Another gem waiting to be rediscovered

Like their first album, "INXS", this album features straight ahead rock tracks and more reggae/ska tinged new wave sounds. Lyrically the album is more sophisticated than their fairly wacky debut. "Stay Young" and "Horizon" are both excellent.

Most of the songs have really catchy and well constructed verse sections mixed in with questionable choruses. A good example is "What would you do" which starts off like a promising rock song and dramatically shifts to some dork fest for the main chorus. "Just to learn again" is another half briliant, half awkward song. You can tell the band is reaching for the stars song writing wise, but it would be another year before they'd grab onto them. You wont get anything on here approaching the brilliance of "Don't Change" or "What you need" but it's a curious record, and one you grow to like more with each listen. Hutchence also sings more with a young mans bark than with the sex symbol celibrity croon he would years later.
I'll bet these songs sounded great live in 1981 Australia.

Another step

Originally released in the U.S. and Canada in 1984 on Atco. I have the original Australian LP on Deluxe/RCA. It's the only one I have as an import. The album goes a bit too fast, and then they realise they need a change of direction before taking on the rest of the world.

Decent new wave pop/rock

This effort isn't the band's best, but it's a decent album. The disc kicks off with the bass driven rock track "Stay Young", which is probably the most accessible and enjoyable song on the album. Following that, the rest of the album is fairly standard new wave rock fare, featuring funky intricate bass lines and guitar with accents from analog synthesizers and occassional horns...and even caribbean influences on the title track.

While there are occassional elements of the band's later (and more substantial) output, this disc is quite a bit different and less memorable. If you're a fan, then you might want to pick this up for the few standout tracks... However, if you don't have the band's later albums, I would suggest starting there first...

They're no Kylie Minogue, but I guess they're OK

(that's a joke, people)



Its always great when a band lasts long enough that you can look back over their catalog and see the changes the band went through. So is the case with INXS, and what is clearly their first album. They are young, their sound not yet matured, but still have great pop and dance sensibilities, with classics like 'Stay Young' (a minor hit that helped get them noticed) and 'Night of Rebellion.' A great nostalgic trip to 1981.

This is the album that put INXS on the map

Produced by Richard Clapton, this is the album that took INXS off the floor of Aussie beer barns, polished them off & prepared them for the world stage- which they promptly took over, for a very short time. Michael is not with us any longer, but these songs from the early eighties show him as the master- before he got the recognition.