Crowded House, the highly acclaimed pop-rock band with a magnetic stage presence, quirky humour and a massive global following are collaborating with the Australian Road crew Association (ARCA) by releasing an amazing 2 CD set “Crowded House LIVE ’92–’94” which is due for release on December 1st, 2023. Pre-orders now available, with the 2 x CD set due for worldwide release on December 1st.
Below is a direct pre-order link for fans. Please note, all orders will be shipped from Sydney via Australia Post and international postage rates will apply to those outside of Australia.
Shipping times will vary depending on where the order is placed from and we will do our best to have your order delivered asap.
https://www.thegroovemerchants.com/Product/141132
The 2 CD set is released through the Australian Road Crew Association’s (ARCA)’s Black Box Records through MGM Distribution, all major record stores and on all major streaming services.
ARCA raises funds and resources for Support Act’s Roadies Fund to provide financial, health, counselling and well-being services for roadies and crews.
The road crew working with the band at the time of these recordings were:
Angus Davidson Sound Engineer
Bruce Johnston Sound Engineer
Paul Le Page Monitors
Dave Harding Lights (Digital)
Steve Swift Lights (Analogue)
Dugald McAndrew Stage
Paul Guthrie Stage
Gary Bird Stage
TRACKS
Part 1
1 Kare Kare
2 It’s Only Natural
3 Distant Sun
4 Mean To Me
5 Whispers And Moans
6 Locked Out
7 Don’t Dream It’s Over
8 Pineapple Head
9 Log Cabin Fever/Catherine Wheels
10 Sister Madly
11 Love This Life
12 In My Command
13 Chocolate Cake
14 Hole In The River
15 Fingers of Love
16 Better Be Home Soon
Part 2
1 Recurring Dream
2 There Goes God
3 World Where You Live
4 Love You ‘Til The Day I Die
5 Into Temptation
6 Black And White Boy
7 Private Universe
8 In The Lowlands
9 You Can Touch
10 I Feel Possessed
11 Nails In My Feet
12 Italian Plastic
13 Four Seasons In One Day
14 Weather With You
15 Fall At Your Feet
16 When You Come
The CD set was first streamed as two separate tapes, through ARCA’s incredibly successful Desk Tape Series, which consists of live recordings straight off the mixing desk and made by a crew member, in this case legendary sound engineers Bruce Johnston and Angus Davidson.
By 2021, Crowded House had sold over 15 million albums worldwide. But it is in concerts that they brought a sense of time to these timeless songs, with their improvised humour through whacky onstage patter and the occasional onstage practical jokes on fans.
For Neil Finn, the stage also provided a leveller to Crowed House songs, where non radio hits like ‘Recurring Dream’, ‘In My Command’ and ‘Catherine Wheels’ get as much applause from the fervent fans as those which were. “Music always travels in mysterious ways,” he admits. “I can’t say I understand why one song is a hit and another one’s not.”
ARCA’s releases are hailed as also capturing important freeze-frames of Australian music history through visuals and liner notes.
They are not only reminders of past golden eras for older fans but places where younger consumers can start discovering homegrown music.
There are always interesting stories behind Crowded House songs.
There’s ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’, which reached #2 in the United States, #1 in New Zealand and Canada, and Top 10 in Australia, Norway and the Netherlands.
Neil was feeling lost at the time and wanted to write a song about moving forward. He penned it at his brother Tim’s home, to find quiet there as his sibling was away. But drummer Paul Hester was staying there and had friends over, so while Neil wrote behind closed doors in the piano room, out came the line “when the world comes in”.
“Try to catch a deluge in a paper cup” is a homage to his musical hero John Lennon who used the line “Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup” on ‘Across The Universe’.
The song came together quickly and Neil made a demo of it as soon as he returned to his home, using a matchbox as a snare drum and tapping the table as his bass drum.
The original had a R&B/soul feel and Crowded House found it difficult when they rehearsed it. In the studio, producer Mitchell Froom suggested changing the flavour, and also it shift key from E to E# to make it more melancholy.
Years after its release, fans remain divided on whether the song is of hope or if the title means “don’t dream (anymore because) it’s over”.
According to bassist Nick Seymour: “You think the song is gloomy? The record’s about not giving up hope and succumbing to the effects of the mass media and consumerism, but there’s an over-riding positive view in all our songs.”
Note from ARCA founders, Ian Peel and Adrian Anderson
“ARCA and The Desk Tape Series is a small way we can help our mates get some self-worth and recognition for their contribution to the Aussie music industry and gain help if they are in crisis. It is a great honour for us to be able to present these memories to all. Enjoy”
All Hail Roadies and Crew
“Looking after OUR OWN with FEELING and a WHOLE LOTTA LOVE”