The suits at the record company obviously thought “This Time” was a good single choice, but oh boy were they wrong about that: it didn’t even sniff the Top 40, peaking at #81. What the US public really wanted, apparently, from INXS was to hear the funk rock fusion of “What You Need”. Such a huge hit, and excellent for BLASTING at very high volume.
This Time is a very good song, but essentially it just wouldn't have stood out on the US market at the time, so it blends into the undergrowth. What You Need, was, for me at least, very unique to Inxs, and particularly with the intro.... intros? ... I think there were a couple yea? .... it just grabbed the attention instantly.
Listen Like Thieves is a real step forward for INXS. More consistency and great songwriting combine to make it their best album at that time. The years playing together really shows here, as they are really a band, playing better than most groups could dream of. And the sound quality is excellent too, allowing a listener to really hear every detail in the music. My song-by-song notes are very positive on this one.
Of course I appreciate what Chris Murphy did for INXS but (how do I put this) he always came off as slightly hucksterish and a somewhat unlikeable character.
I couldn't even guess. The only managers I am really very aware of are Tom Parker - evil piece of crap, and Peter Grant - quite dangerous lol
Listen Like Thieves -- (the Album). Love the album then, love it now. I will go probably in the other direction than most here, but it was a step down from the growth of The Swing to me. Two of my favorite songs from the band are on here, but the consistency really lets up in the middle and by the end of the album. They had a long time to write and record the album, considering how they did the first four. It's good they stepped out of the box, but they put themselves in yet another box with the guitar songs here and in the future. One X One would be remade, yet again and again on future albums. There are highlights Kiss the Dirt and Shine Like It Does (my fav songs ever), and Same Direction. To me the best thing about What You Need is Kirk's sax, but I will get into those specifics later. It may seem I am picking on it, and I do still listen to on walks and exercising as it has great energy. They had one foot still in New Wave and one foot in rock now. Wish they would gone outside the box and made something just slightly with more edge.
Good points. I think the album is less consistent than The Swing and Shabooh Shoobah, as there are a few tracks that don’t quite work with this leaner rock approach. I would’ve put “Do Wot You Do” on the album in place of at least one of them instead of farming it out to the soundtrack of Pretty In Pink - that song is better than maybe half the cuts here. And we agree about Kirk’s saxophone. The 80’s had lots of great sax in rock songs, and INXS definitely did their part in contributing to that didn’t they?
I would agree with this. I loved that it was a bit more rock, but it seemed a little less vital, in some ways, and less consistent... from my perspective. It is really interesting the variance here in opinions on which albums were steps forward and which ones were steps back.... the albums later on that I am less, and on occasion, not even, familiar with, should be very interesting.
-- Yes, you reminded me of a point that I was going to add but slipped my mind. I brought about five friends of mine to the concert in Seattle during this tour. They didn't have any opinion about them beforehand. As we left, they all became fans. One of the reasons was Kirk's sax. They played their arses off that night, and he must have been exhausted that night due to his sax playing.
Kirk was their secret weapon. When I finally saw them live in 1988 I was surprised how much of the lead guitar work he handled.
I agree with your take on this, Mark, and on the Australian pop landscape at the time. Great take. It's only having thought about these two LPs back to back that I realise how much of a 'move to the centre' Listen Like Thieves was for them when compared to The Swing. As much as I loved LLT at the time, The Swing is a far more adventurous listen with hindsight. LLT stands up well, thought it's the album I reach for least now (despite being just the right age when it came out). The singles are very strong, though it's a couple of songs too long. Maybe that's why I don't reach for it - you hear the hits around the place and in the air. The 37 minute running time sounds shorter than the album feels. I'm actually surprised at some of the weaker tracks (usually the ones that don't have the Hutchence/A. Farriss songwriting credit) didn't get shelved given a) Chris Thomas' reputation as a disciplined producer unafraid of stepping on toes, and b) that the album was a deliberate push for that 'breakout' album. Still, songwriting credits are always politically complex and, by this stage, it may have been a legal agreement that all members got access to the (relatively) lucrative songwriting pie. I too am surprised that This Time led the campaign overseas: What You Need seems tailor made as a first-track-first-single statement of purpose. I really like What You Need but when I hear it now I'm always slightly disappointed it's not Need You Tonight. The 'INXS' on the top right hand of the front cover wasn't originally there and was only added for the US release. Still looks wrong to me! And why did they always butcher CD back covers? They never look as good as the vinyl sleeve!
INXS made a very smart decision when hiring Chris Thomas to produce Listen Like Thieves, as he was/is one of the best producers in the world. Chris knew what their strengths and weaknesses were. And what they needed at this stage in their career, was to make an album that incorporated their live sound. When he first met them in 1984, Chris pointed out to them that most of their other songs didn't take this approach. In fact, it should have been an obvious choice. So the necessary steps were taken & the songs were written. And as a result, LLT wound up not only sounding more live oriented, but it was also more rock oriented & essentially became the heaviest album they ever made (with FM,DH being a close second), with more punch to it, which was a relatively new approach for them. And compared to other albums from 1985, apart from a few exceptions, it doesn't really sound like a product of its time. INXS were shedding the new wave-ish feel from previous albums and were now continuing to chart new territory for themselves as a band. Surprisingly, they weren't heavily including funk rock stylings this time around. But that would soon change. Overall, Listen Like Thieves is a spectacular album. And despite not necessarily being a more adventurous album than SS or TS, I feel it betters the two, as their songwriting skills improved in leaps and bounds. Commercially speaking, their group image began to become more natural and original. And primarily thanks to What You Need being their first US Top 10 hit single, at this point, LLT tripled the sales of SS & TS in the US and was INXS' first Platinum selling album there...
I 'think' Listen like thieves was their first album recorded at Rhinoceros recording studios (which they either built or bought-I'm not not sure) it was room enough for them all to play live . See the good times clip Jon's drums have their own room
Reference guide The band's origins May 1980 Simple Simon / We Are The Vegetables Aug 1980 Live Paris Theatre, Sydney Oct 1980 Inxs (debut album) On A Bus Doctor Just Keep Walking - On TV Learn To Smile Jumping In Vain - live - interview Roller Skating - live Body Language Newsreel Babies Wishy Washy - live Just Keep Walking b-side Scratch Mar 1981 The Loved One/The Unloved One Sept 1981 Stay Young/Lacavocal Oct 1981 Underneath The Colours Stay Young Horizons Big Go Go Underneath The Colours Fair Weather Ahead Night Of Rebellion Follow Barbarian What Would You Do? Just To Learn Again Prehistoria - bside 1982 INXSive Live 8/12/1982 -Sydney Four Corners - Flavour Of The Month After Dark Interview Oct 1982 Shabooh Shoobah - Ad The One Thing - 12" - live - countdown To Look At You - 12" - live 84 Spy Of Love - live Soul Mistake - live Here Comes - live Black And White - live Golden Playpen - live Jan's Song - live Old World New World - live Don't Change - Countdown b-sides Space Shuttle Phantim Of The Opera Sax Thing You Never Used To Cry Here Comes II Go West Long In Tooth 1982 Freedom Soundtrack - with Don Walker Speed Kills Forest Theme Stop The Drop - live Feb 83 Inxs at LA Zoo Mar 1983 Live At Perkins Palace May 1983 US Festival Sept 1983 Dekadance US Black And White 12" To Look At You 12" The One Thing 12" Here Come II new version Apr 1984 The Swing Original Sin - single - video Melting In The Sun - video I Send A Message - single - live - live - live Dancing On The Jetty - video The Swing - live Johnson's Aeroplane Love Is (What I Say) - video - videos Face The Change - live Burn For You - single mix - live All The Voices - video B-sides Jans Song/To Look At You (live) Mechanical The Harbour Johnson's Aeroplane alt. April 1984 Dekadance Original Sin - Dance Mix I Send A Message - ext Burn for You - ext Dancing On The Jetty - remix Melting In The Sun - remix Love Is ( What I Say) - remix Jackson 1985 The Swing And Other Stories (video) The video Oct 1985 Listen Like Thieves
I'm sure he'd agreed. I've seen videos where he even said he was an *******. Maybe this approach was good though because Kick might not have been released without it.
Listen Like Thieves Same here. After Original Sin had done pretty well over here, selling the album along with it, this next album strengthened their march. Every dj had been eager to explain how to pronounce/spell the band's name, so that even helped plenty. I saw INXS in 1986 at the free Parkpop festival in The Hague. My friends and I didn't make it there in time to see Madness, but we saw The Bangles, Gill Scott-Heron and main act INXS. The band kicked $ and convinced everyone they delivered on stage. I'm not sure but I think I got the vinyl album in '86 to prepare for the show or maybe as a great reminder. I remember it as a solid album and at least three singles were played regularly on Dutch radio stations. Got the album on Mercury cd last year. INXS for some reason have never been a band whose music I played a lot, except for the New Sensation 7", but they never disappointed. I look forward to playing this album again.
Good album, but I remember hearing the three hits a lot at the time of their releases and having mixed reactions. What You Need was quite good, but the title track was merely solid, and I actively disliked This Time. My opinions of all three remain unchanged.
It is interesting that Pitchfork revisited this album just a few months ago. They give it an 8.0/10: INXS: Listen Like Thieves
The only track skipped so far other than demos was this fan club only song for Christmas so I figured I'd post it since this thread is trying to be comprehensive.
A whole mythology awaits you there, my friend! Often very complex characters and often worth their own biographies. I often wonder what it is that takes similar sets of motivations than those that drive musos but instead leads them toward management. Obviously not playing an instrument (as is often the case), but I wonder what fundamental needs are being met by entering such a fraught role. Stories are legion about the shysters and swindlers but, when done by the right person, they can be very important and trusted roles. Paul McGuinness was essentially U2's fifth member who, I think, only retired because he was tired of the life in general. (Whether or not their records becoming less vital at a similar time is a coincidence, who knows.) Chris Murphy was like a bulldog for INXS and much of his being seen as 'difficult' was ultimately a testament of loyalty to and love for the band. (Although he did seem to jump ship pretty quickly once their international profile started t0 wane?). Gary Morris had a similar relationship with Midnight Oil - fiercely protective and didn't suffer fools. Both Joe Moss with Johnny Marr and Jon Landau with Bruce Springsteen seem to be defacto fathers to their charges; Brian Epstein's managerial role was the only way he could profess his love for John Lennon that dared not speak its name. Lots of fascinating characters.
Meh... Chris Murphy primarily stopped managing INXS in 1995 (despite returning in 2008) because the band reduced his percentage from 20% to 14.28%, so it could be split evenly amongst all 6 band members and Chris. This was done for a few reasons. First of all, before this era, when you do the arithmetic, Chris was actually making more $$$ than 3 or 4 other band members. And secondly, he was starting to manage other artists and was creating new labels, etc. So INXS figured since Chris now had other revenue streams active, it was a better deal for them, as they were hitting their 'lean' years during the mid-'90s. This is confirmed and re-enacted in the 2014 Never Tear Us Apart mini-series. And Chris discusses this in his excellent 2013 auto-bio...
It’s an “ok” effort at a Christmas song. Every band gets at least a free shot at it, right? However, fair or not, to my ears the one thing lacking on a lot of the INXS Bsides and non-album tracks such as this one is the voice of Michael Hutchence. If INXS had been a band that shared lead vocals then I might have a different perspective but since he apparently sang lead on every album track I can think of then thing just don’t sound right without his voice.