Neil Finn joined his brother’s Tim band Spilt Enz in the late 70s and they had success up until 84 when Split Enz broke up and Crowded House began, formed by Neil Finn and Paul Hester who at that point in time was the most recent appointed drummer in Split Enz.

This box set is unique because all the albums are released on CD but packaged as miniature LP’s.

Crowded House

The debut album.

It broke through in the US and UK markets and of course went to number 1 in Australia.

In relation to sales, it went 6x Platinum in Australia, 5x Platinum in New Zealand and Canada and Platinum in the U.S.

Not bad for an album that didn’t have any promotion from Capitol.

And the monster smash single of “Don’t Dream Its Over”. It’s getting close to 237 million streams on Spotify.

Temple Of Low Men

Capitol Records wanted to capitalize on the success of the debut and they put the band in the studio to record a new album, which again they failed to promote but then jumped on board once “Better Be Home Soon” started selling and connecting with audiences.

On Spotify “Better Be Home Soon” it’s also the star of the album, with streams of 35.8 million. “Into Temptation” is another great song.

Woodface

Neil Finn started writing with his brother Tim for a different project. And they put these songs on hold when Neil started writing with his Crowded House band members for a new album.

But, Capitol rejected these Neil Finn penned songs as the label wanted Crowded House to use the songs that the Finn brothers wrote.

It’s a great album but commercially it didn’t translate to sales like the previous albums but it’s something that streams and streaming services have been correcting.

“Weather with You” at 82+ million streams is the star, “Fall At Your Feet” has 31.7 million streams and “It’s Only Natural” is at 16.1 million streams.

And the reason why this album was ignored in the U.S but loved around the world is “Chocolate Cake”.

“Chocolate Cake” was the first single off the album, even though the label and their management objected to it being released. It’s also the opening track on the album.

The song is a tongue and cheek attack on U.S culture and American radio program directors got upset over it and never put it into rotation.

Check out why.

I saw Elvis Presley walk out of a Seven Eleven
And a woman gave birth to a baby and then bowled .257
The excess of fat on your American bones
Will cushion the impact as you sink like a stone

Can I have another piece of chocolate cake
Tammy Baker’s got a lot on her plate
Can I buy another cheap Picasso fake
Andy Warhol must be laughing in his grave

Pretty tame compared to today’s standards.