If you are looking for a gift for Crowded House fans, this is the print I researched and drew for that exact purpose: a discography map art print where every credited musician becomes a named tube line, calling at each studio album they played on. It is a Giclée on 230gsm acid-free matte fine art paper, A2 or A1, unframed or in a black wood frame, from £42.
The stations run in order from the self-titled debut in 1986 and "Don't Dream It's Over", through Woodface and Together Alone, to the reunion records up to Dreamers Are Waiting. The two Finn Brothers albums sit on the same line because the credits refuse to keep them separate.
I built it album by album from liner notes and session credits. Sixty-seven credited contributors ended up on my research sheet, and what follows is what the finished map actually shows.
Neil Finn Is the Only Line That Calls at Every Station
Neil Finn appears on every album on this map without a break. Vocals, guitars, piano, keyboards, Wurlitzer, vibraphone, percussion: the instrument list grows, but the line never stops.
Nick Seymour comes closest, and even he does not manage it. His bass runs across the whole of Crowded House proper, but he is absent from both Finn Brothers records, so his line has two clean gaps in the middle of the diagram.
On a streaming credit list, Seymour looks continuous. On a wall, you can see exactly where he steps out and where he steps back in.
Paul Hester's Drums Stop at Together Alone
Paul Hester drums on the first four albums, adds backing vocals throughout, and takes the lead vocal himself on "Italian Plastic" on Woodface. On Together Alone in 1993, he is credited with drums, percussion and vocals. Then his line ends.
He left the band during the 1994 tour and died in 2005. When I reached the Time on Earth column of my research sheet, the only thing I had to enter for him was the year.
Time on Earth arrived in 2007, the first Crowded House album made without him, and its drum seat is shared among four different players. A map shows that kind of absence in a way a tracklist never can.
Mitchell Froom Breaks His Line Twice and Comes Back Twice
My rule on every map I draw is that a production credit alone never earns a musician's line. You get a line if you are credited with playing or singing something, full stop.
Mitchell Froom qualifies easily. He is credited on keyboards on the first three albums, which is why he sits on the map at all rather than in the small print. Then he vanishes: no Froom on Together Alone, in any capacity.
He returns on the Finn Brothers album Everyone Is Here in 2004, disappears again across Time on Earth and Intriguer, and comes back once more for Dreamers Are Waiting. Two breaks, two returns, spanning thirty-five years. It is the most restless line on the whole diagram and the clearest illustration of my rule in action.
The One-Album Guests Include Johnny Marr and Joe Satriani
Branch lines are for musicians who call at a single station. Crowded House collected some genuinely surprising ones, and they are the details a fan hunts for once the print is on the wall.
| Musician | Album | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| Jim Keltner | Crowded House (1986) | Drums on "Now We're Getting Somewhere" |
| Jerry Scheff | Crowded House (1986) | Bass on "Now We're Getting Somewhere" |
| Joe Satriani | Crowded House (1986) | Backing vocals |
| Richard Thompson | Temple of Low Men (1988) | Guitar solo on "Sister Madly" |
| David Hidalgo | Woodface (1991) | Accordion |
| Johnny Marr | Time on Earth (2007) | Electric guitar, 12-string acoustic, backing vocals |
| Greg Leisz | Intriguer (2010) | Pedal steel on "Elephants" |
Joe Satriani singing backing vocals on the record that gave the world "Don't Dream It's Over" is the one that stops people. Keltner and Scheff turning up together on a single debut-album track is what stops me.
Every studio album as a station, every credited musician as a tube line. A2 or A1, unframed or in a black wood frame.
Together Alone Is Where the Branch Lines Pile Up
Recorded at Karekare on New Zealand's west coast, Together Alone brings in more one-off contributors at a single station than any other album on the map. The Te Waka Huia Cultural Group Choir sings on three tracks. Five log drummers appear on the title track and "Private Universe".
A five-piece brass section made up of Clyde Dixon, Stephen Bremner, Laura Astridge, David Bremner and Shaun Jarrett plays on "In My Command", and the title track, and Dror Erez adds accordion to "Walking on the Spot".
Two Split Enz men turn up as well: Eddie Rayner on keyboards for "Kare Kare" and "Pineapple Head", and Noel Crombie on percussion for "Private Universe", seven years after singing backing vocals on the debut. This is the densest point on the print, and where most people's eyes settle first.
Liam and Elroy Finn Arrive as Guests and Leave as MembersIn
On Time on Earth (2007), Neil's sons appear in the small print. Elroy Finn plays acoustic guitar on four tracks and electric on one. Liam Finn sings harmony vocals on three.
Three years later, Liam plays electric guitar on "Isolation" on Intriguer, and Elroy is absent altogether. Then, on Dreamers Are Waiting in 2021, both are full band members: Liam on guitar, vocals, and drums; Elroy on drums, vocals, guitar, and keyboards.
Count the Finns, and there are five separate lines here: Neil, Tim, Sharon on backing vocals across four albums, then Liam and Elroy. Tim's own route is worth tracing too. He arrives on backing vocals on Temple of Low Men, becomes a full member on Woodface, drops to two tracks on Together Alone, then reappears only on the Finn Brothers records.
Choosing the Right Gift for Crowded House Fans: Sizes and Prices
Someone who came in through "Weather With You" will go straight to the middle of the map. A long-haul fan will read the later stations, where the Finn family lines multiply and the guest branches thin out.
| Size | UK (mm) | US equivalent (inches) | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| A2 landscape | 594 x 420mm | 24 x 18in | From £42 |
| A1 landscape | 841 x 594mm | 36 x 24in | See product page |
With the Together Alone cluster and the run of Time on Earth guests, A1 is the size I would choose for a milestone birthday, because the branch lines earn the space. A2 unframed is the sensible way in if it is a first gift rather than a landmark one.
"Brilliant idea... really like what you've done, Mike."
Billy Bragg, on my discography maps
Related Music Maps
Johnny Marr plays on Time on Earth, so my Johnny Marr discography map is the natural companion, and the two prints share a name across their stations. For another band whose line-up keeps changing while the songwriting stays melodic, the Fleetwood Mac discography map covers a catalogue with just as much movement. The full range sits in my Music Wall Art Prints collection.
Crowded House Gift Questions, Answered
Does the map include the Finn Brothers albums?
Yes. Finn (1995) and Everyone Is Here (2004) both appear as stations because Tim and Neil's credits run straight through them. Nick Seymour does not play on either, which is why his line breaks there.
Are Neil Finn's sons on the map?
Yes. Liam and Elroy Finn first appear as guest credits on Time on Earth in 2007 and are full members by Dreamers Are Waiting in 2021, so both get their own named lines.
Why is a producer like Mitchell Froom drawn as a musician?
Because he is credited with playing keyboards. On my maps, a production credit alone never earns a line. If someone only sits behind the desk, they are not on the diagram.
Does the map show who played what on each track?
Not on this one. Track-level roles appear only on my single-album maps. The discography maps show which musicians played on which albums, with one-off contributors drawn as short branch lines.
Is it a print or a poster?
It is a museum-quality Giclée on 230gsm premium acid-free matte fine art paper, hand-researched and designed by me in East Sussex, and it ships unframed or in a black wood frame.
The best gift for Crowded House fans is the one that shows the whole route.
Four decades, two Finn generations, and sixty-seven credited contributors, on one wall.
Not sure which map they would love most? An art print gift card lets them choose.
