Tracks
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Michael Hutchence truly took control of any crowd he was in front of, and this album is proof. Recorded in 1990-91 and released in late 1991, this was a diary of the tour that followed their "X" album. The album was a hit, producing two top 10 singles in "Disappear" and "Suicide Blonde", both appearing here, but anything had to be a comedown after the massive success of "Kick". The band needed to get their performances to the fans in a different way, and a live album was the way to go.
Strictly speaking, the performances of the songs tend to stay fairly close to the studio versions. This is not a jam band that will go off on long instrumental tangents, they take their songs as intended, and simply infuse them with the energy a live performance is meant to convey. The song selection is pretty much perfect. Everything you would expect from INXS is here, from the explosive opening "New Sensation" (the sing where "Live Baby Live" is taken from), to the closing "What You Need", featuring Hutchence getting the crowd singing in his own style. One song that never got the radio respect it deserved, but gets a featured performance here is"The Stairs", a song with a gradual build that comes to a powerful climax, then a repeat...the emotion conveyed by the band is fantastic here.
One song was not a live performance, the single "Shining Star", a great song that would have fit well on "X", but was held back for this album. A couple of other tracks give a glimpse into the band as they goof around in the studio, singing about not having pants on and flats over finance. They are short, fun little tidbits that fans would not usually get to hear.
For INXS fans, this album was a true gift. It have them exactly what they wanted, and over 20 years later, the music still holds up. Maybe all we could have asked for was a complete show instead of bits from different shows, but that's really being picky here. Casual fans of the band will discover new tracks here that will make you want to dig deeper into the band's catalog. It's just a really fun album, I highly recommend checking it out.
Strictly speaking, the performances of the songs tend to stay fairly close to the studio versions. This is not a jam band that will go off on long instrumental tangents, they take their songs as intended, and simply infuse them with the energy a live performance is meant to convey. The song selection is pretty much perfect. Everything you would expect from INXS is here, from the explosive opening "New Sensation" (the sing where "Live Baby Live" is taken from), to the closing "What You Need", featuring Hutchence getting the crowd singing in his own style. One song that never got the radio respect it deserved, but gets a featured performance here is"The Stairs", a song with a gradual build that comes to a powerful climax, then a repeat...the emotion conveyed by the band is fantastic here.
One song was not a live performance, the single "Shining Star", a great song that would have fit well on "X", but was held back for this album. A couple of other tracks give a glimpse into the band as they goof around in the studio, singing about not having pants on and flats over finance. They are short, fun little tidbits that fans would not usually get to hear.
For INXS fans, this album was a true gift. It have them exactly what they wanted, and over 20 years later, the music still holds up. Maybe all we could have asked for was a complete show instead of bits from different shows, but that's really being picky here. Casual fans of the band will discover new tracks here that will make you want to dig deeper into the band's catalog. It's just a really fun album, I highly recommend checking it out.