The Very Very Best of Crowded House | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Greatest hits album by | ||||
Released | 22 October 2010 | |||
Genre | Rock, pop rock, jangle pop, alternative rock | |||
Length | 70:55 | |||
Label | Capitol/EMI | |||
Crowded House chronology | ||||
| ||||
Alternative cover | ||||
![]() Cover of the CD + DVD box set |
The Very Very Best of Crowded House is a compilation album featuring 19 singles from the period spanning Crowded House's first five studio albums. A CD and DVD box set is available, which includes a DVD of 25 of the band's music videos. The album is also available as a 'Deluxe Digital Version' which features 32 tracks including a rare 1987 live recording of the band's cover version of the Hunters & Collectors song "Throw Your Arms Around Me".
The band left Capitol/EMI Records in 2010 [1] and this album documents their time with that label. The album has not been mentioned on Crowded House's official website, although an email was sent to subscribers to their mailing list to announce its release, which suggests that the band had little involvement with it. An official press release from Capitol/EMI states that the album was released to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the formation of the band. [2] No tracks from the band's 2010 album Intriguer are included because the band had left Capitol/EMI prior to the recording of that album, which was released on Universal and Fantasy (US).
This album largely duplicates the band's 1996 compilation Recurring Dream , but has been revised to include two songs from their 2007 album Time on Earth ("Don't Stop Now" and "Pour Le Monde"). Also included are two songs from 1993's Together Alone ("Fingers of Love" and "Nails in My Feet") and "Chocolate Cake" from 1991's Woodface , which were omitted from the previous compilation. Four early Crowded House singles, "World Where You Live", "When You Come", "Into Temptation" and "I Feel Possessed", which featured on Recurring Dream, have not been included on this new album. "Everything Is Good for You", one of three tracks specially recorded for the 1996 compilation, is also omitted. All of the above tracks appear on the "deluxe double-disc" version, however.
All tracks are written by Neil Finn, except where noted.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original Album | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Something So Strong" | Neil Finn, Mitchell Froom | Crowded House | 2:53 |
2. | "Weather with You" | Neil Finn, Tim Finn | Woodface | 3:44 |
3. | "It's Only Natural" | Neil Finn, Tim Finn | Woodface | 3:30 |
4. | "Chocolate Cake" | Neil Finn, Tim Finn | Woodface | 4:01 |
5. | "Fall at Your Feet" | Woodface | 3:18 | |
6. | "Distant Sun" | Together Alone | 3:51 | |
7. | "Better Be Home Soon" | Temple of Low Men | 3:08 | |
8. | "Four Seasons in One Day" | Neil Finn, Tim Finn | Woodface | 2:48 |
9. | "Don't Dream It's Over" | Crowded House | 3:56 | |
10. | "Mean to Me" | Crowded House | 3:16 | |
11. | "Locked Out" | Together Alone | 3:17 | |
12. | "Don't Stop Now" | Time on Earth | 3:54 | |
13. | "Pineapple Head" | Together Alone | 3:29 | |
14. | "Instinct" | Recurring Dream | 3:09 | |
15. | "Fingers of Love" | Together Alone | 4:26 | |
16. | "Private Universe" | Together Alone | 5:39 | |
17. | "Not the Girl You Think You Are" | Recurring Dream | 4:10 | |
18. | "Nails in My Feet" | Together Alone | 3:42 | |
19. | "Pour le Monde" | Time on Earth | 5:10 |
Disc 1:
Disc 2:
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
The Music Fix | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
BBC | positive [4] |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
musicOMH | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Classic Rock | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Music Fix website described this release as a "shameless cash in" and recommended Recurring Dream as a cheaper and superior purchase. [3] A BBC review also questioned, "Whether the world needs another Crowded House best of," but praised the album, saying that "several of these 19 tracks are solid-gold greats." [4] AllMusic described the 32 track digital version of the album as, "The best Crowded House comp so far, verging on the definitive." [5] The website musicOMH praised the album for being, "Littered with modern pop classics," but also recommended Recurring Dream as a better purchase, whilst admitting that the album, "will do enough business to warrant their record company's shameless opportunism." [6] Classic Rock reviewer remarks how the band has progressed since the time when the material of the collection was recorded, but she says that "it's hard not to be wowed by this back catalogue of golden pop genius." [7]
Chart (2010) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA) [8] | 11 |
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [9] | 12 |
UK Albums Chart [10] | 49 |
Chart (2011) | Position |
---|---|
Australian Albums Chart [11] | 79 |
Chart (2012) | Position |
Australian Albums Chart [12] | 90 |
Chart (2016) | Position |
Australian Albums Chart [13] | 56 |
Chart (2017) | Position |
Australian Albums Chart [14] | 46 |
Chart (2018) | Position |
Australian Albums Chart [15] | 73 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [16] | 4× Platinum | 280,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [17] | Gold | 100,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |