It has been a long time coming, but I finally got an Artist Playthrough collection together for 2025. This week's artist is the Australian band, INXS. I loved this band in high school and college. The pop style was catchy and lead singer and front man, Michael Hutchence, demanded attention. Sadly, Hutchence passed in November, 1997, but he left a legacy of excellence with a band willing to take some risks.
Here are the albums along with my pick for top song for each:
However, my top song for Kick is Mystify. The song starts off with a cool opening before kicking in to a classic pop sound.
X 1990 - The album opens with a killer song that rides with you all day long, Suicide Blonde. There are a few songs on this album with a driving beat that just doesn't quite kick like Suicide Blonde. It is hard not to choose that opening song as my favorite, but after a couple reviews of this album, Bitter Tears stands out to me as the top song of this album. The deciding factor is the passionate performance of Hutchence in the chorus.
Welcome to Wherever You Are 1992 - The album opens to a new sound with the song Questions. Don't be fooled, INXS pumps out a jam with Heaven Sent and the album is back on track. My top song for Welcome to Wherever You Are is a quiet tune that will draw you in, Beautiful Girl.
Full Moon, Dirty Hearts 1993 - A little harder, a little punk, a little blues, but still INXS. There is a change to the INXS sound with this album, but they bring a couple features with Chrissie Hynde and Ray Charles as guest artists to a couple songs. This album is a step to one side or the other, but it totally works for me. My top song of this album is The Messenger. It is a throwback to some older INXS, super catchy with a good guitar sound and commanding lead vocals.
Eligantly Wasted 1997 - This album is quite pedestrian. It feels like they lost their INXS sound and assimilated with the sound of the late 90's without any band identity. There aren't any songs on this album that are a standout for me. Clearly the magic of the late 80s are gone for the band.
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