info.txt
Woodface
Studio album by Crowded House
Released 2 July 1991
Recorded A&M Studios, Los Angeles
Periscope Studio, Melbourne
Ocean Way Studios, Los Angeles
Platinum Studios, Melbourne
Genre Rock, pop rock, alternative rock
Length 48:11
Label Capitol Records
Producer Mitchell Froom & Neil Finn
Professional reviews
* Allmusic 4.5/5 stars link
* Insider's Guides 8/10 stars link
* Q 4/5 stars
* Robert Christgau (choice cut) link
Woodface is the third studio album by the band Crowded House. The album was produced by Mitchell Froom and released by Capitol in July 1991. It features five singles "Chocolate Cake", "Fall at Your Feet", "Weather with You", "Four Seasons in One Day", and "It's Only Natural". Woodface was a major hit in Australia and New Zealand as well as giving the band their first top ten hit album in the UK.
Background
During a break from Crowded House following the Canadian leg of the tour in support of their second album, Temple of Low Men, band-leader Neil Finn began recording songs with his older brother and former Split Enz band mate Tim Finn. These songs were originally intended for a Finn Brothers album. Once these sessions were complete, Neil teamed back up with Nick Seymour and Paul Hester to write and record Crowded House's third album. Capitol Records rejected most of the new Crowded House songs, so Neil asked Tim if the band could use some of the new Finn Brothers songs. Tim agreed, on condition that he would join the band, although he has since indicated he meant this as a joke. Neil took Tim literally and the group, including Tim, returned to the studio.
The album was titled Woodface and was released in July 1991. It was co-produced by Mitchell Froom and Neil Finn, and mixed by Bob Clearmountain. It contains eight tracks co-written by Neil and Tim Finn, which mainly feature the brothers harmonising on lead vocals. By contrast, the sombre "All I Ask" had Tim alone on lead vocals and later featured in AIDS awareness commercials in Australia. Five other tracks were solo compositions by Neil Finn and the remaining two were written by Paul Hester, including "I'm Still Here", a hidden track. Hester does not appear on three of the Finn Brothers songs, "All I Ask", "There Goes God" and "Weather With You", which all feature former Beach Boys drummer Ricky Fataar.
During the UK leg of the Woodface tour, Tim left the band. Multi-instrumentalist Mark Hart, who had played some keyboards on Woodface, was recruited to replace Tim for the remaining dates. The final date of this tour at the The Town & Country Club in London was recorded and given a limited release in Australia, while individual tracks were used as B-sides for the album's singles in other countries.
Track listing
All songs written by Neil Finn and Tim Finn, except where indicated.
1. "Chocolate Cake" – 4:02
2. "It's Only Natural" – 3:32
3. "Fall at Your Feet" (N. Finn) – 3:18
4. "Tall Trees" – 2:19
5. "Weather with You" – 3:44
6. "Whispers and Moans" (N. Finn) – 3:39
7. "Four Seasons in One Day" – 2:50
8. "There Goes God" – 3:50
9. "Fame Is" (N. Finn) – 2:23
10. "All I Ask" – 3:55
11. "As Sure as I Am" (N. Finn) – 2:53
12. "Italian Plastic" (Paul Hester) – 3:39
13. "She Goes On" (N. Finn) – 3:15
14. "How Will You Go" – 3:07 / "I'm Still Here" (Hester) 1:07
"I'm Still Here" follows "How Will You Go" in track 14 as a hidden track at 3:37 after 30 seconds silence.
Personnel
Crowded House
* Neil Finn – guitar, vocals, keyboards
* Tim Finn – piano, guitar, vocals
* Paul Hester – drums, vocals, keyboards, percussion
* Nick Seymour – bass guitar, vocals
Additional musicians
* Ricky Fataar - drums, percussion tracks 5, 8 & 10
* Chris Wilson - harmonica tracks 1, 4 & 8
* Peter Bucknell – violin "There Goes God"
* Vince Parsonage – viola "There Goes God"
* Alex Acuna – additional percussion
* Geoffrey Hales – additional percussion
* Jack Mack – brass
* David Hidalgo – accordion "As Sure as I Am"
* Jorge Callendrelli – conductor, string arranger "All I Ask"
* Sharon Finn – backing vocals "All I Ask"
* Mitchell Froom – keyboards
* Mark Hart – additional keyboards
* Stuart Ellison – additional keyboards
Album credits
* Mitchell Froom, Neil Finn – producers
* Tchad Blake – engineer
* Paul Kosky - engineer (Periscope Studios)
* Rob Jaczko - second engineer (A&M Studios)
* Max Garcia - second engineer (Periscope Studios)
* Bob Clearmountain – mixing (A&M Studios / Record Plant)
* Bob Ludwig - mastering (Masterdisk)
* Nick Seymour, Tommy Steele – art direction
* Nick Seymour – cover painting
* Dennis Keeley - photography
* Stephen Walker - design
* Timothy Eames - letter construction
* Brenda Bentley - costumes
The following songs were recorded by Crowded House for Woodface before Tim Finn became involved but were not included on the album. Seven appeared on the 1999 rarities collection Afterglow. "Fields Are Full of Your Kind" and "My Legs are Gone" remain unreleased.
* "Anyone Can Tell"
* "Left Hand"
* "Dr. Livingstone"
* "Sacred Cow"
* "I Love You Dawn"
* "My Telly's Gone Bung"
* "Time Immemorial"
* "Fields Are Full of Your Kind"
* "My Legs Are Gone"
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