, though Paul's voice was a brilliant match to Neil's. Some early recordings of "Throw Your Arms Around Me" (with Nick joining in) are among the best harmonies CH has done (or at least done without Tim).

 

"Start of Something" is a very good album track, with sublime vocal harmonies. The music has a harmonious feel to it, while the lyrics deal with a break up of a relationship. The narrator don't seem angry or brokenhearted about this, instead I think the song radiates a sense of relief, that the parting of ways is fairly amicable. Good for them, but as a listener this track doesn't move me that much emotionally. Overall, the song is pretty mellow and fits in very well on the album, and those vocal harmonies are just top notch.
3,7/5

 

Wonderful! Just gorgeous.

4.5/5

 

"Start of Something", finally, has most of the elements I look for in a CH song: beautiful vocal harmonies; a lovely, guitar-based arrangement; a surprisingly gorgeous key change. I love the steel guitar (definitely echoes of Together Alone).

What it doesn't have is a great drum part. Did they mix them so low because they knew Elroy wasn't much of a drummer beyond keeping time?

4/5

 

Thanks for confirming this Lance. I’ve been looking for some DR numbers on the vinyl (which I would buy though it’s pricey) because I can’t listen to this for long on CD and I have a pretty decent system. Why the hell Neil finds this acceptable is beyond me. Maybe Jaffaman knows?

 

I certainly hear lots of Liam in the verses, and lots of Neil in the chorus, that's for sure. Verses strike me as better this time 'round. Overall though, this is a really nice, tranquil song. Definitely has the Crowded House sound to it in various ways. I love the guitars in the outro; they give off a smooth, tropical vibe that sounds really nice. Really good track.

4/5

 

I agree! When he was on he was a great harmony singer. But...he was often off. I guess it's hard to sing really high and play drums.

 

I don't think that is true. But I do think that this song feels rather underproduced in general.

 

This is one of only maybe a couple tracks I immediately enjoyed the first time I listened to the album. Agree 100% with Lance about the 70s vibe this one throws out - I hear "You Can Do Magic" by America in this song in a big way. Lyrically, I like the idea that this relationship imploding is giving rise to a sense of optimism that better things will result. To quote Fred Leblanc, "Beginnings only come from ends."

4.2/5

 

Our votes for "Start Of Something"
1-0
2-1
3-1
4-8
5-7
Average: 4.0118

 

Today's song is " Real Life Woman", written by Neil Finn and produced by Crowded House.

Crowded House – Real Life Woman Lyrics | Genius Lyrics

Note: although a popular fan theory holds that this song is about Stevie Nicks, one of Neil's masters bandmates, he has said that it was inspired by his wife, Sharon.

 

I don’t know what it is about the verses here, but they’re the most Together Alone sounding thing on the album in my opinion. They’re absolutely phenomenal. Overall this is just another really Crowded House sounding song. It fits perfectly with almost everything they’ve done prior. Neil sounds fantastic on this track, but everyone shines. The section that starts at 1:30, where it’s kind of just “ahh’s”, is beautiful.

The only thing I don’t care for is the somewhat abrupt ending. Otherwise, this is marvelous track, and one of my favorites on this album.

4.6/5

 

I couldn't get into "Real Life Woman." It just felt like it never went anywhere, or at least not anywhere I was interested in going.

3.3/5 (I added a little bit here to my usual "it's just there" score on the assumption that it might actually grow on me *if* I were to go back to this album more)

 

Another stellar song on side 2. 4.6/5

 

Real Life Woman is yet another good song in this run on side two, it makes me think of '70s Lennon (with modern production). As soon as the song starts I can hear the chorus starting to swell and find myself craving to hear it.

It always throws me going into the first chorus as I keep expecting to hear "Real Life Woman" being sung a couple of bars earlier than it appears. I like that incredibly '70s sounding guitar run that appears late on, that lifts the song. As with a lot of the songs on this album I like the backing vocals heavily doused in reverb and am not so keen on the sharp, dry snare.