Michael Hutchence. Largely forgotten?*

Welcome To Wherever You Are arrives tomorrow

 

As I'm loving your Joe Jackson thread, I'm eagerly awaiting your review of this album. Listen to it 3 times or so (not in a row, but over 3 different days) and let it grow on you.
I think you're going top like it. It's an excellent "sounding" CD. Very impressive sonically.

 

Here are 2 songs that are directly influenced by INXS's sound. Look them up as I can't post them.

"Nirvana" by Robert Plant (1990)
"Look What The Cat Dragged In" by The Rolling Stones (2005)

 

There is barely anything remotely similar to Matchbox 20 and INXS. For one thing I saw both bands numerous times (Matchbox 20 was for work, not by choice)
INXS were a fantastic band that could "rock" live.
Matchbox 20 sucked (for lack of a better description)

I'm being serious here.
Hutchence was no "clone" either. Being influenced by a performer does not make one a clone. He had his own thing going on when he was on stage. The guy was very charismatic whereas Rob Thomas was a bit of a "sissy" from what I witnessed.

 

To be honest I always liked Inxs, but in the mid eighties I did one of those u-turns and started listening to anything but popular music to an extent.
It wasn't that I didn't like them anymore, it was exactly the same as I stated on the Joe Jackson thread, I had a bunch of his albums and figured that was enough. I wandered down the road listening to some less obvious stuff for me at the time, and now I guess I'm revisiting some stuff I missed.
I'm sure I know stuff off it.

This thread, and the angry dude, kind of inspired me to get some stuff I missed.
The debut, underneath the colours, x and welcome ... Maybe when some time frees up we'll do an Inxs thread?

 

Hutchence had elements of many top class front men, but he was certainly his own man.

 

I think that's the likely scenario. Hutchence was known to be a bit of a kinky guy. He was also heavily medicated and intoxicated on the night in question. It seems to have all the earmarks of a tragic accident.
Remember, his bandmates do not believe his death was in any way intentional. They were rehearsing with him at that time and by all accounts he seemed fine. Michael's Dad said the same thing. I think he had dinner with him on the night in question.

It's a shame Hutchence got involved with Bob Geldof's wife in the first place. She did him no favours in any regard.
I always thought that with all the women that he could have and he ends up with a mess like her?

 

"Listen Like Thieves" as a whole is one of their best albums; I'm sure you would like that.
"Full Moon, Dirty Hearts" has it's moments to and in my opinion is a pretty solid listen start to finish. It flows well, however some might say that certain songs are stronger than others, but I happen to like it overall.
"Elegantly Wasted" is a bit spotty, but the title track is classic INXS and "Don't Lose Your Head" was a good single.
It's a *** star album overall.
"Shabooh Shoobah" is a good album as well.

 

I get the impression from what I have read, that being as intoxicated as he was, and the wealth of stress over the Inxs tour, the Bob and Paula issue, with custody battles etc .... alcohol is a depressant, other drugs can take rational thought away.
A severe emotional collapse under those conditions can be lethal, and sadly under these circumstances I think it was.

 

I have and love Shabooh Shoobah, The Swing and Listen Like Thieves. I recently got the 5.1 of Kick, hoping that they do those previous three also to be honest.
I really liked the single The Gift at the time it came out too (Full Moon?)

 

INXS were a very good rock band in their day. Their day happened to be largely during the 80's.
Every band has their own kind of legacy and differing levels of popularity, etc., but I think it's just wise to call them what they were: a very good rock band that had their main success during the mid to late 80's and who were at the time beloved by many. Say whatever you will about them, but there's no denying that they were the real thing. They paid their dues and came up the hard way and were rewarded with massive success when the time was right.
You gotta love a story like that.

 

Yea, I doubt even now that folks don't know Hutchence in Australia. Inxs were megastars, and Hutchence was the figurehead.

 

You may very well be right. I do remember something odd when I saw them here in 1997. They were playing at a club called The Warehouse for two nights. I was there on the first night and the place was pretty full, but INXS were used to big crowds back in their day and their popularity was obviously on the wane. They still dielivered a kick-ass show but at one point in the evening Hutchence jumped off the stage and ran around the room to the back near the bar, got a shot of something and downed it, then continued to run around the room back to the stage. Lots of people were crowding all around him and really excited that he did this. I got to slap him on the shoulder as he ran by me. When he got back on the stage he mumbled something like "there's hardly anybody back there". That wasn't really true. the crowd was spread out all over the place.
He also was upset that "Elegantly Wasted" didn't do better commercially than it did. then add to that the insult that Noel Gallagher laid on him at an awards show about him being a has-been (not cool) and you have to think that these things must have really damaged his ego somewhat.

It was said that Hutchence was ready to fight Gallagher backstage after the snub (he was that upset), but Gallagher was too scared to have a go with him after a very heated exchange! Hutchence likely would have given him a beating.

 

Their mainstream pop/rock was less than essential.​

 

Your opinion here is less than essential (especially considering your avatar)

 

I remember hearing about physical lacerations or bruises that looked like he had been punched in the face, I can't recall the exact details but that sure doesn't sound like an "asphyxiation game" to me. Also realize he was heavily intoxicated on drugs and cocaine as well had a full bath tub so maybe he was going to bathe and just did it in a desperate moment. This is all purely speculation in the end that nobody is going to know.

 

For all the glitz and glamour of being a pop/rock star Hutchence is pretty reliably informed to have been a shy retiring sort of guy, which isn't unusual. When you are that way inclined and suddenly everybody starts hacking on you, it can be pretty internally damaging.

 

The Police report discounted the rumoured reason for death (that I would prefer not to directly mention), stating that the physical evidence didn't back that up at all.

 

I didn’t read all the 40+ thread pages, so I just wanted to point out Duran Duran’s beautiful tribute to Hutchence from 1997 in the case it hasn’t been mentioned - written and released before his death and about his ongoing problems at the time from the p.o.v. of friend and drinking buddy, Simon Le Bon:

 

Welcome To Wherever You Are is easily one of their best albums. I think just about any INXS fan would tell you the same. It's a shame it never received the attention it deserved. Had it followed Kick instead of X, a lot of folks would likely have a very different opinion about the band, and this 47 pages of discussion would be a very different thing.

I would also say their debut is very is underrated. It's very New Wave influenced and of it's time, with hints of Punk and Ska, and doesn't sound a whole lot like the band they would become (except for maybe "In Vain"), but it's a solid album, nonetheless. I didn't really like it the first time I heard it, but over the years, I've grown to really appreciate it. The only dud in their catalog for me, and it's not that it's necessarily a bad album, is Underneath The Colours. Just has never done much for me outside of "Stay Young" which is a solid single. Otherwise, it's very similar to how I feel about U2's second album, October - it lacks the same excitement as the debut and the albums which follow it.

 

I'd rate Underneath the Colours higher than the debut. I like Newsreel Babies, In Vain, Wishy Washy, Learn to Smile and a lot of the songs on that first album but stuff like Jumping and Doctor just gets kind of a bit irritating and too ska for me. I really think they honed things on the 2nd album, less ska and more of their original sound. Garry Gary said they "played their arses off" on stuff like Night of Rebellion and I'd agree.

 

Oh yeah, they were very New Wave at the beginning. Just Keep Walking is a classic and would be on some kind of Australian singles canon (intended ironic use of the word there )

 

I haven't heard the whole album but Stay Young and Underneath The Colours (title track) were pretty much radio staples

 

Actually, while I have a bunch of Inxs folk that are knowledgeable about the band....
I always remember there being an Inxs song with a refrain " Be Patient (a held vowel sound on the eeent) " I think with an echo .... does that ring any bells?
I imagine it would be on one of the first two albums

 

Underneath the Colours single (New Zealand only) is probably the rarest INXS record. Night of Rebellion is pretty rare too as I've heard only 500 or so were pressed in Australia

INXS - Underneath The Colours