INXS - The Album thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by mark winstanley, Nov 19, 2020.

  1. David Jakubowski

    David Jakubowski Forum Resident

    Agree with all the comments above on “Not Enough Time”. It soars. It’s beautiful. It’s romantic yet still sexy. It’s builds wonderfully. I think it has one of the most beautiful music videos ever made (within the context of what was technologically possible at the time). Also agree, it in a just world, it would have been a much, much bigger hit. This is another all-time favorite.
     
  2. twicks

    twicks Forum Resident

    Location:
    Detroit
    I don't really have the breadth of musical knowledge outside of rock to accurately describe it, but there's a nice element of what used to be called trip-hop at work here as well.
     
  3. drsmuts

    drsmuts Forum Resident

    Location:
    Essex
    Not Enough Time...another very nice track. 4/5.
     
  4. ARK

    ARK Forum Miscreant

    Location:
    Charlton, MA, USA
    I’ve already provided my negative feedback on the album as a whole, but “Not Enough Time” is an instant classic.

    Should/woulda/coulda/wasn’t a hit in the US and it’s a shame.
     
  5. twicks

    twicks Forum Resident

    Location:
    Detroit
    All these good-to-great singles and the thing just would not ignite with the public.

    Sometimes, even when you've got the goods, people just doesn't wanna know.
     
  6. Interpolantics

    Interpolantics Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ireland
    The first track on the album that puts the vocals firmly at the fore and Hutchence delivers an assured and commanding performance.

    As mentioned before the tracks builds and soars and is elegantly produced. It comfortably ranks alongside their best work.

    Stylistically it reminds me of Duran Durans "Come Undone" which was released a year or two after.
     
  7. DanP

    DanP Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    Y'know, now I think of it, this is probably my favourite song of theirs. I've always thought of Need You Tonight as 'essence of INXS', but by now I'm sure I've listened to this song more. Magic production: slinky verse groove which opens right out, Hutchence's smooth low register and the great outro ad-libs. It really invites the listener in with an intimacy and confidence that, as good as Kick was, they just didn't possess then.
    A classic.
     
  8. Bluepicasso

    Bluepicasso Android Confused

    Location:
    Arlington, Va
    Grunge factor, sadly.
     
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  9. Moggio_4K_Ultra_HD

    Moggio_4K_Ultra_HD Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vancouver, BC
    Not Enough Time is one of the best ballads I've ever heard. It contains many, if not all of the elements you'd want, need or can emotionally connect to within a ballad. The scarcity of the overall arrangements are aptly-displayed. MH & Deni Hines' vocal deliveries are stellar in every way, shape and form. Jon's drum rolls entering the choruses are simplistic, but add a complimentary feel before the lyrics are sung. And right before the slow momentum-building interlude section, before the extended outro, Andrew's keyboard parts create this sort of fleeting atmospheric cacophonous soundscape, which kind of makes it sound like the instrument is out of tune. But then simultaneously launches into the extended outro, with the power chord guitar riffs, and the rest of the instrumentation, vocals, etc., thus effectively taking us to a wonderful emotional climax before the fade out. What an amazing arrangement! Not Enough Time is superb and so is its mood-enhancing music video. It's such a shame that INXS never played this live with Michael...

    Firma Terror & In My Living Room both present a handful of cool ideas lyrically and musically. But neither of them have have a strong chorus providing a necessary pay-off that you'd probably expect or want.

    Unless you dig house music or house-ballads, Not Enough Time's Ralph Rosario remix doesn't work at all.
     
    Last edited: Mar 23, 2021
  10. Melllvar

    Melllvar No Matter Where You Go, There You Are!

    Location:
    Anchorage, Alaska
    Not Enough Time:

    I can definitely say the band can make a great ballad. From the lyrics to the laid back and simple arrangement of the music, this song is just stellar. On a personal level, this song takes me back to late August '92, as I first heard it on the radio during my first visit to Seattle and will always be associated every time I hear it.
     
  11. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    All Around

    We open with some ambient studio noise? and the bounce into this excellent, big fat glam rock type riff, and get straight into it.

    I see the rising sun
    I feel the warming one
    We've come a circle
    To the way we once begun

    No one's really sure
    How to make it up
    Or give a name to the way
    We've been acting lately

    All around
    All around
    All around
    All around

    A man he buy's a gun
    He is his father's son
    But one day he takes the gun
    And the lives of one and many

    Looking out one day
    A message comes to me
    I saw a woman tell the truth
    And end up end up behind bars

    All around
    All around
    All around
    All around
    All around
    All around

    I walked an empty street
    Proud to spill a tear
    Then came my shame
    My fear to blame
    The one and only

    See the rising sun
    Feel the warming one
    We've come a circle
    To the way we once begun

    All around
    All around...

    Songwriters: Farriss Andrew Charles / Hutchence Michael Kelland
    All Around lyrics © Chardonnay Investments Ltd., Inxs Publishing Pty. Ltd.

    An observation of how twisted the world has become, from my perspective. To me this is simply stating that we have become a people lost in the wilderness, all around.

    I reckon this is a very good track. We have this up music, and this cautionary writing, although still somewhat cryptic in its delivery.

    Again the drums and bass are solid as a rock, and drive us forward with good support from the guitars and keys.
    I like the chord progression used in the chorus, and although it is a minimalist chorus lyrically, I think it says what it needs to, so I am not messed up by that.

    For me a solid album track.


     
  12. Bluepicasso

    Bluepicasso Android Confused

    Location:
    Arlington, Va
    All Around 4/5. A pulsating song that keeps the vibe flowing. Thrusting guitars push the song. The basic verse is brought to life with the chorus. To be honest, now with the digital age, I do skip this song once in while while listening to the album. It is short, which bodes well for the song.
     
  13. dirkster

    dirkster Senior Member

    Location:
    McKinney, TX, USA
    All Around

    Another very good track. Solid, and full of energy. Songs like this one are what make an album “deep” in terms of not just being a vehicle to package some singles. A “big fat glam rock type riff” is an apt description of the guitar work. I like the keyboards too when they are heard - it sounds like an organ? The lyrics are something I had never even pieced together until recently, but there’s some good lines in there as well.

    Six songs into this album, and if this was a vinyl LP we’d be at the end of side one. This would be one helluva great album side!
     
  14. Al Gator

    Al Gator You can call me Al

    The winding melody of All Around took a few listens to sink in, but once it did I decided I really liked the song. Again we get the typically tight INXS rhythm, with layers of guitar on top and Michael’s superior singing. The lyrics are strong but dark, and seem very topical right now.
     
  15. twicks

    twicks Forum Resident

    Location:
    Detroit
    All Around: solid tune, but we're definitely back down to earth after Not Enough Time...
     
  16. Interpolantics

    Interpolantics Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ireland
    A solid rocker with some interesting lyrics.

    The confidence of the band at this time is reflected in All Around.

    All swagger and bluster. Hutchence was hitting peak rock star.


    I think WTWYA has the strongest opening side to any of their albums.
     
  17. twicks

    twicks Forum Resident

    Location:
    Detroit
    I would venture that the band became so good at capturing that swagger that eventually they began settling for weaker material just because they could *always* bring the attitude in spades and save the song, so to speak. I definitely hear it on Full Moon Dirty Hearts...
     
  18. ARK

    ARK Forum Miscreant

    Location:
    Charlton, MA, USA
    All Around
    The chorus is just so lazy. I can’t.
     
  19. DrAftershave

    DrAftershave A Wizard, A True Star

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    "All Around" should have been at least a radio single. They stuck gold by releasing "Heaven Sent" to radio (where it made Top 5) and I feel that this would have had the same chance vs. being buried in the middle of an album. This definitely would have received heavy airplay at alternative radio had it been pulled to promote the album. Great song. Full of high energy. It almost has a feel that with less aggressive guitars (which are literally the hook of the song) it could have been on Listen Like Thieves as a strong album track, maybe even as a single.


    lazy = catchy
     
  20. ARK

    ARK Forum Miscreant

    Location:
    Charlton, MA, USA
    sometimes. Not here.
     
  21. DrAftershave

    DrAftershave A Wizard, A True Star

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    I don't disagree with you. BUT within the context of the song, it fits. After all, the chorus fits the mood/emotions of the person singing, as if he's rationalizing what's going on all around him in his head. Set to the beat, what else can you really fit in there that's not wordy and also explaining simply what he's feeling?
     
  22. ARK

    ARK Forum Miscreant

    Location:
    Charlton, MA, USA
    I don’t know. I’m not a songwriter.
     
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  23. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    I understand the contention over the chorus....
    I'm not fond of repetitive tracks.... this track doesn't bother me, I like it, but I do understand why some may not.
     
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  24. Moggio_4K_Ultra_HD

    Moggio_4K_Ultra_HD Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vancouver, BC
    The best musical qualities in All Around, are definitely the guitar riffs. In particular, the guitar effect mix of chorus/flanger/distortion from the secondary riffs/fills in the song. Lyrically, despite the blandness of the chorus, AA is somewhat thought-provoking and the social commentary fit the times. The ending/outro is actually similar to Heaven Sent, in that it appears to end, then returns with Jon cymbal crashing with the guitars in unison to properly end the tune. AA could've possibly been a single, but it's a solid album track nonetheless.
     
  25. DrAftershave

    DrAftershave A Wizard, A True Star

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    I wonder if the band/label didn't bother to consider "All Around" as a possible promo single for radio or even as a physical single because they pretty much went down that route already with "Heaven Sent", which is clearly the stronger of the two. All the singles released up to this point had different sounds/genres and "All Around" would be seen as a step back in repeating a sound already established with "Heaven Sent". The song is catchy as hell, but who knows when it's stacked against 4-5 other songs that screamed "instant hit" over "All Around".
     

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