Yesterday, it was announced that John Lennon and his back catalog have been added to the iTunes Music Store (of course, in the case of Double Fantasy that means some of Yoko’s stuff too).

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After the band broke up in the mid-nineties, a handful of Crowded House tracks surfaced on Recurring Dream (a greatest hits compilation) and Afterglow, a mishmash of unreleased recordings.

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So my Crowded House Intra Album Rank project is done - here are the albums ranked from best to worst, with links to the reviews:

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By Crowded House’s fourth album, Tim Finn had left the group and touring musican Mark Hart became a full band member. He plays piano and lead guitar (the latter of which he wasn’t particularly good at) lending an unpolished edge. The recording took place in a remote New Zealand house on Kare Kare beach - literally near the end of the world - with new producer Youth.

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Woodface has an odd history in that some of the songs were intended for use on a “Finn Brothers” album by Neil and his brother Tim (the lead singer for the Split Enz). Eventually that material was combined with songs Neil had written for the third Crowded House album which were initially rejected by the record label. The result is alternately fascinating and frustrating in the same manner as the Beatles’ White Album. There are some simply incredible compositions while others seem unneeded.

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Crowded House’s second album Temple Of Low Men was released in 1988 and commercially, would be a good example of the musical “sophomore slump”. It didn’t sell as well as the previous album, and the band actually briefly disbanded.

I remember eagerly anticipating this album and for a time I considered it my favorite, but as the years have gone on, I’m not so sure. I find I’m drawn to the friendlier tunes and variety on Crowded House and Woodface.

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The first self-titled Crowded House album came out in 1986. The New Zealand / Australian trio consisted of singer / songwriter Neil Finn, drummer Paul Hester, and bassist Nick Seymour. Both Finn and Hester were in the art rock band Split Enz, where Neil’s older brother Tim was the lead singer. Crowded House hoped to explore a simpler, live sound. The trio relocated to Los Angeles to record with then unknown producer Mitchell Froom. Two other members, guitarist Craig Hooper and keyboardist Eddie Rayner were lost along the way.

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Crowded House recently reunited and released Time On Earth, their first album of new material in over a decade. The new group consists of Neil Finn, Nick Seymour, Mark Hart, and Matt Sherrod. Mark Hart was a member on Together Alone. Matt Sherrod is a new drummer - original drummer Paul Hester committed suicide in 2005. As an original member, the late Hester’s presence is felt, via the album’s somber, contemplative mood. Neil’s brother, Tim Finn, who added much to the sound of Woodface is noticeably absent.

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Ars Technica has a nice update regarding the continuing death of the CD. But in addition to the vanishing of a physical format, it’s possible the whole concept of the “album” - a sequence of songs meant to be considered as a whole - is dying along with it.

Truth be told, it’s an idea that calls for a change in my way of thinking. I’m still a die-hard album fanatic. Even with digital downloads, I find it hard to download just one song from an artist. It feels somehow incomplete and unfair to to only cherry pick an artist’s best songs - like watching only one scene of a movie - so I find myself still buying complete albums, even through downloads.

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Mr. Tunequest found a little bit of new Radiohead stuff. They’re supposed to release a new album sometime this year. Really hard to make any kind of evaluation with these really short, random snippets, but I’ll certainly get it as soon as it’s released.

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