Farewell to the World

Farewell to the World is a 1996 concert by rock group Crowded House. The concert was recorded on the outside footsteps of the famed Sydney Opera House as a charity event to raise funds for the Sydney Children's Hospital. The event was originally scheduled to occur on the night of 23 November 1996; however, it was delayed one day due to rain. The concert was to be the last that the group played as the group announced their dissolution months earlier. The concert attracted a crowd of greater than 100,000 people, with some estimates of 250,000 people in attendance. Since then, several concerts have been performed there such as the Mushroom Records anniversary celebration and every Australian Idol year finale dually uses the outdoor as well as the indoor of the Opera House.

The concert was originally aired on Network Ten in Australia in November 1996 however this performance was incomplete as it did not include five songs performed from the concert due to time constraints. In December 1996, the group released the concert on VHS which included some press coverage of the band's breakup and the concert. The VHS version contained all of the same songs as the television version other than "Weather with You," which was replaced by the fan favourite song "Hole in the River".

The CD and DVD of the concert were released in November 2006 as a ten-year anniversary of the original concert. These versions were remastered and the DVD included all previous footage from the VHS but also added an interview with Neil Finn by Jana Wendt on Channel Nine's Sunday program. All of the songs were included on the DVD and CD release, including those omitted previously and the sound (and, for DVD, picture) was digitally remastered.

The concert included many of Crowded House's most famous hits and many fan favourites also. The supporting bands were Custard, You Am I and Powderfinger. 

As the album was to be the final performance by the group, they called upon previous members Tim Finn and tour drummer Peter Jones to play for a small portion of the setlist.  Drummer Paul Hester, though he had previously left the band while on tour, was considered a member of the band again for the performance, as he had been a member for the majority of the group's tenure.

Track listings

 "Mean to Me" – 4:11
 "World Where You Live" – 3:33
 "When You Come" – 5:54
 "Fall at Your Feet" – 3:25
 "Better Be Home Soon" – 4:43
 "Distant Sun" – 4:51
 "Locked Out" – 3:49
 "Something So Strong" – 3:51
 "Italian Plastic" – 3:51
 "Weather with You" – 5:22
 "Fingers of Love" – 5:35
 "In My Command" – 4:26
 "Throw Your Arms Around Me" – 2:57
 "Don't Dream It's Over" – 6:22

DVD
 "Mean to Me" – 4:11
 "World Where You Live" – 3:33
 "When You Come" – 5:54
 "Private Universe" – 5:35
 "Four Seasons In One Day" – 2:54
 "Fall at Your Feet" – 3:25
 "Whispers and Moans" – 4:30
 "Hole In the River" – 6:47
 "Better Be Home Soon" – 4:43
 "Pineapple Head" – 4:04
 "Distant Sun" – 4:51
 "Into Temptation" – 4:49
 "Everything Is Good For You" – 4:09
 "Locked Out" – 3:49
 "Something So Strong" – 3:51
 "Sister Madly" – 4:54
 "Italian Plastic" – 3:51
 "Weather with You" – 5:22
 "It's Only Natural" – 5:07
 "There Goes God" – 4:54
 "Fingers of Love" – 5:35
 "In My Command" – 4:26
 "Throw Your Arms Around Me" – 2:57
 "Don't Dream It's Over" – 6:22
 Credits (within "Don't Dream It's Over" track)

Australian edition

Disc 1

 "Mean to Me" – 4:11
 "World Where You Live" – 3:33
 "When You Come" – 5:54
 "Private Universe" – 5:35
 "Four Seasons in One Day" – 2:55
 "Fall at Your Feet" – 3:26
 "Whispers & Moans" – 4:30
 "Hole In the River" – 6:48
 "Better Be Home Soon" – 4:44
 "Pineapple Head" – 4:04
 "Distant Sun" – 4:52
 "Into Temptation" – 4:50
 "Everything Is Good For You" – 4:10

Disc 2

 "Locked Out" – 3:49
 "Something So Strong" – 3:51
 "Sister Madly" – 4:54
 "Italian Plastic" – 3:52
 "Weather with You" – 5:22
 "It's Only Natural" – 5:08
 "There Goes God" – 4:54
 "Fingers of Love" – 5:36
 "In My Command" – 4:27
 "Throw Your Arms Around Me" (Hunters & Collectors cover) – 2:58
 "Don't Dream It's Over" – 6:23

Special features
The 1996 VHS release of Farewell to the World featured a twenty-minute documentary entitled Planning the Event and a white Crowded House T-shirt with an erupting volcano and an evil eye flying out of the top (the overall image resembles the Reversed USA Great Seal).

The 2006 DVD re-release did not include the T-shirt, however did include the documentary, along with a Channel Seven interview with Neil Finn, a new documentary featuring interviews with Finn and Nick Seymour, Michael Chugg, the event coordinator and many other participants.

The DVD also featured remastered audio and adaptation to 5.1 stereo surround, anamorphic 16:9 ratio widescreen display, an audio commentary with Finn, Seymour and Mark Hart, a photo gallery of the concert and a full discography listing of the band up to 1999.

Disc two also includes three demos recorded by the band at various points: "Spirit of the Stairs" (during the disc two credits), and "Italian Plastic" and "Instinct" (during the photo montage).

Personnel

Crowded House
Neil Finn – Vocals, guitar and piano
Nick Seymour  – Bass guitars and backing vocals
Mark Hart  – Guitars, Electric twelve-string guitar, keyboards and backing vocals
Paul Hester  – Drums, percussion and backing vocals

Additional musicians
Tim Finn  – Vocals and guitar ("Weather with You" and "It's Only Natural" only)
Peter Jones  – Drums and backing vocals ("Sister Madly" only)
Jules Bowen  – Keyboards

Production
Angus Davidson – Sound Design, Live Sound, DVD Audio Production
Noel Crombie – Set/stage design
Sharon Chai – Cover design
Reg Mombassa – Cover element design (with Seymour)

Notes

Category:Crowded House video albums
Category:Benefit concerts
Category:Crowded House albums
Category:2006 live albums
Category:2006 video albums
Category:Live video albums
Category:Albums recorded at the Sydney Opera House