The seventh album from Australia's INXS basically sticks to the formula set up on Kick, mixing solid remixable dancefloor beats with slightly quirky production tricks, Michael Hutchence's rough-edged, bluesy vocals, and some good solid song hooks.
The most immediate numbers are, of course, the two singles, "Suicide Blonde" and "Disappear," but other tracks stand out as potential hit material as well, including the anthemic "The Stairs." The biggest problems with the album are a tendency to play it safe, sticking to the tried and true -- echoing a line in the thumping "Who Pays the Price," when Hutchence sings "it's all been felt before" -- and the fact that there's very little in the way of subtlety on the entire album.
All of the songs are designed for immediate radio contact -- they don't really give you a chance to grow into them, they just grab you by the throat and start shaking.
"Know the Difference," as an example, threatens to be sneaky but immediately switches to an obvious assault instead.
In the finish, the overwhelming lack of subtlety and sense of sameness overcomes the album as a whole.
It's not that's it's a bad album.
It's just nowhere near as good as it could -- and should -- have been.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Suicide BlondeAndrew Farriss, Michael Hutchence | INXS | Play | 03:52 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 2 | DisappearJon Farriss, Michael Hutchence | INXS | Play | 04:10 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 3 | The StairsAndrew Farriss, Michael Hutchence | INXS | Play | 04:56 | 11 MB | 30 MB |
| 4 | Faith in Each OtherJon Farriss, Michael Hutchence | INXS | Play | 04:09 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 5 | By My SideAndrew Farriss, Michael Hutchence, Chris Thomas | INXS | Play | 03:06 | 7 MB | 18 MB |
| 6 | LatelyAndrew Farriss, Michael Hutchence | INXS | Play | 03:37 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 7 | Who Pays the PriceAndrew Farriss, Michael Hutchence | INXS | Play | 03:37 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 8 | Know the DifferenceAndrew Farriss, Michael Hutchence | INXS | Play | 03:18 | 7 MB | 20 MB |
| 9 | Bitter TearsAndrew Farriss, Michael Hutchence | INXS | Play | 03:49 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 10 | On My WayAndrew Farriss, Michael Hutchence | INXS | Play | 02:56 | 6 MB | 18 MB |
| 11 | Hear That SoundAndrew Farriss, Michael Hutchence | INXS | Play | 04:05 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 41 mins | 95 MB | |||||
| 41 mins | 261 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gary Beers | Bass |
| 2 | Andrew Farriss | Composer, Guitar, Keyboards |
| 3 | Jon Farriss | Composer, Drums, Keyboards |
| 4 | Tim Farriss | Guitar |
| 5 | Michael Hutchence | Composer, Vocals |
| 6 | INXS | Primary Artist |
| 7 | Charlie Musselwhite | Guest Artist, Harmonica |
| 8 | David Nicholas | Engineer |
| 9 | Kirk Pengilly | Guitar, Saxophone, Vocals |
| 10 | Chris Thomas | Producer |
| 11 | Chris Thomas | Composer, Producer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |