Interesting take. It's hard to avoid U2 comparisons when discussing INXS. I struggle with it myself because it's not exactly a fair comparison. Not every band gets to be U2. Still, the comparisons are hard to resist. Not only were the frontmen of both bands friendly, their releases built up a larger and larger audience until they exploded in 1987. Rattle & Hum is perfectly described as a "holding maneuver." What followed it though was Achtung Baby which for my money, is the best album U2 ever made. Whether it was the brain injury, drugs, band personalities, record label pressure, etc., INXS critically and commercially peaked with Kick. X was the beginning of the end.
Yeah, I never questioned this song for a second as a 16-year-old. Rocked my world thoroughly, did the job big-time in an arena (think it made every setlist from here on out). Although I was annoyed when my friends would sing "Super Salad Bar" during the chorus...
Yea, I'd like to say no regrets, but I failed to frame my honest question in the right manner, and it turned into a cluster-truck.... I think I got the answers i was looking for though lol
-- Welcome to Wherever You Are is their Actung Baby in many ways. It was successful, but it didn't save their career like Actung did for U2. That album will always be a favorite of mine from any band. It is top-shelf rock!
I would have lead with Disappear. Such a great way to reintroduce yourself after a two year absence. Heck, this is from left-field but I think “Lately” would have made a great lead single. It rocks and it is a link to their earlier albums in that regard. I said Suicide Blonde was “akin to pandering” so I guess I should define what I meant, especially since you asked. I find it to be a facile simple-minded groove with repetitive empty lyrics. Somehow their other hits like What You Need and Need You Tonight didn’t strike me this way. It’s the Ob La Di Ob La Da of INXS songs. It felt like INXS was on autopilot and it was a letdown after so much cleverness in a lot of their other recent songwriting. At some point I made my peace with it and accepted it. I even like pretty much all the dance remixes of it. (Paul Oakenfold is great!) But in 1990 I was looking for something more “serious” from these guys.
I respectfully disagree. I look at "Suicide Blonde" (especially as an album opener) as a very strong song. The brief harp intro, then the band going full-tilt into this jangle/heavy rock groove while Michael yells out "Don't you know what you're doing? You've got a death wish!" gets your attention right away. And then very clever (as opposed to being too clever or too cliche) lyrics like "She knew it would finish/before it began", "She stripped to the beat/but her clothes stay on", "White light everywhere/but you can't see a thing", etc. puts so much imagery into the words as you're hearing them before going into the frantic chorus. Having that song go right into the even better "Disappear" made it such a great one-two punch to open up the album.
Faith In Each Other has a very nice vibe to it. And INXS were back to writing in minor keys again, after several years of rarely doing so (since about half the songs from X are written in them). Andrew & Kirk's repetitive vibrato/reverb-laden keyboard/guitar effects that ring out in the verses greatly helps to set the atmospheric landscape. And of course, Kirk's periodic saxophone accompaniment and short fill/solo adds the necessary touches to the track that its begging for. FIEO is an excellent album track.
That’s cool. I felt really strongly negative about it back in 1990 but I can hang with it now. It does have merits. And I do confess to buying the single because I liked all the mixes..... around 2005 or so.
And it was a #1 single in Canada and was INXS' only Gold-selling single in the US. Well, I mostly agree with this assessment. But the "holding maneuver" description, at least when applied at this point in their careers, makes more sense to me for U2 than it does for INXS. Also, Switch (w/ JD Fortune) sold incredibly well in Canada and was quite successful in Australia as well...
Very much in agreement on this point. The more experimental sonic vibe, a few more creative leaps, a braver outlook, a quite deliberate attempt at reinvention. The fact that WTWYA wasn't a much bigger success is one of the injustices of the age. But I'll cool my boots until we get to it in the chronology. While both X and Rattle and Hum then have their roles as the precursors to both bands' respective "Achtung Babies", I don't know that the intention was the same. Although misconstrued, I think U2's original intention with Rattle and Hum was something a little more spontaneous; a record of the Joshua Tree era and a bit of a "musical journey"/tour souvenir document. X to me feels far more purpose-built and grandiose.
The Stairs: This song has a great build up with some really catchy lyrics; Suddenly I am joining Micheal as he sings 'Story to story..." Simply put: a deep track that should of been a single. Faith in Each Other: Another deep track that I like. A bouncing beat and some great vocal work from Micheal make this song stand out.
"By My Side" Single by INXS from the album X Released 30 March 1991 Recorded 1990 Genre Alternative rock Length 3:05 Label Atlantic Songwriter(s) Michael Hutchence, Andrew Farriss, Chris Thomas Producer(s) Chris Thomas "By My Side" is a single by Australian band INXS, the third UK single and fourth Australian single taken from their album X. The song is a piano, strings and acoustic guitar-based ballad with a big chorus. The song was written by Andrew Farriss and Michael Hutchence as part of the 1990 sessions for the X album. Record producer Chris Thomas, who produced the album, is also given songwriting credits, specifically contributing to the chorus and arrangement, as explained in the liner notes for the X album special edition in 2002. "By My Side" peaked at number 42 on the UK Singles Chart, which was the band's poorest chart performance since first breaking into the UK top 40 with "New Sensation" in 1988. Along with "Never Tear Us Apart", "By My Side" was one of two INXS songs played at the funeral of frontman Michael Hutchence following his suicide on 22 November 1997.[1] "By My Side" was used in commercials for Australian insurer NRMA from 2002–2008.[2] The song also appeared in the final episode of the Moviecity TV series Lynch. In February 2014, after the Channel 7 screening of INXS: Never Tear Us Apart mini-series, "By My Side" charted again in Australia through download sales. It peaked at number 67 on the ARIA Singles Chart. UK 7" / Cassette single "By My Side" (LP version) "The Other Side" UK 12" single "By My Side" (The Movie Mix) "The Other Side" "Faith in Each Other" (live) UK CDS "By My Side" (LP version) "The Other Side" "Faith in Each Other" (live) "Disappear" (Morales Remix) Japanese Maxi CD / Australian CD poster pack "By My Side" (The Movie Mix) "By My Side" (LP version) "Soothe Me" "Faith in Each Other" (live) Australian Cassette maxi single "By My Side" (Movie Mix) "By My Side" (LP version) "Soothe Me" "Faith in Each Other" (live) Chart (1991) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[3] 23 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[4] 25 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[5] 54 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[6] 65 France (SNEP)[7] 48 Germany (Official German Charts)[8] 56 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[9] 27 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[10] 35 UK Singles (OCC)[11] 42 ---------------------------------------------------------- Interestingly this track never made me think of Never Tear Us Apart..... I love the atmosphere of this track. It has such a darkness to it..... an almost despairing feel, that really appeals to me. I think the piano arrangement on this os wonderful, and the use of the chord sequences to keep bringing it back around works really well for me. At the start we get that guitar and it is almost like a hesitation to start the song, and then that piano comes in and just draws me right in. In the dark of the night Those small hours Uncertain and anxious I need to call you Rooms full of strangers Some call me friend But I wish you were so close to me In the dark of night Those small hours I drift away When I'm with you In the dark of night By my side In the dark of night By my side I wish you were I wish you were Here comes the clown His face is a wall No window No air at all In the dark of night Those faces they haunt me But I wish you were So close to me In the dark of night By my side In the dark of night By my side I wish you were I wish you were In the dark of night By my side In the dark of night By my side I wish you were I wish you were In the dark of night Those faces they haunt me Well, I wish you were so close to me Yes I wish you were By my side Songwriters: Andrew Farriss / Kirk Pengilly By My Side lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc, Universal Music Publishing Group, BMG Rights Management Obviously this song is going to be interpreted as a love song.... and that is the most likely interpretation, but just looking through the lyrics here, it really can have so many different interpretations. With the idea of the dark of night, and the fame weary rock star singing it, surrounded by people pretending to be a friend, it could take the form of an addict needing to call their sponsor. A friend really needing to speak to someone real who isn't just a sycophant, hanging on to get a feel of that stardom.... The way Hutchence exudes sensuality in the chorus tends to give us a one dimensional perspective on it, but looking more closely it seems it is possibly deeper than that. As I say I love the music here, I think it works really well, and the dynamic between the verses and the chorus is excellent, and gives a sense of desperation. Anyway, time has cut me off again, but I think this is a magnificent song.
Great interpretation re: the loneliness that comes in "those small hours." Another song where it's tough not to think about Michael's demise.
A ballad of longing, By My Side doesn’t leave much of an impression on me. It's definitely one of those wee small hours lyrics, but so far it hasn't clicked for me. I'll have to give it another try today.
By My Side - 4/5. The comparisons with Never Tear Us Apart instantly come to mind. That is the problem with the song, sadly. The orchestration, the moody vibe. It will never step of the shadow of the earlier, and better, song. Michael and Andrew wrote this song by the way.
By My Side I agree with what Mark wrote above. Great observation about how the lyrics can be interpreted multiple ways. This was bound to be overshadowed by Never Tear Us Apart. Too many superficial similarities, and thus I’m not surprised it wasn’t as big of a hit as the former song. As an album track this works quite well as it is so brief. It ends by trailing off instead of going for a “big finish” and that probably hurt it as a radio single.
This song was mixtape gold when you wanted to impress a young lady and not feature an overplayed song, BTW.
By My Side (demo) This lacks the chorus, the piano is less prominent, and there are no strings. Yet I’d totally love this if it were the album version. It’s just as good as the finished product, and possibly even better because of the lack of fine tuning and polish.
By My Side is my favourite track off this album and in my top 10 INXS tracks. I prefer it to Never Tear us Apart. The intro features low-key strumming that reminds me of my other favourite strumming into, The Beatles’ A Day in the Life and this one has much the same effect on me: a strange kind of pulling of the heart strings. The effect is more pronounced in A Day in the Life and I never can explain it, but it brings a lump to my throat sometimes. What really makes this for me is that piano/keyboard intro with a church? bell sound that lends the song an almost hymn like quality. I get an impression of this song being almost like a form of prayer, ‘by my side, I wish you were,’ especially with how softly he sings the verses. Underscoring that synthy-bell-sound, is the lovely constant piano which enriches the song, gives it some gravity to save it from being too light and floaty. I really appreciate the sparseness in the verses. There’s a lot of space, probably to emphasis the vocal which is not quite spoken-word poetry. Lyrically, this one of their more poetic ventures. 'In the dark of night, those small hours' recalls the mood of Don Walker’s Saturday Night, and the melancholy and deep loneliness that so many Aussie bands of a certain era convey so well. Aside from it from being a basic romance ballad, there are signs of Michael’s darkening mood, ‘anxious and uncertain’ and claustrophobia, ‘no window, no air at all' and his increasing sense of feeling isolated, 'in a room full of strangers'…with faces that haunt him. It's a small but significant insight into his mind. My favourite part of the song is, of course, the chorus that comes kicking in with that pummelling drum beat and the tambourine I think it is? used to great effect - you have this heavy drum beat but this light, tinkling tambourine and the two different sounds perfectly complement one another. For me, this is one of the band’s more powerful choruses, made more so because of the striking contrast with the verses. Contrast is one of the things that INXS does so well - light/heavy, quiet/loud, sharp/blunt. It's one of the reasons I'm so drawn to them. Anyway, didn't meant to write an essay! This obviously gets a 10/10. This is what happens when I really love a song and get carried away. Probably a good thing I missed the Cold Chisel album by album or I would have written a thesis!
