This is a live recording of the August show by Triple J .... the Aussie national alternate radio station
Shabooh Shoobah. Excellent album. One of the albums that defines 1982 to me, along with Rio, New Gold Dream, Lexicon of Love, Avalon, etc... First heard of them when I traveled to Australia that summer where I heard The One Thing. Was happy to later find the album available in the US. This album has it all, bit of new-wave/rock/pop blended into originality. Not many bands can create their own sound -- INXS did it here. Like it better than their more commercial period with Kick and X. Along with The Swing, these two remain my favorite albums, though they did have a bit of a late career inspiration with Welcome through Elegantly, where listeners should have been listening. I can listen to this album over and over, without skipping songs. One of their crowning achievements.
Excellent. Jon's drumming is simply excellent here. They will always be one of the best bands I ever saw live, in 1984.
Great album, the first true INXS album for me. "Don't Change" will always be my favourite and has become even more poignant since the sad events of 1997. What a band!
Like I stated earlier in the thread, I discovered INXS in July 1992 right before WTWYA came out and then went back in time to buy everything I could. And apart from INXS & UTC, I still own the original Canadian Atco CD releases (which includes a red circle on the front of the discs around the circumferences...and the US versions include a blue circle) from the late '80s. Shabooh Shoobah is definitely a giant leap forward, in musicianship, lyrical content, style, diversity, production and in every other way I can think of. INXS were now almost fully developed and were truly sounding like themselves. The whole album is a classic representation of this era and is one of the best albums of 1982. I still feel the same way about SS today as I did when I first heard it 28 years ago. I simply can't say enough fantastic things about it. And I also can't wait until tomorrow to analyze each song individually...
I believe this was taken at the Seattle Center Coliseum on June 1, 1983 (they played here the next night), when they were opening for The Stray Cats.
Wow, there is a lot to like about INXS. It’s unfair to write them off; there’s plenty of great songs scattered in their catalog. Michael Hutchence was also a great frontman/singer and he gave them an image and a persona. Every time I bring up 80’s bands, no doubt I will bring them into the discussion.
Shabooh Shoobah I found this album a year or two after the fact. I had liked The One Thing when it hit, but I wasn’t doing albums yet - just listening to Top 40 radio. But then randomly I saw the Don’t Change video and the song + video combo was a lightning bolt that made my spine tingle. I used to frequent the public library in my hometown and noticed they had this album (cool library!) so I checked it out. Weird cover. Still weird to this day! Weird inner photos of the band too. But the music: man what an album. It’s slinky in places, rocks in others, uses eclectic rhythms, odd vocalisms, inscrutable lyrics and just captures a great mood for both sides. I think the first time I plopped down the record and listened to The One Thing, I heard To Look At You begin next and became entranced. They won me over by having a second song just as good as the first. Never knew this was a single until years later. I thought it was just a good album track. As the album flows on and then into side two it just maintains a general mood perfectly. Some of these songs wouldn’t necessarily be notable outside the context of the album, but inside the album they are all highlights. Old World New World is another strong favorite: “I know nothing, but I keep listening!” And it’s a type of genius that the wind down and fade out of this track perfectly seques into the buildup of the next one: Don’t Change - a hurricane blast that I don’t think they ever equaled. INXS continued to evolve with every album, but if all they did was the first three LP’s they’d have enough good work in there to qualify as one of my favorites.
Shabooh Shoobah is their best album to me by far. I think after this album they flirted with a forced commercial sound too much at times.
They said they wanted to use a photograph that would remain timeless and not be pinpointed to any era with clothes. It is weird, 3 brothers and the rest of the band seemingly naked together in bed. I'm sure girls loved it though, maybe apart from Andrew's hairy chest. The cover photo I can't really explain. I like it though.
I think this 1982 tour was the last time I saw INXS live, on 16 November 1982 at the ANU with my then girlfriend. A very memorable show, for that reason. By then INXS were getting too popular as a live act for me, with a few hundred people at each show. I preferred going to see bands where I could actually get a good view of the band, rather than the audience. The first time I saw INXS was on 9 October 1980 when they were promoting their second single, Just Keep Walking. They played at what was then the Ainslie Hotel with The Singles and Sekret Sekret, who also had very good singles out (Someone That I Knew and New King Jack). Hindsight tells me INXS had obvious potential even then, with Hutchence doing a good imitation of a rock star despite being in an insignificant inner city new wave band. Shabooh Shoobah was where INXS started producing good albums, a run that lasted up to and including Welcome To Wherever You Are.
"The One Thing" Australian 7-inch vinyl single Single by INXS from the album Shabooh Shoobah B-side "Space Shuttle" Released July 1982 Recorded 1982 Genre Rock[1] Length 3:24 (album version) 3:18 (single edit) 6:06 (12" extended version) Label Warner Music (North America, Oceania, Japan, Southeast Asia) Mercury Records (Europe) Songwriter(s) Michael Hutchence, Andrew Farriss Producer(s) Mark Opitz "The One Thing" is a song by Australian rock group INXS, released in July 1982 as the first single ahead of their third studio album, Shabooh Shoobah, which appeared in October that year. At the 1982 Countdown Music Awards, the song was nominated for Best Australian Single.[2][3] In January 1982 INXS toured New Zealand as support act for Cold Chisel. Band manager Murphy, became convinced their future no longer lay with Deluxe Records. RCA (who distributed Deluxe) had employed music lover Rockin' Rod Woods, who had been promoting Eric Clapton, Split Enz and some of the world's biggest acts. Woods was passionate about the band and brought key music people along to their gigs. He encouraged RCA to sign them worldwide because Murphy had played him some demos of future songs. Deluxe had been unable to attract international interest, and the band decided to record a new song at their own expense, with Mark Opitz at Paradise Studios.[4] The resultant single, "One Thing", peaked at number 14 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart.[5] Due to the success of the song Murphy hired Opitz to produce three more songs.[6] Murphy also approached WEA Australia with copies of the song, leading to INXS signing a recording deal in July 1982 with WEA for releases in Australia, South East Asia, Japan and New Zealand, Atco Records (a subsidiary of Atlantic Records) for North America and Polygram for Europe and the UK.[4][7][8] Shabooh Shoobah was released in the United States in February 1983 and peaked at number 46 on the Billboard 200 album chart.[9] "The One Thing" brought INXS their first Top 40 hit in the US, reaching number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 in May–June 1983.[9] It was a big hit on album-oriented rock radio, reaching number 2 on the Billboard Top Tracks chart,[9][10] and was also a top 20 hit in Canada.[11] The music video for the song, directed by Soren Jensen, featured the band members having a decadent banquet with a number of beautiful models, including Hutchence's then girlfriend Michele Bennett, interspersed with clips of the band playing their instruments. Hutchence knew Jensen, who was an assistant director on the Australian soap opera, The Young Doctors, through his mother, Patricia, who was a make-up artist for the show. The models, Susan Stenmark and Karen Pini, who appear in the music video were also actresses on The Young Doctors.[12] The music video was their first video to air on the fledgling MTV and went into high rotation on the channel, which added to the chart success of the single in the US.[6] We made a crazy video at home in Australia for "The One Thing." We fed valium to a few cats and had them running around a table while we had a feast with sexy models and Playboy centerfolds, ripping apart a turkey. Next thing we knew we had a top 40 hit in America and were opening for Adam Ant. Tim Farriss[13] 7" single Track listing 1. "The One Thing" M. Hutchence, A. Farriss[14] 3:18 2. "Space Shuttle" A. Farris[15] 2:39 12"/CD Maxi single Track listing 1. "One Thing" (Extended remix) M. Hutchence, A. Farriss[14] 6:06 2. "Phantim of the Opera" M. Hutchence, A. Farriss[16] 4:26 3. "Space Shuttle" A. Farris[15] 2:39 Chart (1982–83) Peak position Australian Singles Chart[5] 14 Canada (RPM)[17] 31 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[9] 30 U.S. Billboard Top Tracks[9] 2 U.S. Cash Box Top 100[18] 30 ---------------------------------------------------- I think it is fair to say that although the band had had some success with their singles, that this is the real break through single for the band. It put their name out in the US, and they managed to consolidate on that with subsequent material, which is terribly important in terms of longevity and continued success. I believe this is the first Inxs single to have a 12" mix made from it, and the band dabbled with this a fair bit through the eighties, particularly when we get to the next album. This is a really solid single, and in its own way it is absolutely perfect. We get a great blend of rock and pop, and it has enough going on to be a really interesting song. We open with a really cool stuttering synth pattern and then this really crisp and edgy guitar comes in. The way the rhythms work with each other is truly excellent too. We get the drums and bass obviously, but we have a couple of little synth parts that build on and layer the rhythm, and of course the guitar adds its own flavour as well. Well you know just what you do to me The way you move soft and slippery Cut the night just like a razor Rarely talk and that's the danger It's the one thing You are my thing You know your voice is a love song It's a cat call from the past There's no ice in your lovers walk You don't look twice 'cause you move so fast It's the one thing You are my thing You've got a dozen men behind you You've got dead flowers on the floor You're too pretty in the daylight It keeps them coming back for more It's the one thing You are my thing It's the one thing You are my thing It's the one thing You are my thing Source: LyricFind Songwriters: Andrew Charles Farriss / Michael Hutchence The One Thing lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group This lyric isn't some huge political statement or philosophical piece of wonder, but it is a really well written lyric, that is essentially a love song of sorts. It seems like this girl is absolutely hawt, and all the men are gobsmacked by her.... It seems that Michael is saying that she is untouchable, and she is mine.... but it could well be that he is one of the dozen men behind her also. I really like the sax lead here too. It just sets off everything really well. Also we get the slowly rising outchorus which itself is really very well executed. At the end of the day this is a magnificent pop/rock single, and it gets the album off to a great start.
The One Thing 12" version As I say, I was never really big on a lot of 12" singles..... in fact I don't think I ever bought a single in my life. In the early eighties 12" singles were huge, and a lot of folks loved them. I tended to find a lot of them quite tedious, but I understand that it is cool for folks to have fun mixing things up. This seems quite typical of the types of things that were done with many 12" singles, and it seems to be pretty well done, but I personally would always revert to the album version.
Single mix I assume this is the single mix, which isn't that much different from what I can tell quickly here
The One Thing 5/5. The song which caught me while driving around in Australia with family as a teenager. The video really broke them in the US as it was fun, sexy, and just cool. Michael really improved with his lyrics as these were finally captured poems rather than just words thrown together. If the video were done today, there would be outrage about the cats!
The alternate version of the video has been removed but I always wondered why the instruments are wrapped in white cloth.
Brilliant track... listening to it now. The bass is genius, it powers the track along no end. Fantastic!
Oh yeah, if you haven’t checked out Shabooh Shoobah yet, do yourself a favour. Not quite as polished & scrubbed up as the later albums... and that’s why I love it so much
All the singles from this album are great but this is probably my favorite. Great song with excellent production and a sound unique to INXS. Speaking of production was reading this thread earlier and then on a Spicks & Specks repeat who should be one of the guest panelists but Mark Opitz . Seems like a pretty cool down to earth guy considering all the great Australian artists he produced in the 70's and 80's
The One Thing That guitar line cuts right through everything in the mix. I have always loved the way it just holds and fades each time instead of the guitarist trying to keep riffing with more notes. The keyboards add a lot here too, but only in a way that enhances the bouncy rhythm. And then we get the sax. So badass. So many hooks in this song it’s no wonder it was a big hit. Even the lines “it’s the one thing, you’re my thing” with the plinky keyboard rhythm reinforcing the words are a major hooky. This song introduces INXS to the world a fully formed rock stars.
I stayed out of the discussion for the first two albums because I'm not familiar with them. But this is where I jump in, and what better place than the single that brought INXS to the world's attention? Almost 40 years later The One Thing still stands up as a great song, highlighting why the band was so good. Tight rhythm, catchy melody, sexy lyrics, and a great front man. Most people of a certain age would instantly recognize this song, even if they didn't know who performed it.
