Count Five: Neil Finn's Favorite Songwriters

Crowded House frontman Neil Finn's songwriting prowess has been well established, having created pop magic with such late-'80s and early-'90s gems as 'Don't Dream It's Over,' 'Something So Strong' and 'Chocolate Cake.' After applying that same high level of craftsmanship to his solo career during the past ten years, the New Zealand-born-and-raised Finn, who currently resides in the U.K., has brought back the Melbourne, Australia-based band for a new album, 'Time on Earth,' due in July. The reconstituted quartet will also head out on an upcoming North American tour staring in August on the heels of their reunion show at Coachella in April. Spinner, who will be presenting a solo song-and-interview session with Finn in the coming days, asked him which songwriters blow him away.

1. Bob Marley: Melodies so direct and straight from the heart -- and such pure positive vibrations that have given me great comfort in my darkest hours.

2. John Lennon: Beyond those exquisite melodies and chords he made words sound so good and revealed his innermost feelings -- equal parts pain and joy.

3. Paul McCartney: No Lennon without McCartney -- he added the melancholy, the art and the wandering bass to the greatest band ever, and he gave us tunes that will live forever.

4. David Bowie: 'Hunky Dory' is still my template for songwriting and artful arrangement. But he kept doing it album after album.

5. Neil Young: Enduring, soulful, tender, fragile and yet wild and abandoned as a stormy sea.