New Old Crowded House

The band broke up in 1996, but devoted fans remain, glomming onto every crumb of new (old) material. In this case, it's the first CD release of "Farewell To The World", Crowded House's final concert. A video of the event has been out for awhile (and has been just reissued on DVD), but now there's also this double CD set. All are worthwhile, though since it's a farewell concert, the Crowdie's aren't quite as loose as seen during some other shows.

How do I know? The Crowded House fanclub has privately released dozens of officially sanctioned, soundboard shows over the years, though they are all long out of print and, with press runs in the three figures, impossible to find. (Yes, I have all 40+ of the fan-club CDs).

With the suicide of drummer Paul Hester last year, it's pretty clear that Crowded House won't be coming back, but releases like this are the next best thing. If people support them, perhaps the tap will open a little wider and more archival material will come spilling out...