This is a terrific observation. This tour was the only time I got to see INXS, and due to a stupid incident with a ***** in the crowd behind me and my wife (girlfriend way back then!), I don't have the greatest recollection of the actual show, which really sucks. But when I looked back on the set list, I was surprised to see so much Full Moon in the set. The Detroit show I was at was almost all Full Moon, Welcome, and Kick. Pretty cool that they were all-in on their recent material.
I was at the same one, my friend! Palace of Auburn Hills. I recall the floor being pretty full and the lower bowl about half so, with the upper bowl totally empty, which was a bit of a drag. But the band did not ease up at all...my standout memory is the last few seconds of the last song, "New Sensation," and Michael climbing on top of some monitors behind Jon, looking pretty shaky but just in time to stand triumphantly after the last drum build in the last few seconds of the song and deliver that big "AHHHH YEAH" like on Live Baby Live as the place went nuts, then blam, lights out, thank you, goodnight. Great stuff.
Thanks for that trip down Amnesia Lane! I do remember being disappointed to see no crowd in the upper bowl, but the fans that were there were totally into the show. INXS totally carried that spirit of the Wembley concert – the biggest pub gig ever – that night. Great stuff indeed.
It was extra dispiriting because they played 2 nights at the same arena only 2 years previously. When you're hot you're hot...
"See the flames, that LIIICCKKKAAAHHHHHH!" I still say this when making a fire in the backyard, much to my wife's chagrin. The bass in this song is fierce. Love the groove, love the energy, love all of it.
The Messenger brings a much looser, humorous, bare bones type of arrangement and lyrical feel to the album. Contrary to the usually strong bridges INXS have written, this one is either a pseudo alternate verse or it just doesn't seem to do its job as well as you might think it should. But it carries us into the chorus nonetheless. The lead guitar lines in the last chorus saves the track from slipping into a semi-blandness state. However, I like it and there's no doubt it's a fun song.
Considering they were touring to promote one new album and one relatively new album, it would've been odd if they hadn't played a lot of newer songs (apparently, 13 of the 24 songs performed were from WTWYA & FM, DH)... I'm pretty sure the attendance was around 9,000 for this gig.
The Messenger: So we come to the penultimate track on the album and it's a rather good one. It's also the track from this album that gets the most plays according to my iTunes stats and with good reason! I love that hard hitting intro, the clap along beat and suddenly I'm singing with Micheal. Yep, it's a great song and it's lasting legacy is that it remains on my playlists and the occasional mix tape.
Viking Juice This comes in like a steam train. With a guitar thinki and almost drone-like, with clean guitars accenting on the left and right, with clean little funk stabs. The drums roll along with some percussion, and it is just a relentlessly grinding track that sits on the I and switches up to the IV, and that seems to be about it. Hutchence comes in with a low spoken vocal .... If this was easy Where would I be I haven't said I have all the answers How could anyone Can't stop looking at the lights All around my head I'm missing the darker side Of the man He's on his knees Looking for the door But everybody's Giving him applause Crashed the car Into a wall But everybody's Calling for more It's called the end of rock and roll These days are numbered Counted out in loss Faith and spirit Walking hand in hand To meet a wall Made of sound But where does that sound Find a place today Maybe we came to the wrong show I've seen this before It's called the end of rock and roll Oh shadow take me Leave nothing still 'cause I've not seen the miracle How could anyone We ask too much of the song To come and save our souls When all it's trying to do now Is save its own Maybe we came to the wrong show I've seen this before Maybe we came to the wrong show I've seen this before It's called the end of rock and roll It's called the end of rock and roll This is an unusual lyric that runs through some various ideas that end up being based around the idea of the end of rock and roll. Not sure where the Vikings come in, unless they are the icons of the rock era. Anyway... I'm not sure this is the album closer. I reckon this is a pretty good track, but it seems like it should be in the middle somewhere. It isn't a bad closer with the dead stop on "It's called the end of rock and roll" ... but in some ways it doesn't quite seem to carry off the end ing for me. I reckon it is a pretty good song, even though there isn't really that much happening in it... It is just a grinding, pulsing wall of sound with a somewhat poetic spoken narrative type delivery.
Viking Juice - Butcher Mix This opens cleaner, with more emphasis on the bass and drums, having the driving distorted guitar taken. The song works the same, but the vocal is more prominent with the all of guitar removed. It's really hard to tell which is a better way to go with this.... though the driving guitar adds a certain irony, when we look at the idea of the end of rock and roll.
So for me Full Moon Dirty Hearts is a lot better than I was expecting ... because it always seems to be seen as a big fall off, but I don't see a big fall off.... I may take one song off here, and perhaps shuffle a couple of tracks around if I was being finnicky about it, but there is by no means anything bad or even particularly lesser about this album to me.
Viking Juice: 3/5. B-side material at best. They should have taken a bit more time to write better material and release a new album in 94. The best part of this song is the sinister mood-altering keyboards that come in a one point. This song is not unlike a drug though. I would have opened with the moody keyboards for a minute, then bring in the rock train in, then have the keyboards come back at the end. Too short to be effective, but it does have a chihuahua bite.
Viking Juice I really like the lyric and spoken word delivery on this one. I agree it shouldn't be an album closer, maybe it could have worked as the last song on side one. The only thing I dislike about the track is the stabbing repetitive sax sounds.
Viking Juice: IIRC Mark Opitz said Michael wanted to record some drunken poetry one night and he added/edited it to the backing track later. For me it's the only real dud on the record, and the somewhat muffled, crappy mix doesn't help. I also don't see it somehow workng better in a different slot on the album. If it has to be here I'm OK with it coming last. Wild that this made the setlist for the tour. Anybody got a live version to share?
Viking Juice I’ve listened to this song a lot in the past month. It’s not without merit. It wants to be a Jim Morrison-style stream of consciousness riff on the “end of rock and roll”. That bit is in the title when you look at the CD booklet, but they must have decided that it was too pretentious so they just shortened it to Viking Juice. I looked around a few weeks ago to find out what, exactly, “Viking juice” is. I found this first: Juice Lubes Viking Juice - 130ml A”chain lube” for motorcycles? Maybe. But then I found this: Limoncello - Wikipedia Yeah, that’s more like it. “Viking Juice” is a slang term for the liqueur drink known as “limoncello” - popular around southern Italy, Capri, etc. I also found a reference that said Hutchence and friends drank a LOT of these during the album sessions. I have decided I prefer the Butcher Mix over the album version. It sounds more like INXS: lower guitar levels, higher bass and vocals, and the occasional horn sound peeks through. Give it a listen if you haven’t yet. Bad idea for an album-ender though.
Cool I like Limoncello, but I had no idea it was because it is getting me in touch with my genetic roots
Calling it “Viking juice” implies an ancient origin, but the Wiki says: “Although there is debate about the exact origin of the drink, it is at least one hundred years old.” 100 years ain’t exactly ancient history. As for the color, I’d say it looks more like “Viking piss” but it sounds like a pretty sweet liqueur actually. I like the idea of lemon zest, sugar and alcohol. I should give it a try sometime and channel my inner Viking.
Viking Juice is an odd song, relentless, talking about the end of rock + roll. I’m not sure what I think of it as a closer; it’s a bit monotonous and doesn’t sum up the album very well. In the end, I do think this album is a substantial drop-off from the previous one. It has some killer tracks on it, but unfortunately there are also several tracks which I don’t regard as highly. Nevertheless, there’s plenty to enjoy here, and the album will get occasional listens from me.
A challenge - I'm assuming you mean original studio albums! Pink Floyd's 9th was Wish You Were Here. Can I ignore Tull's 9th and choose their 10th, Songs from the Wood, my favorite? The Rolling Stones were hitting their peak period with Beggars Banquet The obligatory Beatles reference - Magical Mystery Tour, or if you consider that an EP it's the White Album. Sorry, I certainly get your point and I feel like a jerk (but I'm going to post anyway). INXS had a really good run by this point, and this album is quite solid. I'm obviously a fan or I wouldn't be here.
A very valid statement.... Interestingly it seems sixties and seventies bands, generally had fairly slow starts and the big bands were really hitting their stride 7-10 albums in. Eighties and nineties bands were generally starting to wane, or nearly done by that stage... A generalization I know, but on average... or at least, so it seems. I think it shows the fairly big changes in the industry as a machine.
Yea that is probably right... forgot about that one. It's pretty good. Songs, Horses and Stormwatch are great. Looking forward to my first listen to "A" when it arrives.
