It's always cool to have folks go through these, and I'm sure if you post your thoughts folks will probably still interact and join in.. Each Saturday you'll find a thread guide. Lots of knowledgeable folk that posted too. Happy reading
Happy 30th to Welcome to Wherever You Are. When INXS Embraced New Direction on 'Welcome to Wherever You Are'
Shabooh, Shoobah did pretty well at, if not breaking, at least introducing the band to US audiences. But then it was almost like they disappeared until Listen Like Thieves came out. I don’t recall The Swing making much of a dent at all, and the album pretty much went by unnoticed at both Radio (except maybe College and select markets) and MTV with the exception of “Original Sin” getting some limited airplay for a short time. Why that was exactly, I don’t know. If I had to speculate, and even as a fan saying this, it was because, to me at least, the album just wasn’t as interesting to the US market at the time. Other than the title track, “Original Sin”, “Burn For You” and maybe “Melting In The Sun”, I rarely listen to it, and it sits near the bottom of where I would rank their albums. I think had they released the title track as a single here, or everywhere for that matter, it might have garnered more attention- as that song has some bite to it. In contrast, Listen Like Thieves definitely seemed to be geared toward regaining some of the audience they may have lost in the US. Big guitars, big hooks, and those videos got lots of MTV attention for the singles of “What You Need”, “This Time”, the title track, and to a lesser extent “Kiss The Dirt (Falling Down The Mountain)”. Of course scoring a Top 5 hit with “What You Need” certainly didn’t hurt, either. After that they stayed in the public memory, and when their next single, the cover of “Good Times” with Jimmy Barnes, came and was attached to a hit movie and soundtrack in The Lost Boys, it served nicely as a primer for what was about to come with Kick.
They are releasing a live album from the US Festival in 1983, I guess to go along with the 40th anniversary of Shabooh Shoobah Live At The US Festival, 1983 – INXS Official Store
I think the band has said they weren't really happy with the sound recording, and videos for Dancing on the Jetty wasn't played due to the violence and Original Sin wasn't played in a lot of radio markets in the US.
So does Fair Weather Ahead have the "To Look at You" drum beat? If so that's 3 songs, including The Johnson's Aeroplane original version. I dig the reuse, as I think they are really atmospheric. Did any later songs use the same drum pattern?
Good read if you can get past the paywall: JD Fortune Won the Chance to Front INXS. Then Came the Drama – Rolling Stone
Brilliant thread & sorry for being so late in replying. I first heard Need You Tonight followed by Mediate in the Crosbie Motor Hotel, New Ross in October 1987. It was early in the night (shortly after 11.00pm) and only a few of us were on the dancefloor. I immediately went up to the DJ afterwards and asked him to confirm who it was. I was aware of INXS from seeing What You Need & Original Sin on MT USA but otherwise they were pretty unknown in Ireland. That all changed in late 1987. I bought Kick on vinyl a few days later. Earlier this year, I met the DJ (he's the older brother of a friend) and asked him did he remember playing it all those ago.
There’s a new 40th anniversary deluxe edition of Shabooh Shoobah available on streaming and on digital download platforms. Lots of b-sides previously exclusive to vinyl. Can anyone who streams comment on the sound quality?
I've received confirmation from Mark Opitz that the Full Moon Dirty Hearts 'album visual' running order is indeed his intended original running order. (Note that the running order in the post above isn't quite right - Please came before Time). The decision to change the order and put the heavier 'grungier' tracks upfront either wasn't communicated or came too late to the video production crew. To quote Mark Opitz in a text I've received "Yes I'm sure that's it, I definitely ran Freedom fade straight into the Gift(no gap) it certainly looks like the way I would have done it. It makes sense that they would have used my order for the video guys then changed it for the album. Great detective work." I clearly remember having a small screening party for the 'world premiere' of the FMDH 'album visual' on Channel 9 in Melbourne, and I've found the local TV guide listing here: 1993: October 30-November 5 (Saturday October 30 1993) Richard Wilkins hosts the two-hour special INXS: Full Moon Dirty Heart (10.50pm, Nine). I'm happy to see that the 'Full Moon Dirty Hearts - The Album Visual' playlist on INXS's YouTube channel is in its original running order. I'm really happy that this has now been confirmed by Mark. WTWYA and FMDH together are at the centre of what I believe is INXS's most creative and under-appreciated period. Now that I know the running order, I'd like to put together the cleanest version of the album that I can, without all of the cross-fades from the released version. I'll be using the single versions of The Gift, Please, Time and Freedom.
If we switch Please and Time from above is that the intended running order? I want to give this a go in a playlist.
Tried the original running order and I do like it better, but that makes FMDH very front loaded with all the singles and best deep tracks in the first 7. Most of the back end songs are very weak and this still makes me prefer the far more consistent albums WTWYA and Elegantly Wasted which bookend it in catalog. I did like the beautiful “Kill The Pain” as the closer though.
Freedom Deep is not a great opener in my opinion - opens far too slow and mellow. Days of Rust is way stronger, I see why that change was made. It's an ok opener to the cassette or LP side 2, ala 1993. Still making it through the rest of the different order.
Mark was a guest on a friend of mine’s podcast back in 2018, where it was the first time I heard of the alternate run order of Full Moon, Dirty Hearts. At at the time, though, he never got out of him what it was. Glad to finally see this here, so I can listen to it. Episode 154 - Mark Opitz
I picked up The Swing and Listen Like Thieves this week for $5 each on CD through eBay. To my surprise The Swing was the Atco W German Target CD !