Woodface
Crowded House
1991
Album Summary
Woodface is the third studio album by New Zealand-Australian band Crowded House. The album was produced by Mitchell Froom and Neil Finn and was released by Capitol in July 1991. It features five singles "Chocolate Cake", "Fall at Your Feet", "It's Only Natural", "Weather with You", and "Four Seasons in One Day". 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. It was listed at No. 3 in the book 100 Best Australian Albums in October 2010. It was voted number 80 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).
WikipediaAbout halfway through the album, somebody starts shouting during the outro to a song. It got my attention, because it was the first time anybody in the band showed any emotion. I'm probably being too cynical, but it sure feels like Crowded House worked their way joylessly through a checklist. Scathing indictment of American culture? Check. Multiple instrumental solos that are just long enough to display some talent? Check. Children's choir singing backing vocals? You betcha. The one thing they forgot to pack? A bit of passion. It shouldn't feel like a chore to listen to a 48-minute pop rock album, but here we are. Best track: Fall at Your Feet
"There goes God in his sexy pants and his sausage dog" is a high point of this album, it is all downhill after that.
After two listens, it finally clicked that this band has a very R.E.M. feel to them. I really enjoyed it, even if at times the instruments sound like they're from the Spyro video game series. Great album from front to back. Favorite tracks: "Tall Trees", "Weather With You", "It's Only Natural"
Forgotten album of my childhood. Holy shit. My Dad used to play this all the time and I remember staring at the cover thinking about how it resembled The Mask w/ Jim Carrey. Nostalgia for me.
If you want the most generic, background music during Gilmore Girls album then this is for you. I really can’t for the life of me figure out why this album is on this list. It sounds like every other run of the mill 90s alt-rock album. It doesn’t even have that one or two fun songs to make playing the album worth it. There’s a lot of albums that I’ve listened to during this that I’m not super into but I understand why they’re on this list. I have no answers for this one. This is bad. Do yourself a favor and listen to any of the other 10,000 90s bands that sound like this. Or better yet, maybe skip that realm altogether.
What a beautiful album this one is...the songs sing to you in such a friendly and welcoming vibe. All the hits could be played in almost any life situation and everyone would still sing along. ‘Fall At Your Feet’ is a classic example of one of these tracks which hits you right in the guts but somehow still gives you hope. The ‘B’ tracks are just as engaging and a joy to listen to in their own right...and that’s honestly what makes a great album. 4 Stars!
A tour de force of nostalgia. Perfectly alligned with the rock movement of early to mid 90’s. Rembrandts, Hootie and the Blowfish, Goo Goo Dolls...all of which would fit perfectly for a couple of bars between the scene segues in Friends; seasons 1 and 2. Any album with “Fall at Your Feet” should be getting a strong vote however the album delves into a mushy slop of generic easy listening with the lyrics trumping the overall unoriginality of the record. Some of the Bass lines always stumped me as a less experienced bass player and a close listen will prove why on the timings and fills. Fun fact: bass player Nick Seymour compiled backing tracks for adult movies before making it big with Crowded House. He moved to Dublin in the late 90’s and was involved with the early production of Bell X1
Sort of a boring album. Not bad, but nothing too interesting. I liked the song "Weather With You" but even that was kind of boring.
I actually really like this album. I would actually look up more by them and consider getting an album for my playlist.
Sounded like a classic rock album, despite being more recent than I extracted. I liked the beginning better than the end, but overall pretty solid.
I enjoyed the entire album. It's light and fun, makes for an easy listen. Nostalgic sound and I'll go listen to more of their stuff.
Woodface - Crowded House. 14 tracks. I've owned Crowded House albums before, but never this one despite it heavily influencing my early adult life. It's quite varied and very good. Interesting that this was largely written by both Finn brothers rather than just Neil. 4/5.
Had never heard of this band before. I liked them, and they have a cool, fresh sound but it didn't wow me either. A good easy listen, but I'm not itching to revisit immediately
A very 90s crowd-pleaser piece of pop rock. This would be great background music for grilling or hanging around a campfire on a summer night. But when listened more intently than that, only about half the songs really hold up for me. It just barely missed out on its fourth star.
Loved the first record. Tolerated the second record. Couldn't stand this one and never listened to anything else by them.
I can't believe I've never heard of this band before what is wrong with me
This album starts out with a bang with "Chocolate Cake;" It's catchy, light, and fun. The album sags a little bit in places but never breaks, carrying that fun and lighthearted tone throughout. The vocals work really well together and the backing instrumentals are different enough between each song that it doesn't ever feel like any two songs blur together. Some of the songs are even beautiful and solemn, like "Four Seasons in One Day," but they don't detract from the positive feeling the album gives you.
Awesome. Exactly the kind of stuff I had hoped to discover here. Except for "Weather With You", I hadn't heard any song on this album, despite its quality.
I'm biased, as I already love Crowded House, though Temple of Low Men is the best album. Fall At Your Feet is such a simple but achingly beautiful love song... Love how they take simple songs and always add a twist - an unusual time signature, layered production that grows through the song, clever harmonies. Fav new song: Four Seasons In One Day
The talent in the Finn family is just ridiculous. Some misfires here, but when they work, HOLY FUCK.
Mooie ballads afgewisseld met leuke popdeuntjes voorzien van respectievelijke mooie en leuke teksten. 'There goes God' bracht een glimlach op het gezicht
This is one of my all-time favourite albums. Crowded House have beautiful melodies and Neil Finn is a genius songwriter, as showcased on this albums many hits. Even his brother (of Split Enz fame) helps out on a lot of the tracks. My favourite Crowded House record, even if it isn't generally agreed upon as their best.
Harmonies. Storytelling. Nostalgia. Took me back to the living room floor with headphones on.
A bunch of hits backed up by songs that the competition wish they could write. A lot of negative reviews probably due to the content of Chocolate Cake. Americans really can't take criticism, it seems.
The first album I've come across that I would like to give more than five stars to. This is a perfect album for so many reasons, not least of which is the fact the Fall at Your Feet is one of the most beautiful songs ever written.
Love the sounds of this album. Definetely earning a place among my favorites.
Cuánto tiempo hacía que no escuchaba As Sure As I Am. Me dejó el cd Marta. Lo tuve durante mucho tiempo. Se lo quise devolver, pero no lo ha querido. Pero si lo quiere, se lo devuelvo. Cuánto tiempo hacía que no escuchaba Italian Plastic.
Fab album, not a dud track, originally bought as CD in the early 1990’s , good to see N Fynn at Glasto this year
Lots of childhood memories. Love what tims vocals bring to this album, but I understand the dynamics where he couldn’t bring himself to be a supporting character in his little brothers band.
This list is letting me appreciate local bands on a global scale. Love this album. Always pleased or seduced who ever listens.
Loved this favourite lyric "There goes God in those sexy pants and sausage dog" what more do you want from an album?!
Already love this band’s radio hits. I had never heard this album. Absolutely loved it. The bass lines slap. Favorite songs: chocolate cake, it’s only natural, fall at your feet, weather with you, four seasons in one day, there goes god (interesting lyrics), as sure as I am. Wow what an album. Will definitely listen to this again.
Perfect pop song after perfect pop song. Sure, it's radio friendly, sure I guess it's kinda M.O.R. but, there's just something about Crowded House that means this doesn't matter. They stride above such concerns. Must be the quality. So it's either this or Together Alone which is their best album, I have a very strong soft spot for Together Alone as it just came out when I was buying album after album, but this is a very close second for me.
A wonderful surprise. Sophisticated pop tunes that could be from almost any era. Lots of tracks made my love list.
9/10. I really liked this, nothing super crazy special, but there was something nice about it. Maybe I'm just a sucker for Aussies/Kiwis
Si hi ha alguna banda que es mereix amb justícia el sobrenom de "nous Beatles", és Crowded House. I 'Woodface' és el seu millor disc. Algunes cançons genériques, però el nombre i qualitat dels seus hits és impressionant. En un any excels per la música, aquest és segurament el disc més atemporal de totes les obres mestres que van veure la llum aquell 1991
1991. Key Songs: Four Seasons In One Day, Fall At Your Feet, Weather With You
Going in, I had no idea who these guys were, but after a couple songs I was absolutely sure they were from Australia or New Zealand. A jangly guitar sound and an intuitive understanding of Western music theory make for songs that are both catchy and beautiful, and for one reason or another they're pretty strong signals for a band being from Oz or NZ. (However, it was a little surprising that these guys weren't from Dunedin.) I'm going with a 4 for now, solely because I'm extremely sparing with my 5s, but there's an extremely strong probability that I bump this up on RateYourMusic a year or two from now. Best song: It's Only Natural was really good, and How Will You Go was a magical closer, although there are a ton to choose from.
It was certainly not the album with the hit on it. It was a solid pop albun with the angst one expects from crowded house, but nothing really stuck out as a single to me.
Cuando vi este nombre no pasó por mi cabeza que fuera la banda que hizo "Don't dream it's over". El disco me sorprendió muy positivamente pues siento que este es el Soft Rock muy bien producido que vale la pena: cada canción tiene algún detalle musical, algún arreglo, algo en la voz que la hace disfrutable. En especial me gustaron 'Four Seasons In One Day', 'All I Ask' y 'As Sure As I Am'.
I’ve lived in New Zealand for 8yrs and now listened to one of the best New Zealand albums ever. Not an Aussie album.
I don’t know much about Crowded House. I’m digging this album. Easy to listen to, hook-heavy 90’s pop. Kind of reminds me of Toad the Wet Sprocket a bit.
very rustic, reminded me of a road trip out west with harmonica and accordion
It was pretty good. I wish they had kept the energy of the first few of songs through the rest of the album, but I'm not going to say I didn't enjoy some of the quieter songs of the second half. Favorite track: Fall At Your Feet
Bit of a guilty pleasure, enjoyed the album. It's Only Natural, Fall At Your Feet, Weather With You are all amazing and there's a load of quality tracks in between. The hidden track caught me a little off guard mind.
The songs on this album are well-crafted pop music. Heck, "Four Seasons in One Day" feels very much like it could have been a Beatles song, and other highlights such as "Weather With You" and "Fall at your Feet" still holding up today.
Very solid album. Only one or two songs that really stand out and catch your attention. The albums has a great vibe.
Almost a 5 for me. This is a very very good listen. I didn't really dislike any song, and most of them I would re-visit in a heartbeat.
I fell asleep listening, but from what I did hear it was solid. Ill listen again.
Before this I had never listened to Crowded House except for that hey now HEEEEEY NOOOW song. First observation is how awesome that album cover is. Love it. Chocolate Cake is a pretty fantastic opening track. I am loving the bass tone. It's Only Natural's chorus is less catchy than the verses? but still good. I love the verses. REminds me of Get in Line by BNL Fall at Your Feet - Seriously, maybe it's these headphones? but by god does the bass sound great on this record... Tall Trees - four tracks in and I am 100% sold on this album. This is so great. Weather With You - Harmonies on this track and the drum sounds are outstanding. Whispers and Moans - Some nice synth layers in this The second half of Italian Plastic in particular is just so good. This a really good record!
Never heard of this band before. Really close to being a 5/5, but it does get a bit filler-y near the end. There's a lot of great songs here though, "Four Seasons in One Day" is my personal favorite.
Love a bit of Crowded House. Half of the 16 tracks are really good and single worthy, four more are good, and the rest are meh. Fall at Your Feet, Whispers and Moans, and Weather With You were my favourites here.
Crowded House's debut album was one of the first albums I bought way back when I started buying albums with my pocket money. By the time Woodface came around I had moved on to listening to mostly hard rock and metal, so never listened to Woodface except for the singles I heard. I was surprised at how many songs I was familiar with, and overall was a good listen. I will definitely dive into other Crowded House albums i may have missed over the years.
It is one of those intimate secrets that you hold close to your heart, not saying it out loud because you don't fully realise it until it overwhelms you. Neil Finn is one of my favourite songwriters. What a way with words, what a master of melody, what an ability to capture life and time in a bottle.
Good album, but extremely pedestrian. This is a very generous 4 based in my knowledge of Neil Finn and he amazing song writing skills.
Awesome album, some real classic stand-out tracks on there. Wasn't sure about All I Ask though, thought it sounded like it belonged on a different album.
The Enz of Split Enz became the beginning of something great . Some of their finest tunes of cross Tasman musos .
Double listen - nearly perfect in places, almost too twee in others. Never listened before, couple of truly electric moments.
I have absolutely never heard of this band before. But fuck it's good. 4
Enjoyed this, especially the forst few tracks. Got a little cheesy for there in.
The first 8 songs of this album are on pace for a 5 star banger... and then it just sort of meanders off and finishes with a set of both boring and weird tracks. Fall at Your Feet and Four Season in One Day are absolutely beautiful