With a platinum album under their belts, 1983's Shabooh Shoobah, work commenced on their fourth album, The Swing, originally titled, Brand New Day. The lead single, Original Sin, was not only produced by famed producer (and Chic founder) Nile Rogers, but also featured backing vocals from Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates. It would not only garner them international recognition, but become their first number one single in Australia, Argentina, and France. Despite also charting in New Zealand (number 6), Canada (11), Switzerland (23), Netherlands, (31), and USA (58), it was widely ignored by the UK.
After the album's release, INXS would embark on a major tour, performing across Europe, the UK, and USA. By December, The Swing would reach double platinum status, and to date has gone 6X platinum It's their second highest selling album, just behind 1987's Kick.
Well, that's a high expectation set right out of the starting gate. So, nothing left to do but dig in and find out if the album meets the high expectation of myself.
Things kick off with Original Sin, which is ultimately the tune I bought the CD for. From there, the energy level stays high with the equally enjoyable tracks, Melting In The Sun, and I Send You A Message. What I noticed in hearing these was the strong funk sound which joined the pop sounds familiar from Shabooh. This blend works well, and really allows singer Michael Hutchence to shine with his distinct vocal style, a mixture of what feels like he's talking to you, the listener, while blending in singing.
By track "X", I had consecutively added each song to my shuffle list, a decision I may regret in the long run. As noted in my last post, I have a problem where I add songs that are okay at the time to this, but ultimately aren't all that memorable in the long run.
What I found was that from song to song, I was digging it for specific aspects. Whereas Original Sin intrigued because of the lyrical style, tracks like Melting and Message appealed for the funk sound. However, then you had the title track, The Swing, which caught my attention from its drumming, and Johnson's Aeroplane grabbed me with the synthesizer. Every song worked with the last, but had its own thing going for it. What I also took notice of was that the album was devoid of ballads, which I don't hate it for.
The Swing was an overall solid success for me. I ended up grabbing every single track for my shuffle list, which could come back to haunt me in the future. In the interim, it excites me to jump right into the next INXS album. I'm seeing the train steadily moving down the track, and I want to be on it, even if I am three decades too late.
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| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS June 19, 1982 |
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