Album Time on Earth (Crowded House). Songs and videos online

Although Neil Finn was always the undisputed leader of Crowded House, they also possessed an undeniable band chemistry, most apparent on their freewheeling live shows but also evident on their four studio albums, each possessing a distinct identity from each other. When Neil pulled the plug on Crowded House after 1994's Together Alone, it was clear that it was for musical reasons, that he wanted to step out and try some new things, resulting the kaleidoscopic Try Whistling This and the hazy One Nil, both book-ended by albums with his brother Tim. Neil planned to follow that second Finn Brothers album with another solo project, but as he started work, tragedy struck: his longtime friend Paul Hester, the drummer for Split Enz and Crowded House, committed suicide in 2005. In the wake of his death, Finn reconnected with the other founding Crowded House member, bassist Nick Seymour, and slowly the third solo album turned into a Crowded House album, with latter-day second guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Mark Hart brought in along the way, working alongside guests like Johnny Marr and Enz keyboardist Eddie Rayner. It was an organic reunion -- and not uncommon in the Enz universe, either, as the band keeps falling together for occasional anniversary concerts and popping up on each other's albums -- that arose perhaps as part of the grieving process, or perhaps Neil realizing he'd rather be part of a band than a solo act and, in his words, "what other band could I be in."