Crowded House - Time On Earth

I've had this album for two weeks now and have literally listened to it over and over since then while exercising or driving my car. This is one of those albums that doesn't hit you right away. In fact, I thought it was pretty average upon my first listen. But I have faith in Neil Finn, so I kept playing it. And oh, how I've been rewarded. Like all my favorite albums, this is one that you have to allow time to trickle over you like a weak-streamed shower with shitty water pressure. While the subject matter isn't entirely up-lifting- a lot of it deals indirectly with the loss of original drummer Paul Hester to suicide a few years ago- it still grabs ahold of you and infects your soul. Time On Earth may not rank as high as Temple Of Low Men, but it's close. "Don't Stop Now", "Pour Le Monde" and "She Walked Her Way Down" are instant CH classics. And Neil Finn should be included in any discussion of the greatest rock/pop songwriters of this or any era. And to top it off, I'm getting to see them for the first time next month in Hotlanta, albeit without Hester- R.I.P.