Back On Line has a lot of little touches which come together to make the song better than it should be. I debate whether it’s a song of redemption or something much darker (or both), but either way it’s got music that drives the point home. It’s yet another song that I really enjoy on this fine album.
Back On Line: not a great standalone track but really fits the dreamy, almost romantic (but never draggy) mood of Side 2.
Back on Line: 4/5. Another lovely track that defines this album with subtle greatness. It grooves, it rocks, it moves me. Nothing less, nothing more.
Back On Line is one of the four post-Kick songs not entirely written by Andrew or Michael but by Jon, that was included on the following albums (Disappear, Faith In Each Other & The Gift, are the other three). I really like the straight-ahead feel to this track. The melody and bass lines are consistently rewarding and anchor the song's uplifting atmosphere. And Andrew's ancillary baritone, jazzy & horn-like keyboard sounds compliment the positivity exuded lyrically. BOL probably couldn't have been a single, mainly the because chorus isn't that strong. But regardless, it's a great album cut that satisfies.
Yeah, I love the groove on this one. With Jon pretty much on ride cymbal the whole way it gives it a nice, open shimmer. I agree with Mark about a sitar vibe. I'm a musician but not a musicologist, but my guess is that those synth notes in the main riff suggest an eastern scale and, even though the chords change underneath, it does feel drone-like. In a good way. And I like the flangey bew-bew synth noises throughout. Great track.
Wishing Well: Love the groove on this one. It's catchy with its percolating rhythms. The chorus that is very infectious and it's tempting to start swaying and clapping along. Yep, it's a fun track and it's always been a favorite since the day I heard it. Back On Line: Another deep track that found its way on to my mix tapes of my teens. Like the last track, it's catchy. Love the crazy keyboard work here paired with the stellar rhythm section. It's been an earworm for a long time and that's saying something.
It's interesting you bring that up. And I totally forgot to include that in my review. Especially since Jon rarely utilized the ride cymbal. With most of his kits, he had two hi-hats (the second one was where the ride cymbal for most drummers is usually positioned) and his particular ride cymbal was placed at the far right side of his kit near the china cymbal.
"Back On Line" has a GREAT groove. That groove drops in right after "Beautiful Girl" (which I must again reiterate is their best song) fades out and just drips with groove. THAT GROOVE. I CAN'T GET OVER THAT RUNNING GROOVE. To some extant, it feels like a U2 song if U2 could GROOVE on a song as good as INXS does. Love the guitar parts that sound like a cheap Radio Shack phone sampled (2:01 in the song if you need reference). It leaps out and makes the song move along. Then Michael chants, "All my troubles soon be leaving" on and on until the end. Great setup for the next song.
Strange Desire This track opens with a great bassline and it is accented and bolstered by some nice clucky rhythm guitar. Another nice groove comes in with the drums. Then we get this very cool staccato piano that almost takes us into a Latin-American feel.... almost. My strange desire Is waiting here To be my light My shadow my storm This is all and This is you Turning into Another dream Please don't be Another dream Do you really think you're cared for Do we really know we're loved Look at all my resolutions Promises to break your heart Why do we make it hot to handle Why do we lose our self control Strange desire take me over Offer me to the all above This is all and this is you Do you really think you're cared for Do we really know we're loved Look at all my resolutions Promises to break your heart Why do we make it hot to handle Why do we lose our self control Strange desire take me over Offer me to the all above Meet again touch again Must have wanted Some paradise Long ago That's unwise so unwise Look again I said Touch again Believe your fate That's alright that's alright Do you really think you're cared for Do we really know we're loved Look at all my resolutions Promises to break your heart Why do we make it hot to handle Why do we lose our self control Strange desire take me over Offer me to the all above Do you really think you're cared for Do we really know we're loved Look at all my resolutions Promises to break your heart Why do we make it hot to handle Why do we lose our self control Strange desire take me over Offer me to the all above Do you really think you're cared for Do we really know we're loved Look at all my resolutions Promises to break your heart Why do we make it hot to handle Why do we lose our self control Strange desire take me over Offer me to the all above Songwriters: Michael Hutchence / Andrew Farriss Strange Desire lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc, Universal Music Publishing Group An interesting lyric ... So many of the lyrics on this album that I could pull several meanings from. This song has a very smooth kind of feel, and to some degree Hutchence vocal is a large part of that. We get a sort of gentle whisper vocal through this song, and it works well with the bouncing groove, giving the song a certain kind of reflective nature. We get some nice backing vocal usage in the choruses, and a couple of changes in the rhythm accents keep the song interesting. Again we have a nice arrangement, and the instruments manage to maintain our attention through the song. This is another track that doesn't sit up as a favourite track, but it certainly adds value to the album as a whole.
Strange Desire: 5/5. One of my favorite tracks from the album from the first playing. The soothing backing vocals and the keyboards hit the sweet sounding spot with me. Back in the day, I thought this song was longer than what it is. Odd that. For some reason, this song reminds of Same Direction. Don't know why as it doesn't have crunching guitars, perhaps the beat and the way the chorus kicks in. Oh well, the bass playing is wonderful, subtle, and muffled.
Finally we reach the hidden jewel of this record, Strange Desire! Again I must express how much I prefer the subtle dance/house flavorings of Side 2 to the more overt bids for hit singles. The band and Michael are flying high and free here. Absolutely one of their best deep tracks.
Strange Desire That echoed guitar line. That house-styled piano. That percussion. More cowbell? Yes. I like this one a lot. And when it shows up that is one sexy sax solo. Not sleazy - but seductive. The rushed almost spoken-word “chorus” is a great idea. Now that I think of it, there’s more of this on the next album too.
I love that prominent bassline that starts Strange Desire. It turns into a powerful rhythm. The lyrics strike me as a bit enigmatic - is the singer promising to break a woman’s heart, or hoping to make something wonderful? I tend towards the former...
Wishing Well This is probably my least favourite on the album but it serves its purpose completely. It segues wonderfully with what follows and is a strong album track. Back On Line Love it. Great arrangement. I've noticed the keyboards from this being played regularly over BBC's football coverage. Always amused me as it is such a random INXS song to use! Strange Desire What a great song. Fantastic playing by Kirk. As with earlier tracks it has a sensual feel to it and a very unusual chorus, it stands alongside anything else on the album. I love when the somewhat erratic drums kick in at the beginning. Gary and Jon are also superb on this. One of my favourite INXS 'deep cuts'.
Strange Desire is also one of my top 5 favourite INXS songs. And it just might be my favourite track from WTWYA. And here's why: stylistic perfection is on full display here. Rhythmically, percussively, emotionally, dynamically, etc., this song is top-shelf INXS! I love how the intro opens with a groove-oriented bass line first, then is followed by a palm-muted guitar riff and cowbell. And then, all of a sudden, all three instruments are rhythmically in-sync before the verses unfold into variations on these particular musical themes. Then INXS seamlessly slide right into the choruses by not over-staying their welcome and without us even necessarily knowing they've arrived (yet another signature songwriting style example). As the instrumental interlude begins, Kirk enters with sax lines that help to exude the tropical-textured soundscapes, that carry the song to its fade out, while significantly enhancing the mood of the track, and probably does so more than ANY other INXS song in their catalogue. While it might not have been single-worthy, mainly because of how abstract the chorus is, SD is a ****ing amazing song. I can't say enough great things about it!
I listened some this version today: Released as a Bside from one of the singles we discussed earlier. This is a cool version that mostly plays like an instrumental but has what seem to be a set of “placeholder vocals” by Andrew until he or Michael figured out how to approach the lyrics. I like this “original recording” version as I can focus even more on the great instrumental groove this track offers up.
Strange Desire: Oh man, this track is awesome! Fell in love with it at first hear. The big highlights here are the memorable rhythm section of a funky bass line and dare I say it, COWBELL! Oh yea, mustn't forget the vocals. Micheal is great here as his voice glides over the music and is augmented by striking backing vocals during the chorus. That background vocal... is haunting; it adds a great layer of texture and emotion. Add Kirk's sax and you got a perfect INXS song. Even when it's over, it sticks with me like an echo.
Strange Desire is possibly the most rewarding WTWYA song on multiple listens. It never gets old. Funnily enough my Spotify end of year list for 2020 had this as my most played INXS song.
Men and Women This track opens up with a lot of tension. We have a guitar strike that sound like it wouldn't be out of place in the opening of a Tarantino film, and it gives way to a pulsing bass, and atmospheric drums, and with another strike of the guitar we move into the vocals. The guitar has a nice dirty overdrive sound on it with a tremolo effect, and in this atmosphere manages to sound quite ominous. I can't see how I can Turn around what has been done I was just like a child With my eyes wide open History and any cause And my eyes are still open But my mouth my mouth is shut I'm closing off the lies Making my own mind up When I can I will How many dirty little secrets Were kept behind my back? Men and women Men and women Men and women Giving each other the sham I don't see How I can turn around what has been done I was just like a child With my eyes wide open Hungry at any cost Now my eyes are still open But my mouth my mouth is shut I'm closing out the lies and promises Men and women Men and women Men and women Giving me the sham Giving me the sham Giving me the sham Men and women Men and women Giving me the sham Men and women Men and women Giving me the sham Songwriters: Michael Hutchence Men and Women lyrics © Chardonnay Investments Ltd., Inxs Publishing Pty. Ltd. This is an interesting lyric... It kind of seems to be speaking of a man? (person) damaged as a child by the way that men and women interact with each other? Perhaps it could also be a somewhat cryptic reference to child abuse? I don't know exactly, but it is certainly carrying a certain intensity that is reinforced by the musical backdrop. The atmosphere of the song maintains its ominous feel. We get this supplemented by the Australian Concert Orchestra from the first chorus, andi think that the use here is effective, as it further creates this intensity of the ominous feel. At about the 2:40 mark of the song we get this short little crescendo pushing the song's dynamics up, and we roll into this solid power chord that grabs the attention, in the little space it has been given to shine. Essentially from there we have a very effective coda, that takes us to a power chord accompanied by the strings and they fade to a gond to strike the end of the song, and the album as it was officially released. I actually really like this track. Michael's, almost disturbed vocal delivery. The uneasy pulse of the song. The overwhelming feeling of the ominous atmosphere that the song projects. The relentless rolling field of sound driven by the bass and the drums, accented by the guitar, bolstered by the orchestra ...... It kind of seems out of character with most of the album in some ways, but I think in some ways that also draws my attention to it. It is interesting that this is a Hutchence only writing credit, and we don't seem to get a lot of those, but I really like this and I think it closes out the album in a somewhat surprising, but excellent way.
Men and Woman: 4/5. The closure of the original record which brings it full circle to Questions. Loved that idea. Reminds me of the feeling after the party is over and people are leaving with energy slowing dissipating.
Men and Women: great atmosphere and use of the orchestra. Downbeat ending that's very reminiscent of "Love Is Blindness" that closes Achtung Baby (sorry but it must be said).
Men And Women Any other place but the last song on the album and his would be a drag. As is, once again with the great sequencing, this track closes the album on just the right note: unexpected and with yet another different style. My feelings exactly. Well put.
Men And Women Great sequencing again by Mark Opitz to have this mini epic close the album out. I would guess that these were stand alone lyrics Michael wrote which were chosen for the grand orchestrated finalé. There is a sense of foreboding doom to the song itself. As with earlier tracks there is a darkness that permeates the lyrics. Perhaps Hutchence is referring to personal experiences or family matters. Ironically the darkness of the song is fitting considering the bands downward trajectory following WTWYA (commercially not artistically). Either way it is a fine way to end a marvelous album.
The album closes on a very dark and disturbing note with Men and Women. This is as different from the megahits of Kick as could be imagined. It’s a really tough last track, very powerful, and leaving the listener emotionally drained. It was a gutsy move to put this on the album, and even more gutsy to make it the last impression a listener has of Welcome. But I think it works brilliantly there.
