It's all good mate. Thanks for joining us, Very poignant point you make about the whole South Africa Issue. I always felt hard done by that so many bands never came to Perth in Western Australia due to the small population and the isolation of the city. I can't even imagine how I would have felt if bands didn't come at all. I'm certainly glad that they eventually sorted that mess out. I look forward to your input mate.
I didn’t get to hear the debut album until sometime after Shabooh Shoobah can me out, as like a lot of US listeners, the latter record was our introduction to the band. (Plus, it wasn’t available to us in the States until after that, anyway.) When I finally did hear it, initially, I was unimpressed, as much of it didn’t sound like SS, so at the time, I was a bit off put by it. It still wouldn’t be until years later that I would eventually grow an appreciation for it, and now I actually like it quite a bit. The New Wave influences are very prominent, and they are part of the album’s charm for me now. There are definitely some solid tracks on it, such as “On A Bus”, “Just Keep Walking”, “In Vain”.
As I previously stated, Learn to Smile is my favorite track, and (I think) possibly the best song, on the debut. I adore the entire first album and could listen to it on repeat and never complain. It's captured me every time I've heard it for 35+ years now. I'm pretty fond of In Vain and Newsreel Babies, but Learn to Smile just moves me and feels triumphant as it closes out. I find Andrew's keyboard work on it to be sublime. The way the synth builds up in the mid section that just ends up soaring through the air at great heights and then gently lands just takes my mind places every time.
Learn To Smile Andrew: The one thing I always liked about Learn To Smile was that there was a lot of space in the music. Jon: Yeah, I always found it quite sad and haunting. Andrew's mono synth melody and solo was brilliant.
Learn To Smile constructs a mostly cruising mid-tempo rhythm and presents a gradual snare drum build to the chorus, which begs you to tap your feet. Andrew's synth solo is the absolute highlight of the song - spectacular. Lyrically, it's not that interesting. And I hear a definite Mick Jagger vocal influence in the outro over the lead guitar work. Overall, it's a semi-lackluster track.
Jumping Say when you get down Look to your left Say when you get up Look to your right Figure out the puzzle Make sure the pieces fit tight Jumping jumping All night long Jump and jump and it's up to you There is no surefire way baby It's just the first star you see at night Don't walk around feeling hazy If you need a taste take a bite Some day they'll catch you when you're walking Don't you put up no fight Draw back that look of confusion Say you don't believe in straight lines Source: LyricFind Songwriters: Andrew Charles Farriss / Garry William Beers / Jon Farriss / Kirk Pengilly / Michael Hutchence / Timothy William Farriss Jumping lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group This is very much a song in two parts for me. We open with the tacet stabbing chords on the guitar with the drums and and little bit of atmosphere from the sax, and then we launch into that great Stonesy rolling chordal riff that the vocals follow, and I love the verse set up. Musically I think it works perfectly, and the band really have a great feel in those verses. Lyrically I am really not sure what we are looking at .... inhibitions, sex, dancing? I don't know, but again I would say, regardless (see guys I didn't Irregardless, is everyone happy ) of the actual lyrics, I find the vocal and the music works so well in the verses that the words just don't really make any difference to me. Perhaps someone else has some more defined idea of what they are supposed to represent. Now the second part of the song..... the chorus .... yea, well, this is much less satisfying for me. This is actually the first time on the album for me that the band just drop into a trend to make the album fit into a commercially popular trend.... I don't hate the chorus, but it feels like it is tacked on from a different song. That great rock groove of the verses submits to a somewhat trite ska thing, and a lyric and vocal delivery that really just doesn't satisfy me. It sounds wrong to me. I don't hate the song at all, but the chorus, for me at least just devalues what was an excellent start to the song. I will say that they move between the two sections really well. I do like the synth and sound effect break, I think it is something a little different for the album, and it adds something else to the mix, but this chorus just doesn't really cut it for me, and so far is the first wrong step on this album for me.
Jumping Sounds like a great song for Olivia Newton John to shoot one of her exercise videos (no need to check whether she was into that by this time ). Having to do the number of live shows they did the band may have thought a song like this was great to get the audience up on their feet and into the air. There's a lot going on, despite the catchy chorus, probably too much, but it's got a nice instrumental break.
Jumping Tim: I guess it was a reference to what everyone was doing in the pubs at the time, with that whole ska thing. A lot of the tempos were really quick, which is why it sounds like it's live because of the beat, that kind of nervous energy. Andrew: I think a lot of the tempos definitely reflected our interest in ska at the time. A lot of the tracks had that weird uptight kinda 2/4 beat in them. Garry: We'd discovered a different feel for the band. We had the fast tempos but it's on the backbeat. A lot of people were doing that at the time. Plus were were all playing too fast because we'd just come from gigs into the recording studio. Kirk: The chorus is a ska beat but the verses are in a slower half time. That was typical of our always wanting to be different - taking a ska feel and melding it into another style of song which was not what people expected. Jon: This was intended to be a lot heavier than the recording makes out. The verse is deep and grungy and the chorus goes back into our punk roots.
Jumping is one of the few songs in the INXS catalogue where I dig the verses FAR more than the chorus. Again, the ska influence is too heavy in the chorus but the verses/outro makes up for it, especially with the hooky guitar riffs. The verse lyrics are somewhat unique in that there appears to be a non-conformist theme present. Overall, a good song, not a great one.
In Vain. Here we open with an atmospheric synth, and then a melody synth comes in, that to me sounds like it comes directly from Bowie's Low album. The intro goes for about 43 seconds, and for a pop/rock band in 1980, especially one trying to be discovered, that is against the commercial rules of the industry lol .... The rhythmic interplay between the drums, bass and guitar that lead into the vocals, and hold the verse theme for most of the song, really works very well for me. Well just the other day While alone in my room I said to myself I need something new I've cut a new life slice And feed the lions twice And they'll shake their manes in confusion My love My love's in vain My love Put a bet on everything It'll come up fine My fingers are crossed And tapping in time You got a pretty face Such a pretty pretty face You can brush your own mane Fame is your pain Maybe an older woman Will show me a way To ease those creases And crave no reasons 'Cause reasons are with gods There's a heaven within me But we all shake our manes in confusion Should I grab you by the collar Or just go my way With a knife between my clean white teeth Don't want your feather in my cap Don't care about that You can brush your own mane Fame is your pain Source: LyricFind Songwriters: Andrew Charles Farriss / Garry William Beers / Jon Farriss / Kirk Pengilly / Michael Hutchence / Timothy William Farriss In Vain lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group I really like the vocal melody and urgency in this track. Lyrically we have a sort of strange relationship track, where the main subject is seemingly caught in a bad relationship and considering options. Essentially though, as with many songs, it is a descriptive word exercise that works pretty well. I like the interplay between the verses and the chorus. I think the chorus is nice and short, so in spite of not being full of words, it doesn't get too repetitive. I really like the bridge and the change of feel that we get. I also like the little instrumental break that follows it. One thing that stands out to me here is that the band show some of the fire that would have been required touring Aussie pubs in 1980, and they use that rock punch to really make this song sit up to be taken notice of. I really like the outro chorus as well, with the melody starting to fight the music a little. I also think Tim adds some really nice guitar textures to this song to take it over the top. We get a few, kind of, cheesy keyboard things from the era, but I don't think they detract from the song personally, they are just a snapshot of time. I really like this track, and I think it is among the more strong tracks on the album.
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
In Vain is one of the best songs on the album. Love the the way Michael would sing the subdued "Maybe an older woman.." part, reminds me of what came later on Old World New World sort of. They snuck in the F word live on this one pretty often.
In Vain Tim: It was coming off the back of that dynamic we had live. It was another one of those songs that impressed audiences most, like Just Keep Walking. Kirk: I guess we had wanted that for the second single, but I think it was probably the guys from Deluxe that said, 'nup, just the one single from the album.'
In Vain starts off with an excellent ominous synth intro, setting the pace for much of the remainder of the track. Lyrically, it's more intellectual than expected. And an amazingly good atmospheric crescendo before the 3rd chorus. Moody as hell but it works. And you wouldn't necessarily think it could be a single. But I think Kirk is right...
I’ve given the debut album a few honest and fair listens this past week, and while it has some charm to it, and is a reasonable album on its own terms, the two standouts for me are definitely “Just Keep Walking”, and today’s song “In Vain”. In these two songs, I hear the birth of the swagger and future sound of the INXS I love so much by the time they recorded Shabooh Shoobah a couple years later.
In Vain This is a strange track to take in, different styles, rocky, 80's production, louder vocals on the verses than the chorus and lyrics a bit vague, but it's alright.
