Temple of Low Men
Encyclopedia
Temple of Low Men is Crowded House
's second studio album, released in 1988. The album had five singles, Sister Madly
, I Feel Possessed
, Into Temptation, When You Come
and Better Be Home Soon
.
, recorded by Tchad Blake
and mixed by Bob Clearmountain
. The cover was created by bassist Nick Seymour
. The lyric 'Tongue in the Mail' from the track "Love This Life" gave its name to the band's official mailing list.
.
In October 2010, Temple of Low Men was listed at number 71 in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums
, with the band's next album, Woodface
at No. 3.
album chart.
The album did not chart in the UK until February 1995.
Crowded House
Crowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Australia and led by New Zealand singer-songwriter Neil Finn. Finn is the primary songwriter and creative director of the band, having led it through several incarnations, drawing members from New Zealand , Australia and the United States...
's second studio album, released in 1988. The album had five singles, Sister Madly
Sister Madly
"Sister Madly" is a 1988 song by rock group Crowded House. It was the fourth single from the group's second album Temple of Low Men.The song contains a solo by guitarist Richard Thompson....
, I Feel Possessed
I Feel Possessed
"I Feel Possessed" is a rock song written by Neil Finn and performed by New Zealand band Crowded House for their album Temple of Low Men. The song was the final single released from the album...
, Into Temptation, When You Come
When You Come
"When You Come" is a song by rock group Crowded House and was released in August 1988 on Capitol Records as the second Australian single from their second album Temple of Low Men. The song peaked at #27 on the ARIA Singles Chart. Both B sides, "Something So Strong" and "Better Be Home Soon" were...
and Better Be Home Soon
Better Be Home Soon
"Better Be Home Soon" is a 1988 song written by Neil Finn and performed by New Zealand/Australian band Crowded House. The song was released as a single in July 1988 by Capitol Records. It performed modestly on both the American and British charts, but managed to peak at number two on the...
.
Album
Temple of Low Men was produced by Mitchell FroomMitchell Froom
-Career:Froom began his career as a keyboard player in Sonoma County, California. The band Crossfire featured two keyboards players; Mitchell on one side of the stage and brother David on the other with Gary Pihl on guitar...
, recorded by Tchad Blake
Tchad Blake
Tchad Blake is an American record producer, audio engineer, mixer and musician.He has worked with numerous artists and musicians, including State Radio, Apartment 26, Elvis Costello, Peter Gabriel, Pearl Jam, Tom Waits, Richard Thompson, Brazilian Girls, Sheryl Crow, November 2nd, Travis, Marike...
and mixed by Bob Clearmountain
Bob Clearmountain
Bob Clearmountain is an award-winning American music engineer, mixer and producer. He has worked with many prominent names in music including Bruce Springsteen , The Rolling Stones , Bryan Adams , Robbie Williams Bob Clearmountain is an award-winning American music engineer, mixer and producer. He...
. The cover was created by bassist Nick Seymour
Nick Seymour
Nick Seymour is a musician, painter, and record producer. He is best known for being the bass guitarist in the Australasian rock group Crowded House and brother to Mark Seymour of another successful group; Hunters and Collectors.- Biography :Born in Benalla, Victoria, Australia, Seymour studied...
. The lyric 'Tongue in the Mail' from the track "Love This Life" gave its name to the band's official mailing list.
Track listing
All songs written by Neil FinnNeil Finn
Neil Mullane Finn, OBE is a New Zealand Pop recording artist. Along with his brother Tim Finn, he was the co-frontman for Split Enz and is now frontman for Crowded House...
.
- "I Feel PossessedI Feel Possessed"I Feel Possessed" is a rock song written by Neil Finn and performed by New Zealand band Crowded House for their album Temple of Low Men. The song was the final single released from the album...
" – 3:48 - "Kill Eye" – 3:14
- "Into Temptation" – 4:33
- "Mansion in the Slums" – 3:45
- "When You ComeWhen You Come"When You Come" is a song by rock group Crowded House and was released in August 1988 on Capitol Records as the second Australian single from their second album Temple of Low Men. The song peaked at #27 on the ARIA Singles Chart. Both B sides, "Something So Strong" and "Better Be Home Soon" were...
" – 4:45 - "Never Be the Same" – 4:28
- "Love This Life" – 3:36
- "Sister MadlySister Madly"Sister Madly" is a 1988 song by rock group Crowded House. It was the fourth single from the group's second album Temple of Low Men.The song contains a solo by guitarist Richard Thompson....
" – 2:52 - "In the Lowlands" – 3:56
- "Better Be Home SoonBetter Be Home Soon"Better Be Home Soon" is a 1988 song written by Neil Finn and performed by New Zealand/Australian band Crowded House. The song was released as a single in July 1988 by Capitol Records. It performed modestly on both the American and British charts, but managed to peak at number two on the...
" – 3:07
Reception
Allmusic praised Temple of Low Men, but noted a change of tone from the previous album, saying, "The material on Temple of Low Men demonstrates great leaps in quality over its predecessor, it is a darkly difficult album...Finn digs into the depths of his emotional psyche with obsessive detail, crafting a set of intense, personal songs...Through all of this introspective soul-searching, Finn reveals most of all his true mastery of melody.In October 2010, Temple of Low Men was listed at number 71 in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums
100 Best Australian Albums
100 Best Australian Albums is a compendium of rock and pop albums of the past 50 years as compiled by music journalists Toby Creswell, Craig Mathieson and John O'Donnell. The book was published on 25 October 2010 by Hardie Grant Books...
, with the band's next album, Woodface
Woodface
Woodface is the third studio album by the band Crowded House. The album was produced by Mitchell Froom and released by Capitol in July 1991. It features five singles "Chocolate Cake", "Fall at Your Feet", "Weather with You", "Four Seasons in One Day", and "It's Only Natural"...
at No. 3.
Chart performance
Album
The album performed well in Australasia, reaching #1 in Australia and #2 in New Zealand. It was certified platinum in Australia (x6), New Zealand (x3), Canada (x2) and Spain. The album was less successful than its predecessor in the US, only reaching #40 in the Billboard 200Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
album chart.
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956... |
1 |
| Canadian Albums Chart Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
10 |
| New Zealand Albums Chart Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
2 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
138 |
| US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
40 |
The album did not chart in the UK until February 1995.
Singles
The album's first single, "Better Be Home Soon", was a top ten hit in Australia, New Zealand and Canada, but only reached number 42 in the US. The other singles released from Temple of Low Men were largely commercially unsuccessful.| Song | Peak chart positions | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aus ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
Can Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays.... |
Ned MegaCharts MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top... |
Ger Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
NZ Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
|||
| "Better Be Home Soon Better Be Home Soon "Better Be Home Soon" is a 1988 song written by Neil Finn and performed by New Zealand/Australian band Crowded House. The song was released as a single in July 1988 by Capitol Records. It performed modestly on both the American and British charts, but managed to peak at number two on the... " |
2 | 8 | 31 | 59 | 2 | 42 | ||
| "When You Come When You Come "When You Come" is a song by rock group Crowded House and was released in August 1988 on Capitol Records as the second Australian single from their second album Temple of Low Men. The song peaked at #27 on the ARIA Singles Chart. Both B sides, "Something So Strong" and "Better Be Home Soon" were... " |
27 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Into Temptation" | 67 | — | 20 | — | 38 | — | ||
| "Sister Madly Sister Madly "Sister Madly" is a 1988 song by rock group Crowded House. It was the fourth single from the group's second album Temple of Low Men.The song contains a solo by guitarist Richard Thompson.... " |
81 | 92 | — | — | 26 | — | ||
| "I Feel Possessed I Feel Possessed "I Feel Possessed" is a rock song written by Neil Finn and performed by New Zealand band Crowded House for their album Temple of Low Men. The song was the final single released from the album... " |
93 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||||
Band
- Neil Finn – vocals, guitar
- Nick Seymour – bass, backing vocals
- Paul HesterPaul HesterPaul Newell Hester was an Australian musician and television personality; he was the drummer for the related bands Split Enz and Crowded House.-The early years:...
– drums, backing vocals
Additional musicians
- Tim FinnTim FinnBrian Timothy "Tim" Finn, OBE is a New Zealand singer and musician. Finn is most known for his music with New Zealand 1970s and 1980s rock group Split Enz, and later for his solo work, a temporary membership in his brother Neil's band Crowded House and his joint efforts with Neil Finn as the Finn...
– backing vocals - Richard Thompson – guitar solo "Sister Madly"
- Alex AcuñaAlex AcuñaAlejandro Neciosup Acuña aka Alex Acuña is a Peruvian drummer and percussionist, in the Afro-Cuban jazz style.Born in Pativilca, Peru, Acuña played in local bands from the age of ten, and moved to Lima as a teenager. At the age of eighteen he joined the band of Perez Prado, and in 1967 he moved...
– percussion
- Heart Attack Horns – horns
- Mitchell Froom – keyboards
Album credits
- Mitchell Froom – producer
- Tchad Blake – recording engineer
- Bob Clearmountain – mixer
- Bob LudwigBob LudwigBob Ludwig is an American mastering engineer.He is a well known and respected figure within the music industry. His name is credited on the covers of albums released across the world, and he has won numerous awards....
– mastering - Tom Whalley – A&R
- Nick Seymour & Tommy Steele – art direction
- Nick Seymour – album art
- Kelly Ray – art assistance
- Margo ChaseMargo ChaseMargo Chase is an American graphic designer. Originally a biology major with intentions of becoming a veterinarian, Chase fell in love with design when she took a course on a whim. Her first job in graphic arts was a tedious paste-up position, which gave her great appreciation for computers...
– lettering design - Dennis Keeley – photography