Crowded House - "Better Be Home Soon"

(Debuted July 9, 1988, Peaked #42, 11 Weeks on the Chart)

When Crowded House recorded the followup LP to their successful self-titled debut, chief songwriter Neil Finn dug a little deeper into his emotions and his moodiness. Unfortunately, he kept that feeling in the songs rather than glossing them over with the catchy hooks he used on that first album, as well as his earlier material with the band Split Enz. As a result, the material fared moderately well in the U.S. and U.K. even as it hit big in their native Australia and New Zealand.

The first single taken from Temple of Low Men was the record's finale, "Better Be Home Soon." Since moody reflection rarely results in commercial success at a time when pop and dance songs are the vogue, it fell short of the Top 40 and would be the only Hot 100 listing from the album. That said, it's definitely worth a listen if you're not familiar with it.

Crowded House - "Something So Strong"

(Debuted May 2, 1987, Peaked #7, 21 Weeks on the Chart)

Let's go for the hat trick here...For the third day in a row, we'll feature a song that followed a #2 pop hit in 1987. However, this time I'm not going to say that this single should have been given more consideration than the hit it followed. That's not to say that "Something So Strong" isn't good (because it is), but it's hard to have improved on "Don't Dream it's Over."

Crowded House was an Australian band led by New Zealander Neil Finn. The group rose from the ashes of Finn's previous group Split Enz. Originally calling themselves The Mullanes but having that name rejected by their record label, they settled on Crowded House after living in a cramped apartment while recording their first album.

With its positive delivery, "Something So Strong" was the group's second American Top 10 pop hit. Surprisingly, it failed to get far up the charts in the U.K. or the band's native Australia. It's definitely worth listening to if you've never heard it.