Michael Hutchence. Largely forgotten?*

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

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  1. MrGrumpy

    MrGrumpy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Burbank
    He wasn't a solo brand in the way that most of the others cited were. He was "a bloke from a band," which is probably what a lot of people think about Cobain as well. He was an Australian who died in Australia, so the distance thing also counts against him in terms of US/UK media coverage.

    And yes, the INXS glory days were well gone, even in Australia.

    As indicated upthread, some people are queasy about his alleged form of death. Of course he did NOT die of autoerotic asphyxiation. That is on the same level as Mama Cass and the ham sandwich. It was straight-out suicide, utter depair at being separated from his daughter at the hands of UnSaint Bob and an equally horrid woman. There was some book on the subject in his hotel room, and aforementioned horrid woman floated that theory.
     
  2. FLF

    FLF The insurgency began and you missed it.

    Location:
    Southern Oklahoma.
    I wouldn't say "bombing" by any means. Sales, yes. Song quality? Nope. Struggling to figure out how to appeal to a mass audience like so many other bands of their time during the early hip-hop and grunge era. Matter of fact, I saw them in '97 *headlining* Edgefest in Dallas with a stellar group of alt-rockers supporting them (Beck, Matchbox 20, Moby, etc). Not bad for a band supposedly on their way out huh? Besides, their efforts to that point (Welcome, Full Moon, Elegantly Wasted) are not bad albums by any means. They're rather good for mid 90's, they just weren't huge sellers because everyone had moved to more up and coming bands. That happens to...well...almost every band ever.

    That said, had Hutchence lived and the band gone on for another 10-15 years, I think things would have been different for them. Disclaimer: I'm a huge Inxs fan....but IMHO....they don't have a "bad" album in their catalog and Hutchence was easily one of the most talented male vocalists of his time.
     
  3. vamborules

    vamborules Forum Resident

    Location:
    CT
    Yes, the coroner's official report ruled out accidental death. The autoerotic asphyxiation thing comes from Paula Yates.
     
  4. ModernDayWarrior

    ModernDayWarrior Senior Member

    I might get a lot of heat for this but I always thought of Hutchence as a wannabe Jim Morrison, but then again Morrison was a big influence on a lot of vocalists so I'm probably not being fair. He was a great singer though and had charisma.
     
  5. Nostaljack

    Nostaljack Resident R&B enthusiast

    Location:
    Washington, DC
    I was only talking "sales". By the time those last two records came out, they were very much yesterday's heroes from a commercial standpoint.

    Ed
     
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  6. Malina

    Malina Forum Resident

    Location:
    NYC
    I did not know that. Did he hang himself with a belt in the closet so it looked like the autoerotic thing? I thought that was a thing you do in the closet, but that's because of what David Carradine was doing, if I recall correctly.
     
  7. Sondek

    Sondek Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Your comment had me checking out their sales. They were really successful from the mid 80s to 1990. But yeah, a big drop off after that. I didn't expect to see that the post Hutchence (2005) album Switch went 3x Platinum in Canada though .

    INXS discography - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia »
     
  8. JeffMo

    JeffMo Format Agnostic

    Location:
    New England
    I love the final album and could care less about its commercial success.

    RIP Michael
     
  9. pghmusiclover

    pghmusiclover Senior Member

    Ah -- I was not aware of that. Thanks for clearing up another of those rock 'n' roll myths!
     
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  10. black sheriff

    black sheriff Magic City

    The one to get is Shine Like It Does: The Anthology(1979–1997)

    Disc One


      • "Simple Simon" – 2:34
      • "We Are the Vegetables" – 1:55
      • "Just Keep Walking" – 2:43
      • "The Loved One" – 3:38
      • "Stay Young" – 3:27
      • "The One Thing" – 3:24
      • "Don't Change" – 4:25
      • "To Look at You" (Single Edit) – 3:43
      • "Here Comes II" – 3:52
      • "Black and White" (Extended Version) – 4:57
      • "Original Sin" (featuring Daryl Hall) – 3:46
      • "I Send a Message" – 3:25
      • "Burn for You" (Single Remix) – 3:40
      • "Dancing on the Jetty" – 4:34
      • "This Time" – 3:08
      • "What You Need" – 3:35
      • "Kiss the Dirt (Falling Down the Mountain)" – 3:35
      • "Listen Like Thieves" – 3:48
      • "Shine Like It Does" – 3:05
      • "Different World" (7" mix) – 4:19
      • "Good Times" (with Jimmy Barnes) – 3:52
    Disc Two

      • "Need You Tonight" (Single edit) – 3:04
      • "Devil Inside" (Australian single edit) – 3:58
      • "New Sensation" – 3:41
      • "Never Tear Us Apart" – 3:06
      • "Mystify" – 3:18
      • "Kick" – 3:15
      • "Suicide Blonde" (7" mix) – 3:53
      • "Disappear" – 4:09
      • "Bitter Tears" – 3:54
      • "The Stairs" (live) – 5:04
      • "Heaven Sent" – 3:22
      • "Not Enough Time" (Barcelona LP fade) – 4:21
      • "Taste It" – 3:26
      • "Beautiful Girl" (Mendelsohn mix) – 3:11
      • "The Gift" – 4:05
      • "Please (You Got That ...)" (with Ray Charles) – 3:03
      • "The Strangest Party (These Are the Times)" – 3:56
      • "Elegantly Wasted" (radio edit) – 3:54
      • "Let It Ride" – 3:45
      • "Don't Lose Your Head" – 4:03
      • "Searching" (Leadstation radio edit) – 4:20
     
    Last edited: May 29, 2016
  11. Malina

    Malina Forum Resident

    Location:
    NYC

    That's the one I bought years ago, haven't gotten around to listening to it yet. I was looking for their Saturday Night Live performance of Suicide Blonde. That's when I realized that they were a kickass band. I would go back every couple years and watch it on YouTube when it would pop into my head, but now NBC has deleted it, lame. I did see that it was listed as one of the 41 top musical performances on SNL by Entertainment Weekly.
     
  12. Mylene

    Mylene Senior Member

    The first Greatest Hits album had different track listings around the world reflecting the relevant hits. When their back catalogue was acquired by Mercury they standardised it.
     
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  13. Holy Diver

    Holy Diver Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    I like him. I thought he was great.

     
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  14. Planbee

    Planbee Negative Nellie

    Location:
    Chicago
    True, but a lot of commercially-successful bands besides INXS had only roughly five-year runs before people moved on to the next thing. The Cars hit in 1978, and their last big album was in 1984. Most people started hearing about Journey in 1978, and by Raised on Radio in '85 they were clearly past their commercial prime. Ditto Foreigner. Bruce Hornsby had a few years, then people tuned out when he started making really interesting records that weren't the same-old. I'm sure there's others.
     
  15. Mylene

    Mylene Senior Member

    Hutchence was into weird indie stuff but the band operated as a 'democracy' which meant the Farris brothers overruled everyone else. His solo project Max Q is really, really good.

    [​IMG]
     
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  16. mj_patrick

    mj_patrick Senior Member

    Location:
    Elkhart, IN, USA
    Because there hasn't been a documentary that tells the story in a manner that specifically turns Michael Hutchence into a mythological figure.

    Also... how do I say it? Cobain, Morrison, Mercury, Hendrix and Winehouse were each on different levels at some point living a sort of reckless rock and roll life style that led to notoriety and kept them in the spotlight as well as media coverage. I just don't remember Hutchence really being a mess at any time. The reports of his death were pretty surprising in the states- most of us hadn't really seen or heard of him since their videos were getting heavy rotation.

    I remember Hutchence was popular with the girls here because of his looks- he somewhat resembled Morrison and sang in a somewhat similar register although I never considered him channeling Morrison. INXS were their own band, they were a good band for the time and in my opinion they were still making decent music after the decline in popularity.

    They may be seen as an "80s band" and I would agree they helped define 80s music but they really did so by not sounding like most 80s bands...
     
  17. JeffMo

    JeffMo Format Agnostic

    Location:
    New England
    I thought they should have continued on as The Fariss Bros with a new singer. New Order did it right by changing the band name.

    Don't get me started on the reality tv show....
     
  18. John-Adam

    John-Adam Forum Resident

    Location:
    New England, USA
    Forgotten, no. Missed, yes!

    INXS was Michael Hutchence! Their charismatic singer had a way with an audience and in the studio. I really enjoyed their songs, the delivery, their albums, the great remixes, and Michaels's solo work.
    "I Need You Tonight" was INXS's "Start Me Up," so-to-speak. I agree that their music was on the decline as far as sales in this country, but the audience changes, sales change. But I don't think the quality of their music waned.
    It was AWESOME right up until the end!

    It's sad that the Farris Brothers lost their muse. There aren't too many bands that have lost a great singer that have been able continue on with any kind of huge success. Michael is not replaceable. He is gone, but the music is alive as long as we remember and play it. "Not Enough Time" a great single from the 90's, is the other side of INXS, and an ode to all of us who miss the man and the band, INXS.
     
  19. hello people

    hello people Forum Resident

    Location:
    Earth
    A lot of their songs remind me of working in a food factory in the late 80's...packing frozen food with these songs all over the radio...going for smoko with these songs on the radio. Good memories of all this stuff.
     
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  20. John-Adam

    John-Adam Forum Resident

    Location:
    New England, USA
    It doesn't always work though, Jeffmo. The guys in New Order played it smart.
     
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  21. Gems-A-Bems

    Gems-A-Bems Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Duke City
    I haven't forgotten him. He had soul.
     
  22. Juggsnelson

    Juggsnelson Senior Member

    Location:
    Long Island
    The band as a whole were very talented and Hutchence was certainly an integral part of their success. Some on here have mentioned his "poor vocals". I don't hear that at all. He had a perfectly fine voice for their brand of music and he could be especially heart rendering on the slower, more soulful songs. Speaking as a USA fan, they were huge here for a very brief time and honestly I don't think many members of the public know they are listening to Inxs when they hear one of their many hit singles. Thus they don't get hailed for being the hit machine they were for a time. They don't have a bad album as far as I am concerned and their work is constantly in rotation in my house. "Don't Change" is an all time classic IMHO.
     
  23. paulisdead

    paulisdead fast and bulbous

    At the risk of going off on a tangent - most modern rock critics would disagree with you. And rock critics set the bar for these things.
     
  24. AFOS

    AFOS Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brisbane,Australia
    The One Thing is brilliant

    Also I Send A Message
     
  25. paulisdead

    paulisdead fast and bulbous

    In the 1990s the world and Australia had given up on INXS. X was a good album with strong singles like "Suicide Blonde" and "Disappear". But sold less than Kick, which in all fairness, was a tough act to follow. Welcome to Wherever You Are was disappointing sales wise in the U.S. due to the lack of tour and promotion of the album by the record label. It still sold well in the U.K. and Australia. In retrospect, the lead single "Baby Don't Cry" was not commercial enough for the U.S.



    1993's Full Moon, Dirty Heart saw them try the Achtung Baby, but it was '93 not '91 and grunge/alt-rock was already established as the current rock sound. When Elegantly Wasted came around in '97, they were considered a relic of a by gone era and the sales reflected that. I remember Elegantly Wasted in many 90s bargain bins.
     
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