I have all 3 of these tracks, plus Bside “Sing Something” from the Strangest Party single in a “1994” folder of my INXS filing system, along with the associated remixes. “Strangest Party” is the one song that deserved a home on a “real” album, and I am finding a place for it on FM, DH.
Keep The Peace This is something of a lost "track" in the bands discography. As previously mentioned it has never appeared on any compilations and has yet to appear on any streaming services. It's definitely something of an oddity in that it sounds nothing like anything they did before or since. I was unaware that it was a co-write until today which may explain things. I think it is slightly formulaic and generic but it's a solid early 90's rock song. It's certainly better than Deliver Me.
Just listened to "Sing Something" on YouTube. Classic bit of INXS b-side weirdness. Thanks for the tip!
Strangest Party (Apollo 440 remix) @Robert Bone mentioned this remix yesterday. It’s the bomb. I like the way they edit the horn riff from the song for effect, and that repeating sequencer bit that starts at 3:08 hits the sweet spot every time. Apollo 440 also had a nice remix of U2’s “Even Better Than The Real Thing” back in the day, and then also later did a very interesting cut-up of Van Halen’s “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” guitar riff, set it to some wacky rhythm, and called it “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Dub”. 90’s club remixes of rock songs are hit and miss, but when they hit they are great reworkings of the tracks. Often you get a bit of the original track dropped into the remixer’s own song, and that can be a great thing if they synch up vibes. On the other hand, sometimes a dude named something like “Dan The Automator” drops a rap into your INXS song and you end up scratching your head.
I actually think this Bside is at least “fun” to listen to. I like the phone call at the intro in which the receiver is told to “sing something”. Clever way to get Hutchence into the track. Now sample that, repeat it, add a drum machine, some guitar and bass and viola! Bside accomplished.
ok - I don’t know their voices too well and the phone is throwing off my recognition. I’ll take your word for it.
Keep The Peace is a cool track and has a helluva groove. But there are problems with it. Firstly, the verses kicks in too quickly. Secondly, the lyrics seem to be incomplete and in some cases, maybe too repetitive. And lastly, even though the melody, percussion, rhythms & short bridges fit well enough and there are excellent guitar riffs throughout, the track is just begging for a guitar solo, which could've drastically elevated the dynamics. But sadly, we get another rhythm guitar part instead. I wish INXS would've re-worked this song at some point, since there's a lot of potential here.
Keep the Peace: Not sure what to make of this one. It's definitely polished to the point that I can't tell that it's an INXS track. It's okay, but not really a song that grabs me. It's just... bland.
INXS – Original Sin Genre: Electronic Style: Euro House, Garage House Year: 1995 Notes: 1995 Release with epic adventure (edit) and Ian Greene mixes Original Sin (Epic Adventure - Edit) 3:35 Original Sin (Ian Green Mix) 4:13 Original Sin (Epic Adventure) 9:32 ------------------------------------------------ Epic Adventure - edit The single mix here is a very bouncy, techno kind of idea. It is actually done pretty well, even though these things are not really my kind of thing. During the nineties they became very popular. Although this didn't chart, I am assuming it did very well in the clubs.... it certainly seems like it would/should have done well on the dance floor.
Epic Adventure - unedited mix The nice modulating keyboard sound dances around for a bit, and we get handclaps and then we get the kick come pounding in. At this early stage you would be forgiven for not knowing what this is, until the "White boy, Black girl" edit comes in. The beat dies down and we get the first verse over an atmospheric synth landscape. Then all that drops out for the guitar riff, which turns into the piano..... an this little build section works quite well really. The second verse rolls through and we get the rolling synth dance section. We get a nice mixing in of the sax hook section over a repeat of the first verse. After rolling through the chorus a couple of times, we get a beat breakdown. over this section we get some, kind of random Hutchence vocal edits dropped in, over the White Boy Black Girl section. Then we drop down to the atmospheric synth section. We continue with some vocal edit drop ins, and then we get an accent change and it goes full dance party on us. Although I think, as a song to just listen to, this is a little longer than suits its purpose, this version works better than the edited mix.
Ian Green Mix This starts off more like the original (sin ) version, but we get a big thumping kick. We still have the swirling atmospheric synth in the background. The rhythm sax hook, gets a rolled in there, and the song retains its original structure. The guitar interlude manages to retain its position and gets doubled. This is more like the original song, and I guess in that regard it suits my tastes more. We just have it loaded on top of the thumping kick, with some of the atmospheric keys thrown in there for good measure. This is a pretty good nineties dance mix, based around the song as we know it, and it works pretty well, for what it is trying to do.
1994 - 1997 The band entered a time of rest, and Michael was interviewed by Paula Yates for her Big Breakfast show. They had originally met when Yates interviewed him for the Tube in 1985.... In 94 though the interview sparked a relationship that became huge media fodder in the UK, that sparked a very public custody battle between Yates and her then husband Bob Geldfof.... This resulted in Geldof and Yates divorcing in 96. During this time Hutchence had a little problem when he assaulted a journalist who was following them. Also during this time the couple had more bad press when a Nanny reportedly found opium in a shoe box underneath their bed. The case was eventually dropped, but essentially Hutchence was getting a ton of bad press due to these circumstances. In 1995 Michael had a song on the Batman Forever soundtrack called The Passenger In 96 he had a cover of the famous War track Spill The Wine, on the Barb Wire soundtrack. Also in 96 a song called Red Hill came out on One Voice- The Songs of Chage and Aska. Also in 96 The King Is Dead on No Shoulders, Just Head. and we'll look at these songs over the next couple of days. So in many ways the decision by INXS to have a break had again proven somewhat disastrous for Hutchence. It seems that if he wasn't kept focused on the band and their music moving forward, he would wander and get lost, and each time it led to life changing events that impacted his life very negatively. It is certainly not the guys in the band's fault, people need time to rest and recuperate, but for people like Michael, it is more than they seem able to cope with, and those internal demons take over and fate rolls its dice. Of course, now, we all know what this will lead to, but the band had one more album left in them, and we'll put that up on Friday .....
I'm glad the band took a break as they were not making the material they should have been doing, were cast aside by seemingly everyone, and needed a shift of thought. Still wonder why Michael continued to be reeled in by Yates. He now had health issues, and was under the spotlight. If there is a classic downward spiral case, this one is it. Yates was a true flirt, and I think she would do it I think just to upset Bob. Was living in Dublin from 94-96, and I remember seeing them about all the time. I was studying, had cash not to work, and was a general layabout for a few years. One time while taking the Dart (a pubic train system around the city), they strolled on with their kids. She wasn't paying attention to the kids, which seemed odd to me, and seemingly flirting with every guy on the train, upsetting Sir Bob right there and then. When Michael got truly involved, I just kept thinking -- why? Yes, she was sultry, a looker, but she had a family of young, cute kids. Coming back into the public eye, Michael seemed aged and trapped. Still, he achieved some great songs, which compensated for the lesser tracks on Full Moon and the songs we just discussed. If he had not met her, he would still be alive today in my opinion, and INXS would have continued not unlike U2, Duran, Depeche where an album appears every 4 to 5 years or so.
That seems like a pretty solid analysis to me mate. It always seemed like a really weird pairing to me.
I think it is “No Talking, Just Head”. LOL. It was a side project of the members of the Talking Heads, who excluded David Byrne and got some guest singers.
1994-1997 I guess I am that weird guy who never once paid any attention to MH’s girlfriends or social life in the media. Never read anything about it even once. I was shocked when he died young but I really had no idea of the epic history of dating he had, as reported in the tabloids.
He did appear to be a bit of a desperate character between 1995 and 1997. He was omnipresent on the awards circuit (including THAT Oasis incident) and had shacked up with Paula Yates. If he wanted to avoid the press attention he certainly went about it the wrong way. Sadly I think he was terrified of becoming old and irrelevant.
