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"Silent House" is a ballad co-written by Neil Finn and the Dixie Chicks. It was originally released by the Dixie Chicks on their Grammy Award-winning album Taking the Long Way (2006), and then was re-recorded by Finn and his group Crowded House for their fifth studio album Time on Earth (2007). Neither artist has released the song as a single.
[edit] Song information
The song was written from different angles and has different influences to each of the songwriters, with Natalie Maines stating that "even though this song is about our experiences, almost everyone has been touched by something like this".[1]
According to Maines the song is, to her, influenced by a grandmother who has Alzheimer's and "it's about walking through her house, that she no longer lives in. Packing up a house, having all those familiar feelings and passing those wonderful memories on to others". Emily Robison said that it is, to her and her sister, influenced by a grandfather who had dementia. According to her, "you realize that it's up to you to remember them the way they were, because you're going to be a witness to their life". It is also said to be influenced by the recent loss of Finn's close friend Paul Hester, former drummer of Crowded House.
[edit] Dixie Chicks version
The Dixie Chicks version of "Silent House" has received a mixture of responses, with one reviewer stating that it is "the part where the album slowly starts to suck"[2] and another saying that it is "a lovely downer that brings out the best in the trio's layered harmonies".[3] All Music Guide selected it as a "indicated track" alongside "Not Ready to Make Nice" and "Lubbock or Leave It".[4]
[edit] Crowded House version
The Crowded House version of "Silent House," being the second recorded and released, is performed less like a country ballad and more like an alternative rock ballad. The song was originally destined for Finn's third solo album which, over time, morphed into the fifth Crowded House studio album, known as Time on Earth. The song was originally recorded by Finn with Crowded House bass player Nick Seymour in 2006, however when the decision was made to convert the album into a Crowded House album, "Silent House" was also moved over to the new album. The original drum track performed by the song's producer Ethan Johns remains on this version of the song. At 5:52, the song proves longer than "Private Universe" from Together Alone, becoming the group's longest studio recorded song.
A special live version of Crowded House performing "Silent House" was made available for Australian purchasers of the Time on Earth by inserting the disc into their computer and downloading the song from the internet. The song features the advertised album lineup, including new drummer Matt Sherrod and returning member of Crowded House Mark Hart, neither of whom were on the studio version.
[edit] External links
