Look there is always going to be those that argue over which crowded house album is the best, they made 4 great albums.

I divide this into two, Woodface and Crowded house have the best singles but Together and Temple are the better albums, more cohesive units and singles sell albums so this is why they are the lowest selling of the 4 albums

Temple is amazing, how could capitol let this fall through the cracks (a quote from the boss B Springsteen)The album is brimming with great songs (Love this life, in the lowlands, sister madly) hell the whole lot.

I still believe to this day if the right singles were released from this album it would have been as big as the Joshua tree (Singles, In the lowlands, never be the same and Into Temptation) When you come and better be home are good songs but not the dynamic singles that radio stations play

I own nearly 3000 cd's in my collection ranging from Eminem to Joni Mitchell to Neil Finn to Kieth Urban and let me tell you this album is my favourite cd amongst the lot. For these reasons

1.It features Neil's best song (Into Temptation)The string bit sends me away in the clouds
2.The harmonies are amazing from Paul and Nick
3.Songwriting and lyrics from the heart
4.Fantastic from Start to finish

Go and buy this record it is amazing

If you've read the previous customer reviews and laughed at the review that ranked this disc as one of the best of the 80s, behind Joshua Tree - stop laughing. This disc has NO weak songs. None. Zip. Zilch. Nada. The greatness of this disc lies in the subtle realization that there are no weaknesses here. Do I believe in liberally administering five star reviews? Absolutely not. From the opening keyboard strokes on "I Feel Possessed" to Neil's last breath on "Better Be Home Soon", the sheer quality of the songwriting and production will astound you. Other highlights include "Into Temptation" (perhaps the second-best* song Neil Finn has ever written), "Kill Eye" (killer guitar), and "In the Lowlands" (beautiful harmonies). I didn't particularly care for Crowded House's debut (though I love "World Where You Live"); I first listened to "Temple of Low Men" when a friend recommended it to me and loaned it to me. I've been a fan of this disc for more than twelve years, and it has never aged on me. Trust the customer reviews on this one - you will not be disappointed.

*Neil's best song - written when he was with Split Enz - is "Message to My Girl".

This album was labelled "dark" when it first came out, but that label shows a critic(al) lack of imagination. This album is incredible. It's more cohesive than Woodface, more mature than Crowded House (the first album), and has the perfect balance of pop music and angsty lyrics. Sister Madly, Never Be The Same, Into Temptation, Better Be Home Soon, and When You Come are classics!

I've long admired Split Enz/Crowded House/Neil + Tim Finn, and it's hard to pick one cd to review without reviewing them all. Temple of Low Men is a classic. Of the four Crowded House cds this one has 10 solid tracks with no filler and no excess. Their debut is great, but I think Temple of Low Men moved Crowded House out of the pop spotlight and into a more mature band. The debut is a rougher, less honed effort than Temple is. Temple is also better than Woodface in that it's shorter and more consistent. It's also better than Together Alone for the same reasons--shorter, more consistent songcraft. All of Crowded Houses cds are great, but Temple of Low Men with songs like "Into Temptation", "I Feel Possessed", "When You Come", "Kill Eye", "Better Be Home Soon", "Love This Life", "Mansion in the Slums", "Never Be the Same" and "Sister Madly" show that they can make a classic cd. This is a must have for any rock collector.

There aren't too many perfect pop/rock records: this is one of them (it belongs on the same shelf as Revolver, OK Computer, Hunky Dory, Superfly....). All ten songs are great and, as with the other masterpieces mentioned, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. The album *sounds* unlike anything else ever released, and the songs collectively conjure up their own very specific, haunting and haunted landscape. A "ghost car on the freeway" of the 80's to use one of Neil Finn's stunning images, _Temple_ is a cd to live with, to always have with you on a long drive, and should you be banished to a desert island....