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Book Cover for: Crowded House's Together Alone, Barnaby Smith

Crowded House's Together Alone

Barnaby Smith

Taking a literary but accessible approach to unpacking Together Alone's secrets, the book shows how this is more than a pop album, and can be regarded as a timeless piece of art.

Together Alone
holds a special place in the hearts of Crowded House fans and remains one of Neil Finn's boldest musical statements - and his favourite Crowded House album. Formed in Melbourne, Crowded House's founding members were from both Australia and New Zealand. This album was recorded in New Zealand, in the isolated Karekare wilderness, drenching the recording in mystery and atmosphere, with songs possessing special qualities that those on other Crowded House albums - as good as they are - do not. But why exactly are they so hypnotizing?

This book considers in depth the album's lyrical themes, its moody imagery, and how it conjures such an evocative sense of place. Featuring first-hand accounts, from Finn and others, the book also explores the intense circumstances of its recording, its major players, and other factors including the influence of Maori culture.

Book Details

  • Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
  • Publish Date: Apr 3rd, 2025
  • Pages: 128
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 7.75in - 5.00in - 1.00in - 1.00lb
  • EAN: 9798765105153
  • Categories: Individual Composer & MusicianGenres & Styles - RockAustralia & New Zealand - General

About the Author

Stratton, Jon: - Jon Stratton is Adjunct Professor in UniSA Creative at the University of South Australia and a member of the university's Creative People, Products and Places Research Centre. Jon has worked at universities in the UK and Australia and held a Rockefeller Fellowship at the University of Iowa in 1998. His areas of interest include Popular Music, Cultural Studies, Australian Studies, Jewish Cultural Studies and Media Studies. He is the sole author of 12 books and has co-edited four. In 2002 he published Australian Rock: Essays on Popular Music. His most recent books include Black Popular Music in Britain since 1945 (edited with Nabeel Zuberi, 2014), When Music Migrates: Crossing British and European Racial Faultlines 1945-2010 (2014) and An Anthology of Australian Albums: Critical Engagements (edited with Jon Dale and Tony Mitchell, 2020).
Dale, Jon: - Jon Dale is a writer and researcher based in Melbourne, Australia. He teaches across a number of fields (popular music, experimental writing, media studies, criminology, sociology, screen studies) at a number of institutions. He also writes for the English music magazine Uncut, and contributes liner notes and essays to a number of record labels and other publications. He is currently working on several books about DIY and post-punk music, and texts on experimental film and diary film making. He also runs the record labels Tristes Tropiques and Rose Hobart.