INXS “Need You Tonight”

sfilzen — Wed, 27 Mar 2019 14:51:54 +0000

INXS “Need You Tonight” b/w “I’m Coming (Home)” 1987. Today, March 27th, is INXS keyboardist and primary composer Andrew Farriss’ 60th birthday (b. 1959). The massive hit “Need You Tonight,” probably the sexiest single of the 80′s, from their album Kick went to #1 in the US and #2 in the UK and its video won MTV’s Video of the Year in ‘88. A few years ago I watched the INXS biopic INXS: Never Tear Us Apart (2014) which chronicled the band’s formation, rise to fame and the events leading up to the tragic suicide of Michael Hutchence. In the show, there’s a pretty good scene about Farriss (played by actor Andrew Ryan) composing “Need You Tonight” on the keyboards, striking the iconic opening riff (eventually played on guitar) over and over, realizing he’d pretty much struck pop gold. (I have mixed feelings about the entire two-part miniseries program, but that part was cool.) The B-side, “I’m Coming (Home)” is, to quote myself when I wrote about the 12″ single of “Need You Tonight,” weird. Lots of saxophone and 80′s synth and a creepy/sexy low voice talking with moaning and groaning in the background, Michael Hutchence occasionally singing “I’m coming home, coming home.”

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INXS “The Swing”

sfilzen — Wed, 02 May 2018 00:37:33 +0000

INXS “The Swing” 1984. ‘84 was, in general, a remarkable year for album releases (and my own personal turning point into full-on music obsession – I even wrote my first research paper, in 8th grade, on new wave acts from England and Australia) and I’ve had INXS’s fourth full-length album on heavy rotation the past several weeks. Other INXS records have, arguably, stronger single tracks but The Swing’s 80′s new wave, alternative pop perfection make it my favorite to listen to from start to finish – I genuinely love every song. The lead track on Side A, “Original Sin,” was the first released as a single, in December ‘83, and produced by Nile Rodgers with Daryl Hall singing on the chorus. It hit #58 in the US and #1 in Australia. The next two songs are super-funky and danceable: “Melting In the Sun” and “I Send a Message,” the latter the second single from The Swing, released in March ‘84, hitting #77 in the US and #3 in Australia. “Dancing on the Jetty” was the fourth and final single from The Swing, released in October ‘84, and I love the haunting intro’s lyrics: “Watch the world argue, Argue with itself, Who’s going to teach me peace and happiness?” Side A concludes with the title track “The Swing,” on which Farriss bros Andrew and Tim get to totally rock out. Side B starts off with one of my favorites among favorites, the achingly sad pastoral “Johnson’s Aeroplane” which is made even sadder with the ubiquitous 80′s sax solo. “Love Is (What I Say)” is one of the more keyboard-forward, new wavey tracks on The Swing and “Face the Change” is back to the funky groove that characterizes most of Side A. Then we come to “Burn For You” which is upliftingly and anthemically brilliant; it was the third single released from the LP and hit #3 in Australia. I’m not sure if it was released in the US or not but if it was, it’s simply criminal that it wasn’t a hit. The album concludes with “All The Voices,” one of the more experimental tracks on The Swing, lots of echoey effects on the keyboards and vocals.

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INXS “Need You Tonight”

INXS “The Swing”