INXS - The Album thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by mark winstanley, Nov 19, 2020.

  1. dirkster

    dirkster Senior Member

    Location:
    McKinney, TX, USA
    I hear ya. I think I’m realizing that there’s a reason I’ve had trouble getting “into” this album. It’s recorded well, has excellent musicians on it, and has an excellent singer - but there’s something missing. The pieces are there but not adding up.
     
  2. Moggio_4K_Ultra_HD

    Moggio_4K_Ultra_HD Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vancouver, BC
    A Straight Line wouldn't sound out of place on almost any INXS album. And that's a good thing. The is probably the best song on the album. And it's obvious why this was chosen as a single. There's nothing to dislike here. I love all of the stylings. Whether it's the funkiness, the horn arrangements, the R&B / Motown feel, the bass lines, the straight forward lyrics, or even how good the bridge is - a semi-rare occurrence on this album! Not to mention how in-the-pocket the beats & grooves are and how Michael's vocal prowess shines beyond measure. Everything works here. ASL is an excellent song.

    Despite containing some interesting rock-oriented instrumentation, Standing On The Rooftop doesn't really go anywhere that intriguing. The lyrics are kind of generic and the chorus is half-decent and is the most enjoyable part, but that's not saying much. I can see why this was a b-side instead.

    The Passenger (which I already reviewed on page 89 - post #2216) is an amazingly good cover version. I love how dramatized the arrangement is - it kind of sounds like a cross between Massive Attack & the production of MH's solo album that was released in 1999. Iggy Pop (who knew Michael) would also be proud.
     
  3. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Baby It's Alright

    We open up with what sounds like delayed volume swells on the guitar, and I have always loved well used volume swells, and this has a good sound. Then we break into a drum and bass groove

    It wouldn't be right to take it
    It wouldn't be right lying down
    I'm sick of the dogs outside my window
    That's right, take a look
    You've been with a hook stuck into me

    So baby it's alright
    So baby it's alright
    So baby it's alright
    So baby it's alright

    Look at the mess I'm makin',
    Look at that mess across your face (across your face)
    As bitterness started showin'
    Five years, no-one hears just another night too scared to bleed

    So baby it's alright
    So baby it's alright
    So baby it's alright
    So baby it's alright, yeah

    Ah ah ah ah, yeah yeah yeah, ah ah ah, yeah yeah yeah
    Uh uh uh, yeah hey hey, uh huh huh, yeah hey yeah

    Give you some time to feel it;
    I tangled you up in flesh and blood
    Just to scared of where I took you
    Spotlight blue to red crashin' in your head

    So baby it's alright
    So baby it's alright
    So baby it's alright
    So baby it's alright
    So baby it's alright, it's alright
    So baby it's alright, it's alright
    So baby it's alright, it's alright
    So baby it's alright, it's alright

    Yeah yeah yeah, it's alright
    Ah ah ah, na na na (na na na)
    It's alright, to fall into your arms

    Songwriters: Michael Hutchence / Daniel Saber
    Baby It's Alright lyrics © Music Sales Corporation

    I kind of get the impression that this is about Michael and Paula ... typically the lyrics seem slightly cryptic ... oddly from the way I read them the verses sound like things aren't really alright, then the chorus is just "So Baby It's Alright"

    We have a grooving musical backdrop with some nice guitar effects. The feel is very percussive, with stabs and clicks of guitar over the drum and bass groove. The occasional longer stab of guitar. Underneath we have have the volume swell section playing along. Just over halfway through we get the guitar getting a little more driving, and I feel like it should have stayed there a little longer, but that may just be my musical bias.
    The last twenty seconds has a return to the power guitar ...

    Not bad, but like quite a few of these tracks, not quite reaching its potential.
    Sadly it sounds like it was .... I don't think Hutchence managed to get these finished and get them where they needed to be.
    A lot of potential from my perspective, but not quite reaching it.


     
  4. Bluepicasso

    Bluepicasso Android Confused

    Location:
    Arlington, Va
    Baby, It’s Alright. 3/5. Previous comments apply!
     
  5. dirkster

    dirkster Senior Member

    Location:
    McKinney, TX, USA
    Baby, It's Alright

    This one's a cowrite with producer Danny Saber and its got some levels of interest in the soundscape. The guitar work is well done and shows a variety of sounds. This is ok - I might even say it's "alright" - but I'm still not hearing a "wow moment" on this album yet. A Straight Line is still the best tune of the bunch.
     
  6. Moggio_4K_Ultra_HD

    Moggio_4K_Ultra_HD Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vancouver, BC
    Baby It's Alright is another track that would fit on just about any INXS album. And again, that's a good thing. Nothing to dislike here either. The semi-electronic / pop rock / funk grooves are addicting. And the intro, verses, short bridge and choruses, invite you in and hit all the necessary spots that keeps this track moving. This song partly reminds me of Bitter Tears, in that the bridge appears quicker than in most songs. BIA is another excellent song.
     
  7. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Don't Save Me From Myself

    We have a fairly quick fade in that has some synth sfx and a bass, with a couple of somewhat hesitant notes, and then we move into a kind of funky beat, that quickly recedes to a half time thing as the vocal comes in, and then we slide back into the groove again.

    I'm not keeping time, get me outta here
    Folding up my crimes, ready for what's said to me
    Does all that glitters shine? Love that new attraction
    Animal inside, leads me to the conclusion

    Don't save me from myself
    Don't save me from myself

    I listen to the wind, and mystery comes alive
    Don't tie me up again, separate love from possession
    Does all that glitters shine? Love that new attraction
    Animal inside, leads me to the conclusion, ugh!

    Don't save me from myself, yeah
    Don't save me from myself

    Don't save me from myself da da da dey
    Oh, separate love from all possession

    Don't save me from myself
    Don't save me from myself
    Don't save me from myself
    Don't save me from myself
    Don't save me from myself
    Don't save me from myself
    Don't save me from myself
    Don't save me from myself
    Don't save me from myself
    Don't save me from myself
    Don't save me from myself

    Songwriters: Michael Hutchence / Andrew Gill
    Don't Save Me From Myself lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Music Sales Corporation

    Here we seem to have a situation of allow me to make my own mistakes, but it is accented by an almost self loathing perspective. Some of these lyrics do seem to suggest that Michael was not particularly mentally healthy at this time.

    I quite like this song, but I think it also somewhat works to show us some of the shortcomings here.... It feels somewhat unfinished. We have a focus on rhythm structure, and the attention to melody is somewhat lesser than we have come to expect from him.

    I think the bass line is really pretty cool. I like the descending guitar arpeggio in the chorus section. The drums rhythm structure is fine, but at this stage it kind of starts to feel like Michael may have been too caught up in the rhythmic fashions of the day ... to some degree. I think that may be another reason why some folks are finding this album to have less personality than they are used to. With Inxs there seems to have been less of a focus on what was the current wave of musical fashion.

    This ends up being another song that I like, but in context with the rest of the album, I like it, but it isn't giving me that spark that lifts it above a kind of mediocrity, that we are not used to with Michael or Inxs

    Like I say, I like this, but it sort of feels somewhat unfinished.


     
  8. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    She Flirts For England

    We move into a slower groove with the same kind of digital drum pattern of the day. Nice groove, but too similar to everything else that was going on at the time.... and I wasn't a big fan of that particular rhythmic fashion.
    The guitar at the opening is pretty cool, and we get some effect type synth also.

    Oh give her the summer, let her live another
    She warms to the kiss of goodbye
    Her momma took a preacher, her daddy pays for lovers
    Her eyes like a winter sky, I

    Hear the echoes, calling for the secrets we hide

    She's flirting for England, ah ah
    She's flirting for England, ah ah
    She's flirting for England, ah ah
    She's flirting for England, ah ah

    She comes to the party on a kiss don't tell pony
    And lets me have the first of her sighs
    Tricks came so easy, but you know she keeps your secrets
    The tracks of the tears she will hide

    Oh voices, calling for the secrets we hide

    She's searching for England, ah ah
    She's flirting for England, ah ah
    She's flirting for England, ah ah
    She's flirting for England, ah ah

    Do do do do, do do do
    Do do do do, do do do do
    Do do do do, do do do

    She's flirting for England, ah ah
    She's flirting for England, ah ah
    She's searching for England, ah ah
    She's flirting for England, ah ah
    She's flirting, flirting, flirting
    She's a complicated cookie
    She's flirting, flirting, flirting
    She's a complicated cookie
    She's flirting, flirting, flirting
    She's a complicated cookie
    She's flirting, flirting, flirting
    She's a complicated cookie

    I can only assume this is somewhat directed at Paula ... It is again somewhat cryptic.

    I like the groove and the structure works pretty well and we get some nice changes, and the feel works well...
    The problem again seems that it is somewhat unfinished. We have almost the same set up as the last song. Two verses and a long chorus fade out, as if Michael was still constructing how he wanted this to go....
    I guess we will never know what his perspective on this were.... with the tracks being recorded over a couple of years, it somewhat seems like he was kind of demoing tracks to try and create an album he could put together at some point when he was ready, and unfortunately he never got the chance.
    The way the industry was at the time, we only expected an album every three to five years from major bands ... and so for a debut solo album, we have no rush whatsoever .... The thing is though, generally when albums are written over a series of years, they tend to sound that way. So unless these were demo type songs, to eventually go into the studio and make a cohesive album from the best tracks, I'm not sure how it would have worked anyway.


     
  9. dirkster

    dirkster Senior Member

    Location:
    McKinney, TX, USA
    Don’t Save Me From Myself
    Again, not bad - but do I like it? I like the guitar in the chorus, the lyrics and the singing. This is in the top half of the album so far.

    She Flirts For England
    Me no like. This doesn’t go anywhere. What’s happening here is some of these songs are just too generic and of their times production-wise. Competently done, but yet not grabbing me enough to make a solid impression and pull me in.

    Part of what makes this album feel lifeless is that I get the impression the music and the vocals are not connected. It feels like MH is singing in front of a disconnected backing track and I get no feeling there’s a band playing here. And there isn’t - it’s just MH singing in front of a wallpaper of music. Sometimes that is working out, but mostly it isn’t.
     
  10. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Reference guide

    1980 -1992

    1992 Documentary

    1993 Get Out Of The House EP

    Nov 1993 Full Moon Dirty Hearts

    Days Of Rust
    The Gift - video - ext. - bonus beat
    Make Your Peace
    Time - video - live
    I'm Only Looking - remix - video -Morales
    Please... - edit - club - dub - downtown - instr. - Letterman
    Full Moon, Dirty Hearts
    Freedom Deep - video -extended - live
    Kill The Pain - video
    Cut Your Roses Down - Sure Is Pure mix
    The Messenger
    Viking Juice - Butcher Mix

    Born To Be Wild
    alt tracklisting
    Promo tour clips
    MTV Asia interview

    Live in 1993

    Oct 1994 The Greatest Hits
    The Strangest Party - live - remix
    Deliver Me - demo

    Sing Something (bside)

    Nov 1994 The Great Video Experience

    Keep The Peace

    1995 Original Sin remixes

    Michael Soundtrack songs 95/96
    Under My Thumb
    Baby Lets Play House
    The Passenger
    Spill the Wine

    Red Hill
    The Heads - The King Is Gone

    Apr 1997 Elegantly Wasted
    Show Me
    Elegantly Wasted - radio edit - Shagsonic - dub - Gforce - Aspen
    Everything - video - May 97 - Aspen - Jaxx club - Jaxx dub
    Don't Lose Your Head - Leadstation - Radio Edit - Tonight Show
    Searching - Arias - Leadstation main - Leadstation Radio - Reece - Campbell - Leadstation Funk
    I'm Just A Man - live
    Girl On Fire - mix
    We Are Thrown Together
    Shake The Tree
    She Is Rising
    Building Bridges
    Shine

    Let It Ride
    Never Tear Us Apart acoustic
    Need You Tonight Aspen

    Live 1997

    Live In Aspen

    Tour Rehearsals

    Michael

    June 1999 Inxs with TTD

    Dec 1999 Michael Hutchence (the album)
    Let Me Show You

    Possibilities
    Get On The Inside
    Fear
    All I'm Saying
    A Straight Line
    Baby It's Alright
    Don't Save Me From Myself
    She Flirts For England

    b-side Standing On A Rooftop

    June 2001 Shine Like It Does Anthology

    Precious Heart - vs Tall Paul

    I'm So0 Crazy - vs Par-T-One

    June 2002 The Best Of Inxs
    Salvation Jane
    Tight - mix - mix 2

    Oct 2002 Stay Young 1979-1982
    Telefone
    Silent Night
    Breakaway
    Reckless Ways
    Pretzel Logic
    Feeling Good
    Miss Shapiro/You Really Got Me
    On A Bus
    Underneath the Colours ( Chicken Mix)

    The Farriss Brothers - Live at the Alley Cat Wine Bar 1979
    Lucky Key Ring
    Jet Airliner/ Slipped My Disco

    Oct 2002 Definitive

    Dec 2002 The Years 79-97 cd and dvd

    Apr 2004 The Remixes

    Sept 2004 Original Sin The Collection

    Jul 2005 The TV Show
     
  11. Bluepicasso

    Bluepicasso Android Confused

    Location:
    Arlington, Va
    Don’t Save Me…4/5. A bit of emotion. I like the touch of Yello here.

    She Flirts For England 3/5. Reminds me of 1993/1995 Duran Duran. That is not necessarily a great thing.
     
  12. Moggio_4K_Ultra_HD

    Moggio_4K_Ultra_HD Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vancouver, BC
    Don't Save Me From Myself & She Flirts For England both contain deeply personal lyrics & a semi-generic electronic rock feel straight through them. The verses are decent enough but are half-baked and don't excite. However, the choruses are enjoyable and work. And if DSMFM wasn't missing a bridge, it probably would've enhanced the track significantly. Both songs are ok but aren't that great...
     
  13. krock2009

    krock2009 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Philadelphia, PA
    I noyiced this was missing. The last INXS video with Michael Hutchence.
     
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  14. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    We haven't got to that yet
     
  15. krock2009

    krock2009 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Philadelphia, PA
    You just covered "Elegantly Wasted".
     
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  16. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    We're currently doing Hutchence's solo album.
    Then we will be doing the Kick expanded set to wrap up the Hutchence era, and then we will be moving passed 2004.
     
  17. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Flesh And Blood.

    This has a really interesting opening, it sounds like a tuned, triggered sound effect, and we get this chordal pattern built on this sound in an arpeggio form. We have a slow steady rhythm and an interesting sounding drum set comes in, in the guise of a kick and rim shot, and we have an electric piano sound with a delay accenting the bars.

    Trip away the bones and skin, looking for what lies within
    See the stars so cold above
    Makes no sense of your flesh and blood
    You walked the longest walk, talked the toughest talk
    You were outside, something inside
    Took away the words, you want to hear again
    You were outside, something inside

    All of the days we thought would come
    All of the words we thought had gone
    All of the pain and pleasure gone without you

    Strip away the bones and skin, show me what lies within
    Would you be the one that I love?
    Make no sense of your flesh and blood
    You walked the longest walk, talked the toughest talk
    You were outside, something inside
    Took away the words, you want to live again
    You were outside, something inside

    All of the days we thought would come
    All of the words we thought had gone
    All of the pain and pleasure gone without you
    All of the days we thought would come
    All of the words we thought had gone (on and on)
    All of the pain and pleasure gone (pleasure gone) without you

    We'd be making love, make it right (right, right)

    All of the days we thought would come
    All of the words we thought had gone (on and on)
    All of the pain and pleasure gone without you
    All of the days we thought would come (thought would come)
    All of the words we thought had gone (on and on)
    All of the pain and pleasure gone (pleasure gone) without you
    (Thought would come, on and on, pleasure gone)
    (All of the days we thought would come) (thought would come)
    (All of the words we thought had gone) (on and on)
    (All of the pain and pleasure gone) (pleasure gone) (without you)

    Songwriters: Michael Hutchence / Andrew Gill
    Flesh and Blood lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

    I'm not really sure, but this sounds like a relationship based on appearance, and when the flesh and blood is stripped away, there is nothing there. I'll be interested to read what others may think of these lyrics.

    Musically this is really pretty good. It sounds pretty passionate to me, and I find the song really quite engaging on that level.
    We have this palpable melancholy that becomes quite overwhelming and this sounds more like what Michael really wanted to record. It almost has the feeling of an epitaph.

    As the song moves along we have a layering of, almost, sound effects, but they comes together to create a really quite engrossing tapestry of sound, and Michael's pleading voice rides on this tapestry of sound very comfortably.
    I really like the change up into the chorus, and I think the chorus itself is also really engaging. Lyrically, vocally and musically it hits all the points one would want it to.

    After the first chorus we get a pause and the intro essentially comes back in, and we move into the pleading, searching verse. Again for me this is really quite effective.
    The second chorus is a little longer and we get a really well placed backing vocal, and instead of coming out into a pause, we get this we get this powerful, effected guitar that grabs the attention, because it is the first up front guitar in the song, and we slide into a major chord, which also gets the attention because we have been lamenting in minor chords up to this point. This ends up being a very short bridge, and is very effective, but I feel like the bridge could have been a little longer.
    We move into an out-chorus, and the song wraps itself up nicely, and at the very end we get a guitar arpeggio, over a bed of reverberating sound, and again, it is very interesting and gets the attention, and we fade of on the bed of sound.

    I reckon this may be my favourite thing on here so far. It isn't specifically and obviously aimed at a particular market, it really sounds like a heartfelt expression of sorrow, and it seems to be put together in such a way as to show respect for the emotion of the idea, rather than the commercially acceptable sound of the song, if that makes sense ... probably the most engaging song here so far for me.


     
  18. dirkster

    dirkster Senior Member

    Location:
    McKinney, TX, USA
    Flesh and Blood

    Almost hymn-like. This would be well placed as the final track on the album.
    Well observed. The strings are well done too. Lots of layers here, both with instruments and various voices. This is one of the best songs on the album. It’s slow, like a lot of the others so far, but it breaks through and makes a strong impression.
     
  19. Bluepicasso

    Bluepicasso Android Confused

    Location:
    Arlington, Va
    Flesh and Blood-4/5. Better than most songs so far on this album. Oddly, the "flesh and blood" theme would return with "I'm Just A Man" on Elegantly Wasted. It's nice. Would have been good to have been performed for an acoustic live show.
     
  20. Moggio_4K_Ultra_HD

    Moggio_4K_Ultra_HD Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vancouver, BC
    Flesh And Blood exudes such an immense amount of poignancy & emotionality, that it makes this song truly breathtaking. The strings compliment these elements wonderfully. Virtually all parts of the song structure blend and flow incredibly well together, especially the partial open string guitar arpeggiated sequences. But admittedly, the only component that should've been extended is the bridge - since once again, it's under-developed and too short. Lyrically, it's too generalized to pinpoint who the protagonist is. Helena? Paula? Michele? Regardless, FAB is an amazing song.
     
  21. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Put The Pieces Back Together.

    We open with a solid moderate dance type beat, with some atmospheric keys that have this sort of liquid kind of sound, and just before the vocals come in we get a nice thick bass line.

    Saw a million pieces
    Of the shape I'm in
    Hanging from a chandelier
    Have a taste of everything
    Nothing gonna get me crying out for more
    Seen nothing to seduce me
    Seen it all before

    He's another leader
    Pretty head on the block
    Got another axe to grind
    If the dust ain't hard
    Can he taste the money dripping off the tongue
    All is fair in love and war
    With a cold heart and a smoking gun

    Sooth me
    Sue me
    Sooth me
    Sue me

    Put the pieces back together
    Every moment back together

    In your quiet moments
    Looking back in tears
    Can I count the nights you've lived
    That you'd live again
    Looking for the real thing to even up the score
    Finding out you're lonely
    With an open door

    Sooth me
    Sue me

    I guess I lied too

    I saw a million pieces
    Of the shape I'm in
    Hanging from a chandelier
    Put the pieces back together

    ***** cat, ***** cat
    Where have you been?
    I've been down to London
    To see the queen

    Songwriters: Michael Hutchence / Andrew Gill
    Put the Pieces Back Together lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Music Sales Corporation

    I'm not really sure of the lyrics here, unless he is referencing himself as he, one would probably read a few different things into this.
    There are certainly some observational things we can see though. Certainly one can get the picture that Michael is fed up with a situation, and feels someone is just trying to bleed him for money and use him up.
    There's lying on both sides and nobody is really playing with an open hand.
    It's an interesting lyric, but I am not able to get a full grasp on it this morning.

    One thing this song really does have going for it, is it is really nicely dynamic, and it feels to be full of passion. I also like the way the song is spaced. We keep on moving along, but there is no rush.
    The verses have that floating and pulsing liquid sound. We get a slight drop back in the forward thrust of the beat during the pre-chorus, and it is really effective, particularly when we burst into the gutsy guitar driven chorus, that I think works really well.

    The after the second verse section we get half the pre-chorus, and we have a sort of semi-instrumental section with some talking buried in the background, and it works really well with the straight up statement "I guess I lied too" very effectively leading us into the second chorus. This is followed by another sort of atmospheric break down, and then some grinding guitar that leads to a build up that drives us into a chorus section that is spit up by a short abservation.

    I can't fully unwrap this song this morning, but I think the song is very effective and I think, for one of the semi-dance, or uptempo type tracks, this is quite engaging and probably sits about second to Flesh and Blood, as one of the songs to most grab me here. To some degree I could see this being on an Inxs album .... perhaps even Elegantly Wasted.



     
  22. Interpolantics

    Interpolantics Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ireland
    To me this is 100% about Bob Geldof
     
  23. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Good point, could well be. I hadn't considered that
     
  24. dirkster

    dirkster Senior Member

    Location:
    McKinney, TX, USA
    Put The Pieces Back Together

    This is a very engaging track. Uptempo, a bit of funky rhythm, a bit of loud guitar riffing and shouting vocals in parts. Not sure what it’s about - Bob Geldof certainly seems possible- but this is definitely one of the best songs on the album as far as I’m concerned.
     
  25. Bluepicasso

    Bluepicasso Android Confused

    Location:
    Arlington, Va
    Put The Pieces Back Together. 3.5/5. Another one that is good. The chorus is not my cup of tea though. It does have an Elegantly Wasted album vibe.
     

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