Michael Hutchence. Largely forgotten?*

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Sondek, May 29, 2016.

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  1. walrus

    walrus Staring into nothing

    Location:
    Nashville
    They still play all it’s singles too often live, but yeah, I dunno. I think it was successful at the time because it was such a classicist “return to form” type record, but since it retreads a lot of prior ground, 19 years later people probably just go back to their original 80’s run for that vibe. I think it’s a solid album though, although virtually every track was far superior in either live versions or re-recorded single versions, so I rarely play the original LP.

    Actually, to tie it back to INXS...it’s sorta like X. It was still a big album, but it’s status is so diminished over time because it sounds so much like Kick.
     
    Last edited: Jul 13, 2019
  2. DTK

    DTK Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    They were a girl band really. Which means attracting female fans based on the frontman's visual appearance.
     
  3. George Co-Stanza

    George Co-Stanza Forum Resident

    Location:
    America
    I think the perception is that ATYCLB was more successful than R&H, but I don't believe that to be the case. R&H sold more records and had more hits (although Beautiful Day is probably the most-loved song by the masses from either record despite not charting the highest). R&H was panned by critics, but I don't pay attention to those knobs anyway. The masses, by and large, loved R&H, although it was certainly a step down from The Joshua Tree, which I think is where the perception that it was a disappointment stems.
     
  4. sore_and_crucified

    sore_and_crucified Forum Resident

    Location:
    North West, U.K
    What a ridiculous comment. That’s saying any band with a good looking frontman is solely aimed at women, irrelevant of the music or the other band members.
     
  5. statcat

    statcat Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    It was shot on film so a blu ray would definitely be possible.
     
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  6. Jmac1979

    Jmac1979 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Louisville, KY
    Expectations for a new U2 album were far higher in 1988 following the blockbuster Joshua Tree than in 2000 following Pop. People forget how fast R&H dropped down the chart, ATYCLB stayed on Billboard more than twice as long.
     
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  7. statcat

    statcat Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    Did this turn into a U2 thread? :laugh:
     
  8. George Co-Stanza

    George Co-Stanza Forum Resident

    Location:
    America
    I think that is what it boiled down to: expectations.

    R&H had to follow The Joshua Tree.

    ATYCLB was their first widely-loved album in about a decade.
     
  9. sunking101

    sunking101 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Yorkshire, England
    Michael Hutchence. Largely forgotten about?
    Bono. Largely remembered?
     
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  10. walrus

    walrus Staring into nothing

    Location:
    Nashville
    I'm genuinely surprised that never happened. I feel like the window has probably closed, but even a no-frills HD transfer of the film would be welcome.
     
  11. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product

    Really if you only take into account the stage where they became international... in oz they were just a good rock/pop band... the whole Hutchence as a sex symbol thing seems to be something that happened when they started to break in the US
     
  12. sunking101

    sunking101 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Yorkshire, England
    Loads of bands have good looking frontmen. It doesn't make them a girl band.
     
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  13. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product

    I never said they were a girl band?
     
  14. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product

    Inxs' second single was a moderate hit, at 38 on the Aussie charts, and is still a very popular song over in OZ

     
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  15. statcat

    statcat Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    I've been looking for this picture sleeve version if anyone has it. I'd like to buy it for a fair price.

    [​IMG]
     
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  16. sunking101

    sunking101 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Yorkshire, England
    I know. You were responding to someone who did. I quoted the wrong geezer.:D
     
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  17. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product

    'S'all good.
    I get misunderstood a lot lol ... starting to get paranoid:confused: :cool:
     
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  18. statcat

    statcat Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    one of my fav early INXS demos from 1979

     
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  19. Jmac1979

    Jmac1979 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Louisville, KY
    Funny thing is I'll take the two not so well received 90s albums over it any day. To me 2000 marks their descent into a mediocre stadium band who stopped being interesting. But they made a lot of money so I'm sure they're okay with it
     
  20. sunspot42

    sunspot42 Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco
    I'm talking about the rise in record sales from '87 thru around '05, not just CD sales, fueled first by the CD boom (although a lot of that was catalog sales) and the fact a lot of people were buying two copies of many albums (one on CD or vinyl for the home, another on cassette for the Walkman or car), and later by falling CD prices.

    The RIAA has a sales chart here. There's a notable spike that starts in '87 as CD catches fire and continues thru 2004, after which Napster destroys the industry almost overnight. By 2006-2007 they're in freefall, and the 2008 recession pretty much kills physical media off. (It's interesting to see on that chart that cassette sales didn't seriously erode until the late '90s, as portable and car CD players finally became fairly ubiquitous.)

    Anyhow, you can't really compare artist sales figures from the '87-'05 period to those from before (or after), as during the peak era sales very quickly doubled over the levels enjoyed from roughly '77 - '86. During '87 - '05, acts who would have been RIAA Gold sellers in a prior era - like Tori Amos - routinely went Platinum. So comparing sales figures for INXS to, say Huey Lewis becomes problematic, since one act was at the peak of its popularity prior to the boom and the other peaked during it.

    (It also makes it hard to determine which of an act's given records was truly most popular / highest profile, if they spanned eras. Huey sold more copies of Hard At Play in '88 than '82's Picture This, but Picture This had their first Top 10 hit, "Do You Believe In Love" and is generally regarded as a better album, whereas Hard At Play only managed to place one single just outside the Top 10 and one in the Top 20, even though they were a much bigger band by that point with a larger fan base. Again, the rising tide of sales boosted a lot of less-than-stellar efforts.)
     
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  21. Rocketdog

    Rocketdog Senior Member

    Location:
    ME, USA
    Did you ever hear the '92 re-record of "Just Keep Walking"? Usually, I'm not a fan of when bands re-do their early songs, but I quite like that take. It was recorded, along with "In Vain", "Stay Young" and "Barbarian" during the sessions for Full Moon, Dirty Hearts as part of a 'warm up' soundcheck. You can find them on the Stay Young 1979- 1982 (The Complete Deluxe Years) 2CD compilation that Raven Records released back in 2002. All those updated versions are actually very good.
     
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  22. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product

    I'm not sure. If i did, it was long ago and far away.
    I'll have to check it out
     
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  23. Jmac1979

    Jmac1979 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Louisville, KY
    I heard Suicide Blonde on the way home from work on a freeform station, nice song, haven't heard it in ages, but it made me think of this thread.

    I find it interesting how much INXS polarizes audiences... I fully get U2 or Bruce Springsteen or Madonna or Michael Jackson when it comes to big 80s artists who can elicit extreme love as well as equal parts extreme loathing for various reasons, but I feel like some of the passion and hate for INXS seems random, its like getting that worked up over Tears For Fears or somebody.

    Nobody thinks INXS were the biggest band ever, but I think they achieved a solid level of success, and regardless what you think, I doubt the Farriss brothers ever have to work a normal job again. Regarding "poor" Spotify performance.... poor compared to what? In a world where a lot of buzz artists are lucky to reach one million listeners, a group who peaked over 30 years ago with a lead singer who died 22 years ago and have run on fumes and replacement singers ever since getting 4 million monthly listeners is not too shabby. Is it a fraction of what Drake or Ariana Grande get? No... those artists are contemporary megastars, and is it lower than The Beatles, Elton John, Queen, Michael Jackson (even after the documentary, he still streams very well) or a few of the other all-time musical titans? sure.... but really. Like Cyndi Lauper (someone who has spent her entire career being compared to not being as big as Madonna) sang, "you can't define yourself in terms of someone else". 4.4 million monthly listeners is respectable and impressive and its pointless to decry INXS for not being as big in 2019 as U2 or someone, when INXS had largely fallen out of "superstar" status by 1992 and never really had a comeback outside of a cheesy singing contest show.
     
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  24. Danderpet

    Danderpet Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
    I think Shabooh Shoohbah and Listen Like Thieves are wonderful albums. The Swing is an all-time favorite.
    Once the band hit mega-stardom with Kick, the persona got bigger and the music was less interesting.
    Michael is still a part of my personal musical life. I listen to one of those three albums every week or so.
     
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  25. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product

    They ate my three favourites as well.
     
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