McGlashan & Smith Bathe In The River

If you followed the instructions in the Crowded House post here, you are now the proud owner of their new album Time On Earth. If you took the next step and bothered reading the liner notes on the album, you would have noticed that one of the artists appearing on the album (euphonium and backing vocals) is Don McGlashan. Don is a very well known New Zealand artist. Crowded House fans probably know him from his band The Mutton Birds (discography here).

Don has composed the soundtrack for a new movie called Naming Number Two (German import DVD available here) and I was sent a promo version of the album. If you like music from the pacific islands (like the Hawaiian music I posted here), there are some delights on this album. There's also a beautiful and haunting vocal by Hollie Smith (Bathe In The River) that alone makes this album worthwhile. Her smoky voice will make your hair stand on end.

I must admit I am prejudiced against most rap music (I just haven't learned to appreciate it yet) and so the opening track (by Samoan rapper Tha Feelstyle) was a turn off. but if you can get past the two rap songs, there's much to like on this album. Some snippets of music from the soundtrack are interesting (e.g., Nanna's entrance) but not impactful without having seen the music in the context of the film.

I was tempted to feature the Fijian Festival Performers "Wai Ni Bu Ni Ovalau" on this blog too, but I ran into the interesting problem of having too much that's worth introducing to you. Don McGlashan's "Sai Levuka Ga" is also an interesting experience that reminded me of the Andy White-Liam O'Manlai-Tim Finn collaboration ALT. It sounds like some friends sitting around a campfire singing folk songs. On the other hand, you have the pure operatic experience of Shaun Dixon's Core'ngrato. To have rap, opera, jazz, folk and more on the same album lends itself to a unique and enriching experience. If you truly consider yourself to have eclectic tasts in music, this album is for you.

On the blog, I have featured the unforgettable Bathe In The River as well as Che Fu's Hold Tight. You can find more information about the movie and the album at http://www.myspace.com/namingnumber2/. The movie won the "audience choice award" at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. The soundtrack is available on iTunes.

UPDATE (5/17/2010): Although these MP3s were placed here at the request of the music publisher (who sent me a CD to review), I have been told it violates the DMCA and been asked to remove the MP3s. These two MP3s have therefore been DELETED.

1. Mt. Raskil Preservation Society feat. Hollie Smith - Bathe In The River (5.1 MB; 128kbps MP3)
2. Che Fu - Hold Tight (4.34 MB; 128 kbps MP3)

Rare Crowded House

I'll end Crowded House week with a couple of rarities off one of the fan club compilation albums in my collection. The Crowded House Fan Club is a great community of Finn fans and they have been able to put together some great rare and live collections that are then sold exclusively to fans through the club. One of these collections of rarities is the Homebrew album. It has numerous live delights.

The first song featured below is Walk Tall, a Crowded House song that never made it on to any album. It actually is quite a fun and catchy song and I'm surprised it hasn't made it on to any compilation album. It was recorded at The Brighton Centre in the UK on June 3, 1994.

The CD also featured a "hidden" track with exceptional version of The Chicken Song by Crowded House, which I've also added here as a bonus.

Have you bought the new Crowded House album yet? If not, what are you waiting for? Go ahead and get it at Amazon here. It's a good album at a good price.

See ya next week!

1. Crowded House - Walk Tall (2.44 MB; 128kbps MP3)
2. Crowded House - The Chicken Song (0.5 MB; 128kbps MP3)

Leading You Into Temptation

As you've seen in this blog, I love listening to covers of songs I'm familiar with. I think it gives me an excuse to re-listen to my favorite songs without getting bored.

Today, I have an interesting Crowded House cover for you. Then, a song from Paul Hester whose suicide death recently was instrumental in getting the group back together. Plus, as a Split Enz fan, I'm adding a cover of a spectacularly beautiful Split Enz song.

I enjoy international language versions of well known songs. I started this CH week with an Italian cover of Don't Dream It's Over. Today, I have a Dutch language cover of Crowded House's Into Temptation from Dutch artist Rob de Nijs. The second song, Get It On is typically zany Paul Hester. It is a simple and beautiful good night lullaby, but with a Paul Hester twist: "Sleep, baby, sleep. Mum and dad might just get it on ..." Finally, 80's popster Belinda Carlisle had a sensitive cover version of Split Enz's spectacular Stuff and Nonsense. Enjoy.

You can find the CD catalog of the artists featured in this post by clicking on their names above.

1. Rob de Nijs - In De Verleiding (6.81 MB; 192kbps MP3)
2. Paul Hester - Get It On (3 MB; 128kbps MP3)
3. Belinda Carlisle - Stuff and Nonsense (6.31 MB; 192kbps MP3)

Can You Hear Neil Finn?

I'll continue my Crowded House week with a somewhat rarity from frontman Neil Finn. I have always assumed that almost any video clip you could ever imagine is available on YouTube. So, imagine my surprise when I thought I'd link to this video of Can You Hear Us by Neil Finn and was unable to find it on YouTube. I just uploaded a copy and hope it is within fair use guidelines. Otherwise you'll find this video not working and this post pointless.

Neil wrote this as an anthem for the New Zealand rugby team the All Blacks. This song was written in 1999 when the All Blacks were headed for the World Cup (or something like that - I know nothing about rugby). I don't think it has appeared on any album and remains somewhat of a rarity even though it is a really beautiful song. Enjoy the video ...



Here are the lyrics:

CAN YOU HEAR US?

(Neil Finn)

We're right where we belong
Where mountains meet the ocean
Beneath the Southern Cross
A symbol of our devotion

Can you hear us
We'll never let go
Can you hear us
And carry our hopes
Can you hear us
We'll never let go

The fire is coming back
There's magic in your touch
Silver fern on black
Somehow it means so much
The time is running down
The shadows getting longer
But don't you hang your head
‘Cos brother it's not over

[Chorus]

And the final moment in your hands
You feel the power from the stands
And it's like thunder coming to fill the silence

[Chorus]

Can you hear us...Aotearoa.....hear us....Aotearoa

Quoth the Raven "Evermore"

Okay, okay. I know that that raven really quoth "Nevermore," but then I wouldn't be able to use Poe to introduce my band of the day - Evermore.

If you'll look through the blog I made of my Australia trip last year, you'll see my mention of the opening act for Split Enz that I thought was amazing. Evermore is a New Zealand - Australian band that is made up of the "Hume Brothers." When I saw them open for Split Enz last year, I was struck by the richness of the sound this three-piece band was able to create. It was a very full sound and the drummer for the band (who looked to be all of fifteen) was spectacular. I attended the concert with a guy who has played in a band for years (perhaps I'll feature his band on here some time) and he raved about the drummer, so it is not just my uninformed opinion that this kid was great. The songs featured here are all from this three-piece band and should give you an idea of how impressive their concert set was.

Evermore released their Dreams album in 2004 and their second album Real Life in 2006. I picked up a copy of their first single from the Real Life album during the Enz concerts last year and was impressed enough to buy a copy of their Dreams album. Although these songs have done well in Australia, I'm sure many of you reading this blog have never heard Evermore. They claim to be influenced by The Police (Synchronicity), Pink Floyd, and Silverchair.

As usual, if you like them, buy their Dreams album on Amazon.com here. The Real Life album is available only as an import so is a lot more pricey on Amazon here. From what I heard, these kids are young and will probably be heard more from in the future. Just remember, you heard them first here.

The first track is from the single I picked up in Australia last summer, Running. It is from the Real Life album. The second track here is a single from their debut album. Find out more about the band on their Wikipedia page or on their MySpace page. Of course, if you like these tracks, you should also visit their official web site.

1. Evermore - Running (4.03 MB; 128kbps MP3)
2. Evermore - It's Too Late (3.59 MB; 128kbps MP3)