INXS Albums (11)
'Full Moon, Dirty Hearts'
Release Date 10/22/1993
Tracks 12
Label Atlantic
See Album Tracklist and Review
'Welcome to Wherever You Are'
Release Date 8/4/1992
Tracks 12
Label Atlantic
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Although INXS needed to experiment badly, their attempt at self-reinvention, Welcome to Wherever You Are, didn't even come close to gaining commercial or critical acceptance. From the start of the album, it's clear that INXS are out to confuse the standard perceptions of the band; the first instrument on the album is an Eastern-flavored horn. Special recording effects and exotic rhythms and sounds are abundant on the album. Evidently, the pop audience didn't care about INXS anymore, since nobody bought the album. And that is a shame, since it is one of their strongest. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
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. ~ Steven McDonald, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
At the time of their debut album, INXS had not developed a signature style, playing a competent but unremarkable variation on droning new wave synth pop. Although Michael Hutchence already exuded a powerful vocal charisma, the only time INXS springs to life is when the group hints at the R&B and dance roots that would form the basis of their biggest hits. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
"What You Need" had taken INXS from college radio into the American Top Five, but there was little indication that the group would follow it with a multi-platinum blockbuster like Kick. Where the follow-ups to "What You Need" made barely a ripple on the pop charts, Kick spun off four Top Ten singles, including the band's only American number one, "Need You Tonight." Kick crystallized all of the band's influences -- Stones-y rock & roll, pop, funk, contemporary dance-pop -- into a cool, stylish dance/rock hybrid. It was perfectly suited to lead singer Michael Hutchence's feline sexuality, which certainly didn't hurt the band's already inventive videos. But it wasn't just image that provided their breakthrough. For the first (and really only) time, INXS made a consistently solid album that had no weak moments from top to bottom. More than that, really, Kick is an impeccably crafted pop tour de force, the band succeeding at everything they try. Every track has at least a subtly different feel from what came before it; INXS freely incorporates tense guitar riffs, rock & roll anthems, swing-tinged pop/rock, string-laden balladry, danceable pop-funk, horn-driven '60s soul, '80s R&B, and even a bit of the new wave-ish sound they'd started out with. More to the point, every song is catchy and memorable, branded with indelible hooks. Even without the band's sense of style, the flawless songcraft is intoxicating, and it's what makes Kick one of the best mainstream pop albums of the '80s. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
INXS completes its transition into an excellent rock & roll singles band with this album. Unfortunately, the new configuration only works for three songs: "What You Need," "Listen Like Thieves," and "Kiss the Dirt (Falling Down the Mountain)." But these three songs are so strong that the album cannot be dismissed completely. The album is worth its price just for "What You Need," a strong Stonesy groove with Michael Hutchence singing more warmly than he ever has. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Consolidating the strengths of Shabooh Shoobah, The Swing is the first consistently impressive INXS album. With the Nile Rodgers-produced "Original Sin" acting as the centerpiece, The Swing retains the new wave pop sense and rock attack of their earlier albums, while adding a stronger emphasis on dance rhythms. At the same time, the group's songwriting had improved, with more than half of the album featuring memorable hooks. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
INXS wasn't quite there yet with Shabooh Shoobah -- which, by the way, has to rank as one of the most annoying titles ever conceived -- but at more than one point, they reached some total heights. For the most part, however, Shabooh Shoobah is an example of a talented bunch of performers still finding their own identity. There's a smart, slick punch to the album that suggests late-period Roxy Music crossed with a younger, brasher energy, which perfectly explains the sly grooves of songs like "To Look at You" and "Here Comes." It's all very pleasant and a good listen, with all six performers showing the skill and energy that made their live reputation so strong at the time, but mostly the songs aren't really anything deathless. The truest highlights were at the start and end, with the group creating not one but two hands-down early-'80s rock classics that stand the test of time. "The One Thing" is a great way to start, a strutting number that gives Hutchence a real chance to shine as a singer, strong and commanding, while the combined synth/guitar/sax hook that drives the song is instantly memorable. But if "The One Thing" is grand, "Don't Change" is just flat out fantastic, one of the best album closers ever dreamed up. Soaring in on a just dreamy enough synth line from Andrew Farriss and then a quick guitar burst, the rest of the band then explodes into action -- it's some of the best rock-without-apology-or-quotes sound anyone could ever hear, crisp, fierce, and clean. Hutchence takes charge of that action like the vaunted frontman he was, delivering one of the more cryptic but still just right romance lyrics from that time with aplomb and fire. The chorus is simply killer, while the concluding, extended calls of the title phrase over the song's last notes make up the icing on the cake. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide
