“Our albums have always had elements of melancholy,” says Neil Finn, lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter for Crowded House. “And some of the best songs I’ve written have been on the melancholy side.”
Those strains of melancholia came to the fore on “Don’t Dream It’s Over,” the fourth Crowded House single from their 1986 debut. The song climbed into the Top 40 singles chart in eight countries, making it to No. 2 in the U.S. Today, even after decades of international acclaim, it remains the band’s best-known song.
New Zealand-born Neil Finn put Crowded House together in 1986, after the demise of his previous band, Split Enz. That art rock ensemble, launched in 1972, had been a beloved cult sensation in Australia and New Zealand; the group moved in a more accessible direction after leader Tim Finn encouraged his younger brother Neil to join. In short order, Neil started writing songs, including 1980’s “I Got You,” the group’s biggest international hit single. Setting a pattern that would repeat itself many times over, Crowded House was a massive critical success, and a major seller worldwide.
Everywhere except the U.S., that is. For whatever reason, Crowded House’s commercial success in America has always been more measured. In the band’s original run, Crowded House albums earned Platinum status in the UK, Canada and Australasia, while performing more modestly Stateside. But the critics have been consistent and near unanimous in their admiration, and hit singles like “Something So Strong,” “Better Be Home Soon,” “Chocolate Cake,” “It’s Only Natural,” and “Locked Out” helped make Crowded House crucial to the soundtrack of a generation.
After 10 years, the band took an extended hiatus and Neil Finn launched a solo career. But Crowded House returned in the 21st century with new albums and tours. Released May 31, Gravity Stairs is the band’s eighth studio album. Of the founding trio, Finn and bassist Nick Seymour remain; drummer Paul Hester died in 2005. Today the group is rounded out by original producer Mitchell Froom plus Finn’s sons Elroy and Liam.
At times, Gravity Stairs is sublime and subtle. Finn is justly proud of it. “I do think the album has an outgoing nature to it,” he says, noting that many of the songs have already been part of the band’s live set. “And onstage,” Finn says, “they’re very outgoing.”
Songwriter Beginnings
I supported Split Enz around a New Zealand tour when I was 15 years old. Tim had asked me if I wanted to do it, and of course I did. I was absolutely enamored with the band. For the first two years after having joined Split Enz, I was just trying to become good enough to be a credible member of the band and be able to play guitar.
But I had already begun writing songs, including a couple where Tim wrote the lyrics and I did the music. And then it just felt like it was starting to flower; Tim and I were holed up in an apartment in Rose Bay in Sydney, writing songs for the album that became True Colours. And “I Got You” came out in one day. My songs had a simplicity and a directness about them that the band was hungry to play… and played really well. And that was a pretty giant encouragement.
I was 21 when “I Got You” became a hit. It also put some pressure on, to some degree. You don’t know how you do these things; you [just] do them. It’s not a conscious process of, “I’m going to write a hit today.” They just become hits, and then you go, “Well, what was it about that?”
And having a band to write around is such a valuable thing for a songwriter; you get to try the songs out in a room with other people. They’re responding, and they’re playing them differently—and usually better—than you could have imagined. It brings the whole process to life and stops you from circling in your own subconscious insecurities.
Songs in the Vault
When I formed Crowded House, I’d already had a pretty good stack of songs in the vault, and I was exploring new angles through people like Mitchell Froom introducing me to different ways of arranging songs. He did introduce some new angles, which drew new things out of me as a writer.
The Hammond organ was not a texture that we had ever used before. We were coming from a more English sensibility prior to that with Split Enz. And there was an R&B mentality that Mitchell was exploring with bass lines. And in particular, for “Don’t Dream It’s Over,” he came up with the bass line on that song, which is directly from an R&B template. And hopefully I won’t be sued by the estate of Marvin Gaye because I’ve said that now!
I know writers who write 50 songs a year, and I know writers that take five years to write 10 songs. I’m somewhere in the middle. I have a lot of ideas going at once, but I don’t finish more than I need for an album. But sometimes songs come out fully formed. It’s a good sign when you get one straightaway. And “Don’t Dream It’s Over” was pretty much written in a day; I did a demo of it the same day I wrote it.
Writing “Don’t Dream It’s Over”
I wrote “Don’t Dream It’s Over” on my brother’s piano. I was feeling a little bit antisocial that day; I wasn’t having a great day. For some reason, Tim wasn’t there. Paul Hester was living there at the time, and he invited a few people over, but I just wasn’t in the mood to socialize. I just remember going to the piano; I don’t know whether I was writing about them obliquely: “They come to build a wall between us.” That seems like a harsh commentary on a bunch of visitors! But songs are often like that; you get a line that pops out for a seemingly innocent reason. And it takes on greater significance in the context of the song because of what’s around it.
I was contemplating the end of things: relationships and the challenges that you face. It’s an exhortation to myself—and to anyone who’s going through that—to not think it’s the end, to keep on pushing, keep on believing. It’s a song of hope, I think.
An Outlier Track Becomes a Hit
“Don’t Dream It’s Over” wasn’t an entirely obvious choice for a single: “You can’t put a ballad out, you know!” It was a notable song on the record, but nobody knows when there’s a hit. You only know something’s a hit once it’s a hit.
We’d been told it was performing well at the “B” [market] stations around the country. “Don’t Dream It’s Over” sort of became a bit of an outlier track. Then it got picked up by a few bigger stations, and then all of a sudden we had a chart position.
I was shocked and also really delighted. We’d done a New Year’s Eve show at Selina’s in Sydney, and it had got filmed by the ABC [Australian Broadcasting Company]. And we watched it back after that, and then we got the news that we’re in the charts, and so at the beginning of 1987 we were suddenly on a roll.
It’s Still Not Over
“Don’t Dream It’s Over” comes out at some really important occasions. Most recently, U2 were motivated to play it to honor [late Russian dissident] Alexei Navalny and his wife, which I thought was just incredible. I think they started playing it just as a general paean to the world’s ills. There have been a number of occasions where the song has been used at benefit concerts.
I couldn’t be more thrilled with the life it’s had. “Don’t Dream It’s Over” is just unstoppable. I think a lot of our other songs are worthy, but everybody who knows us knows that we have a fairly fulsome repertoire. So I’m not too bothered; I accept it and I’m grateful for it.
The lyrics still resonate all these years later. I’m very blessed that I really still like—and enjoy singing—the song that has become the most significant one for us.
