When it came to their singles, three was clearly a crowd pleaser.
Kronomyth 1.3: A little something for everyone.
I’m not a big fan of 80s music. Everything seemed so, well, staged. Maybe that’s what happens when musicians become actors in their own four-minute films. The video for Something So Strong is nearly cloying in its cuteness. Everyone is happy, the girls are flirty, the boys are silly, and the band seems to be trying too hard to show that they don’t take anything seriously. It was a superficial decade. It’s also a pretty catchy song, so there is that.
“Something So Strong,” like “Don’t Dream It’s Over” before it, became a big hit in the U.S. On the slim chance that you hadn’t already picked up Crowded House’s first album, the single added I Walk Away and, on the 12-inch, Can’t Carry On from Crowded House. They’re both good songs from a very good album. The UK 12-inch single also included a live version of “Something So Strong” that missed the cut for the deluxe edition of Crowded House, making it something of a collectible.
Original 7-inch single version
A1. Something So Strong (Neil Finn/Mitchell Froom) (2:51)
B1. I Walk Away (Neil Finn) (3:05)
Original 12-inch single version (US)
A1. Something So Strong (Neil Finn/Mitchell Froom) (2:51)
B1. Can’t Carry On (Neil Finn) (3:53)
B2. I Walk Away (Neil Finn) (3:05)
Original 12-inch single version (UK)
A1. Something So Strong (Neil Finn/Mitchell Froom) (2:51)
A2. Something So Strong (live) (Neil Finn/Mitchell Froom) (4:01)
B1. I Walk Away (Neil Finn) (3:05)
B2. Don’t Dream It’s Over (Neil Finn) (5:43)
The Plastic
Released on 7-inch and 12-inch single in April 1987 in the UK (Capitol, CL/12CL 456) and the US (Capitol, B-5695/V-15292) with regional picture sleeve. Also released as promotional 7-inch single in 1986 in the US (Capitol, P-B-5695) feat. A side only. Reached #7 on the US charts.
