New Release Tuesday: January 16

Brr! Good thing you're not at work today, there are some marginally interesting new releases this week for you purchase via the heavenly lady herself, The Internet. She won't freeze over on you, she won't keep you from your girlfriend's house tonight, and she won't cause you to wake up from a strange and unexpected four day weekend in an un-showered and groggy haze. Wait a second, yes she will!

Crowded House Farewell to the World CD+DVD (Capital)

On a quiet night in Sydney in 1996, 120,000 people came together to say farewell to one of the most talented songwriters and quietly influential bands of the 80's and 90's. An emotional night to say the least, considering the band's stature there as rock gods. Here in the States, Finn's work with Crowded House is too often lumped into cut-out bin 80's compilations, generating an unfortunate diffusion of his talent and wit. The usual suspects are here ("Don't Dream It's Over", "Fall at Your Feet", "Something So Strong"), but amidst the popular favorites you might not have heard since the last gimmick dance party downtown are gems that have been lost in the shuffle. Watching the concert itself adds an entirely new dimension to the catalog, and seeing Finn sing those carefully crafted lyrics and wave those teary goodbyes makes even the staunchest anti-sentimentalist choke some back.

Crowded House Wiki
Neil Finn
Farewell to the World Official Site
Neil Finn "Last to Know" (YouTube)

America Here & Now (Burgundy)

Yeah yeah, "Horse With No Name". But also, "I Need You", "Muskrat Love", "Lonely People" and "Sister Golden Hair"! We'd be remiss not to take notice of the influence America has had on popular music today: with bands like Midlake, The Bees (US), Sufjan Stevens, and My Morning Jacket dipping into the soft folk grab bag of the 70's so freely, it's hard not to notice. Ok fine, "Chasing the Rainbow" isn't exactly a break away hit, but the album features enough bona fide stars that we're willing to take the risk and check it out. James Iha and Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne) produce (and America are all up on that, huge Wayne fans, apparently), Nada Surf, Ben Kweller and Ryan Adams appear, and yes, "Always Love" is Nada Surf's "Always Love". The amazing thing about this album is that the songs are still America, just dappled with modern goodness. The cherry on top (for fans, at least) is that it's a double CD, and the bonus disc is the performance of their Greatest Hits: History album.

Burgundy Records (the label of Aaron Neville and Julio Iglesias!
America: The Making of Here and Now (YouTube)

The Smithereens Meet the Smithereens: Tribute to the Beatles (Koch)

Dudes, bad year to tribute the Beatles. We just got Love, and we're sorta high on that for now. It's not even a collection of various Beatles covers, it's a (basically) canonical reenactment of the Meet the Beatles! album of 1964. Strange choice, you say? Well, not for thousands of screaming fans in Shea back then, and not for anyone who might like the Smithereens, as the '64 classic is probably not too far off from some of the original work the Smithereens have produced over the years. The timing of the album has something to do with its anniversary, but it's sort of an odd reintroduction for the band, which hasn't released a record since 1999 -- come on guys, it's 2007! Not to knock 'em, but as we wandered around the internet gathering information for this write-up, we found their website and realized their graphic designer might still think it's 1999, and if their manager is under the same impression, it might explain a lot.

The Smithereens Official
The Smithereens MySpace