Together Alone


Together Alone is the fourth studio album by New Zealand-Australian recording artists Crowded House. It was released in October 1993 and was their first album to feature multi-instrumentalist Mark Hart as a full band member. Unlike the band's first three albums, which were recorded in the US and Australia and produced by Mitchell Froom, Together Alone was recorded in New Zealand with producer Youth. Seven singles were released from Together Alone, including "Distant Sun", which was a top 10 hit in New Zealand and Canada, and "Locked Out" which reached number 12 on the UK singles chart and number 8 on the US Modern Rock chart, the latter on the strength of the song's inclusion on the soundtrack of the 1994 film Reality Bites.

Background

The album was mainly recorded at Neil Finn's friends Nigel and Jody Harrocks' house at Karekare Beach in New Zealand, with additional recording in Melbourne, Australia at both Periscope and Platinum Studios. The album's opening track was named "Kare Kare". Paul Hester said, "We flew in Youth and an engineer called Greg Hunter straight off the streets of Brixton to Karekare Beach, New Zealand — miles from anywhere, no shops, no nothing. They were in shock for days. Didn't know where the fuck they were."
The album topped the album chart in New Zealand, reached number 2 in Australia and number 4 in the UK. Due to its inclusion on the Reality Bites soundtrack, the song "Locked Out" was bundled with The Knack's "My Sharona", which also features in the film, as a promotional jukebox single. The video single release of "Nails in My Feet" featured a documentary of the making of Together Alone entitled Footage from the Together Alone recording session.
The song "Catherine Wheels" was written by Neil and Tim Finn while with Split Enz and was originally titled "The First To Say Gone". The final version included input from bass player Nick Seymour which earned him a co-writing credit, one of only five he has with Crowded House.
Allmusic noted that the album is, "More experimental and musically varied than any of their previous releases" and cited the addition of Mark Hart to the band's line-up and new producer Youth as reasons for this. The album features more complex, layered guitar and keyboard arrangements than on Crowded House's previous works. The title track features a New Zealand Māori choir and log drummers and was co-written by Ngapo 'Bub' Wehi of the Te Waka Huia Cultural Group Choir, who also provide backing vocals on "In My Command" and "Catherine Wheels".
The Japanese edition contained the bonus track "You Can Touch" which later appeared on the compilation Afterglow.

Cover art

Bassist Nick Seymour created the album cover, which features a red car, possibly a taxi. It contains Jesus, a golden figure and a third occupant in the back of the car of whom only an arm, clad in a striped shirt, is visible. The car is surrounded by a golden halo and has fluffy dice hanging from the rear view mirror. The cover of the 2007 single "Don't Stop Now" has a similar red car and the song's video features the car during its animated sequences. The album artwork was co-designed by Seymour and Margo Chase. It incorporates photography, by Youri Lenquette and Merlyn Rosenberg, of the band and of landscapes including Karekare beach.

Critical reception

Writing in The Michigan Daily, Heather Phares called it a "catchy and spiritual listen that runs the gamut of emotions, from the hyperkinetic 'Locked Out' to the hushed 'Distant Sun'." She credited producer Youth for making it a "challenging yet listenable album."

Track listing

A limited edition of the album in some territories featured a bonus disc of live tracks from their previous three albums:
  1. "World Where You Live" – 5:30
  2. "Mean to Me" – 4:06
  3. "Sister Madly" – 5:42
  4. "Better Be Home Soon" – 3:23
  5. "It's Only Natural" – 3:52
  6. "Weather with You" – 5:19

    2016 reissue

Note
Note

Crowded House

Album

Sales of Together Alone highlighted Crowded House's continued popularity in Australasia and the UK. The album also had some success across Europe, but like its predecessor, Woodface, it failed to make much impact in the US. The album was certified platinum in the UK, New Zealand and Australia.
ChartPosition
Australian Albums Chart2
Canadian Albums Chart19
New Zealand Albums Chart1
German Albums Chart55
Dutch Albums Chart19
Norwegian Albums Chart14
Swedish Albums Chart25
UK Albums Chart4
US Billboard 20073

Singles

Apart from the top 10 success of "Distant Sun" in Canada and New Zealand, the singles from Together Alone generally performed poorly outside the UK, where five singles reached the top 30. One exception was "Nails in My feet", which narrowly missed the New Zealand top 10.
SingleAUS
CANGER
NZ
UK
"Distant Sun"23470519
"Nails In My Feet"34——1122
"Locked Out"—81——12
"Fingers of Love"————25
"Pineapple Head"————27
"Private Universe"46——50—
"Together Alone"———37—