Time on Earth

Infobox Album
Name = Time on Earth
Type = studio
Artist = Crowded House

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Released = flagicon|Germany 29 June 2007
flagicon|Australia 30 June 2007
flagicon|United Kingdom 2 July 2007
flagicon|Canada 7 July 2007
flagicon|United States 10 July 2007
Recorded = Roundhead Studios, Auckland
RAK Studios, London
Real World Studios, Wiltshire
2006 - 2007
Genre = Pop rock
Length = 58:31
Label = Capitol
Producer = Ethan Johns, Steve Lillywhite
Reviews = show
1=Allmusic rating|4|5
2=Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Publication date: June 2007
[http://wm06.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=&sql=10:jbfixz95ldte External link] [Erlewine, Stephen Thomas; [http://wm06.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=&sql=10:jbfixz95ldte allmusic ((( Time on Earth > Overview )))] , published June 2007, retrieved 19 August 2007.] show
1="Billboard" rating|3.5|5
2=Review by Jessica Letkemann
Publication date: July 2007
[http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/content_display/reviews/albums/e3ic02d60bc6b59682e919c1358363865b1 External link] Letkemann, Jessica; [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/content_display/reviews/albums/e3ic02d60bc6b59682e919c1358363865b1 Time on Earth] , published July 2007, retrieved 19 August 2007.] show
1="Filter" – 88%
2=Review by JR Griffin
Publication date: 9 July 2007
[http://www.filter-mag.com/index.php?id=14878&c=3 External link] [Griffin, JR; [http://wm06.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=&sql=10:jbfixz95ldte Filter-Mag.com] , published 9 July 2007, retrieved 19 August 2007.] show
1="The Hartford Courant" – Mixed
2=Review by Kenneth Partridge
Publication date: 12 July 2007
[http://www.courant.com/entertainment/music/reviews/albums/hc-albums0712.artjul12,0,504965.story External link] [Partridge, Kenneth; [http://www.courant.com/entertainment/music/reviews/albums/hc-albums0712.artjul12,0,504965.story 'Time on Earth' by Crowded House] , published 12 July 2007, retrieved 19 August 2007.] show
1="Pitchfork Media" rating|7.2|10
2=Review by Joshua Klein
Publication date: 25 July 2007
[http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/44218-time-on-earth External link] Klein, Joshua; [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/44218-time-on-earth 'Time on Earth' by Crowded House] , published 25 July 2007, retrieved 19 August 2007.] show
1="Los Angeles Times" rating|3.5|4
2=Review by Randy Lewis
Publication date: 8 July 2007
[http://www.calendarlive.com/music/cl-ca-rack8jul08,0,3140779.story External link] Lewis, Randy; [http://www.calendarlive.com/music/cl-ca-rack8jul08,0,3140779.story Crowded House - RECORD RACK - Los Angeles Times] , published 8 July 2007, retrieved 19 August 2007.] show
1="The Observer" rating|4|5
2=Review by Stephanie Merritt
Publication date: 17 June 2007
[http://observer.guardian.co.uk/omm/10bestcds/story/0,,2103413,00.html External link] [Merritt, Stephanie; [http://observer.guardian.co.uk/omm/10bestcds/story/0,,2103413,00.html CD: Crowded House, Time on Earth | OMM |The Observer] , EARTH NEWS, published 17 June 2007, retrieved 19 August 2007.] show
1="Paste" rating|3.5|5
2=Review by Dave Sims
Publication date: 17 June 2007
[http://www.pastemagazine.com/action/article/4453/review/music/time_on_earth External link] [Sims, Dave; [http://www.timesofearth.com/ Paste Magazine :: Review :: Time on Earth :: Capitol (Page 1)] , published 10 July 2007 (Issue 33), retrieved 19 August 2007.] show
1=Scotsman rating|3|4
2=Note: Elected "CD of the Week"
Review by Fiona Shepherd
Publication date: 6 July 2007
[http://living.scotsman.com/features/Weathering-the-storm.3301625.jp External link] [Shepherd, Fiona; [http://living.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1052342007 Scotsman.com Living - Weathering the storm] , published 6 July 2007, retrieved 19 August 2007.] show
1=Twisted Ear Rating|4|5
2=Review by Michael Poley
Publication date: July 2007
[http://www.twistedear.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1022&Itemid=31 External link] [Poley, Michael; [http://www.twistedear.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1022&Itemid=31 Twisted Ear - Crowded House - Time on Earth] , published July 2007, retrieved 19 August 2007.] show
1=Yahoo! Music UK Rating|8|10
2=Review by Andy Strickland
Publication date: 10 July 2007
[http://uk.launch.yahoo.com/070710/33/21dmh.html External link] Strickland, Andy; [http://uk.launch.yahoo.com/070710/33/21dmh.html Crowded House - 'Time On Earth'] , published 10 July 2007, retrieved 19 August 2007.] show
1="USA Today" Rating|3.5|5
2=Review by Ken Barnes
Publication date: 9 July 2007
[http://blogs.usatoday.com/listenup/2007/07/this-weeks-re-1.html#more External link] [Barnes, Ken; [http://blogs.usatoday.com/listenup/2007/07/this-weeks-re-1.html#more Crowded House, Time on Earth: Reassuring reunion] , published 9 July 2007, retrieved 19 August 2007.] show
1="Uncut" Rating|4|4
2=Review by Bud Scoppa
Publication date: July 2007
[http://uncut.co.uk/music/crowded_house/reviews/10033 External link] Scoppa, Bud; [http://www.crowdedhouse.com/ms/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1691811-2 Pure, quiet quality from the reunited Kiwi Beatles] , published July 2007, retrieved 19 August 2007.] show
1="Pop Matters" Rating|7|10
2=Review by John Bergstrom
Publication date: 18 July 2007
[http://www.popmatters.com/pm/music/reviews/44073/crowded-house-time-on-earth/ External link] [Bergstrom, John; [http://www.popmatters.com/pm/music/reviews/44073/crowded-house-time-on-earth/ One for the Drummer] , published 18 July 2007, retrieved 19 August 2007.] show
1="The A.V. Club" – B+
2=Review by Liam Gowing
Publication date: 17 July 2007
[http://www.avclub.com/content/music/crowded_house External link] Gowing, Liam; [http://www.avclub.com/content/music/crowded_house Crowded House |The A.V. Club] , published 17 July 2007, retrieved 19 August 2007.]
Last album = "Farewell to the World" (2006)
This album = "Time on Earth" (2007)
Next album =
Misc = Extra album cover 2
Upper caption = Alternate cover
Type = studio

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Lower caption = Australian special tour edition cover Singles
Name = Time on Earth
Type = studio
single 1 = Don't Stop Now
single 1 date = 16 June 2007
single 2 = She Called Up
single 2 date = 17 September 2007
single 3 = Pour Le Monde
single 3 date = 10 December 2007

"Time on Earth" is the fifth studio album by the pop-rock band Crowded House. Tracks have been produced by both Ethan Johns and Steve Lillywhite and the album was released on 30 June 2007 in Australia, 2 July in the United Kingdom and 10 July in North America. "Time on Earth" is the band's first studio album since 1993, and marks the reunion of the band eleven years after they disbanded and features new drummer Matt Sherrod in place of the original drummer, Paul Hester, who took his own life in 2005.

As the first studio album from the group in fourteen years, "Time on Earth" has been subject to much speculation. Upon its release the album garnered positive critical reception and reached Platinum status within weeks of release in Australia, [ [http://ten.com.au/ten/aria-year-in-review.html 2007 Aria Awards: A Year in Review - Seriously TEN] , "August 2007", Network Ten. Retrieved 2007-11-09.] and Gold status in its second week of release in New Zealand. [http://charts.org.nz/showitem.asp?key=60386&cat=a charts.org.nz - Crowded House - Time on Earth] . Retrieved 11 July 2007.] In conjunction and promotion of the album, the group is currently touring internationally, which was begun by performing at Coachella music festival and at Live Earth in July. For further promotion, three singles have been released from the album, "Don't Stop Now", "She Called Up" and "Pour Le Monde", and a special tour edition of the album was released in Australia in November 2007 featuring an extra CD with eleven songs from a concert from the album's North American tour.

Album history

Background

The album was originally intended to be frontman Neil Finn's third solo release. In the wake of Paul Hester's death, as well as preparations for the release of the live album "Farewell to the World", the band members were drawn together and their friendship was reinvigorated. In 2006, Neil Finn invited bassist Nick Seymour to participate in the recording of his new album and subsequent tour. In the initial phase, various session musicians filled parts, such as studio musician Joey Waronker on drums and British soul singer Beth Rowley provided backup vocals for the song "Transit Lounge." After recording a complete album with Ethan Johns in the producer and drummer's seat and Seymour contributing substantially throughout the process, Finn decided Crowded House would reform and that "Time on Earth" would be the band's fifth studio album. The title "Time on Earth" takes its name from a song of the same name that was not included in the album. [Howlspace, [http://www.whiteroom.com.au/howlspace/en/crowdedhouse/crowdedhouse.htm Crowded House] , retrieved 31 August 2007.]

With new drummer Matt Sherrod and returning multi-instrumentalist Mark Hart now involved as members of the official lineup, the band returned to the studio to record four additional tracks with producer Steve Lillywhite. Hart and Sherrod also contributed retroactively to some of the Ethan Johns-produced material. In its final form, the album features tracks mixed by Johns, Lillywhite and Tchad Blake. Guitarist Johnny Marr was involved in the recording of "Even a Child", which he co-wrote, and "Don't Stop Now". [ [http://www.nme.com/news/crowded-house/27923 Smiths guitarist writes Crowded House track] - "NME". Accessed 8 November 2007]

Recording and production

Due to the transient nature of the album, gradually adapting from a solo venture into a band effort, the recording process used was somewhat unorthodox in that it encompassed various session musicians for the majority, while the "central lineup" of Finn, Seymour, Hart and Sherrod only performed on four tracks, which includes "Don't Stop Now", the album's lead single, and "She Called Up", the following single. Before this point, most of the album was produced by Ethan Johns, however from enlisting Sherrod and calling upon Hart to return, the prolific producer Steve Lillywhite took over. [Hepworth, David; [http://www.crowdedhouse.com/s_about/biography.php Crowded House - Time on Earth] , "Biography", CrowdedHouse.com. Retrieved 2007-11-09.]

Release

To bring their music to the public before the album's release, the group played together a few times before the release. On 17 March 2007 the band played a 2 ½ hour set streamed live to the internet from veteran musician Peter Gabriel's studio (Real World Studios) in England. In this performance, there were eight new songs featured, beginning with Finn's co-written piece with the Dixie Chicks "Silent House" and also included "Pour Le Monde" ("For the world"), "Transit Lounge", "She Called Up" and "Don't Stop Now".

To also pre-empt the album's release, a single was released. The song "Don't Stop Now" was selected, as it featured the new lineup of the band. The single received moderate success in the charts. The follow-up single, "She Called Up", released in September 2007, was not as successful as "Don't Stop Now".

The album had a staggered release internationally across a fortnight, beginning in Australia, while the final location of its release was with the United States. Following the Australian release, the group performed at Live Earth in Australia, performing many of the album's songs, and also on various television programs, along with many interviews, such as on "Rove" and "Enough Rope" with Andrew Denton. A special live version of Crowded House performing "Silent House" was made available for Australian and UK purchasers of the album by inserting the disc into their computer and downloading the song from the internet. The song features the advertised album lineup, including new drummer Matt Sherrod and returning member of Crowded House Mark Hart, neither of whom were on the studio version. [Neil Finn, [http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/national/nrmtalk/neil_finn_interview Radio New Zealand] interview with Neil Finn, recorded 19 May 2007. Retrieved 21 August 2007.]

Critical reception

The album has been very well received by critics and the public, with many critics praising the album as "a worthy successor to Crowded House's existing catalog". [Horowitz, Hal; Amazon Editor, [http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000Q9OD7G Amazon.com: Time on Earth] . Retrieved 24 July 2007.] Some reviews have indicated that the album has its flaws, though these are easily dismissed due to the album's other qualities " [Time on Earth] " is not perfect. Like Woodface, at nearly an hour long and weighed down by a few too many mid-tempo tracks, Time on Earth gets a little out of the band's control. "Transit Lounge" features a distracting turn from singer Beth Rowley, while the nostalgic Old Country tribute "English Trees" probably would have worked better with brother Tim... Finn's forte has always been as a songwriter first and foremost, not a pretentious album-length crafter of grand cohesive statements or conveyor of didactic meaning. He writes deeply personal pop songs with oblique lyrics and deceptively tricky melodies, but no matter who (or what) Finn is mourning, he leaves it up to the listener to make it all fit." Some reviewers indicate that in "Text, context and subtext, Hester's passing seems to color every line", indicating the album clearly articulates Finn's grief for Hester's death in 2005.

Cover art

As he did for the first four Crowded House albums, Nick Seymour, also an artist, created the cover art for "Time on Earth". The group's name "Crowded House" appears with jumbled case, some lower and some upper case, appearing as "cRoWdED HOusE". Similarly, the album title is also in a partial jumble with all but the last two letters in upper case, appearing as "TIME ON EARth."cite book|title="Time on Earth"|work=Cover and liner notes|pages=12–14|author=Seymour, Nick; Finn, Neil et al.] by the dragon being blue, and this brought his time on earth to an early end. The cover art is almost completely composed of newspaper cuttings collaged together, even the image of the man and the dragon are newspaper cuttings which Seymour painted onto. Only the tree on the right, and the title text are not composed of newspaper cuttings. The tree is to pose as a simile for the tree under which Hester took his life in 2005.

In November 2007, a special edition of "Time on Earth" was released featuring a colour altered cover. The cover's main background area, which was previously a sandy-wheat colour, was converted into an aqua-teal colour, while the tree in the image had a bird in a nest added to it.

Musical style

According to Neil Finn, "It ("Time on Earth") doesn't sound like any one particular Crowded House album, but it has elements of Crowded House... in as much as Nick and I make a sound together when we play and always did. I think there's a lot of heart and spirit in the album which is connected with the loss of our dear friend Paul but also an attempt to try and make sense of it and move forward. And as such, it seemed the most obvious and best way to do that was to be playing music again with each other, Nick and I. I want to be in a band and what other band could it be." [ [http://www.farewelltotheworld.com EMI site] - video interview - published February 2007, accessed 8 November 2007] Crowded House's leader, Neil Finn has indicated that, as the album began life as a solo project, its sound is generally different to Crowded House, though similar in parts, indicating that no one album by the group sounds like this one. As the album is dedicated to Hester and attends to his death, much of the album has a mournful tone, however this has been received well by critics, with some indicating that "fortunately, Finn is a master at expressing ambiguity, (both) lyrically and musically". [Lewis, Randy; [http://www.calendarlive.com/music/cl-ca-rack8jul08,0,3140779.story "Crowded House reunites in grief -- and joy" - RECORD RACK - Los Angeles Times] . Released 8 July 2007. Retrieved 25 July 2007.] Finn has said of the song "People Are Like Suns", that "Part of it is the idea that people burn brightly and then they fade out. Also, when I wrote it, I was reading Ian McEwan's novel "Saturday", which begins with a man on his balcony watching his plane go down, so the first lines borrow something from that image."Uncut Magazine, [http://www.crowdedhouse.com/ms/imagerepository/labelnewsimagespublic/1691811-2 Crowded House] . Retrieved 17 August 2007.]

The song "Pour le Monde" (which means "For the World" in the French language) was inspired when Finn was in Paris and observed a demonstration march protesting against the war on terror, with the chant "Pour le monde pas pour la guerre", which translates to "For the world, not for the war" (which is then sung in English directly after the French on the song).Crowded House, [http://www.crowdedhouse.com/lyrics.php?item=1690528 ::Crowded House::] , "Pour le Monde" lyrics. Retrieved 18 August 2007.] Seymour adds that the song contains "a lot of nobility and integrity" and that when they have performed the song it "really does stand upright".Crowded House [http://www.crowdedhouse.com/ ::Crowded House::] , see "Time on Earth" video in "videos section". Retrieved 18 August 2007.] The last song recorded for the album, "Transit Lounge", is written about time spent in various transit lounges around the world, particularly Singapore and Bangkok.

Lyrically, Andy Strickland of Yahoo! Music asserts that the album's song "English Trees" shows Finn's "brilliant weaving of a tale of loss and yearning marks him out as up there with the very best songwriters working today" and of the album's musical structure as a whole, comments that it is a "collection of songs that reflect Finn's usual palette of singalong pop ("She Called Up"), achingly fine ballads ("Pour Le Monde"), and darker, more ambient sounds ("A Sigh")". Jessica Letkemann of Billboard points out that to those unfamiliar with Finn's solo work expecting the album to resemble a prior Crowded House work would be surprised, insisting that "Gone are the more overtly '80s top 40 flourishes". Bud Scoppa writes in "Uncut Magazine" that the album's extremes are portrayed in its first two songs, "Nobody Wants To", which he describes as " [setting] the prevailing melancholy mood, as Finn’s slide guitar hovers like a solitary seabird over a vocal laced with regret", and "Don't Stop Now", in which "Finn explores the metaphorical possibilities of the GPS, seeking "“something I can write about… something I can cry about”".

Charts

"Time on Earth" entered the Australian ARIA Albums Chart on 8 July at #2, just behind Michael Buble's "Call Me Irresponsible", however in its second week, it rose to the #1 position, swapping with "Call Me Irresponsible" which then moved to #2. It entered the RIANZ albums chart in New Zealand on 9 July 2007 also at #2, though slipped to #3 in its second week, instead of rising as it did in Australia. Crowded House's place of origin is held in contention due to the band being led by Neil Finn of New Zealand, however the band has always resided in, and was formed in, Australia. Due to this constant confusion, both ARIA and RIANZ consider the group to be native to their respective countries, as they're indicated as "local artists" in the album listings, on ARIA as a "red spot" and on RIANZ with the item highlighted in green. [ [http://rianz.org.nz/rianz/chart.asp RIANZ] . Retrieved 15 July 2007.] [ [http://ariacharts.com.au/pages/charts_display.asp?chart=1A50 ARIA] . Retrieved 15 July 2007.] On the U.S. Billboard 200, the album debuted at number 46, with about 16,000 copies sold in its first week. [Hasty, Katie [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003613204 "T.I. Holds Off Pumpkins, Interpol To Remain No. 1"] , Billboard.com, accessed 18 July 2007.] The album entered the charts in the United Kingdom at #3 with sales of over 27,000, being Crowded House's most successful studio album on the UK charts, only being superseded by "Recurring Dream" which achieved a #1 position and sold over a million copies. It also entered the Canadian Albums Chart #38, its Canadian peak position.

Track listing

In April 2007, the band's website went live and included a confirmation of the track listing of "Time on Earth". Notably, the album has 14 tracks, only the second studio album by Crowded House to have as many, the previous being "Woodface". The album features the guitar work of Johnny Marr, guitarist and songwriter of The Smiths, on "Even a Child" and lead single "Don't Stop Now;" Marr co-wrote the former song with Finn. The album also includes the song "Silent House", which Finn co-wrote with the Dixie Chicks (which also appeared on their 2006 Grammy-winning album "Taking the Long Way"). With the Australian and UK release, the CD unlocks an online exclusive download of a live version of the song "Silent House". Early releases of the album in the UK included an additional DVD. Following touring, on 3 November 2007, a special edition was released in Australia featuring a colour-altered cover and an extra CD featuring eleven songs from the 8 September 2007 performance at Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, for the North American leg of the "Time on Earth" tour. [cite web|url=http://www.sanity.com.au/product/product.asp?sku=2101697|title=Crowded House / Time On Earth: Tour Edition (CD)|work=Track Listing|publisher=Sanity|accessdate=2007-11-04
cite web|url=http://www.crowdedhouse.com/s_news/news.php?item=1707900|title=CROWDED HOUSE RELEASE AUSTRALIAN TOUR EDITION CD|publisher=CrowdedHouse.com|accessdate=2007-11-04
cite web|url=http://www.crowdedhouse.com/s_tour/tourArchive.php|title=Back to Tour....|work=Sat 08 Sep 2007 Winnipeg, MB, Canada - Winnipeg Concert Hall|accessdate=2007-11-04]

The tracks "Lost Island" and "Stare Me Out" are available on the vinyl version of this album. They are also available as b-sides to "Don't Stop Now," and as bonus tracks via digital music providers.

UK Limited edition DVD

Limited Edition "Time on Earth" DVD
#"Locked Out" (Live Real World Sessions Webcast)
#"Something So Strong" (Live Real World Sessions Webcast)
#"World Where You Live" (Live Real World Sessions Webcast)
#Time on Earth Interview*
#*"Hotel California"
#*"Transit Lounge"
#*"Pour Le Monde"
#Crowded House images (with "Don't Stop Now" audio)

* *Now available on official Crowded House website. [Crowded House, [http://www.crowdedhouse.com/ Crowded House Official Website] , see Videos section for "Time on Earth" video. Retrieved 20 August 2007.]

Australian live disc

#"Mean to Me"
#"World Where You Live"
#"Don't Stop Now"
#"Hole In the River"
#"Don't Dream It's Over"
#"Silent House"
#"Walked Her Way Down"
#"Something So Strong"
#"Weather with You"
#"Private Universe"
#"You Are the One to Make Me Cry"

Personnel

Crowded House

*Neil Finn: vocals, guitars, Wurlitzer, piano and Vibraphonecite book|title="Time on Earth"|work=Cover and liner notes|pages=12|author=Seymour, Nick; Finn, Neil et al.]
*Nick Seymour: bass, backing vocals, autoharp
*Mark Hart: piano, keyboards, electric guitar, harmony vocals on 2, 3, 6 & 12
*Matt Sherrod: drums on 2, 3, 6 & 12, backing vocals on 3

Other musicians

*Ethan Johns: drums on 1, 7, 9-11 & 13, backing vocals on 1, harmony vocal on 5, string arrangement on 5, 13 & 14, sitar on 7, fuzz guitar on 9, hurdy gurdy on 9, guitar on 11
*Rikki Gooch: drums on 4, 5 & 11, marching bass drum and cymbal on 13
*Gavin Wright: string leader on 5, 13 & 14
*Isobel Griffiths: string contractor on 5, 13 & 14
*Richard Watkins: French horn on 5
*Sonny Marr: backing vocals on 6
*Eddie Rayner: piano idea on 1, harmonium on 10
*Sharon Finn: harmony vocals on 10
*Don McGlashan: euphonium on 10, harmony vocals on 8
*Joey Waronker: drums on 14
*Jay Joyce: guitar atmosphere on 8
*Beth Rowley: ethereal vocal on 12
*Johnny Marr: electric guitar on 2 & 6, 12-string acoustic guitar on 6
*Elroy Finn: acoustic guitar on 4, 5, 7 & 9, electric guitar on 11
*Liam Finn: harmony vocals on 7, 9 & 10
*Joesph Linsday: horns on 7
*Isaac McNeill: horns on 7
*Scott Towers: horns on 7

References